Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in On Balance, the ARTnews newsletter about the art market and beyond. Sign up here to receive it every Wednesday.
Happy Wednesday! Here’s a round-up of who’s moving and shaking in the art trade this week.
Industry Moves
François Ghebaly Now Represents Xie Lei: The Paris-based French Chinese painter, known for ethereal oil paintings often created from memory, is currently one of four finalists for the 2025 Prix Marcel Duchamp. His work is on view in a show of the nominated artists at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris through February 22.
Seattle Art Museum Elects Five New Trustees: Joanna Beitel, Martha Draves, Margaret Morris, and Jordon Voss have joined SAM’s board. Lyn Grinstein, a former trustee, has also rejoined the board alongside them.
Gray Takes on Candida Alvarez: The Chicago- and New York–based gallery will open its first solo exhibition with the pioneering abstractionist in Fall 2027. Earlier this year, El Museo del Barrio staged the first full-scale survey for the artist, who will continue to be represented by Chicago’s Monique Meloche Gallery.
Khadhok—Tibetan Artists’ Collective Wins 2025 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize: The India-based group will receive the $30,000 unrestricted award, the largest international prize dedicated to contemporary Himalayan art. The Rubin also announced $200,000 in funding for 15 additional art and research projects through its annual grants program.
Big Number: $19 M.
That’s how much Canadian collector François Odermatt paid for Peter Doig’s 1994 painting Ski Jacket at Christie’s London on Wednesday evening. The painting, completed the year Doig was nominated for the Turner Prize, was acquired in 1994 by Danish collector Ole Faarup, who died earlier this year. Faarup’s estate was the consignor at Christie’s. The result is a far cry from Doig’s auction record of $40 million, but the painting blasted past its presale estimate of $8 million to $10.75 million—not a bad performance in today’s art market.
Read This
Far be it from us to recommend our stories, but art journalistTom Seymour stepped in this week to offer his top picks for shows to see in London during Frieze, as well as his choices for best presentations at the fair. And, while the Royal Academy’s Kerry James Marshall exhibition is (rightfully) getting most of the buzz, Seymour writes that the show should be placed in dialogue with the Tate’s wide-ranging survey “Nigerian Modernism,” which explores a pivotal point in the country’s recent art history through 250 works by over 50 artists. And for those that can’t make it over to the Royal Academy, don’t worry—there are two stellar Marshall works on view in Regent’s Park.
