Bangkok Removes Artworks from Exhibit After ‘Pressure’ from China Censored works include a film of Tibetans demanding accountability for genocide and references to China and Israel’s treatment of Muslims.

Bangkok’s leading art centre has censored works in an exhibition on authoritarianism after pressure from China. Removed pieces addressed Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Myanmar, and Syria, with curators now in exile. ‘A chilling signal to exiled artists,’ one said. ocula.com/magazine/art...

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Pace Gallery Takes on Painter Lauren Quin Amid Shifts in L.A. Art Scene There have been some seismic shifts to the landscape of the Los Angeles art market lately—but the addition of painter Lauren Quin to the roster at Pace Gallery shows how up-and-comers are still on the...

The news lands at a turning point for L.A.’s gallery scene. Weeks after BLUM’s closure—a space that shaped the city’s contemporary art and once showed #LaurenQuin —artists and audiences are left wondering how its rising stars will realign. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#PaceGallery #OculaNews

Ekow Eshun to Curate British Art Show’s Largest Edition Yet Ekow Eshun will oversee the quinquennial exhibition bringing a snapshot of British contemporary art to five U.K. cities for the first time starting from September 2026.

The exhibition, which has spotlighted defining artists over time, including David Hockney, Lucian Freud, and Sarah Lucas, will be curated by writer #EkowEshun, the chair of the biannual Fourth Plinth public commission for Trafalgar Square. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#BritishArtShow10 #OculaNews

Kasmin to Close After 35 Years, Replaced by Gallery Olney Gleason New York mainstay Kasmin Gallery is making way for a new venture led by two of its senior staff, Nick Olney and Eric Gleason.

Chelsea’s #KasminGallery is closing its doors after 35 years in business. But in its place, two principal staff members will lead a new enterprise named #OlneyGleason. ocula.com/magazine/art...

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Art Dealers Association of America Cancels 2025 Edition of New York Fair The news comes at a ‘challenging moment’ for charitable organisations who receive funding from the event.

For the first time since 1988, the ADAA won’t be staging its annual fair in New York this October. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#ADAA #OculaNews

Performance Artist Amanda Heng Will Represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale Artist Amanda Heng has been chosen to represent Singapore at the 2026 Venice Biennale, with Singapore Art Museum's Selene Yap to lead the curatorial direction.

Amanda Heng, 74, whose performances critique gender roles in traditional Chinese culture—exploring female infanticide, the beauty industry, and domestic labour—was selected for the ‘strength and continued relevance’ of her work. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#AmandaHeng #VeniceBiennale #OculaNews

Marina Abramović and Peter Doig Take Praemium Imperiale Award for 2025 The Serbian performance artist and Scottish painter were among five recipients of the £77,000 award backed by Japan’s royal family recognising artists with international impact.

Serbian artist Marina Abramović and Scottish painter Peter Doig are among the 2025 Praemium Imperiale laureates—an award backed by Japan’s royal family recognising creators across the arts. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#MarinaAbramovic #PeterDoig #OculaNews

The Turner Prize Heads North to Middlesbrough in 2026 The Tate has announced the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) as the venue for its next flagship prize in 2026.

Britain’s most prestigious contemporary art award will be hosted by the North Yorkshire town Middlesbrough next year, building on its commitment to sparking public debate about art across the U.K. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#TurnerPrize #Tate #OculaNews

India Rose James to Host Women-Led Galleries in New Fair During Frieze London The Soho heiress and gallerist will draw in the ‘next generation’ of collectors and creatives during Frieze London with a boutique fair that offers an alternative to the ‘scale and saturation of the l...

Soho Estates heiress and gallery owner India Rose James will stage a ‘cultural intervention’ during London’s Frieze Week this October with a boutique fair for women-led galleries to celebrate the influence of women in contemporary art.
ocula.com/magazine/art...

#SohoEstates #FriezeLondon #OculaNews

Swiss Art Dealer Elena Buchmann of Buchmann Galerie Dies at 78 The veteran gallerist who helped launch the careers of artists like Lawrence Carroll, Tony Cragg, and Wolfgang Laib is remembered for her ‘unwavering curiosity and deep fascination for art’.

Elena Buchmann staged over 300 exhibitions since co-launching the gallery in St. Gallen in 1975, supporting artists like Lawrence Carroll, Tony Cragg, Mario Merz, and Wolfgang Laib—many of whom have stayed with Buchmann Galerie.
ocula.com/magazine/art...

#ElenaBuchmann #BuchmannGalerie #OculaNews

‘Time to Wave the White Flag’ for Adam Lindemann as He Closes Venus Over Manhattan New York art dealer Adam Lindemann said he will return to collecting upon closing Venus Over Manhattan after nearly a decade and a half in the ‘cutthroat’ art trade.

Collector-turned-dealer Adam Lindemann announced that he will be closing Venus Over Manhattan, the gallery he opened in New York City almost 14 years ago. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#VenusOverManhattan #AdamLindemann #OculaNews

Artist Wael Shawky Will Direct the First Art Basel Qatar Art Basel has appointed Egyptian artist Wael Shawky to assist with the gallery selection and thematic focus of its first edition in Qatar.

Led by artist Wael Shawky, Art Basel’s inaugural fair in the Gulf region will ‘[place] artistic intent at its core’ with a view to better serve exhibiting galleries. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#WaelShawky #ArtBasel #OculaNews

Big Names Back Sotheby’s $186.1m Evening Sale Hitting Near Top of Estimate Top artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Richard Prince, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein were in demand from selective buyers in New York this week.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 'Untitled' painting from 1981 led the sale, closing toward its high estimate at $16.4 million after a steady back and forth between four buyers. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#SothebysNewYorkSales #OculaNews

‘Deeply Saddened and Dismayed’: Koyo Kouoh, Curator of 2026 Venice Biennale, Has Died The Cameroonian-Swiss curator was the first African woman selected to direct the Venice Biennale and leaves an 'immense void' in the art world.

Koyo Kouoh was set to become the first African woman to the biennial since its inception in 1895. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#KoyoKouoh #VeniceBiennale #OculaNews

Frieze New York: ‘Palpable Enthusiasm’ on Preview Day With four days left of the fair, we share what collectors have been eyeing among this year's crop of blue-chip and rising talent.

Dealers reported energetic sales yesterday as Frieze returned to The Shed to host vital arts patrons like Agnes Gund, Jon & Lizzie Tisch, and Suzanne Deal Booth. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#FriezeNewYork #ArtFairSales #OculaNews

New York's Rachel Uffner Gallery Takes on New Name and Partner The Lower East Side mainstay hopes to expand its international reach and support emerging voices with the rebrand.

Rachel Uffner Gallery is now Uffner & Liu, following the promotion of director Lucy Liu to partner. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#RachelUffner #NewYorkGallery #OculaNews

‘Vibe-Driven’ Global Art Market Expands to Bring in Risk-Averse Buyers Sales fell by 12 percent in 2024 with fewer $1 million-plus lots consigned, according to the latest Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report.

The economist Clare McAndrew said that as 'financial confidence tends to drive purchases', amid the national and geopolitical tensions of the past year, 'people may not be as sure of the future, especially for high-value discretionary purchases like art'. ocula.com/magazine/art...

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Shin Min Plays on Her Fast Food Experience to Win Art Basel Prize The young Korean artist Shin Min’s prize-winning work was lauded by the jury for its ‘potent symbolism’ at the inaugural Art Basel and MGM Discoveries Art Prize.

The jury also praised the artist's 'bold vision' and exploration of personal experience working for companies like McDonald's and Starbucks to confront 'societal norms and systemic injustices'.

ocula.com/magazine/art...

#ShinMin #ArtBaselHongKong #OculaNews

Australian Pavilion at Venice Faces Cancellation Over Controversy Creative Australia’s decision to drop Khaled Sabsabi has sparked outrage within the arts community, raising questions around institutional decision-making.

Creative Australia's decision to drop Khaled Sabsabi last Thursday has sparked outrage within the arts community, raising questions around institutional decision-making and artistic freedom. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#KhaledSabsabi #AustralianPavilion #VeniceBiennale #OculaNews

Which Artists Are Showing at Venice Biennale 2026? The 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is set to open in April 2026. These are the artists and curators representing their countries.

Koyo Kouoh, the curator for the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, described her intent to compose an exhibition that 'will carry meaning for the world we currently live in—and most importantly, for the world we want to make.' ocula.com/magazine/art... #OculaNews

Bidders Go Bananas for Cattelan’s ‘Comedian’ The work was acquired by Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun for $6.2 million, more than quadruple its estimate.

Seven bidders sent the price of Maurizio Cattelan's 'Comedian' (2019) soaring at Sotheby's The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction in New York on Wednesday night. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#SothebysSalesReport #MaurizioCattelan #OculaNews

Observer Lists Most Influential People in the Art Business Observer has published its Business of Art Power List, an unranked collection of the 67 ‘most influential people in art’.

'Observer' said its list 'spotlights the bold innovators steering today's art world through shifting markets, new collector dynamics, and cultural reinvention. ocula.com/magazine/art...

#BusinessOfArtPowerList #Observer #OculaNews