What a year! Astonishing things transpired in the art industry over the past 12 months, as power shifted and money changed hands. If you came out on top, here’s hoping your winning streak continues. If 2024 was a rough one: Better luck next year. Regardless, all of us here at Artnet News PRO hope that you are getting some rest. Right now, the art world is precarious and uncertain, perhaps more so than at any time in recent memory. You deserve a break.
You also deserve expert analysis, behind-the-scenes reporting, data-driven deep dives, important scoops, and incisive commentary—which is what Artnet News PRO offers. If you are already a subscriber, thank you. Your support keeps us going. If you are not yet a subscriber, we invite you to join us. You will gain access to all PRO stories (vanquishing the paywall), and you will also receive The Back Room, our razor-sharp, market-focused weekly newsletter, as well as The Asia Pivot newsletter, which provides a pacesetting fortnightly look at art action in Asia. New worlds and new wonders await you. Below are 14 of the hundreds of subscriber-only stories that the Artnet PRO team published this year, to whet your appetite.
Thank you for being here. Happy New Year. —Andrew Russeth
Larry Gagosian and Anna Weyant Call It Quits
By Annie Armstrong, January 25
Anna Weyant and Larry Gagosian in 2023. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Museum Of Modern Art
Excerpt: “For the past two years, a sizable chunk of the art world has been obsessed with the May-December relationship between titan of industry Larry Gagosian, 78, and Anna Weyant, the painter-to-watch who is 50 years his junior.”
Should Museums Show Art Owned by Patrons? It’s Tempting. It Can Also Blow Up
By Katya Kazakina, February 16
Installation view of “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” at the Brooklyn Museum. Photo: Paula Abreu Pita.
Excerpt: “Historically, exhibitions drawn from private or corporate collections with financial ties to museums have faced criticism—especially when those collections are not donated to the institutions. Public museums, critics argue, need to guard their curatorial independence and should not be used by wealthy patrons to boost the value of their holdings.”
The Market for F. N. Souza and Other Indian Modernists Is Hot. What Is Driving the Surge?
By Eileen Kinsella, March 19
Francis Newton Souza, Men In Boats (1945). Image courtesy Christie’s.
Excerpt: “In the last half-dozen years, the market has been shifting, experts say, with Souza gaining popularity with a wider array of collectors. This year, which marks the centenary of Souza’s birth, interest in the artist may expand even further.”
‘It’s Not a Soft Landing’: Contemporary Art Prices Come Crashing Down. Is This the End?
By Katya Kazakina, March 22
Ed Ruscha, The End (1991). Photo: artnet auctions.
Excerpt: “Over the past two decades, there emerged a perception of art as an alternative asset that could—with the right moves and timing—store value as well as (if not better than) traditional assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate. But what happens to this narrative when prices come crashing down, as they are now? Why does investment-grade art appear to be a lot less liquid than even two years ago? Are we facing a future where investors may be hard-pressed to recoup their money? How did we get here?”
A Buyer’s Guide to the Hottest Artists in This Year’s Venice Biennale
By Margaret Carrigan and Vivienne Chow, April 14
Hildigunnur Birgisdottir, detail of Very Large Number (2024). Photo: Vigfús Birgisson. Courtesy of Icelandic Art Centre.
Excerpt: “The main exhibition at this year’s biennale has a record number of artists—331, to be exact—many of them from groups that have long been marginalized or underrepresented in both the market and museums. They may be lesser known to some who claim to be art aficionados, and their work may not have appeared on the international market in the past, but several stood out to our experts as names to know—and to buy.”
A Hard Look at the Tumultuous New York Gallery Scene, as Dealers Shutter and Move
By Annie Armstrong, May 31, 2024
Digital collage by Elvin Tavarez
Excerpt: “In the New York art world right now, gallery closures are the only thing that people want to talk about.”
Goodbye, West Bund: Redevelopment Efforts Drive Out Shanghai Galleries
By Cathy Fan, June 26 in Artnet PRO’s The Asia Pivot newsletter
The West Bund space of ShanghART Gallery mid-demolition. Photo: Shi Yong.
Excerpt: “The departing galleries are searching for new locations—possibly the bustling central Bund area or the emerging and trendy Suzhou Creek, where the new Fotografiska Museum Shanghai is located. Many in the art world want to establish a new art cluster somewhere in the city, but from a real-estate perspective, that is an expensive proposition.
As told to Vivienne Chow, August 7 in Artnet PRO’s The Back Room newsletter
Japanese collector Kankuro Ueshima opened his private museum in Tokyo’s Shibuya in June. Courtesy Ueshima Museum.
Excerpt: “I have been buying artwork literally every day. In 2022 alone, I bought 500 pieces, 150 pieces in 2023, and this year so far, I have bought 40 works.”
By The Anonymous Art Ambassador, August 5
Photo by Artnet News
Excerpt: “Be humble! Recognize that when you acquire an artwork, you’re one of many clients we have. While the term “collector” may seem important, it has become a loosely used word that encapsulates speculators, flippers, buyers, investors, etc. We use the word for simplicity, but trust me when I say that we’re not above putting a big ‘WOT’ (Waste of Time) under your name in our client database, or even worse, ‘TWOT’ (Total Waste of Time), with multiple exclamation points!”
Shoptalk: Legendary New York Art Dealer Paula Cooper Opens Up About Her Path to Power
Interview with Katya Kazakina, August 22
Paula Cooper holding Pinto Series 1 by Lynda Benglis, 1971. Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery
Excerpt: “To be so intimate with work, that’s the wonderful thing about being in a gallery. You see art every day. You learn how to handle it. The freedom one has!”
Disgraced Producer Scott Rudin Is Rapidly Selling His Art, and More Juicy Art World Gossip
By Annie Armstrong, September 20
Katherine Bradford’s Six Swimmer Ocean Swim (2022), which was sold by Scott Rudin. Courtesy Sotheby’s
Excerpt: “You know the saying: Art collections tend to go to auction because of one of the ‘Three Ds’: debt, divorce, or death. I propose that we add a fourth D—disgraced.”
Louis Fratino Is a Star of the Venice Biennale. Good Luck Getting One of His Paintings
By Eileen Kinsella, September 26
Louis Fratino, My meal (2019). Image courtesy the artist and Magic Hour Press.
Excerpt: “Louis Fratino, a painter from Baltimore who turned 30 last year, was already a global phenomenon before his debut at the Venice Biennale in April drew even more attention to his wide-ranging body of work.”
To Frieze or Not to Frieze: Are Collectors Prioritizing Paris Over London?
By Margaret Carrigan, October 4 in Artnet PRO’s The Back Room newsletter
Left: Frieze London 2023. Photo: Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze. Right: Art Basel’s 2023 edition in Paris. Courtesy of Art Basel.
Excerpt: “Champagne cases are being stacked, gallery shows are being mounted, and tents are up in Regent’s Park. That’s right: Frieze Week is upon us. You’d be forgiven for feeling like the term “week” is being used loosely this year. For those already in London, a plethora of events are underway in advance of Frieze London and Frieze Masters, which open to VIPs on Wednesday. In fact, the whole first half of October is really just one long fair week since the rebranded Art Basel Paris (née Paris+) falls just days after Frieze closes.”
“At Shanghai Art Week, Slower Sales and More Subdued Parties”
By Cathy Fan, November 13 in Artnet Pro’s The Asia Pivot newsletter
Excerpt: “More first-time collectors are entering the market—there was a noticeable uptick in younger buyers at ART021, especially—reflecting a broader trend seen in China’s luxury sales. Yet, while this influx may bring a deeper pool of buyers, tapping into it may require lowering prices and adjusting inventory to accommodate generally tightened budgets.”
See you next year.