The Tamesis
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With a week to go until Art Basel Qatar, the news has been packed with news this week. Here’s a roundup of moving people in the art industry:
- Esther Schipper now represents Tuan Andrew Nguyen: The Berlin gallery collaborates with James Cohan, adding the Ho Chi Minh City-based artist to its roster. Nguyen will have his first solo exhibition at Esther Schipper in September 2026.
- The Bath Museum of Art appoints Jasa McKenzie as deputy director: McKenzie is a curator whose practice is driven by questions of identity, and he most recently led creative programming at the Great North Festival in Minneapolis.
- Emmaline vs. Jonathan Okonkwo: The Ghanaian artist, best known for his paintings in industrial scrapyards in Kumasi, joins the gallery’s roster following a solo exhibition at the gallery in 2025.
- Jack Shainman adds Donyel Ivy-Royal to list: The Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist will have his first solo exhibition at the Chelsea gallery in November.
- Victoria Miro and Olney Gleason jointly represented Emil Sands: The London-born, New York-based artist will have a solo show with Miró in Venice next month, followed by a solo show at Olney Gleeson in 2027.
The big number: $84.1 million.
That was the record-breaking total, including fees, for last week’s sale of the William I. Koch collection of Western art at Christie’s. The figure is more than three times the previous record for a Western art collection by a single owner. Perhaps even more impressively, the sale set five new artist records. Frederic Remington’s auction record was broken twice at this sale, the first selling for $11.8 million Argument with the mayorthen it is US$13.3 million Come and answer the call.
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The art world is still processing the death of Marian Goodman, the art dealer who quite literally shaped much of the discourse on contemporary art. exist new york timesArts journalist Will Heinrich interviewed six of the most important artists with whom Goodman worked, as well as MoMA director Christophe Cherix, to find out why she is so beloved. A running theme throughout these reminiscences is Goodman’s rare ability to make artists feel seen—both as people and for what they were trying to achieve in their work. Another recurring theme is her steadfast insistence on fair compensation, as illustrated by Julie Mehretu’s account of Goodman’s negotiations with SFMOMA for the Artists’ Courtyard commission. What emerges is the image of a dealer who is a fierce protector of artists and a trusted voice willing to push them further when necessary.
