Art Movements: The US Finally Gets a Venice Biennale Rep
Plus, Zohran Mamdani’s arts committee, Frida Kahlo sets price record (again), John Oliver hawks a Bob Ross, and more in this week’s news.
Art Movements, published every Thursday afternoon, is a roundup of must-know news, appointments, awards, and other happenings in today’s chaotic art world.
After Much Ado, Alma Allen Gets the Venice Gig
After several, shall we say, setbacks, the United States finally has a representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale. Alma Allen will explore "the concept of 'elevation'" as a "physical manifestation of form," according to the Department of State. OK.
Read our full report here.
We're Not All Fam at PhAM
Welcome to this week's installment of "What in the World Is Happening at the Philadelphia Art Museum?" Daniel Weiss, whose name might ring a bell due to his previous gig as director of The Met, was named PhAM's new director. Oh, and the museum is also accusing its former director, Alexandra Suda, of theft, while Suda is suing them for unlawful termination.
A New New York City
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has named the 28 members of his Committee on Arts and Culture. They include Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander, curator Kimberly Drew, and The Kitchen Executive Director Legacy Russell. Are y'all ready for a new New York City art world?
Read our full report here.
Christopher Knight Leaves the Paper, But Not the Practice
At the end of this week, multiple-Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and commentator Christopher Knight will step down from the Los Angeles Times after 36 years on the job. Not a shabby resumé for someone who got into the art-writing world as an "accident." Don't worry — he promises he'll keep writing.
Read our full report here.
High Rollers
John Oliver held a public broadcasting benefit auction, and Bob Ross's painting "Cabin at Sunset" (1986) sold for more than $1 million. Plus, Frida Kahlo just became the most expensive woman artist at auction, beating out ... Frida Kahlo.
Winner, Winner, Turkey Dinner
- Jasmin Arreola, Jaia Bae, and Nate Barcot are among the recipients of the 2026 YoungArts awards. See the full list here.
- Onyeka Igwe and Morgan Quaintance jointly won the 2025 Film London Jarman Award.
- Lee Ufan received the 32nd Wolfgang Hahn Prize from the Society for Modern Art at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany.
- Two curatorial teams have won the 2025 Hyundai Blue Prize+: Seoul-based curators Hyejin and Yoonyoung Park, and Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu (based in Dublin and London, respectively).
- Elvan Zabunyan won the Prix Pierre Daix 2025, awarded for a book on modern and contemporary art, from the Pinault Collection in Paris. Clara Royer won the Pierre Daix Bursary, which supports young art historians.
What Happened This Week?
- Anna Katherine Brodbeck was named deputy director for curatorial affairs at the Columbus Museum of Art.
- Scott Csoke is now represented by Sargent’s Daughters gallery.
- The Estate of Sadao Hasegawa is now represented by Garth Greenan Gallery.
- Aubrey Levinthal is now represented by Marianne Boesky Gallery in collaboration with Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh and Haverkampf Leistenschneider in Berlin.
- Stacey Masson was named director of marketing and communications at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
- Élise Peroi is now represented by Carvalho gallery.
- Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu will curate the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale.
- Matthew Weinstein is now represented by Tibor de Nagy Gallery.
Wildcard
Mi You was appointed to the board of the KW Institute in Berlin. What makes that a wildcard, you ask? Because it happened as a result of an artwork. In an exhibition earlier this year, Sung Tieu presented a document stating that the sale of a particular piece would fund a five-year board membership.
