Tag: Frieze London

London Sees Its Best Evening Auction Results in Years

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The October evening sales brought the London auction houses their highest totals in years. Courtesy of Sotheby’s

Sales aren’t just buoyant at Frieze this week—London’s auction houses also saw their strongest results in years, signaling renewed confidence at the top of the market. Kicking off the action, Christie’s 20th/21st Century London Evening Sale on October 15 achieved a robust £106,925,400 ($142,852,000), marking the auction house’s best Frieze Week evening sale in more than seven years. The total was up 30 percent from last year, with 92 percent sold by lot and 90 percent sold by value. Katharine Arnold and Keith Gill, vice-chairmen of 20th/21st century art, Christie’s Europe, reported entering the week with confidence and “carefully priced material,” noting a “spirited and well-attended” public viewing at King Street. “We are proud to have realized such a solid outcome during Frieze Week, a moment that highlights the energy and cultural vitality of London’s art scene,” they told press.

Leading the sale was Peter Doig’s monumental Ski Jacket (1994), which sold for £14,270,000 ($19,064,720) against a £6,000,000-8,000,000 estimate after more than 13 minutes of fierce bidding between six contenders. Carrying a third-party guarantee, the painting had been acquired in 1994 by Danish collector Ole Faarup, and 100 percent of the proceeds will now go to his foundation. This unusual arrangement also helped Christie’s secure two additional Doigs, despite the artist having become a rare presence at auction.

With an extensive exhibition history, Doig’s Country Rock (1998-1999) nearly hit seven figures in sterling—though it comfortably did so in dollars—achieving £9,210,000 ($12,304,560). A third, more abstract and heavily textured work, also acquired by Faarup in 1994, sold a few lots later just shy of its high estimate at £635,000. The strong results coincided with the opening of Doig’s new show at the Serpentine in London, further fueling demand.

Christie’s evening opened with a standout result for Domenico Gnoli, whose hyperrealistic painting fetched £977,000, doubling its low estimate. Immediately after, a more impressionistic landscape by René Magritte landed at £762,990—well above expectations—reinforcing both continued momentum for the artist and the broader strength of surrealism. Later in the sale, Magritte’s drawing La veillée (The Vigil) exceeded its £500,000 high estimate, selling for £812,800.

The 20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale at Christie’s resulted in several new artist records. Photo: Guy Bell | Courtesy of Christie’s

Picasso, as usual, delivered dependable results, with several works selling above or within estimate, including the £2,002,000 oil and ink on panel Chevalier, pages et moine. The modern and impressionist offerings also performed within expectations, largely due to the quality of the material: a Marc Chagall painting fetched £2,246,000, while a lyrical bucolic scene by Nabis painter Maurice Denis sold for £1,697,000. Meanwhile, a horizontal abstract work by Hurvin Anderson exceeded expectations, fetching £3,222,000.

The sale also set several new world auction records, underscoring the ongoing momentum for women artists and long-overlooked names being rediscovered. Paula Rego’s Dancing Ostriches from Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” (1995) soared to £3,466,000 ($4.63 million), setting a new landmark record for the artist. Suzanne Valadon’s Deux nus ou Le bain (1923) followed with a £1,016,000 ($1.36 million) record. Contemporary sculptor Annie Morris’s Bronze Stack 9, Copper Blue (2015) achieved £482,600 ($644,754), while Danish artist Esben Weile Kjær set his first auction record with Aske and Johan upside down kissing in Power Play at Kunstforeningen GL STRAND (2020), which sold for £25,400 ($33,934).

Among the few unsold works of the night were Yoshitomo Nara’s drawing Haze Days, which failed to find a buyer at its ambitious £6.5-8.5 million estimate, and a gray monochrome by Gerhard Richter—even with the artist opening a major survey at the Fondation Louis Vuitton during Paris Art Week. A black Blinky Palermo also went unsold, while a colorful but slightly less iconic Nicholas Party work, Tree Trunks, was withdrawn ahead of the sale.

Notably, Christie’s reported that 56 percent of buyers in the evening sale came from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with only 28 percent from the Americas and 16 percent from the Asia-Pacific region. This confirms revived demand in the regional market, as also evidenced earlier in the day by the heavy attendance at Frieze.

A £17.6M Bacon headlined at Sotheby’s

Led by a £17.6 million Francis Bacon, Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction closed at $63.5 million. While the total was less than half of Christie’s the night before, the comparison needs context: this was Sotheby’s third major London evening sale since March—whereas it was Christie’s first of the season. Sotheby’s has already staged two major white-glove sales this year—the £101 million Karpidas collection auction in September and the £84 million Summer Evening Sale—meaning that with last night’s results, the house has now sold £233 million worth of modern and contemporary art in London since March. Moreover, the £63.5 million total marked the highest October evening sale result since 2023, up 25 percent from the previous year.

Since March, Sotheby’s has sold £240 million worth of Modern and Contemporary art in London. Courtesy Sotheby’s

“Frieze is always a special time for London, with so many collectors in town whose presence we always feel in our sales,” Ottilie Windsor, co-head of contemporary art, Sotheby’s London, told Observer. “It was great to have them with us tonight and to see so much live action in the room, helping sustain the strong momentum we’ve built over the past few seasons here.”

The Francis Bacon result came after 20 minutes of suspense and fierce bidding across multiple phone specialists and a bidder in the room, pushing the final price to nearly double its £6-9 million estimate. In U.S. dollars, the hammer plus fees rose to $17.6 million. For comparison, the last notable Bacon—Portrait of Man with Glasses II—sold at Christie’s in March for £6,635,000 ($8.4 million), and that work was almost a third smaller. Another, smaller Bacon, closer in scale to Christie’s example, sold here for £5,774,000 ($7.3 million). Bacon’s record still stands at $142.4 million, set at Christie’s New York in 2013 with his triptych Three Studies of Lucian Freud.

The sale opened strong, with solid results for several younger contemporary artists who have recently drawn both market and institutional attention. At lot one, a painting by Ser Serpas landed at £27,940 ($35,700)—just under estimate but still enough to set a new auction record for the artist. The California-born painter, who studied in Switzerland and gained early recognition there, was recently included in a MoMA PS1 exhibition and held a solo show at Kunsthalle Basel during the June fairs.

Two of the hottest rising names in recent auctions—driven largely by Asian demand and limited primary-market availability—followed. An abstract by Emma McIntyre, now a Zwirner favorite, sold for £50,800 ($65,000), and Yu Nishimura achieved the same price. Both works carried estimates of £40,000-60,000, reflecting the tight competition at this level.

In between, a 2009 painting by Hernan Bas acquired from Perrotin sold just above its low estimate, likely to its guarantor, at £254,000 ($323,000). Momentum continued for Lucy Bull, whose kaleidoscopic abstraction from 2021—originally acquired from Paris gallery High Art—more than doubled its top estimate of £500,000 ($635,000), landing at £1,260,000 ($1.6 million) after being chased by five bidders, most from Asia.

Overall, the auction confirmed the ongoing strength of the market for women artists, all of whom sold above estimate. Sotheby’s also posted strong results for Paula Rego: her pastel on paper Snow White Playing with her Father’s Trophies sold within estimate for £900,000 (about $1.15 million), while Jenny Saville’s charcoal study exceeded its high estimate, selling for £533,000 (around $675,000).

Among other notable six-figure results, a monumental El Anatsui sold just shy of its high estimate at £1,999,000 (about $2.53 million). Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (The Arm) from 1982—a pivotal year in the artist’s rise—landed squarely within estimate at £5,530,000 (approximately $7 million). Andy Warhol’s Four Pink Marilyn (Reversal) followed, selling within estimate for £4,326,000 (about $5.5 million).

The masters also held firm. Both of Auguste Rodin’s monumental sculptures from his seminal series The Burghers of Calais sold within estimate to a collector in the room: Jean de Fiennes, vêtu, Grand Modèle achieved £762,000 ($1 million), while Pierre de Wiessant, vita, Grand Modèle, vêtu sold for £889,000 ($1.2 million).

The market for Lucio Fontana also showed signs of recovery—at least for major works. His rare blue 14-slashed Concetto spaziale, Attese sold just above estimate at £2.8 million (about $3.7 million) following a fierce bidding war among four potential buyers. The deep blue of the canvas was inspired by Yves Klein’s IKB pigment—but Klein’s own Untitled Fire Colour Painting (FC 28), which appeared one lot earlier, surprisingly went unsold after failing to meet its £1.8-2 million estimate ($2.3-2.5 million), despite both an irrevocable bid and a guarantee.

Other unsold works of the night included paintings by Frank Auerbach and Daniel Richter. Still, Sotheby’s achieved a healthy 89 percent sell-through rate by lot.

On October 17, Sotheby’s also staged a single-owner sale of 17 iPad drawings by David Hockney from his celebrated series The Arrival of Spring. The results were remarkable: the group doubled its high estimate to reach £6.2 million ($8.3 million), achieving a white-glove sale and setting a new auction record for the artist. With this result, Sotheby’s London has now brought in £240 million (approximately $304 million) since March. Notably, American buyers accounted for 40 percent of the purchasers in the Hockney sale, underscoring the continued global demand for blue-chip British artists.

A £2,374,000 Basquiat tops Phillips’ London Evening Sale

On October 16 at 5 p.m., Phillips hosted its London Modern & Contemporary Evening Sale, achieving a total of £10,332,200 ($13,884,410) across 22 lots. The auction was more modest—and less successful—than the others, posting a 32 percent drop compared to last year after four lots failed to sell and four others were withdrawn before the start. The evening was led by a new auction record for Emma McIntyre: Seven types of ambiguity (2021) sold for £167,700 ($225,355) from a modest £50,000-70,000 estimate, edging past her previous record of $201,600 set in May 2025 at Phillips Hong Kong. The second-highest lot of the night was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (Pestus) (1982), which comfortably met its pre-sale estimate at £2,374,000 ($3,190,181).

An energetic moment from Phillips’s London Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale. Courtesy Phillips

Once again, contemporary women artists confirmed their momentum at Phillips, reaching a high point after Emma McIntyre’s record-setting result when Flora Yukhnovich’s My Body knows Un-Heard of Songs (2017) fetched £1,276,000 ($1,714,689) against a £900,000-1,500,000 estimate.

Opening the sale was a purple-and-pink abstraction by Martha Jungwirth—now a familiar presence across Thaddaeus Ropac’s fair booths—which exceeded expectations at £180,600. A few lots later, an early work by Sasha Gordon sold just shy of its high estimate at £116,100. Demand for Gordon has been reignited by her blockbuster solo debut at Zwirner in New York, which made her the youngest artist represented by the mega-gallery. Painted in 2019 during her studies, Drive Through marks a transitional moment in her shift toward the more discursive, cartoon-inflected style that catapulted her into the global spotlight.

Later in the sale, Noah Davis’s Mitrice Richardson (2012) found a buyer within estimate at £451,500 ($606,726), while Derek Fordjour’s Regatta Pattern Study (2020) fetched £528,900 ($710,736), surpassing its high estimate of £500,000. Other notable results included Sean Scully’s Wall of Light Summer Night 5.10 (2010), which achieved £967,500 ($1,300,127) against a £600,000-800,000 estimate, and Robert Rauschenberg’s Gospel Yodel (Salvage Series), which sold for £709,500 ($953,426), more than doubling its £350,000-550,000 estimate. A 2012 sculpture by Bernar Venet fetched £516,000 ($693,401) from a £250,000-350,000 estimate, reflecting the artist’s rising demand—particularly in Asia.

Not everything landed. A Warhol-inspired Banksy portrait of Kate Moss, estimated at £700,000-1,000,000, failed to find a buyer, while a cacophonic abstract work by Sigmar Polke from 1983-84 also went unsold, likely due to its overly ambitious £600,000-800,000 estimate relative to current market demand for the artist.

For Olivia Thornton, Phillips’s head of modern and contemporary art, Europe, the overall positive auction reflected “the vibrancy of contemporary collecting” and reaffirmed London’s enduring magnetism: “London remains the cultural crossroads of the global art market.”

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Elisa Carollo

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October 17, 2025
ATHR Gallery Cofounder Mohammed Hafiz On Saudi Arabia’s Art Awakening

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ATHR is a leading contemporary art gallery co-founded by Mohammed Hafiz and Hamza Serafi with locations in Riyadh, Jeddah and AlUla. Courtesy ATHR gallery

It took Art Basel announcing a new edition in Doha, Qatar, and Sotheby’s recently previewing its first auction in Abu Dhabi at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island for the art world to start paying closer attention to the Gulf art scene and its potential. But while the U.A.E.’s art ecosystem—which includes Dubai’s gallery network and institutional hubs like Sharjah—has long been discussed, far less has been reported about the expanding art scene in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Last February, in the UNESCO-protected historical city of Diriyah, just outside the capital Riyadh, Sotheby’s held its first-ever auction in Saudi Arabia. The cross-category sale featured works by Fernando Botero and Refik Anadol alongside jewels, watches, rare cars, handbags and iconic sports memorabilia, totaling $17.28 million. This was not Sotheby’s first incursion into the Kingdom. The auction house had already staged several charity sales, backed Saudi Arabia’s first Contemporary Art Biennale in 2022, supported last year’s inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, and partnered with the Diriyah Biennale Foundation on the public program for its 2024 edition. Since 2020, the land-art biennial Desert X, conceived in California, has staged a Saudi edition in AlUla, with the next installment scheduled for January 2026—timed so visitors traveling to Art Basel Doha can continue on to Saudi Arabia.

Still, little is known about the day-to-day infrastructure behind these initiatives or the players shaping Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene. Observer recently spoke with Mohammed Hafiz, cofounder with Hamza Serafi of ATHR, the Kingdom’s leading contemporary art gallery, to learn more about the current state of the art scene and its evolution, particularly under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030. Since its launch in 2016, the strategic framework has opened the Kingdom to the world and positioned culture as a central force of transformation.

ATHR opened in 2009—well before Vision 2030 created the space to give art and culture a proper boost as the country transitions from an oil-centric economy to a global hub—and now has locations in Riyadh, Jeddah and AlUla. “We started the gallery at a time when the local art scene—and the broader cultural movement around it—was still quite slow,” says Mohammed Hafiz, noting that Saudi Arabia in the 1940s and 1950s had a vibrant artistic movement, with some of the country’s pioneering modernists emerging during that time. In 1958, the Ministry of Knowledge (then the education authority) inaugurated Saudi Arabia’s first formal art exhibition, a symbolic milestone that brought fine art into national consciousness. “For various reasons, that momentum faded over the decades, but when we opened, we wanted to help reignite that energy.”

Mohammed Hafiz, co-founder of ATHR. Photo: Scott Morrish

ATHR’s beginnings were intertwined with “Edge of Arabia,” a traveling exhibition of Saudi contemporary artists that launched in London and toured across Europe and the Middle East. The project became one of the key catalysts for bringing international attention to Saudi contemporary art. The 2008 London exhibition alone drew more than 13,000 visitors before traveling to Venice during the Biennale the following year, and later to Berlin, Istanbul and Dubai.

Afterward, somewhere in 2013, Hafiz expanded the gallery’s work and launched a social initiative called 21,39. “The goal was to produce one major curated exhibition each year and build a whole week of programming around it—panels, talks and events that would bring together local curators, museum directors, collectors, patrons and artists, local and international,” Hafiz explains. The initiative had both private and public components, led by Her Royal Highness Princess Jawaher and a group of patrons, with Hafiz serving as vice chair throughout its run. “It became another important building block in the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art ecosystem.”

Vision 2030 marked a watershed moment: under its framework, the Kingdom elevated “culture and arts” as vital pillars of national transformation—no longer ornaments, but key drivers of tourism, soft power, identity and economic growth. “The leadership and the government recognized the importance of culture and the creative industries, not just as forms of expression but as engines of national development,” Hafiz says. As part of that shift, the Ministry of Culture was finally established as a standalone entity—previously it had been folded into the Ministry of Media.

As part of Vision 2030, the Ministry of Culture developed its own strategy, set priorities, and built a network of specialized commissions: the Art Commission, the Culinary Commission, the Museum Commission and others—sixteen in total—each focused on a distinct cultural sector. “This has given us as operators in the art scene many opportunities,” says Hafiz. “It has allowed us to support our artists more effectively, to exhibit their work to a broader local audience, and to engage with an entire new generation of collectors increasingly engaging with contemporary art in Saudi Arabia.”

The Ministry of Culture has become a pivotal force, spearheading initiatives like the Biennale, the Desert X exhibitions, and other major commissions that have transformed the Kingdom’s artistic landscape. These large-scale projects have given artists the chance to realize some of their most ambitious visions and have positioned them at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s rapidly evolving cultural scene, as Hafiz notes.

Curated by Rania Majinyan, the group show “Afterschool” is on view at ATHR Gallery AlUla through December 30, 2025 Photo: Scott Morrish

This rapid evolution underscores the promising trajectory of the Saudi art scene. At the same time, it highlights how ATHR has long operated less as a conventional gallery and more as a cultural platform—a space dedicated to producing and supporting art and culture within the Kingdom while promoting their international reach. “From the start, it was never just about commercial representation. Our space has always operated more like a cultural hub,” Hafiz asserts. “What truly defines us is how we work with artists and engage with the broader artistic community.”

Today, ATHR spans roughly 4,000 square meters across its original venue in Jeddah, its newly opened Riyadh location (ATHR JAX) and a smaller outpost in AlUla—the first contemporary art gallery in the historic city. It has also expanded to include the ATHR Foundation, which focuses on developing emerging artists and alternative art spaces.

Hafiz was a patron and collector before becoming a gallerist. He describes his deep involvement in fostering Saudi Arabia’s art scene as a natural convergence of influences. Though his family wasn’t directly involved in art, they were active in creative industries—fashion retail on one side and publishing on the other. “There was always this dual engagement: the creativity of fashion and the amplification of voices that comes with journalism,” he reflects. “When I encountered art, I realized it merged both worlds—it had the storytelling power of journalism and the expressive creativity of fashion. It was a language that transcended cultures and touched people in a unique way.”

Hafiz began collecting art around 2007, after selling his family business. Soon after, he felt compelled to invest in his country’s cultural potential. “Suddenly, I had the time and resources to explore something new. I thought, why not give this a try—why not build something that could help artists and create a cultural movement? That’s how it all began.”

Cultivating an emerging art scene

ATHR’s diversified ventures now include AKTHR, an art services agency that supports Saudi Arabia’s broader art industry. Drawing on nearly two decades of experience, the team advises and assists a growing community of individuals eager to engage with art and begin collecting.

During the inaugural edition of the Islamic Biennale, ATHR hosted a major rooftop dinner to open their exhibition, welcoming around 2,000 guests—85 percent of them local. What stood out most was the sheer number of young attendees. “The collector base isn’t huge yet, but there’s definitely an appetite—an eagerness to experience, to see, to explore,” Hafiz confirms. “It’s incredibly refreshing to witness.”

During the inaugural edition of the Islamic Biennale, ATHR staged a landmark rooftop dinner that drew nearly 2,000 guests—an impressive 85 percent of whom were local. Courtesy ATHR

ATHR is also investing directly in education and collector development through initiatives like Young Art Collectors. “Through it, we organize talks with established collectors, guide new ones and take them on trips to art fairs and studios,” he explains. “It’s really about helping them develop their knowledge—understanding why they might want to collect, what their vision is and how to engage meaningfully with art.”

One of the country’s most significant recent developments has been in education. Just last week, the Minister of Culture announced a major investment in a new arts and cultural university set to open in Riyadh within the next two or three years. The university is already forming partnerships and affiliations with international institutions across art, music, theater and other creative disciplines.

Hafiz notes that while art programs have previously existed within Saudi universities, there has never been a dedicated art university in the country. “This will be the first institution fully devoted to the creative industries, and that’s a significant milestone.” Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture has also launched a generous scholarship program for Saudis who wish to study art abroad. Once accepted into a pre-approved university, students receive full tuition and living expenses for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. “It’s a major and truly inspiring initiative.”

At the same time, Hafiz remains focused on cultivating dialogue. “One of our key objectives is building connections and bridges between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world,” he says. ATHR supports that mission through its residency program, which invites curators, institutional representatives and museum directors to spend time in Saudi Arabia for exploration and study trips. “It’s about creating genuine exchange, fostering understanding, and building lasting relationships that strengthen the dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the global art community.”

Since its inception in Jeddah in 2009, ATHR Gallery has played a pivotal role in shaping the contemporary Saudi art scene. Photo: Scott Morrish

Championing a new wave of Saudi talent

Saudi Arabia today can also claim a new generation of emerging artists, many of whom ATHR is actively promoting on the international stage. In terms of themes defining contemporary Saudi art, Hafiz points to two recurring subjects: religion and society. “Religion remains an integral part of our identity, so artists often reflect on it—sometimes by commenting on the past and its challenges, and sometimes by envisioning the future and its possibilities,” he explains. “Then, there’s the social dimension, especially around women’s rights. Many female artists are exploring questions related to gender, representation and the transformations we’re experiencing today.” Notably, much of this work carries an optimistic tone—acknowledging progress, engaging thoughtfully with the country’s ongoing social shifts and reflecting a shared hope for the kind of future that Vision 2030 is shaping.

From there, the conversation naturally turned to censorship and artistic freedom, as the country continues to face international criticism over its suppression of free speech—including death sentences—and the systemic exploitation of migrant laborers. Some critics argue that the official promotion of art functions as a “cultural façade” strategy: amplifying an image of openness and modernization while maintaining tight control over which narratives are permitted.

Hafiz acknowledges that censorship is a complex issue, noting that what may be considered sensitive or unacceptable in the West may not be in Saudi Arabia—and vice versa. “Every society has its own parameters,” and what is deemed permissible or taboo is shaped by local religious, social and cultural frameworks, which often differ from Western norms. “What I find encouraging is that Saudi artists have become very mature and intelligent in how they approach complex subjects,” Hafiz adds, pointing to the growing use of symbolic, metaphorical, and conceptual strategies. By embracing ambiguity, layering and coded imagery, Saudi artists invite multiple interpretations while making their work more resilient to censorship. “They know how to address issues creatively—how to make a point, leave room for interpretation, and allow the audience to engage with the work—while still remaining respectful of local culture and values.”

ATHR will soon bring Saudi artists to the forefront of the international scene, with booths at both Frieze London and Art Basel Paris this October. Each presentation will focus on Saudi female artists and challenge lingering stereotypes about the Kingdom—especially those tied to female oppression—while highlighting its evolution and future ambitions.

ATHR, in fact, does not treat art fairs as purely commercial platforms but as arenas for dialogue, exchange and shifting perspectives, as Hafiz clarifies. “Of course, when sales happen, that’s great—we love that—but the real goal is to create a long-lasting impact. We’re here for the long haul,” he says. “We don’t want to appear for two or three years and then disappear. We want to build trust, connection, and respect—staying consistent with our values and strategy, returning every year and building on what we’ve started. So far, that approach has worked well for us.”

At the same time, Hafiz points to a growing international appetite for Saudi artists. “We’ve always had international collectors acquiring works from us and following our artists,” he says, noting that while Saudi artists may not yet be fully mainstream, many have begun gaining global visibility.

A work in Zahrah Alghamdi’s solo show “Between Memory and Matter” at ATHR’s Riyadh Gallery. Photo: AzizJan

This recognition extends well beyond ATHR’s roster. “If you look across the scene, you’ll find Saudi artists represented by major international galleries—Maha Malluh with Krinzinger Gallery, Mohammed AlFaraj with Athr and CAMEL, Ahmed Mater with Galleria Continua, Arwa Al Neami with Sabrina Amrani in Madrid and Dana Awartani with Lisson Gallery. These artists are already positioned within international gallery rosters that don’t look at geography as a limitation, and that’s a really encouraging sign for the future.” Hafiz also mentions names such as Mohammed Al-Sanea, Dana Awartani, and Manal Al-Dowayan, all of whom have exhibited in museums abroad and are widely collected internationally.

At Frieze London, the gallery is presenting a two-artist booth featuring Daniah Alsaleh and Basmah Felemban, both exploring Saudi Arabia’s natural and cultural landscapes as sites in flux—continuously reshaped by the movement of people, ecologies and stories. Drawing on her research in the ancient Nabataean city of AlUla, Alsaleh incorporates mineral fragments to build a layered chronology and geology, weaving natural and human histories through material and memory. While Alsaleh looks to the past and the country’s heritage, Felemban looks forward—reimagining the landscape as an informational system. Her futuristic approach envisions new terrains and proposes multimedia, multidisciplinary ways of navigating the environment through fragments of language and data.

The following week, at Paris’s Grand Palais, ATHR will return to Art Basel with a three-artist, female-led presentation featuring Sarah Abu Abdallah, Hayfa Algwaiz and Lulua Alyahya. Through distinct styles—ranging from suspended, symbolic compositions to conceptual reflections—these artists explore how images can mirror and translate the complex, layered experiences of Saudi women today. Approaching these perspectives from sociopolitical, anthropological, and emotional angles, their work challenges stereotypes and prejudices while offering international audiences a rare glimpse into Saudi Arabia’s evolving contemporary art landscape—studio-based, globally networked and deeply rooted in local nuance and culture.

Lulua Alyahya, Untitled, 2025. Courtesy ATHR

Challenges and opportunities

Despite its many promising elements, Saudi Arabia’s art ecosystem remains in a formative stage and continues to face several key challenges. One of the most pressing is the limited number of galleries operating at ATHR’s level, as well as the lack of other spaces capable of supporting both emerging artistic talent and an expanding audience for contemporary art.

Still, Hafiz notes that the traditional concept of a gallery is itself under scrutiny. “Artists today can sell directly through online platforms—straight from their studios, through Artsy, or other direct-to-collector channels,” he explains. “In that kind of environment, the traditional role of the gallery—as a representative who works closely with artists to develop their careers, secure institutional participation, and place works in collections—becomes harder to sustain.” A few new galleries have opened in recent years, which Hafiz sees as a positive development, but he emphasizes that the collector base still needs time and effort to mature.

At the same time, Hafiz sees plenty of opportunity. Because Saudi Arabia’s art scene is still taking shape, there is room to experiment with new models—approaches that don’t rely on inherited frameworks. “We’re living in a time when every concept of museum or gallery is in question,” he says. “When you have a legacy, it’s very difficult and challenging to change the way you’ve been doing things. But when you build something new with a contemporary concept and a forward-looking strategy, you’re not held back by that weight—and that gives Saudi Arabia so much potential.”

It may take time to build, but once the foundation is solid, momentum can accelerate quickly—especially in a region where Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Qatar are all deeply invested in the arts. Each serves as a major patron, moving in concert to elevate and strengthen the regional art scene and help position it as a new global hub. Hafiz describes Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Saudi Arabia as complementary forces. “We’re all supporting each other and working together to build a complete ecosystem. It’s like Europe or the U.S.—you have art fairs and museums spread across different cities. That diversity is healthy. The more activity there is, the better for everyone.”

You Ask, We Answer, an installation by Sarah Abu Abdallah at ATHR Jeddah in 2024. Courtesy ATHR

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Elisa Carollo

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October 15, 2025
A Brisk Start to the Armory Show Suggests Optimism as the Market Adapts to New Rhythms

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The Armory Show 2025 opened with a VIP preview on September 4 and runs through September 7. Casey Kelbaugh/CKA

American collectors seem to have taken the back-to-school spirit seriously this year, with several dealers reporting a brisk and buoyant first day at the Armory Show. The New York fair—one of the city’s most established and historic—opened yesterday, September 4, at the Javits Center and quickly surpassed expectations across price ranges, leaving dealers cautiously hopeful that this season might mark the start of a healthier moment, at least for the U.S. market.

“People are excited to be ‘back to school’—both dealers and collectors,” New York dealer David Nolan told Observer. By early afternoon, his booth had already sold well to existing clients and some new ones. “Many serious collectors are in from out of town to get in on the fun,” he noted. “Not to be hyperbolic, but things are flying off the wall.” Nolan’s booth was strategically conceived to offer something for everyone—one hundred works on paper spanning 1944 to the present, embracing a range of styles and narratives and, most importantly, different price points.

Reflecting on the market, Nolan added that in his experience, the art world operates in cyclical patterns. “I have seen several waves of change since I opened my gallery, and they are good and necessary.” On the fair floor yesterday, there was no room for gloom and doom—only optimism. “I’m not afraid to be a pessimist, but there’s just no place for it at the moment!”

David Nolan. Photo: Marc Selwyn

Some international professionals at the fair were more critical, lamenting that The Armory Show no longer attracts many of the major galleries that once participated. “The Armory is stuck in the middle,” art market expert and thought leader Magnus Resch told Observer. “It has a strong team and a prime venue, but it’s held back by unfortunate timing, the absence of top galleries and direct competition from Frieze Seoul.”

Optimism and early sales nonetheless offered immediate relief—and hope—to younger dealers, particularly those in the fair’s Present section, dedicated to galleries under ten years old and featuring the largest number of participants in Armory’s history. As director Kyla McMillan told Observer in an interview ahead of the fair, for her first edition, she wanted the event not only to appeal to seasoned collectors and institutional players but also to engage a broader, younger audience. The Armory Show is, after all, one of the longest-running fairs in the U.S. and a cornerstone of New York’s cultural scene—and often, for many New Yorkers, the first or only art fair they attend.

One standout this year in the Present section was the alchemical cosmologies translated into glazed ceramic vessels by Mexican artist Alejandro Garcia Contreras, presented by Swivel Gallery in its Armory debut. Following Contreras’s sold-out debut at NADA New York two years ago and a solo exhibition, his new works once again captivated visitors with their mysterious, symbolic, archetypal language, merging mythological visions with pop culture to grapple with the mysteries of the universe. Four vessels and a ceramic mirror sold within the first hours of the fair, priced between $11,000 and $20,000, with an additional $12,000 vessel placed by evening.

The gallery is also presenting in Platform, the section dedicated to large-scale installations, a new work by Jamaican-born artist Simon Benjamin, Tidalectic No. 1, 2025—a 700-pound iteration of his sand-barrel works, transmuting sediment and shoreline into vessels of memory. The piece exposes a geology and maritime history embedded in colonial pasts, engaged in the present and gesturing toward imagined futures.

Swivel Gallery presenting the work of Alejandro García Contreras. Photo: Cary D Whittier

The solo booth of British abstract artist Jo Dennis, presented by Mexico City- and New York-based gallery JO-HS, also attracted plenty of attention. On opening day, the gallery placed one of Dennis’s sculptures made from used military tent fabrics, where dense layers of intuitive marks and gestures accumulate as a psycho-emotional and poetic record of past memories and new bodily and identitarian awareness. By evening, several of her dynamic paintings were on hold with both existing and new collectors.

Returning to Armory this year, Mrs. Gallery is showing a solo presentation of Molly Bounds’s intimate and psychologically nuanced paintings that place undefined and often archetypal subjects in liminal, contemplative and suspended states that resonate emotionally beyond any individuality. By evening, the gallery had placed at least two works, priced at $7,000 and $4,000, respectively.

Also in Present, DINIM Gallery mounted a solo booth of evocative works by Emily Coan. By evening, the gallery had sold at least five pieces, captivating collectors with their imaginative, magical atmosphere inspired by fairy tales and myths. “There’s a tremendous amount of excitement and buzz,” Robert Dinim told Observer, noting the strong institutional presence with curators from museums across the U.S. and a large number of private collectors and advisors out with multiple clients. For him, the first-day atmosphere suggested the possible beginning of a market shift.

An Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka work presented by Patel Brown. Courtesy of Patel Brown

Toronto-based Patel Brown similarly reported a strong first day in the same section, selling six works from their solo presentation of Canadian-Japanese artist Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, all priced under the $25,000 threshold. Combining tradition and innovation, nature and human creation, Hatanaka works on traditional Japanese washi paper with printmaking and ink, shaping her practice as a way to reattune to the organic rhythms of nature. Her process embraces transformation and the alchemical power of materials to create seemingly abstract compositions that move beyond human-centered perception and expression, while reflecting the fragility of environments and the delicacy of entire ecosystems disrupted by human activity.

Meanwhile, for its inaugural participation in the Armory, Miami-based gallery Andrew Reed featured a solo presentation by Cornelius Tulloch, reporting sales of multiple works in the range of $4,000 to $6,000. Moving within a largely symbolic and allegorical realm, Tulloch explores themes of migration, masquerade and Afro-Indigenous rituals in paintings that evoke both the mystery and vitality of the tropical South Florida and Caribbean landscapes.

Also making its Armory debut, the dynamic Chicago-based Povos Gallery presented a solo booth of Mexican multidisciplinary artist Leopoldo Gout, following his sold-out show at the gallery last year. Gout’s ever-expanding creativity traverses mediums and themes, weaving stories about human nature in relation to the natural world and emphasizing the power of collective imagination. The gallery reported strong interest and promising conversations likely to lead to additional sales in the coming days.

In the Focus section, one of the most anticipated highlights was the solo booth of vibrantly colored ceramics by Miami artist Joel Gaitan, presented by The Pit, which went on to win the $10,000 SAUER Art Prize.

In the main section, Brazilian dealer Nara Roesler saw positive interest in both the Brazilian artists central to her program and international names. By evening, the gallery had placed a linen-and-wool work by Sheila Hicks for $87,000, a print edition by Vik Muniz for $50,000, and works by Marcelo Silveira ($18,000), Manoela Medeiros ($20,000) and Bruno Dunely ($8,000). “We are happy to be back at the Armory with such a strong group of galleries. The mood is still high,” senior director Patrícia Pericas told Observer. “We have been particularly pleased with the increased interest from advisors requesting works by Brazilian artists for their clients.”

Nara Rosler. CHARLES ROUSSEL

In the main section, Marc Straus featured a group presentation of leading names from his roster, with a clear emphasis on the handmade and on legacies of craftsmanship reimagined through contemporary material approaches. The booth included Jeffrey Gibson’s Like a Hammer—the title piece of his landmark touring museum survey that began in 2014—alongside works by Abdulnasser Gharem, Folkert de Jong, Hermann Nitsch, Ozioma Onuzulike, Anne Samat, Antonio Santín, Renée Stout and Marie Watt. “We had a tremendous first day, with five works sold within the first few hours and both new and returning collectors visiting our booth,” Straus told Observer. “I believe our strong sales came from bringing the very best works by each artist and, as always, keeping our prices fair.” First-day sales for the gallery included oils by Antonio Santín.

A range of abstract works dominated James Fuentes’s booth, including pieces by John McAllister and Pat Lipsky, anticipating their fall exhibitions at the gallery. Fuentes had already sold Lipsky’s Winter Landscape (1971) ahead of the fair for $180,000. The artist’s upcoming show and renewed market attention coincide with the release of her book Brightening Glance: Recollections of a New York Painter (University of Iowa Press).

Among the highest-priced sales on opening day, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill placed works by Tracey Emin, Kiki Smith and Rachel Whiteread in the range of $15,000 to $1,000,000, while Sean Kelly sold a painting by Kehinde Wiley for $265,000.

By day’s end, the other major-ticket work at the fair—a $1.2 million Alex Katz anchoring Peter Blum’s booth—remained available. Nonetheless, Blum reported several other sales, including works by Martha Tuttle and Nicholas Galanin, who continues to enjoy a strong institutional presence this year, both in the U.S. and in biennials and museums worldwide.

The fair’s opening day reinforced the resilience of the art market. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of The Armory Show and CKA.

James Cohan Gallery placed a sculpture by Kennedy Yanko in the first hours for $150,000. Yanko only recently joined the gallery’s roster, following her solo presentation with Cohan at Frieze London and a nearly sold-out double exhibition staged jointly with Salon 94 last September. The gallery reported a number of first-day placements for other in-demand artists on its roster, including two paintings by Naudline Pierre at $25,000 and $12,000, a painting by Mernet Larsen ($12,000), two sculptures by Tuan Andrew Nguyen at $95,000 each (following his solo booth at Frieze New York in May) and two works by Trenton Doyle Hancock ($85,000 and $40,000). On the textile front, the gallery placed two appliqué works by Christopher Myers ($45,000 and $37,000) and a woven piece by Claudia Alarcón & Silät ($25,000).

Returning to the Armory this year—and participating in both the New York and Seoul fairs this week—White Cube sold several works from its solo presentation dedicated to the Croatian artist duo TARWUK, with paintings ranging from $65,000 to $100,000. Coming of age amid the dissolution of socialist Yugoslavia, the trauma of war and the collapse of familiar social structures, TARWUK’s work carries a bleak, decadent aesthetic that evokes the lost splendor of the region’s golden age while hauntingly resonating with the present—particularly Europe’s fraught role in global geopolitics. The gallery also sold a mixed-media work by Emmi Whitehorse for $150,000, following her first solo with White Cube last September at its Paris space and a surge of interest sparked by her inclusion in the recent Venice Biennale. Additional sales included a painting by Tunji Adeniyi-Jones for $85,000 and a bronze by the always fair-popular Tracey Emin for £60,000, among others.

White Cube presenting TARWUK. © the artist. Photo © White Cube (Monroe Dinos-Kaufman).

Also participating in the season’s restart on both sides of the globe—New York and Seoul—was Tang Contemporary, which reported multiple sales, including Ai Weiwei’s sculpture Toilet Paper for $150,000-180,000. Elsewhere, overlooked-talent-scouting gallery Berry Campbell saw strong interest, closing a 1952 painting by Perle Fine on the first day for $125,000, with additional conversations expected to unfold in the coming days.

It was a successful “back to school” for Nicodim as well. “The energy was high, outfits chic and sales brisk,” gallery partner and global director Ben Lee Ritchie Handler told Observer. On the first day, the gallery placed works by Isabelle Albuquerque, Angeles Agrela, Samantha Joy Groff, Rae Klein and Teresa Murta, with promising holds on major pieces by Devin B. Johnson, Agnieszka Nienartowicz and Moffat Takadiwa—all priced between $12,000 and $65,000.

The Armory Show brings together more than 230 galleries for its 2025 edition. Casey Kelbaugh/CKA

Proving that the under $50,000 price range may be the most dynamic and fast-moving in today’s environment, Uffner & Liu sold several works on the first day in the main section. Sales included a piece by Sheree Hovsepian for $28,000, two paintings by Sarah Martin-Nuss for $22,000 and $15,000 and a cabinet and two paintings by Anne Buckwalter for $11,000, $14,000 and $10,000, respectively. By evening, the gallery had crossed that “sweet” threshold, placing a sculpture by Hovsepian for $75,000. L.A. mainstay Vielmetter reported selling most of the works they brought to the fair—ranging from $8,000 to $50,000—by the end of the first day, while Anat Ebgi moved quickly to place works by some of their most promising young talents, many recently presented in their new Tribeca spaces. Sales included pieces by Marisa Adesman ($35,000), Tammi Campbell ($50,000), two paintings by Sigrid Sandström ($32,000 and $25,000), Janet Werner ($28,000), Jemima Murphy ($23,000), Ileana García Magoda ($22,000) and two glazed stoneware works by Olive Diamond ($7,500 each).

Meanwhile, another New York staple, Lyles & King, sold multiple works by Brazilian artist Fernanda Galvão, including a $36,000 diptych and a painting for $24,000. Drawing from science fiction and biology, literature and cinematography, Galvão reflects on the construction and manipulation of fictional landscapes, proposing alternative universes with new rules, spatial dynamics and temporal logic. Though already widely exhibited in Europe and South America, this well-received presentation marked something of a debut for the artist in the U.S.

In her first year as director, Kyla McMillan has focused on curatorial strength, U.S. market leadership and New York’s central role in the global art market. Photo by Casey Kelbaugh. Courtesy of The Armory Show and CKA.

Overall, the mood on Armory’s opening day was positive, offering hope for a stronger season ahead for both U.S. and international dealers and for a recovery of the American art market to a “new normal”—though still far from the pace and levels galleries had grown used to. Yet, as dealer and advisor Henri Neuendorf observed, galleries are simply tired of the steady drip of negative news about the state of the market. “We all know sales have been stronger in years past, but the negativity can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he commented. “My sense was that dealers and buyers seem cautiously optimistic and ready to turn the page.”

Art advisor Angelica Semmelbauer echoed Neuendorf’s take, noting the fair featured strong presentations from both galleries and artists—even if some leaned toward the safe side. “What felt especially uplifting was seeing sales happening despite all the uncertainty in the art market, which has been a current topic, and the larger world right now that’s weighing on clients,” Semmelbauer said. “I’m still a big believer that artists will keep creating meaningful work and clients will be there to support their practice and acquire the work, to keep the art ecosystem moving forward in a purposeful way!”

Ultimately, it’s a matter of readjusting expectations, refining strategy and adapting to a new rhythm. As yesterday’s Armory opening showed, the important thing is that American collectors—the fair’s core audience this year—are still buying and supporting the ecosystem as this next cycle begins.

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Elisa Carollo

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September 5, 2025