The estate of Faith Ringgold, who is known for textile works depicting the Civil Rights Movement, will be represented by Jack Shainman Gallery. Before Ringgold’s death in April 2024, ACA Galleries represented the artist exclusively since 1995. Shainman will stage its first exhibition of Ringgold’s work in November at its Tribeca gallery.

Jack Shainman Gallery will also represent the Anyone Can Fly Foundation, an organization established by Ringgold in 1999. The organization was created to champion artists of the African diaspora.

Ringgold is perhaps best known for her innovative “story quilt” artworks, which earned her widespread acclaim in the 1980s. The most well-known work in the series is Tar Beach 2 (1990), which portrays the artist’s childhood memories of Harlem, New York with fantastical touches. In 1992, she adapted the piece into her first children’s book, Tar Beach, featuring a young girl who soars over the George Washington Bridge.

“Faith Ringgold’s work touches on themes that continue to be relevant to our current social and political climates, perhaps more so now than they have since their creation, and I could not be more proud to have the opportunity to continue to give her and her work a platform,” said founder Jack Shainman.

Born in 1930 in Harlem, Ringgold studied at the City College of New York, where she earned a master’s degree in 1959. Over the years, her practice was varied, encompassing paintings, sculptures, prints, and quilts. In 1967, she gained attention for her 12-foot painting American People Series #20: Die (1967), which appeared in her first solo show at Spectrum Gallery in New York. This work depicts a massive, racially-charged fight scene in which white and Black participants alike are mortally wounded.

Ringgold started her art career while teaching in the New York City public school system, as well as at several colleges, including Pratt Institute in New York. In 1971, Ringgold co-founded Where We Art, an artist collective that included Kay Brown and Dindga McCannon. By 1973, she left teaching to dedicate herself fully to her art. She created her first quilt, Echoes of Harlem, in 1980 with the help of her mother, fashion designer Madame Willi Posey. Her first story quilt, Who’s Afraid of Aunt Jemima (1983), features the story of a fictional Black woman living in New Orleans.

ACA Galleries mounted Ringgold’s first solo exhibition with the gallery in 1995. In the decades following, her work became the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, presented by museums such as the New Museum in 1998, the Missoula Art Museum in 2007, and the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2011.

In recent years, Ringgold’s work has been receiving extra attention, receiving a retrospective at the New Museum in 2022 and Serpentine Galleries in 2019. In June 2024, Dior incorporated the works of Faith Ringgold into its runway design, curated by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Correction: A previous version of this article included Katharina Grosse’s commission among newly announced highlights. In fact, this commission had been previously reported.

Of the 198 fellows, 32 are within the Fine Arts category, up from 28 last year. Among the visual artists is Gates, whose multidisciplinary practice—which spans sculpture, installation, and performance—explores the intersections of architecture and Black identity. Other artists include Raúl Guerrero, known for his socially conscious figurative paintings, and B. Ingrid Olson, whose photography-based practice examines the body and self-perception.

Al Qasimi is among 17 fellows awarded for their work in photography. Based in New York, the photographer is celebrated for her work investigating postcolonial life in the United Arab Emirates. New York–based Martine Gutierrez, known for her work exploring gender identity and her Mayan heritage, was also named.

For the fifth consecutive year, actor Robert De Niro sponsored a Guggenheim Fellowship. This year it was awarded it to Iranian American painter Maryam Safajoo, whose work explores the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution through narratives from her community. The fellowship is in honor of De Niro’s father, Robert De Niro Sr., an artist who received the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1968.

In 2024, artists Lorraine O’Grady (who passed away last December), Dyani White Hawk, and Lotus L. Kang were among the 188 Guggenheim fellows.

Yayoi Kusama and François-Xavier Lalanne were the top-selling artists at auction in 2024, according to the Hiscox Artist Top 100 (HAT 100) report. Released on April 3rd, the study found that Kusama—who also topped last year’s list—retained her number-one position, with a total sales value of $58.77 million. Lalanne, meanwhile, jumped to second place after ranking 34th in last year’s report. The French artist, known for Surrealist-inflected sculptures of animals, generated $52.85 million in total sales.

Women artists gained ground in the ranking, now claiming four spots in the top 10. British painter Cecily Brown ranked at number seven (down from number four in 2023) with sales of $13.37 million, while British portraitist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye ranked ninth with $10.39 million in sales. French artist Claude Lalanne—wife of François-Xavier, with whom she worked as Les Lalanne—came in at number 10 with $9.75 million in sales.

Among younger artists (those under 45), American painter Lucy Bull led with $8.07 million in sales, followed closely by British painter Jadé Fadojutimi with $7.05 million and Swiss painter Nicolas Party with $5.64 million. But despite the significant market share commanded by these three younger artists, the report found that the overall value of this segment dropped by 49% year-over-year.

This decline is in keeping with a broader market contraction. In its analysis, the report found that auction sales for artworks created after 2000 dropped to $698 million in 2024—a 27% year-over-year decline. Works by the top 100 artists accounted for 77% of that total. This downward trend continues a contraction that began in 2022. Compared to 2021, auction sales in 2024 were down 41%. This was largely driven by a steep decline in high-value transactions: Sales of works over $1 million fell 41% by value and 31% by number of lots.

On the other hand, lower-value works showed resilience, with a 20% year-over-year increase in the number of works under $50,000 sold. This mirrors the findings of Art Basel and UBS’s “The Art Market 2025,” released earlier this month, which noted that, despite a broader market slowdown, dealers at the lower end of the market experienced an increase in sales.

“The art market is clearly evolving, with collectors now gravitating towards lower-value pieces and established artists,” said Robert Read, head of art and private client at Hiscox. “We are also seeing a return to more measured and thoughtful collecting of art rather than the frenzy of recent years that was fuelled by speculators.”

The HAT 100 was produced by the insurance company Hiscox Group, with research carried out by ArtTactic. The analysis is focused on unique, non-editioned artworks made after 2000 and sold at auction between 2018 and 2024 at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Paris. The data set includes more than 36,800 lots by over 5,000 artists.

Andy Warhol’s Big Electric Chair (1967–68) will headline Christie’s 20th-century evening sale during the spring marquee week in New York on May 12th. The painting, depicting an electric chair at Sing Sing Penitentiary, comes from the revered Matthys-Colle Collection. The low estimate will be in the ballpark of $30 million, according to the auction house.

First shown at Warhol’s major European retrospective at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet in 1968, Big Electric Chair was acquired by Belgian collectors Roger Matthys and Hilda Colle in 1969.

“Big Electric Chair is the ultimate still life,” said Alex Rotter, chairman of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s. “It is singular within Warhol’s oeuvre—a solitary object in a quiet moment, reflecting the fragility of the human condition. The work is a tribute to the great still lifes that come before it, from Dutch Masters to [Paul] Cézanne.”

Warhol’s “Death and Disaster” series is traced back to Lavender Disaster (1963), created shortly after Sing Sing State Penitentiary executed Eddie Lee Mays—the last person to be executed in New York. Big Electric Chair stands out within that series, focusing solely on the electric chair without additional contextual elements often seen in other versions, such as doors or signage. Its isolated depiction invites viewers to ponder the stark realities of life and death, reminiscent of memento mori themes from the Renaissance era.

Big Electric Chair differs from the full series of 14 electric chair works because it is the only example where Warhol screened the image with black silkscreen against a monochrome background. In 2014, another piece from the same series, depicting the chair in shades of blue, green, and pink, was sold for $20.43 million at Sotheby’s New York.

Nonuya artist Abel Rodríguez, the Artsy Vanguard alum known for representing the plants and animals of the Colombian Amazon in meticulously detailed drawings, has died in Bogotá. On Thursday, his representing gallery, Instituto de Visión, announced the artist’s passing on Instagram. Don Abel, as he was also known, was in his 80s or 90s (his birth year has been reported inconsistently: his CV lists 1941, but Instituto de Visión’s website states that he was born in 1934).

“Don Abel, a wise and generous teacher, leaves a rich legacy of knowledge, deep roots, and a profound love for life and the rainforest,” the gallery wrote on Instagram. “His spirit will continue to live on in the many lives he touched, and his teachings will continue to guide and nourish us for years to come.”

Rodríguez’s work, characterized by lush depictions of his home country’s natural landscape, has been recognized worldwide at various biennials in the past decade. He was featured at documenta 14 in 2017, the 34th São Paulo Biennial in 2021, and the 14th Gwangju Biennale in 2023, to name a few. In 2024, the artist presented work at the 60th Venice Biennale alongside his son, Aycoobo.

Born in La Chorrera, Colombia, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, Rodríguez learned about local plants from his uncle, a sabedor—or “man of knowledge”—within the Nonuya community. Early on, he became an expert in the region’s endemic flora, collaborating with biologist Carlos Rodríguez and the Fundación Tropenbos Colombia, an international nonprofit focused on rainforest conservation through Indigenous knowledge. In the 1980s, Rodríguez worked as a scout and guide for the organization’s researchers until his family was displaced during the armed conflict of the ’90s. Once in Bogotá, he dedicated his time to translating his knowledge of the Amazon rainforest into his landscape drawings.

In 2008, Rodríguez’s work was presented in a group exhibition mounted by Museo Botero in Bogotá. By 2014, the artist was awarded the Prince Claus Award, which is dedicated to those who contribute positive societal impacts. His first institutional solo show was mounted by the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts in Gateshead, England, in 2020.

In recent years, Instituto de Visión has presented Rodríguez’s drawings at art fairs around the world, including Art Basel Miami Beach in 2024, The Armory Show in 2023, and Frieze London in 2020.

Graffiti artist and painter Lady Pink will create a new public mural on the facade of MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York City. Her work will inaugurate the museum’s new annual Plaza Mural program, which opens on June 26th and will be on view through spring 2026.

Lady Pink was selected by a jury of Queens-based cultural leaders, including independent curator Camila Palomino; Lindsey Berfond, assistant curator at the Queens Museum; and Isabella Bustamante, founder of Long Island City’s Teen Art Salon. The mural will incorporate typical elements of Lady Pink’s practice, such as the New York City skyline and the 7 train. It will pay tribute to Queens and 5Pointz, the former graffiti landmark across from PS1, with imagery that reflects the city’s layered history and contested urban landscape.

“For the inaugural MoMA PS1 Plaza Mural, we looked to New York–based artists with deep ties to Queens and our city,” Connie Butler, director of MoMA PS1, said in a press statement. “We’re excited to see our locality embedded in Lady Pink’s stunning commission, which will engage both our neighbors and passersby alike with its vivid imagery and synthesis of local histories.”

Born in Ambato, Ecuador in 1964 and raised in Astoria, Queens, Lady Pink began writing graffiti in 1979. Known for tagging subway cars with her tag, “Pink,” she emerged as one of the few women in the male-dominated graffiti scene of the early 1980s. During this period, she formed the all-women street art collective, Ladies of the Arts. Her studio paintings are in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.

Her mural, Pink (2007), was prominently featured on the 5Pointz building, which was destroyed when the building was demolished in 2013 and 2014 to make way for residential development. In 2018, the Brooklyn Supreme Court awarded damages to 45 artists whose work was lost in the process. Her new mural is set to feature a giant stone foot bearing tags of fellow 5Pointz artists.

Born in Naples in 1952, Clemente became known in the 1970s and ’80s for his ephemeral portraits and exploration of contemporary identity. After relocating to New York in 1981, he quickly became acquainted with the likes of Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, among others. His past collaborators include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, American poet Allen Ginsberg, and filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, with whom he worked on the 1993 adaptation of Great Expectations. His most recent solo exhibition was mounted by Lévy Gorvy Dayan in New York in fall 2024.

For previous campaigns, Vaccarello has tapped British fashion photographer David Sims, German artist Juergen Teller, and New York–based photographer Gray Sorrenti. The French fashion label has frequently collaborated with artists. In 2023, Saint Laurent supported Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s fireworks piece When the Sky Blooms with Sakura (2023) as a tribute to the 2011 earthquake victims.

In recent years, fashion brands have increasingly partnered with artists and supported art programs around the world. Earlier this month, Loewe announced a show of artist-designed teapots in Milan, coinciding with Salone del Mobile 2025. Meanwhile, Dior staged a show for its spring/summer 2025 haute couture collection alongside artwork by Indian artist Rithika Merchant, an alum of The Artsy Vanguard.

The history behind Giraffes on Horseback Salad is complicated. A few paragraphs of a screenplay was uncovered in Dalí’s archive in 1996, seven years after his death. Then, in the mid-2010s, pop culture scholar Josh Frank discovered an 84-page handwritten notebook at the Centre Pompidou, containing Dalí’s extensive notes and visions for the project. Using these archival materials, Frank partnered with comedian Tim Heidecker to compose a full screenplay, which the two adapted into a graphic novel illustrated by Manuela Pertega in 2019.

“Salvador Dalí said that he would be remembered for the words he wrote even more than for his paintings,” said Dr. Hank Hine, director of The Dalí Museum, Florida. “This technology, in the respectful hands of artists, allows Dalí’s imagined world, locked in language, to erupt into visibility.”

This project marks another milestone in the partnership between Goodby Silverstein & Partners and The Dalí Museum, which includes previous ventures such as Ask Dalí, an AI-powered interactive conversation with the artist, and The Dream Tapestry, a surrealist art generator.

More recently, the gallery has been noted for its commitment to artists from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and its diaspora. Over the years, Grahne has established long-standing relationships with artists from the region. The gallery was one of the first to showcase works by notable figures such as Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem and the late Abu Dhabi–based artist Tarek Al-Ghoussein. Today, the gallery’s roster includes artists like Lebanese American artist Daniele Genadry, Kuwaiti artist Ala Younis, and French Algerian artist Katia Kameli.

Dubai’s rising population is fueling growth in its arts and culture scene, especially in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the city welcomed more than 180,000 new inhabitants in 2022. Among the newcomers are several international dealers. Recent additions include Efiɛ Gallery, established by the Mintah family in 2021, which recently expanded into a new space in Alserkal Avenue itself. Nearby is NIKA Project Space, founded by collector Veronika Berezina in 2023. Plus, in January 2025, London-based JD Malat Gallery opened its new 1,700-square-foot space in Dubai’s Opera District.

“It is a sign of the city’s fast-growing art scene, and we can’t wait to see the fresh energy and critical conversations Taymour will bring,” said Basmah El-Bittar, director of Alserkal Avenue. “With a diverse mix of international and regional artists, the gallery presence will only deepen the Avenue’s role as a hub for cutting-edge contemporary art in the region.”

Clarification: A previous version of this article featured a headline suggesting that Stephen Friedman Gallery would exclusively represent Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. The gallery is co-representing the artist with Garth Greenan Gallery. The headline has been updated accordingly.

In many ways, the inaugural Esther was a testing ground for the two Estonian gallerists, to see if they could innovate within the conventional art fair format. Reflecting on last year, Samel said, “The first edition of Esther was an experiment on so many levels—and I think it worked. One of the key takeaways was the value of collaboration—visitors appreciated how different galleries worked together in a single space (even though it could be a little confusing at times) and how Esther’s unique setting fostered intimacy and dialogue between artists, galleries, and the public.”

Another experiment is a new design section in this year’s fair. This new component will transform the basement level of the Estonian House into a showroom featuring works by Paris-based designer Julia Heuer and Estonian fashion designer Laivi. Downstairs will also feature a section curated by Saalhof 1123, a concept store in Basel.

“Creating Esther is fun, being part of it is meant to be fun, we do everything for gallerists and artists brought to the epicenter of the world’s art market not to forget why they are in this game, to be able to be in the moment, communicate their values and really connect with their audiences,” said Temnikova.

Marcia Marcus, a dedicated painter known for her distinct self-portraits, died at 97 on March 27th in New York due to age-related causes. Her daughters, Kate Prendergast and Jane Barrell Yadav, confirmed her death, according to the New York Times.

For much of her life, Marcus was not recognized by the art world. Her early works were presented by several tastemaking galleries in the 1950s and ’60s, but it wasn’t until more recent retrospectives in the final decade of her life that she gained recognition. Notably, her paintings were included in a 2017 exhibition at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery entitled “Inventing Downtown: Artist-Run Galleries in New York City, 1952-1965.” This preceded Eric Firestone Gallery’s solo exhibition for the artist, “Role Play,” which opened in October of that same year.

Born in New York in 1928, Marcus enrolled at New York University’s College of Arts and Science at 15 years old. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1947 and continued her studies at Cooper Union and the Art Students League throughout the 1950s. Around this time, she immersed herself in the downtown art scene and showed at several 10th Street galleries. In 1960, Marcus presented her work at Delancey Street Museum, an alternative venue run by her friend and fellow artist, Red Grooms, out of his loft studio.

In the 1960s, Marcus turned towards portraying her own image, producing representations of herself as various characters such as Athena or Medusa. These works are characterized by their flat colors: Figures were often depicted with deadpan expressions and situated in minimalist settings. The Whitney Museum of American Art featured her in two exhibitions in 1960 and 1962: “Young America 1960: Thirty American Painters Under Thirty-Six” and “Forty Artists Under Forty,” respectively.

Later, she presented solo exhibitions at New York venues such as Graham Gallery, ACA Gallery, Zabriskie Gallery, Benton Gallery, and Terry Dintenfass Gallery from the ’60s to the late ’80s. For employment, the artist took up visiting professor jobs at colleges such as Vassar and Rhode Island School of Design before taking a position as a substitute teacher in the New York public school system. Despite little recognition beyond these early achievements, Marcus continued painting throughout the rest of her life.

The appreciation for Marcus’s work has been steadily growing over the last decade. Her paintings will be featured in Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s upcoming exhibition, “The Human Situation,” featuring Marcus alongside Alice Neel and Sylvia Sleigh. The exhibition opens in New York on April 10th.

Val Kilmer was also a published poet whose book My Edens After Burns, self-published in 1983, reflected his varied interests. His fascination with stage acting is prominently showcased in the 2021 documentary Val. This film, which highlights Kilmer’s health struggles post-tracheotomy, features home movies taken by his parents of his early performances in school plays. In 1983, Kilmer graced the off-Broadway stage in The Slab Boys alongside Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and Jackie Earle Haley.

Kilmer also harbored a longstanding fascination with Mark Twain, dedicating years to researching and writing a one-man play titled Citizen Twain, which he performed across the country starting in 2010. He portrayed Twain in the 2019 film Cinema Twain, which was based on this play, and in the 2014 film adaptation of Twain’s work, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Frieze New York has announced its performance programming for its 13th edition, which will run from May 7th to 11th at The Shed and the High Line in Chelsea. The new program will feature new works by Finnish artist Pilvi Takala, New York–based artist Asad Raza, and American artist Carlos Reyes.

“Visitors to Frieze New York 2025 will have the opportunity to engage artists from around the world,” Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director of Americas, said in a press statement. “The vitality of their art is not only seen in gallery presentations but extends to the auxiliary spaces of the Shed architecture and our neighbor, the High Line, where our visitors will encounter a series of newly commissioned durational performances.”

Takala, a Finnish artist who is based in Berlin, will present The Pin, a performance that challenges societal norms that dictate behavior in everyday settings such as offices and parks. This performance is curated by Taylor Zakarin, associate curator of High Line Art. This will mark the second co-commissioned performance from High Line Art and Frieze, after Matty Davis’s Die No Die (The High Line) in 2024. Takala represented Finland in the 2022 Venice Biennale.

Another performance co-commissioned by High Line Art and Frieze is Raza’s Immortal Coil. This participatory event will feature seedlings, cuttings, and clippings from several High Line plants selected with the help of the High Line’s senior director of horticulture, Richard Hayden. Participants will be invited to walk the city trail with one of these plants on May 10th. As part of the project, climate science journalist Zoë Schlanger will give a lecture on the environment, and Los Angeles–based singer Kelsey Lu will create a song to accompany the performance. The walking participants will be encouraged to take home their plants.

Living between Caguas, Puerto Rico and New York, Reyes explores ephemeral phenomena in his sculptural, site-specific works. At The Shed, the artist will present Freestyle Hard, a durational performance featuring a series of live bird calling by bird callers. These sounds will be projected across The Shed, including the building’s escalators, coat check, and passageways.

After debuting at Frieze in 2022, the “Artist Plate Project” will return to the fair, featuring plates designed by more than 50 artists, including Amy Sherald, Mickalene Thomas, and KAWS. These artists’ limited-edition plates will benefit the Coalition for the Homeless. Each plate sold will directly support essential services like meals and housing assistance. Boutique design company Atelier Eightyeight will produce 250 editions of each plate.