The Tamesis
New York’s Guggenheim Museum is showcasing 39 works from its collection last year, which include paintings by some of today’s most famous artists.
Last year, a number of new historical works were added to the collection, including those by Freddy Rodríguez and Fanny Sanín, who were born in the Dominican Republic and Colombia respectively. Both were selected for the 2024 Venice Biennale and moved to the United States.
But many of the works acquired are by emerging and mid-career artists whose international influence continues to grow. These artists range from Rachel Rosin to Elle Perez, from Claudia Alarcon to Yu Nishimura.
“The Guggenheim’s collection of artworks acquired in 2025 is evidence of the institution’s thoughtful return to its roots and its commitment to experimental forms and transnational approaches, while remaining forward-thinking about the narrative possibilities of expanding our art collections,” Naomi Beckwith, senior curator at the Guggenheim, said in a statement.
Here are five works the Guggenheim acquired in the past year.
Fanny Sanin, Acrylic No. 21974
Photo credit: ©Fanny Sanín/Guggenheim Museum
In the 1960s and 1970s, Sanin specialized in sharp abstract works, such as this one, in which a row of rectangular shapes are stacked on top of each other, suggesting that the composition extends through space through the use of color and line. Now in her 80s, she remains relatively unknown in the United States, although there are signs that is changing thanks to a retrospective at the American Society in New York last year.
Salman Toole, joke2024
Image Credits: Farzad Owrang/©Salman Toor/Courtesy of the artist; Lulin Augustine, New York; and Thomas Dein Gallery/Guggenheim Museum
Tour’s paintings often reference historical works. The piece pays homage to the work of Impressionist painters such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who expressively represented Parisian nightlife. The haziness of its background seems to mimic the drunken stupor of some of the restaurant’s patrons.
Amber Wellman, sacrum2025
Image credit: Sebastian Bach/Courtesy Artists & Company Gallery, New York/Guggenheim Museum
Last year, Ambera Wellmann mounted a critically acclaimed exhibition of ecstatic figure paintings at Hauser & Wirth and Company Gallery in New York. The work shown in the second half of the exhibition may be an allusion to the work of Henri Matisse woman in front of aquarium (1921-23), another canvas shows a female figure gazing at a fish.
Nancy Holt, trail markers1969
Image credit: ©Holt/Smithsonian Foundation/Guggenheim Museum
In 1969, Nancy Holt and her artist husband, Robert Smithson, were walking a path in southwestern England; Holt found herself fascinated by the orange markers used to mark the route. She photographed the marks for this piece, which like many other classics associated with the Land Art movement, applies conceptual art strategies to the natural world.
ruby sky stiller, three blue women2025
Image Credit: ©2025 Ruby Sky Stiler/Courtesy of the artist and Alexander Gray Associates, New York/Guggenheim Museum
The painting is actually made up of many miniatures, all put together in a Tetris fashion to create the image of three naked women sitting together. “They almost collapse into geometric shapes—you take away an object and they’re just shapes,” the artist said of her work. Unforgettably, this work appeared in the Alexander Gray Associates exhibition in New York that ended just a month ago.
