The Art World This Week, 19 September 2025

Strong results from viennacontemporary, galleries opening and closing in Los Angeles, Samia Halaby wins MUNCH Award, and more. Here’s Ocula’s briefing on the art world news you might have missed this week.

Art Fairs and Market

viennacontemporary Ends on a High Note

Galleries across Central and Eastern Europe and further afield gathered in Vienna this past weekend for the city’s leading art fair, which reported 15,000 visitors and strong sales, with Graz-based Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill hitting six-figure sales, among others.

A Silver Lining at Sotheby’s with Private Collection Success

Sotheby’s monopolised headlines this week as it reported a staggering $248 million (USD) in pre-tax losses for 2024. Nonetheless, the house goes into the weekend more optimistically, as its London sale of the Karpidas collection achieved $100 million including fees—nearly double its high estimate—on Wednesday night. At the same time, the auction house announced its consignment of the Pritzker and Lauder collections, to be auctioned in New York this November.

Biennales and Institutions 

Haegue Yang Named Chair of Kunst-Werke Berlin

Seoul and Berlin-based artist Haegue Yang has been appointed chair of the executive board at Kunst-Werke Berlin, the organisation that oversees the KW Institute for Contemporary Art and the Berlin Biennale. She succeeds Katharina Grosse and continues the group’s tradition of having an artist lead its board.

The National Museum of Yemen Damaged by Israeli Airstrikes

The façade of Yemen’s National Museum in Sanaa was damaged after Israeli airstrikes last Wednesday. Archaeologist and professor Amida Sholan told The Art Newspaper that the main hall, doors, windows and storage rooms have also been impacted, putting the museum’s collection at risk of looting.

Galleries

Sebastian Gladstone Expands in Los Angeles

Gallerist Sebastian Gladstone opened his new Los Angeles space on Saturday, expanding to a 3,200-square-foot gallery designed by Perennial Studio. The Hollywood location’s first exhibition features abstract painter Herman Cherry, the first estate on Gladstone’s roster. The gallery also opened a permanent location in New York earlier this year.

Los Angeles Mainstay L.A. Louver Announces Closure

The longest running gallery in Los Angeles has announced that it is closing its gallery space after half a century in business. Founded in 1975, L.A. Louver has shut its Venice Beach gallery, transitioning to private art dealing, consulting, and other projects.

Taymour Grahne Opens Dubai Outpost

London’s Taymour Grahne Projects opened its new permanent gallery in Dubai on Thursday. Located in the city’s arts hub Alserkal Avenue, the project space debuts with a solo exhibition by American artist Gail Spaien.

Awards and Residencies

MUNCH Award Recognises Palestinian Artist Samia Halaby

A trailblazer in digital art, New York-based Samia Halaby has received this year’s MUNCH Award from the Norwegian museum. The award of NOK 300,000, or £20,000, celebrates an artist’s ‘long-standing courage and integrity’ in honour of Edvard Munch. MUNCH director Tone Hansen said honouring Samia Halaby means ‘celebrating not only her artistic career but also her commitment to art as a voice for justice and change’.

Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt Receive $250K Heinz Awards

Painter Jennifer Packer and interdisciplinary artist Marie Watt have been awarded $250,000 (USD) each by the Heinz Family Foundation, as the award’s two arts recipients. New York-based Packer is celebrated for her work in Black figurative painting, while Portland-based Watt is recognised for textiles and sculptures drawing on her Seneca Nation heritage.

Henry Moore Foundation Awards U.K. Sculptors

The Henry Moore Foundation has awarded a total of £100,000 to support artists across the U.K., with 50 sculptors each receiving £2,000 to use however they wish. Foundation director Godfrey Worsdale said unrestricted funding is rare, but ‘is often what artists need most’. —[O]

Main image: Exhibition view: Herman Cherry, A Different Kind of Abstraction, Sebastian Gladstone, Los Angeles (13 September–25 October 2025). Courtesy Sebastian Gladstone.