Marcel Duchamp at MoMA: Five Revelations From the Artist’s First North American Survey in Over 50 Years
Late in life, he declared, “I’m nothing else but an artist, I’m sure, and delighted to be,” but he clearly was so much more.
Author Tolani Akinola’s 10 Best Books About Dysfunctional Families
Messy families are commonplace, but the parents, children, siblings, aunts and uncles in these books are drawn with such specificity and strangeness that they’ll lodge themselves permanently in your mind.
How Tapestry CEO Joanne Crevoiserat Is Making Coach Cool Again
Coach posted 25 percent sales growth amid a luxury slowdown. Under Tapestry CEO Joanne Crevoiserat, Coach is winning Gen Z shoppers with fresh design, star power and a data-driven turnaround strategy.
Business
See AllKalshi CEO Tarek Mansour Warns Insider Trading on Prediction Markets Face DOJ Action
Speaking in Washington this week, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour warns insider trading threatens trust in prediction markets and expects federal prosecutors to take action.
Why Central Banks Are Doubling Down on Gold
Reserve managers are steadily increasing their gold holdings, extending a 16-year streak of net purchases and accelerating in response to mounting geopolitical and financial uncertainty. Ubuntu Group’s Mamadou Kwidjim Toure argues that as access to financial infrastructure becomes increasingly politicized, nations are prioritizing assets they can fully control.
A.I. Agents Need Identity Before Cybercrime Scales Beyond Attribution
Humanity’s Terence Kwok argues that the cybersecurity industry is dangerously misframing the rise of A.I.-driven threats. As autonomous A.I. agents begin to plan and execute with minimal human oversight, the line between tool and actor is rapidly eroding, leaving existing models of attribution and accountability behind.
Ads Are Good, Actually: The Next Stage of A.I. Monetization
As platforms like OpenAI, Perplexity AI and Anthropic redefine how users access information, a familiar model is reemerging in an unfamiliar form: advertising embedded directly into A.I.-generated answers. ZeroClick’s Michael Ludden examines how the future of A.I. will hinge on how systems are funded.
MacKenzie Scott Donates Surprise Record Gift to Meals on Wheels in Crucial Year
MacKenzie Scott’s unexpected $70 million donation, the largest in Meals on Wheels’ history, arrives as local programs across the U.S. strain to serve record numbers of seniors amid flat federal funding and rising costs.
Art
See AllWith Artnet and Artsy, Andrew Wolff Is Laying the Groundwork for a New Kind of Art-World Ecosystem
“We’re creating a symbiotic commercial ecosystem, starting with Artsy and Artnet, that creates a new kind of intelligence for the art market.”
Critic Megan O’Grady On Art and Feeling Alive
After making space for herself in art, O’Grady wants to make space for the rest of us.
Kate McNamara Has Ambitious Ideas About What Harvard’s Carpenter Center Can Be
The center’s recently appointed director is prioritizing new residencies, expanded exhibitions, publishing collaborations and partnerships with the university and neighboring communities.
How One Art Shipping Company Is Pairing A.I.-Driven Efficiencies With Hands-On Human Attention
In an industry where human expertise and technological efficiency are often seen as opposing forces, Convelio co-founders Eduard Gouin and Clément Ouizille are aligning them.
Inside Public Art Fund’s 2026 Spring Benefit, New York’s Most Civic-Minded Soirée
Collectors, gallerists, tastemakers and a bevy of well-heeled philanthropists descended on the Metropolitan Pavilion earlier this month for the organization’s most dynamic fundraiser yet.
Lifestyle
See AllThe Rooftop Bars in Los Angeles to Have on Your Radar
Across the city, these rooftops balance strong drinks, good design and views that justify the trip.
Destinations Are Pushing Back on Tourists in 2026, and It’s Going to Cost You
A guide to every new fee, cap and crackdown reshaping the world’s most popular destinations.
The Best L.A. Restaurants Debuting in April
From Chinatown to Porter Ranch, these are L.A.’s most anticipated restaurant openings this month.
The West Coast Wineries Taking Sustainability Seriously
The 13 most noteworthy sustainable wineries in Oregon, Washington and California.
The Essentials With Selma Blair: Bed Jackets, Beaches and Sant Ambroeus
The actress and multiple sclerosis advocate shares her bedtime routine and packing philosophy as she debuts a sleepwear collection with travel-inspired brand, Mersea.
Interviews
See AllWeWork’s Chief Designer On Creating the Smart Workspace for Modern Work
WeWork design chief Ebbie Wisecarver explains the process behind WeWork’s new portable working pods and how evolving work habits are reshaping offices and public space.
James Taylor-Foster On Curatorial Fluidity and Para Site’s Next Chapter
The traditional separation of contemporary art into distinct branches—visual art, design, architecture and digital culture—might still matter, he told Observer, but engaging with each discipline now requires adopting a wider lens.
Consonni Radziszewski Launches With a Three-City Footprint
Dealers Matteo Consonni and Dawid Radziszewski have officially joined forces to create an ambitious new gallery built for the next phase of the European art market.
Neighbors in Chicago Reimagined the Art Fair as a Gilded Age Cultural Salon
Founders Mirka Serrato and Jonny Tanna wanted to create a new kind of art fair that could bridge the gap between emerging galleries and institutions.
In Venice, Andreas Angelidakis Is Queering the Idea of a National Pavilion
Get ready for his “Byzantium goth disco” to open at the Biennale.
Power Lists
See AllObserver New Media Power List: Call for Submissions
Nominations are open for Observer’s 2026 New Media Power List
The 50 Most Powerful PR Firms of 2026
This year’s honorees are emblematic of a notable shift in public relations from responsive publicity to proactive leadership in the moments that matter most.
Wall-to-Wall Cultural Capital: Inside Observer’s Art Power Index Party
Under the dim lights of the Lower East Side’s Maison Nur, art world luminaries gathered to celebrate Observer’s Art Power Index—and each other. From the impassioned speeches to the sharp tailoring and Damien Hirst over the bar, the evening embodied our legacy of chronicling power with style.
2025 Nightlife & Dining Power Index
Humanity is still the most vital ingredient in hospitality, and that isn’t changing anytime soon.
Observer’s 2025 Art Power Index: The Art Market’s Most Influential People
Their acquisitions, affinities and approbations move the needle on valuation and redefine how art is made, shown and sold.
Latest
All LatestWall Street CEOs’ First Reactions to Anthropic’s Mythos
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs chiefs voice optimism and caution on A.I.’s future as Anthropic’s Mythos reveals new cybersecurity dangers.
Inside the Most Valuable Single-Owner Design Sale in Sotheby’s History
Jean and Terry de Gunzburg spent four decades assembling one of the most extraordinary private collections of design and art ever to come to auction.
Jet Set: The Skincare Products Worth Buying During the Sephora Savings Event
From a new mineral SPF and the perfume we won’t stop raving about to a sensitive skin-approved moisturizer and lush hand cream, these are the travel-ready skincare products to shop from the Sephora Savings Event.
By 2030, Every Exchange Will Need an Event Layer
As prediction markets move into the mainstream, MEXC’s Vugar Usi forecasts that the next competitive edge for exchanges will be the ability to price real-world catalysts. In a market where traders increasingly seek to act on probabilities, exchanges that fail to integrate this “event layer” risk losing both relevance and the most valuable flows of capital.
Mark Zuckerberg Joins Growing Ranks of CEOs Creating A.I. Avatars of Themselves
As Meta invests billions in A.I., it’s building a lifelike digital version of CEO Mark Zuckerberg to interact directly with workers. Meta’s A.I. replica of Zuckerberg follows similar moves by CEOs at Klarna and Zoom to create virtual versions of themselves.
The Politics of Print: What the Medium’s Last Renaissance Can Teach Us About Our Current Market
A benefit edition that reproduces a pre-existing painting via digital printing in a quantity approaching 2,000 is a poster, not a fine art print, no matter how great the artist or how philanthropic the intentions.
The 2026 Audi A6 TFSI Sedan’s Unassuming Exterior Hides a Distinctive Driving Experience
In a world where automakers are increasingly treating sedans as an afterthought, the A6 embraces a European-feeling middle ground: large enough to fit a family in style and sporty enough to provide some satisfaction behind the wheel.
Dealer Estates Will Once Again Headline New York’s May Marquee Auctions
A generational shift among dealers is putting headline-grabbing museum-grade works into circulation, as legacy planning begins to impact the market’s future.
1 Hotel Tokyo Offers a Serene Stay Amid the City’s Frenetic Energy
Fresh off its Tokyo debut, this nature-driven hotel offers spacious rooms, an impressive gin bar and a rare sense of calm.
The Best New Luxury Watches of 2026, So Far
The year has already produced an impressive lineup of new releases. Ahead of Geneva’s biggest watch fair, here are the ones worth knowing.
How Maurizio Cattelan Turned This Years RenBen Gala into a Silent Art Piece
The artist’s ban on conversation forced gala-goers to focus on the experience, stripping away that layer of social performance that so often distracts from encounters with art.
EXPO CHICAGO 2026: Local Enthusiasm and Strong Institutional Sales
Under new director Kate Sierzputowski, the fair opened with a tighter format and a sharper curatorial focus, driving early (and steady) sales across tiers.