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Elisa Carollo

Elisa Carollo

Observer

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Four Trends in Art Buying That Dominated 2025

Four Trends in Art Buying That Dominated 2025

Editions and drawings are gaining in popularity, particularly with collectors who want to access established and blue-chip names otherwise out of...

previous day 10

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Zoë Buckman’s Intimate Embroideries Claim Space for Memory, Grief and Jewish Identity

Zoë Buckman’s Intimate Embroideries Claim Space for Memory, Grief and Jewish Identity

Her works are made on repurposed textiles: bed sheets and tablecloths, often passed down through generations. "They all already hold stories, carry...

thursday 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

How Kay Matschullat’s MAX Is Rewriting the Language of Performance in the Age of Techno Art

How Kay Matschullat’s MAX Is Rewriting the Language of Performance in the Age of Techno Art

In her transdisciplinary Media Art Xploration series, science provides the data that art transforms into sensory and emotional experiences.

thursday 20

Observer

Elisa Carollo

10 New York Museum Shows Worth Slowing Down for Over the Holidays

10 New York Museum Shows Worth Slowing Down for Over the Holidays

After Miami and before the new year, the art world calendar briefly loosens its grip, creating a rare pause that invites unhurried engagement with New...

23.12.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Don’t Miss: Tatiana Trouvé’s Maps of Memory and Collapse at Palazzo Grassi

Don’t Miss: Tatiana Trouvé’s Maps of Memory and Collapse at Palazzo Grassi

Her work, through its sustained engagement with memory and the possibilities of the future, stands as a testament to the enduring human urge to resist...

23.12.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Don’t Miss: Bagus Pandega’s Living Laboratory of Extraction

Don’t Miss: Bagus Pandega’s Living Laboratory of Extraction

In work that melds the natural with the technological, he foregrounds entanglements shaped by looping currents of life, depletion and reciprocity.

19.12.2025 1

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Lalannes Fever and the Global Demand for Design

Lalannes Fever and the Global Demand for Design

Unlike highly choreographed fine art auctions, the results of the design sales are organic, not engineered through guarantees, irrevocable bids or...

18.12.2025 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

A Tribute to Luigi Bonotto, the Visionary Fluxus Patron Who Merged Art, Life and Industry

A Tribute to Luigi Bonotto, the Visionary Fluxus Patron Who Merged Art, Life and Industry

Bonotto believed strongly that “technique is essential, but technique without culture is empty.”

18.12.2025 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Christie’s and Sotheby’s Close 2025 With a Market Rebound Fueled by Luxury and New Buyers

Christie’s and Sotheby’s Close 2025 With a Market Rebound Fueled by Luxury and New Buyers

Year-end results show rising sales, stronger sell-through rates and growing momentum in categories that suggest a shift in who is sustaining the...

18.12.2025 40

Observer

Elisa Carollo

At the Bass in Miami, Lawrence Lek’s Odyssey for an Era Shaped by A.I.

At the Bass in Miami, Lawrence Lek’s Odyssey for an Era Shaped by A.I.

The artist’s sentient autonomous cars are endowed with intelligence but stripped of agency, drifting through a ruined society in the throes of...

17.12.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

The 2026 Whitney Biennial Aims to Map a New Geography of American Art in ‘a Moment of Profound Transition’

The 2026 Whitney Biennial Aims to Map a New Geography of American Art in ‘a Moment of Profound Transition’

The chosen artists are "intergenerational and international, reflecting the many ways artists remain interconnected through their practices despite...

16.12.2025 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

The Art World Is Quietly Cutting Emissions Faster Than Expected, New Report Reveals

The Art World Is Quietly Cutting Emissions Faster Than Expected, New Report Reveals

Matching the reductions achieved by early adopters across the visual arts sphere could reduce emissions by 5 MtCO₂e by 2030.

16.12.2025 10

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Samuel Sarmiento’s Ceramics Channel Universal Memory in His U.S. Debut

Samuel Sarmiento’s Ceramics Channel Universal Memory in His U.S. Debut

In "Relical Horn" at Andrew Edlin Gallery, the artist transforms ceramics into cross-cultural archetypes.

13.12.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

What Zero 10 Can Tell Us About the Art World’s Next Chapter

What Zero 10 Can Tell Us About the Art World’s Next Chapter

The digital section artists arrived at Art Basel with their legitimacy already established through peer-to-peer platforms, tools and communities...

11.12.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Sotheby’s Closes Its Inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week With $133 Million in Sales

Sotheby’s Closes Its Inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week With $133 Million in Sales

The strategic debut was tailored to a region where luxury demand is accelerating at exceptional speed.

10.12.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

What Hauser & Wirth’s Palermo Move Reveals About Cultural Branding in Art and Luxury

What Hauser & Wirth’s Palermo Move Reveals About Cultural Branding in Art and Luxury

Brand equity is increasingly dependent on cultural production and narrative-led experiences, with storytelling rooted in shared culture, creativity...

10.12.2025 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Otani Workshop’s Invitation to Revisit the Unfiltered Imagination of Early Life

Otani Workshop’s Invitation to Revisit the Unfiltered Imagination of Early Life

"Art that reflects this world is complex," the artist tells Observer. "But there are moments that feel as simple as the play I experienced in...

10.12.2025 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Es Devlin’s ‘Library of Us’ Was the Rare Miami Art Week Spectacle That Invited Quiet Contemplation

Es Devlin’s ‘Library of Us’ Was the Rare Miami Art Week Spectacle That Invited Quiet Contemplation

The installation, the artist told Observer, is about “seeing through the eyes of others,” with 2,500 authors each offering a distinct vantage...

09.12.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

In New York, Sotheby’s Repositions Itself as a Cultural Destination

In New York, Sotheby’s Repositions Itself as a Cultural Destination

“Icons: Back to Madison” is bringing together some of the most widely celebrated works the auction house has sold over the years in a...

09.12.2025 9

Observer

Elisa Carollo

How Jorge Pardo Turns Light, Color and Form into a Phenomenology of Seeing

How Jorge Pardo Turns Light, Color and Form into a Phenomenology of Seeing

Known for his immersive environments and otherworldly lamps, the artist's latest show at Petzel Gallery invites viewers to experience new modes of...

08.12.2025 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Art Basel Miami Beach Opens Strong as Market Confidence Meets Curatorial Risk

If there’s a common thread running through this year’s presentations, it’s the introspective tone of works that grapple with the push and pull...

05.12.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Don’t Miss These Five Museum-Grade Works in Art Basel Miami Beach’s Meridians Sector

From Soto’s rare 'Pénétrable' to Anne Samat’s towering woven deities, the artworks in the fair’s most ambitious sector offer meditations on an...

04.12.2025 6

Observer

Elisa Carollo

In Miami, NADA and Untitled Art Test the Temperature of the Mid-Tier and Emerging Markets

The long-running ping-pong between the two fairs continues this year with vibrant energy and steady sales that are strong enough to suggest the young...

04.12.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Wendi Norris Bet On Women Surrealists—Now the Market Has Caught Up

"Depth is what connects people, and the artists I work with have that depth," the dealer tells Observer.

03.12.2025 6

Observer

Elisa Carollo

How Simões de Assis Built a Global Platform for Brazilian Art

"It’s a family business, and we’re proud that the second generation has been able to improve things while still being supported by the first,"...

02.12.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

The REEFLINE Project Turns Public Art into Ecological Infrastructure

“Here, art isn’t just raising awareness; it is a solution," entrepreneur Ximena Caminos told Observer.

02.12.2025 7

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Observer’s Must-See Miami Art Week Exhibitions

From speculative A.I. dreamscapes to mythic gardens, geological ceramics and queer maximalism, these are the shows not to miss when you're in town for...

02.12.2025 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

The $10 Million Hermès Problem: Estate Planning When Luxury Collectibles Outpace the Art Market

From a $10 million Birkin to a $2.9 million Macallan, luxury collectibles are transforming the collectibles market and estate and tax planning.

28.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Manar Abu Dhabi Illuminates a Growing Ecosystem of Creativity and Public Engagement

The sweeping open-air exhibition stretches from Al Ain’s 400-year-old fort to the mangrove islands of Jubail, recasting the U.A.E.’s cultural...

27.11.2025 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

A Thanksgiving Weekend Art Escape: 3 Must-See Exhibitions in Philadelphia

Don't miss these exhibitions showcasing Surrealism’s dream logic, Henri Rousseau’s modern imagination and Alexander Calder’s poetic fusion of...

26.11.2025 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Alma Allen’s Pavilion Appointment Exposes the Murky Politics Behind Venice 2026

For months, the art world waited to see who would pass the "Trump test" to represent the U.S. at the next Venice Biennale.

26.11.2025 10

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Meet the Collector: Ronald Harrar On Redefining Rules and Roles in a More Fluid Art World

For the Venezuela-born, New York–based collector, acquiring art has never been a passive act.

25.11.2025 6

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Utamaro’s ‘Fukagawa in Snow’ Led Sotheby’s HK$688M Sale of Works from the Okada Museum of Art

The museum, founded in 2013 by billionaire Kazuo Okada, was compelled to sell the trove of masterworks to settle a $50 million legal bill owed by the...

25.11.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Tomasz Kowalski Digs Into the Psychic Archeology of Light in Paris

"My approach to the figure is a reflection of my perception in general—everything seems to be equivalent within rays of light, perhaps except...

24.11.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

In Its Best Week Since 2021, Sotheby’s Hit $1.173B With a $54.7M Kahlo Finale

Kahlo and Magritte anchored the auction house's Modern session as Surrealist artists delivered record-breaking results.

23.11.2025 10

Observer

Elisa Carollo

NOMAD Abu Dhabi Turns a Decommissioned Airport Terminal into a Destination for Design

The boutique design fair launched by Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte is positioned to become the region’s only fair dedicated to collectible design.

21.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

A Juvenile Triceratops and Francis Bacon Heat Up Phillips’s $67.3 Million Evening Sale

"More than ever, we’re seeing a desire for works that spark curiosity and transcend traditional categories," Miety Heiden, Phillips' chairman for...

21.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Abu Dhabi Art 2025 Stakes Out Its Vision Ahead of Frieze’s Takeover

Rooted in the U.A.E.’s fast-growing artistic landscape, the fair seems eager to expand its international reach before the megafair takes the reins...

20.11.2025 6

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Christie’s Holds Its Nerve Mid-Marathon as the 21st Century Evening Sale Secures a Steady $123.6 Million

The auction was led by Christopher Wool’s 'Untitled (RIOT)' at $19,840,000 and sustained by competitive bidding for Olga de Amaral, Firelei Báez,...

20.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Sotheby’s Shatters Records at Its Breuer Debut as a $236.4M Klimt Leads the $706M Evening Sale

The auction house's debut at the Breuer was defined by Gustav Klimt’s late portrait soaring to $236.4 million, anchoring the $527.5 million...

19.11.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Christie’s Opens New York’s Marquee Auctions Week With a $689 Million Haul

In total Christie’s brought in $689 million in a single night, already matching what the auction house generated across all marquee sales during the...

19.11.2025 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Adrián Villar Rojas On Time, Decay and the Fragile Afterlife of Art

At Art Sonje in Seoul and elsewhere, he creates environments that transcend human time and cognitive limits, merging entropy, memory and a radically...

19.11.2025 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Qatar Set to Open a Freeport Powerhouse Ahead of Art Basel in Doha

The country is showing an early but timely awareness that high-end art fairs thrive when connected to the right logistics ecosystem.

18.11.2025 6

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Don’t Miss: Eva Helene Pade’s Choreography of Color and Desire at Thaddaeus Ropac

Haunting and visceral, her exhibition "Søgelys" unfolds into a living stage where bodies, color and psyche collide.

17.11.2025 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

The Top Collections (and Their Top Lots) Headlining the $1.6 Billion November Sales

The marquee sales in New York are among the most anticipated events on the global art calendar and the final litmus test of the market's health after...

15.11.2025 10

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Jo Fish Confronts the Tension Between Flesh and Data in a World of Visual Saturation

"I’m passionate about art history, but I also want to think about how painting can evolve," she told Observer.

14.11.2025 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Five Groundbreaking Postwar Women Artists Lead New York’s Fall Art Season

As the art world makes long-overdue progress toward gender parity, the market for work by women artists has been steadily rising.

14.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Kader Attia’s Poetics of Repair in “Shattering and Gathering our Traces”

His practice is an epistemological and ontological exercise that navigates the material presences that accompany the reality of earthly experience and...

13.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Meet the Collector: Raphaël Isvy Wants to Rewrite the Rules of Buying and Selling Art

“When collectors reinject liquidity into the market, it benefits everyone," he tells Observer. "Instead of shaming people for selling, galleries...

12.11.2025 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Onassis ONX Celebrates Five Years of Bridging Art and Technology With a New Space

The new Tribeca location will serve as a hybrid residency, research lab and production studio, with expanded space for exhibitions and public programs...

12.11.2025 10

Observer

Elisa Carollo