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#ArtnetAuctions: This month, New York dealer Dakota Sica has joined forces with Artnet Auctions to curate the sixth iteration of GEMS: Collecting Post-War Abstraction. From Emily Mason, to Kenneth Noland, Kikuo Saito, and more, we asked Dakota to shine the spotlight on some of his favorite works in the sale and share why the Color Field movement and abstract painting remain as relevant as ever. Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4iN0IMV

#ArtnetNews: Of the many overlooked historical women artists whose reputations have been revived in recent years, none has been a success story quite like Leonora Carrington. The British-born Surrealist’s paintings pull the viewer into an otherworldly realm, where the strange and mystical is rendered with exquisite elegance and beauty. With the renewed attention, market demand for these works has soared, with Carrington’s paintings breaking records and her sculptures gaining newfound recognition—but controversy is complicating her late-life works. As interest in Carrington’s sculptural practice grows, a bitter dispute has emerged between supporters of her later bronzes and critics who question their legitimacy, raising broader questions about how the artist’s legacy should be preserved and presented. Living most of her life in Mexico, Carrington was something of an outsider to the mainstream, international art scene in the decades leading up to her death in 2011, aged 94. Shortly afterwards, in 2015, she received belated recognition with a sweeping solo exhibition at Tate Liverpool, her first in the U.K. in over two decades. Her singularly wacky vision went on to inspire the theme of “The Milk of Dreams” for the main exhibition at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. This year, a retrospective opens at Palazzo Reale in Milan before traveling to Musée du Luxembourg in Paris next year. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hy1nkn Article by Jo Lawson-Tancred ____ Pictured: Installation view featuring La Dragonesa (2010) at "After Leonora: Echoes of Surrealism" at Gillian Jason Gallery in London in 2025. Photo: Timothy Haccius, courtesy Gillian Jason Gallery. Leonora Carrington’s La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman), 1951. Courtesy: Sotheby’s Lenora Carrington, Minotaur. Image courtesy Leonora Carrington Council.

#ArtnetNews: Is Hong Kong’s art market losing its edge in Asia? Amid a crackdown on dissent and global economic turmoil, Hong Kong’s status as a hub for international trade has been in doubt in recent years. And the bad news just keeps coming. As the U.S.-China trade war escalates, U.S. President Donald Trump has included Hong Kong in the definition of “products of Chinese origin,” despite protests from the city’s government. It remains unclear exactly how this will affect art, but in the past week, some shipping companies are said to have been quietly exited Hong Kong to avoid getting caught in the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, according to Reuters. Even Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing cannot escape from getting caught in between the rivals of two world powers as his empire warned of geopolitical risks’s impact on global trade amid controversial Panama canal ports deal. The Hong Kong art world is also under pressure. Following the cancellation of Photofair, Digital Art Fair called off its March edition, having failed to secure funding from the local government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, which backs Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central. West Kowloon Cultural District, home to M+ and the Palace Museum, is expecting a HK$1 billion ($128.7 million) deficit in this fiscal year. Read more: https://bit.ly/4kQDpDR Article by Vivienne Chow ______ Pictured: The ICC International Commerce Centre, and Hong Kong's brand new M+ museum of visual culture, Victoria harbour, Hong Kong, China. Photo: Bob Henry/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

#ArtnetNews: On January 14, 1506, Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo was summoned by Pope Julius II to attend an excavation. Several ancient statues, Sangallo was told, were emerging from the grounds of a private vineyard near Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy. He made haste, but not before asking his pal Michelangelo Buonarroti to tag along. At the site, among the host of newly unearthed Classical sculptures, the men observed the most monumental one. “That is the Laoco?n,” Sangallo gasped, “which Pliny mentions.” When the six-foot-tall marble statue was pulled out of the ground, it was indeed impressive—towering, largely intact, and bearing the exacting craftsmanship that Pliny the Elder raved about. In his Natural History (77–79 C.E.), he called it “a work that may be looked upon as preferable to any other production of the art of painting or statuary.” He named Rhodes sculptors Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus as the artists behind the work. Read more: https://bit.ly/4bK1VSZ Article by Min Chen ______ Pictured: Laoco?n and His Sons (20–40 B.C.E.). Photo: PHAS / Universal Images Group via Getty Images.

What does it take to move the needle on gender equity in the arts? Earlier this week, I had a lump in my throat as I watched nearly 400 people—mostly women—line up out the door to hear the findings of our Hardwiring Change for Women in the Arts survey. This conversation—and the data that fuels it—began more than a year ago when artnet partnered with Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA) to take a closer look at the realities women face across the sector. At Artnet, we are deeply committed to championing women, and we’re also passionate about data—because we believe that real change starts with knowing the facts. Thanks to the more than 2,000 people who took the time to answer our survey—and the 140 more who participated in follow-up interviews—we now have a clearer picture of the state of gender equity in the arts today. We’re also grateful to the many women who spoke publicly and anonymously to our journalists, sharing their personal stories to bring these statistics to life in a four-part editorial series, now live on Artnet News. This project has been a true collaboration and I want to extend my deepest thanks to: ?? Sigrid Kirk & Amy Cope at AWITA—for initiating this research and being such thoughtful, tireless collaborators throughout. ?? Mary Findlay at Deutsche Bank—for generously hosting the event and giving us a private tour of the Deutsche Bank Collection. ?? Margaret Carrigan—who led this project on Artnet's side with vision and dedication. ?? Our panel—Sadie Coles (Sadie Coles HQ), India Phillips (Bonhams UK), and Clarrie Wallis (Turner Contemporary)—for their insightful discussion on the pay and leadership gap, workplace structures, mentorship, and other key catalysts for career advancement. ?? Alison Moore & Lydia Higton—for making this launch such a success. ?? Sarah Cascone, Katya Kazakina & Aimee Dawson—for reporting on these findings with depth and nuance. The overwhelming response to both our survey and the event makes it clear: there is still work to do. But conversations like these—grounded in data and shared experience—are a step toward meaningful change. For those who couldn’t attend, the full findings are available now on Artnet News—linked in the comments.

I’m still buzzing from Tuesday, when we launched the results from the inaugural ? Hardwiring Change For Women in the Arts Workplace ? survey, a project nearly a year in the making between artnet and the Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA). The findings, based on responses from more than 2,000 industry professionals globally, highlight persistent challenges in career advancement and leadership representation, while also shedding light on the tools that have proved effective in creating positive change. On the occasion of the release of our findings, I had the pleasure of chatting about actionable solutions to make the industry more equitable with 3 art-world powerhouse women from both the commercial and museum sectors: gallerist Sadie Coles, India Phillips of Bonhams auction house, and Turner Contemporary director Clarrie Wallis. The Deutsche Bank auditorium was PACKED with 350+ attendees, underscoring how needed advocacy and support for women is. The day's conversations were candid, the vibe in the room was high, and the interest in our work was palpable. The real highlight of this project for me has been ideating and editing a multi-part content series based on the survey findings that is available to read on artnet now! Find all these stories here: https://bit.ly/4ibTIJz Download the data report here: https://bit.ly/4hkCmcg ??? My colleague Sarah Cascone’s in-depth feature story really unpicks the data, revealing that despite progress, women in the art world still face significant barriers, with pay inequity, work-life balance, and lack of mentorship emerging as top concerns. Key insights were shared by Joanna Stella-Sawicka of Goodman Gallery, Bonnie Brennan of Christie's, Cat Manson of Art Market Mentors and many, many others who have already done so much to effect change in the trade. ??? Katya Kazakina spoke to gallerist Marianne Boesky about the hurdles she faced when starting her gallery in 1996, how things have changed since then, and the challenges of growing both a business and a family. ??? Aimee Dawson’s interview with Meg Molloy of Working Arts Club highlights the barriers to entry many from lower socio-economic backgrounds face when entering the art world and the need for stronger intersectional networks to help diversify the arts workforce. ?? Still to come is an episode of The Art Angle podcast, produced by Sonia Manalili, where I will be recapping all of this with my editor-in-chief Naomi Rea, who has championed this project from the start. Huge thanks as well to Artnet's marketing dream team Alison Moore and Lydia Higton, and the visionary AWITA team driving the project, Sigrid Kirk and Amy Cope. An extra shout-out to Mary Findlay at Deutsche Bank for the incredible venue and event support. There were so many moving parts to this and it all came off beautifully thanks to the hard work and dedication of these women! Photos: Jennifer Moyes

#WorkoftheWeek: This untitled painting by Belgian artist Francis Al?s measures just five by seven inches, but its tininess did not hurt its market potential at a recent contemporary art day sale at Sotheby’s in London. It hammered at ￡95,000 ($120,800), more than six times its presale low estimate of ￡15,000 ($19,400). After fees, the winning bid was ￡120,650 ($155,136). To put that in perspective: The price per square inch was ￡3,447 ($4,464), while the average price per square inch of properties in London’s priciest districts, Kensington and Chelsea, sits at around ￡9.53 ($12.34). The result highlighted something my colleague Kate Brown observed earlier this year: Small art is big right now. Read more: https://bit.ly/4idCZ8J Article by Vivienne Chow ________ Pictured: Francis Al?s, Untitled (2011–12). Courtesy of Sotheby's.

#ArtnetNews: Napa’s di Rosa Art Center for Contemporary Art, a 217-acre campus known for its collection focusing on Postwar Northern California art, is opening a new exhibition space in the heart of San Francisco, at the Minnesota Street Project in Dogpatch. It will also expand its onsite event rental program, following an 18-month renovation project at the Napa campus. “We’re taking some steps to have a viable business plan that will allow us to not rely on philanthropy and admissions and membership, but figure out a stream of earned income that will keep the di Rosa sustainable,” Kate Eilertsen, the executive director and chief curator, told me. She’s creating a new operational plan for the institution, which has struggled financially since the death of its founder, art collector Rene di Rosa, in 2010. Following his passing, the di Rosa ceased buying new art, and even made plans in 2019 to sell off almost all of its 1,600-piece collection. Read more: https://bit.ly/41I0tMj Article by Sarah Cascone _____ Pictured: A view of the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa with Mark di Suvero's sculpture For Veronica. Photo by Grace Hendricks, courtesy of the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa.

#ArtnetNews: The London headquarters of financial and media company Bloomberg stands on sacred Roman ground. More than 20 feet below modern street level rests the Temple of Mithras, a cultic site built by Roman soldiers in the 3rd-century C.E. During Bloomberg’s construction in the early 2010s, it became the focus of the most extensive excavations undertaken in the English capital for decades. More than 14,000 Roman artifacts were pulled from ground that once bordered the River Walbrook, a vital source of fresh water for Londinium. This singular collection of Roman antiquities has now been gifted to the London Museum, which will be housed in a redeveloped livestock market when it reopens in 2026. For good measure, Bloomberg Philanthropies has provided ￡20 million ($26 million) in funding, the museum’s largest private donation to date. Read more: https://bit.ly/4ij0DAT Article by Richard Whiddington ______ Pictured: Pottery fragment depicting the profile of a Roman lady. Photo: London Museum. View of excavations at Bloomberg Place. Photo: MOLA. Roman wooden writing tablet and stylus. Photo: courtesy London Museum.

#ArtnetNews: U.S. museums could potentially operate more efficiently if they offered free general admission. That is one of the main findings of a new report from Bentonville, Arkansas-based museum think tank Remuseum, which published its second report today. The study, titled “Access, Scale, and Market Share,” presented new findings in its analysis of American art museums and proposals about how they can maximize resources and practices to widen their reach to the public. Despite the fact that nearly all U.S. museums center the public in their mission statements, they typically share limited data about their public impact. Remuseum sought to improve that by building the first nonproprietary database on operations and impact at over 150 major institutions. It uses the data to demonstrate how they can better serve the public. Read more: https://bit.ly/4inV2sU Article by Eileen Kinsella _______ Pictured: A view of the Metropolitan Museum of Art building in New York City, United States on July 15, 2024. Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.