The Art World This Week, 8 August 2025
Save to My OculaCLEARING closes in New York and Los Angeles after 14 years, Studio Museum in Harlem to reopen this November, Kasmin to be replaced by new venture Olney Gleason, and more. Here’s Ocula’s briefing on the big changes in the art world this week that you might have missed.
Institutions
Studio Museum Announces November Reopening
Under construction since 2018, the Studio Museum in Harlem will reopen on 15 November 2025 in an expanded, seven-storey building with 14,000 square feet of exhibition space, a rooftop terrace, and a studio for its artist residency programme.
New Museum to Open in Vancouver this Autumn
Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum, the first purpose-built art museum at Simon Fraser University, a short drive from downtown Vancouver, will open on 20 September with the exhibition Edge Effects, referencing the meeting of adjacent ecologies through 15 artists.
Manifesta Will Head to Portugal in 2028
Manifesta, Europe’s nomadic biennial, will take place in the historic city of Coimbra, Portugal, in 2028. This will mark the biennial’s first edition in Portugal, with local politicians praising the event for its ‘capacity for urban regeneration with lasting impact’.
London’s National Gallery Seeks Public Input
The National Gallery will soon gather a panel of people reflecting the diversity of the U.K. to ‘reflect on the Gallery’s purpose, priorities, and public value’ over the next five years. The initiative aims to set ‘a new standard’ for public engagement. Read more.
Awards
Rosa Barba Wins 2026 Zurich Art Prize
Berlin-based artist and filmmaker Rosa Barba has received the Zurich Art Prize, awarded by Museum of Haus Konstruktiv and the Zurich Insurance Group since 2007. She will receive $124,000 (USD) to be put toward a show at the Zurich museum and a $37,000 cash prize.
Thato Toeba Wins Johannesburg’s FNB Art Prize
South African artist Thato Toeba has received the FNB Art Prize for mixed-media photomontage and assemblage that tell ‘stories about identity, power and history’. The jury of the award by art fair FNB Art Joburg praised Toeba’s work as the ‘most resolved and coherent’.
Abbas Akhavan Takes Hnatyshyn Foundation Award
Berlin and Montreal-based artist Abbas Akhavan, who will represent Canada at the 2026 Venice Biennale, is being recognised for mid-career merit by Canadian non-profit Hnatyshyn Foundation. The annual $30,000 (USD) prize was also awarded to curator Andrea Fatona.
Galleries
Kasmin Closes After 35 Years, Replaced by Olney Gleason
New York gallery Kasmin is closing its doors after 35 years in business. In its place, a new venture led by two of its senior staff will represent some 25 artists and estates, the majority of which joined the gallery after founder Paul Kasmin died in 2020. Read more.
CLEARING Bids Farewell to New York
Clearing, the tastemaking gallery that backed rising artists like Korakrit Arunanondchai and Marguerite Humeau, has closed in New York and Los Angeles after 14 years in the trade, with founder Olivier Babin saying there was ‘no viable path forward’.
Sundaram Tagore London Venue to Reopen in 2026
Sundaram Tagore, which counts locations in London, New York, and Singapore, will relocate from South Kensington to Pall Mall in spring 2026. Concurrently, the gallery will host a 25th anniversary exhibition in New York of artists ‘who have helped shape [their] story’.
Gallery Representations
Lauren Quin Joins Pace After BLUM Closure
Los Angeles painter Lauren Quin is now represented by Pace. The mega-gallery will bring her work to Frieze Seoul next month with a solo exhibition set for 2026. Founder Arne Glimcher wrote Quin’s work ‘knocked [him] out by their power, intensity, and ravishing beauty’.
Ana Cláudia Almeida Joins Stephen Friedman Gallery
Brazilian artist Ana Cláudia Almeida is now represented by Stephen Friedman Gallery with Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel and Qadra. The New York gallery will open an exhibition by the Brooklyn-based artist on 5 September, and bring her work to Art Basel Miami Beach.
Nguyen Trinh Thi Joins SPURS
Vietnamese artist and filmmaker Nguyen Trinh Thi is now being represented by SPURS in China. The Beijing gallery mounted an exhibition of her sound-based work in May, with further projects planned for the 2025 São Paulo Biennial and Setouchi Triennale.
Simon Lehner Joins Edel Assanti
Austrian artist Simon Lehner, whose work explores how digital technologies impact identity and perception in relation to internet subcultures, has entered the roster of Edel Assanti. The artist’s exhibition Of Peasant & Basterds is currently on view at the gallery in London until 22 August. —[O]
Main image: Interior view of Studio Museum in Harlem, featuring the Stoop and the Lobby. Courtesy Studio Museum in Harlem. Photo: © Dror Baldinger FAIA.
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