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 Thursday! Here’s a round-up of who’s moving and shaking in the art trade this week:
- South Arts Names Doug Shipman as Next President and CEO: Shipman will depart his post as Atlanta’s City Council president to take the helm of the regional arts nonprofit in January, overseeing its programs across nine Southern states as it enters its 50th anniversary year.
- London’s Alison Jacques Now Represents Gina Kuschke: The Cape Town–born painter will open her debut solo exhibition with the gallery on January 15.
- Gallery Wendi Norris to Represent the Marie Wilson Estate: The San Francisco gallery will open a solo show of Wilson’s work on January 20 and present her work at Fog Design+Art Fair that week.
- Galerie Judin Adds Jorinde Voigt to Its Roster: The Berlin gallery took on the Frankfurt-born artist in partnership with David Nolan, Dirimart, and Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino, and will debut her first solo show with the gallery during Berlin Gallery Weekend 2026 in May.
- Thaddaeus Ropac Appoints John Utterson as Director in London: Utterson, previously a director at New York’s recently closed Clearing gallery, will join Thaddaeus Ropac in January. He will work across both primary and secondary market sales, and support work in both Asia and the US.
- Aperture Secures $2 Million Toward New Permanent Home: Gifts from Judy Glickman Lauder and from Jon Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović advance the nonprofit’s $20 million capital campaign and support the build-out of its 10,000-square-foot Upper West Side headquarters, set to open this spring.
Big Number: $31.4 M.
That’s the record-setting price paid for François-Xavier Lalanne’s Hippopotame Bar, which sold Wednesday at Sotheby’s New York as part of its Design Week sales. That figure is a new auction record for both Lalanne and the wider design market. Estimated at $7 million–$10 million, the hand-wrought copper bar more than tripled its high estimate after a 26-minute bidding contest among seven bidders.
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While we’re on the subject of the Gulf’s art scene, both the Art Newspaper and Artnet News published pieces Wednesday examining a related cottage industry. Across the region, a growing number of consultancies—mostly ones based in the US and Europe, with some local players—are being hired to help the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia build out their cultural sectors. France’s involvement has been well reported, both in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but this week’s pieces offer an uncommon look at the wide range of firms brought in to build a cultural sphere meant to appeal to local and international tourists alike.
