Here Are 3 Trends That Show the Hong Kong Auction Market Is Booming for International Art

We examine three trend lines from the recent slate of Hong Kong sales to determine where the market is headed. Like a massive Companion balloon in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the mind-boggling $14.8 million paid for a KAWSpainting in Hong Kong earlier this month upstaged every other result from Sotheby’s recent series of sales in the city. But […]

Here Are the 15 Biggest Art-World Controversies of 2017

From Dana Schutz’s notorious painting to divisive animal art at the Guggenheim, 2017 was chock full of debate, discussion, and protest. This year saw unprecedented tumult in the real world—and in the art world, too. There were fiery debates over cultural appropriation and the definition of censorship; a legal tussle over deaccessioning at the Berkshire […]

Art-Fair Economics: Why Small Galleries Do Art Fairs Even When They Don’t Make Money

As the middle market shrinks, many dealers are finding they can’t afford to do fairs—but they can’t afford not to, either. Think art fairs are all about sold-out booths, comfortable shoes, and exclusive dinner invitations? Think again. For many small to mid-size galleries, fairs—like Art Basel in Basel, which opens to VIPs today—are an increasingly […]

Vito Acconci, Transgressive Progenitor of Performance Art, Dies at 77

The Bronx-born artist came to fame in the 1970s with an array of unsettling work. Vito Acconci, a towering figure with influences on both performance art and experimental architecture, has died at the age of 77. A cause of death has not been confirmed by the estate. Born in the Bronx in 1940, Acconci worked as […]

Performance: do you buy it?

The public is warming to the medium, but collectors remain cool. While some visitors spent the first public day of Art Basel admiring multi-million-dollar paintings, others strayed from the main fair to watch a nude woman examine her body with a hand mirror and a war veteran stand silently in a corner. These performance works, […]

‘Perfectly unfashionable to be fashionable again’

Artists and curators have embraced ceramics, but collectors need a little more convincing. Are ceramics, long relegated to the realm of craft, finally getting their due? Clay and porcelain works by artists including Josh Smith, Mai-Thu Perret, Rachel Kneebone and Thomas Schütte are in abundance at Art Basel this year, and sales were brisk yesterday […]

Video veteran Joan Jonas to represent US in Venice

The artist is expected to create a multimedia installation for next year’s Biennale. Joan Jonas has been selected to represent the United States at the 56th Venice Biennale. The video and performance artist is expected to create a site-specific multimedia installation for the US pavilion, one of the most visible and celebrated international platforms for […]

What a difference five years make – ABMB

The super-rich have grown in number since 2008, adding the feel-good factor to this year’s fair. Millions of dollars have been spent on art, parties and hotel rooms this week as the circus surrounding Art Basel Miami Beach rolled into town. Given such conspicuous consumption, it is, perhaps, hard to remember that the art market […]

Just how fresh can you get? – ABMB

Art created to be unveiled at the fair proves popular in Miami— but not everyone is impressed. Be careful not to stand too close to the works on show at Art Basel Miami Beach—the paint may not yet be dry. Dozens of artists including Marilyn Minter, Luis Gispert, Ryan Trecartin and Lizzie Fitch have created […]