Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in On Balance, the ARTnews newsletter about the art market and beyond. Sign up here to receive it every Wednesday.
Happy (almost) New Year! Here’s a round-up of who’s moving and shaking in the art trade this week.
| Industry Moves
Fabienne Levy Announces Representation of Amit Berman: His work is currently featured in a group exhibition at the Haifa Museum of Art, on view until January 2026. In 2024, during the Venice Biennale, his work was presented at the Jewish Museum of Venice; one of his paintings was acquired for the museum’s permanent collection. Kevin Umaña Is Now Represented by the Pit: The New York–based artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles in 2025 was held at the gallery. In 2025, Umaña was a recipient of the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award. Next year, he will participate in the MacDowell Fellowship in New Hampshire. Qatar Museums and Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center Ink Five-Year Partnership:The collaboration will establish a series of educational programs in both India and Qatar, designed to introduce museum experiences for children and tools for educators. The Big Number $1 B. That’s how much money the British denizens might have to cough up in order to protect the Bayeux Tapestry, which, in 2026, will go on loan to the British Museum while the French institution that owns it undergoes a renovation. The money goes toward a UK Treasury guarantee, part of a government indemnity scheme to insure the tapestry while it travels across the English Channel that saves the British Museum from having to pay for commercial insurance. If you’re British, though, don’t worry: the cash is contingent on liability. If the tapestry stays safe, so will the Treasury’s coffers. |
| Read This.
This week Artnet News published a surprisingly grounded little collection of hard-won advice from artists at very different stages of their careers. It’s not the usual “how to succeed in the art world” platitudes, but real, practical stuff about surviving, collaborating, and keeping your practice intact. There’s everything from Manuel Mathieu talking about treating art-making as an act of generosity and choosing collaborators with intention, to Sharmistha Ray on not taking rejection so personally, to Aki Sasamoto building new work from whatever she can find lying around. What’s nice is how honest it is about the economics: Miljohn Ruperto lays out how artists are now expected to build their own markets, and Jil Weinstock basically says, “Stop underselling yourself.” The whole thing feels like a peek into how artists actually stay afloat—emotionally, financially, and creatively. — Daniel Cassady, Art Business Reporter |
