The Art World This Week, 1 August 2025
Save to My OculaHauser & Wirth to open Palo Alto outpost, U.S. government auctions high-calibre works by Basquiat and others, a fruitful art week in Aspen and more. Here’s Ocula’s briefing on the art world news you might have missed.
Institutions
Greek Non-Profit Onassis Foundation Expands in Athens
The Onassis Foundation will open a new outpost for artistic experimentation on the outskirts of Athens this October. Set in a former plastics factory, Onassis Ready will be inaugurated with a mid-career survey of photographer Juergen Teller.
EVA International Announces 41st Edition
Ireland’s art biennial EVA International will return to Limerick from 29 August to 26 October with a citywide programme of new commissions by artists like Noor Abuarafeh, Reza Afisina, and Marwa Arsanios under the title It Takes a Village, nodding to collaboration, justice, and repair.
U.S. Government Auctions Works by Basquiat and More
The U.S. Marshals Service is seeking bids for artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Diane Arbus, which the Department of Justice seized after the 1Malaysia Development Berhad incident. The online auction will conclude on 4 September.
Palais de Versailles Brings Statues to Life with AI
Visitors to the gardens of Palais de Versailles can now interact with centuries-old sculptures and fountains thanks to a bot developed in partnership with OpenAI and AI company Ask Mona, which offers a promising alternative to wall labels and audio guides.
Art Fairs and Market
Dealers Land in Aspen for a Fruitful Art Week
Aspen Art Fair opened on Tuesday with double the number of galleries from its first edition. Dealers reported a smaller but more serious crowd, with patrons already summering in the Colorado town, which is also hosting Aspen Museum’s AIR Festival and Intersect Aspen.
Asia NOW Announces 70 Exhibitors for 2025
Asia NOW, the Parisian fair dedicated to contemporary art from Asia, will return to La Monnaie de Paris from 22 to 26 October with a lineup of 70 exhibitors and a new section for experimental practices, which spotlights two South Asia-focused presentations this year.
Digital Providers Art Logic and Art Cloud Consolidate
Art Logic and Art Cloud have merged to better support the galleries and businesses with digital management services. The new partnership will begin with knowledge sharing to eventually introduce new features and improvements.
Awards
Julian Schnabel Wins Venice Film Festival’s Cartier Glory
American painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel has received the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award for his original contributions to contemporary film, with an award ceremony scheduled at the Venice Film Festival on 3 September 2025.
Galleries
Hauser & Wirth to Open Palo Alto Outpost in 2026
Next spring, Hauser & Wirth will open their first Bay Area location with a 2,600 square foot gallery on Hamilton Avenue. The mega-gallery will step into the region Pace and Gagosian left, which president Marc Payot praised for its ‘dedicated community of collectors’.
De Sarthe Announces ‘Major Expansion’ in Hong Kong
French gallery De Sarthe will increase its square footage with a new location set to open in Hong Kong’s Southside art district this September. The larger gallery will feature separate spaces for experimental and modern art exhibition across 10,000 square feet.
Gallery Representations
Teresa Solar Abboud Joins Lehmann Maupin
Madrid-based sculptor Teresa Solar Abboud is now represented by Lehmann Maupin. The gallery called the artist’s work ‘visceral’ and ‘bold’ and will mount an exhibition of her work in New York next April, followed by London that September. Read more.
Becky Tucker Joins Galerie Fabian Lang
Scottish sculptor Becky Tucker, whose ceramics explore femininity, fetish culture, and the surreal, has joined Galerie Fabian Lang. The Zurich-based gallery commended the artist’s sculptures and reliefs for ‘[challenging] conventional interpretations’.
Obituaries
Austrian Painter Herbert Brandl Dies at 66
Herbert Brandl died on Sunday. His representative Galerie Nächst St. Stephan in Vienna said he passed ‘unexpectedly’ and remembered the painter for his sensitivity and talent. ‘We have lost a friend and artist,’ they said. Brandl was posthumously awarded Austria’s highest honours.
Art and Theatre Talent Robert Wilson Dies at 83
American artist and theatre director Robert Wilson died in Water Mill, New York, after ‘a brief but acute illness’. The arts centre he founded, Watermill Center, confirmed the news on Thursday. Wilson’s sculptures saw him take the 1993 Venice Biennale Golden Lion. —[O]
Main image: Aspen Art Fair, Hotel Jerome (29 July–2 August 2025). Courtesy Aspen Art Fair. Photo: Zach Hilty.
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