Time to Be Happy presents itself without pretension as a place where creativity circulates freely and art is a shared experience. Courtesy time to be happy | Photo: Jaime Merero It can be refreshing to discover that things can be done differently. In a city where the art world often moves according to well-rehearsed routines, … Read more
Auction records are only one measure of value and can differ significantly from what dealers or underwriters believe a work is worth. Observer laboratories It’s tax time in the United States, which means many art collectors are trying to determine the value of their donated artwork, because the Internal Revenue Service wants an accurate number … Read more
Lengthy art sales contracts are designed to anticipate every possible contingency a buyer and seller may face. Observer laboratories Judd Grossman is a major player in the world of fine art, someone many art dealers, auction houses, and even museums have to deal with. But he is not a collector, museum director, or art consultant. … Read more
Alan Bacon and Malena Simone Jeffers. Courtesy of Butter Fine Arts Gallery In a pay-to-play ecosystem designed largely to keep art galleries coming back and collectors entertained, new galleries looking to gain a foothold can’t stray too far from the traditional model. But institutional Al-Buda Fine Arts Gallery I didn’t want to play the game … Read more
The 2026 Whitney Biennial 2026 runs through August. Darian DiCianno/BFA.com If the Whitney Biennial takes the temperature of American art—and of the society that produces it—the cacophony of fragments, relics and semi-fictional or dystopian allusions in this edition captures the fractured sense of reality and dissociation defining the present moment, as the great narratives that … Read more
Using light and texture, artist Anne Hamilton transforms archival museum objects into a mysterious visual presence that feels both ancient and newly discovered. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art It’s impossible to know what’s being taught in American high schools these days, but I hope they continue to teach photography lessons in darkrooms, and … Read more
Art Basel Hong Kong, 2025. Courtesy Art Basel Today’s art fairs have become far more than cultural and commercial events; they operate as platforms of visibility, machines of global branding and instruments of geopolitical power. The rivalry between the mega fairs exemplifies the newest phase of art’s globalization, but this system—in which fairs shape where … Read more
With luxury spending leaning towards experiences rather than possessions, the art market faces increasing pressure to redefine how it creates value for a new generation of affluent consumers. Observer laboratories With the art world increasingly immersed in the broader luxury ecosystem – shaped by changing spending patterns and new geographies of wealth – and auction … Read more
Eugénie Trochu is a Who What Wear editor in residence known for her transformative work at Vogue France and her Substack newsletter, where she documents and shares new trends, her no-nonsense approach to fashion and style, plus other musings. She’s also working on her upcoming first book that explores fashion as a space of memory, … Read more
san francisco — Discipline, creativity, and a steady hand – all traits an artist must possess. According to Dr. Don Hirschman, they are qualities a surgeon must possess. He seems to know that, because he’s both. “I’ve always said that there’s a part of my brain that works at a certain point in the painting … Read more