Alex Karp, Palmer Luckey and the Pentagon’s New Defense-Tech Order
Alex Karp’s Palantir and Palmer Luckey’s Anduril hold Army agreements worth up to $30 billion combined. New October contracts are expanding Anduril’s Pentagon business, even as fiscal 2027 begins under a temporary spending bill.
Demna’s Power at Gucci Goes Beyond the Runway
Demna’s influence at Gucci now reaches from the sample room to the sales floor. As the house’s decline begins to ease, his broader overhaul faces its commercial test.
At Copenhagen’s Koan, Kristian Baumann Turns a Dual Identity Into a Culinary Strength
Baumann’s 18-course menu moves between Korea and Denmark, using fermentation, seafood and memory to turn the space between two cultures into Koan’s defining strength.
New York
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Screening at New York Film Festival: Tom McCarthy’s ‘A Statement’
Adapted from Nathaniel Rich’s ‘Losing Earth,’ this surprisingly exciting and entertaining film unfolds almost entirely in a single conference room where scientists, lobbyists and politicians debate how to warn Congress about rising carbon dioxide.
Dindga McCannon Has Been Stitching Black History into the American Art Canon for 60 Years
Fridman Gallery’s survey of the Harlem-born artist brings together quilts, paintings and prints from the 1970s to today, grouped by affinity rather than chronology. The works show how her blend of fabric, found objects and paint was ahead of its time and remains strikingly current.
At David Zwirner New York, Scott Kahn’s Landscapes Open Windows Onto Other Worlds
An Instagram endorsement from Matthew Wong set off a market ascent that took the painter’s prices from $5,000 to more than $1 million. His latest show gathers moonlit landscapes and luminous interiors from the past quarter-century.
The Essential Guide to Exploring the Best of East Coast Wineries
These 17 wineries combine standout bottles with serious hospitality, from intimate tastings and cellar tours to farm-driven menus.
Antonio Romero’s Paintings Are Reflections of the Shadows of Power
The Salvadoran painter’s work can be found in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, MOLAA, the Colección Mario Cader-Frech and the Poma Family Collection. His latest exhibition, “MIRROR” at New York’s Kates-Ferri Projects, draws on Central America’s political history, using shadowy figures, palm-lined landscapes and a pervasive color to trace how power operates across borders.
Art
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Why Artist Residencies May Be Culture’s Best Defense Against Automation
Great works of art have always emerged from introspection, idiosyncrasy and time, none of which can be optimized or sped up. MacDowell executive director Chiwoniso Kaitano contends that artist residencies, long a hidden engine of cultural history, have never mattered more.
With Ostillo Art Foundation, Collector René Campos Wants to Challenge How Texas Sees Art
His new nonprofit art space, led by Sacha Zerbib, debuted with works by Glenn Ligon, Marlene Dumas, Kader Attia and Thomas Struth in an inaugural exhibition that draws on Baldwin, the commedia dell’arte and the history of African art to question how images shape and distort meaning.
The Art Basel and UBS Collecting Survey Shows Gen Z Setting the Pace, and the Megafair Is Remaking Itself to Keep Up
Gen Z collectors are spending at the highest levels across art, digital media and luxury categories, as women gain market influence and traditional ideas of ownership and status shift. For Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz, the report’s findings also confirm the necessity of a different kind of art fair—one that’s less of a tradeshow and more of a year-round experience platform.
Kristof Santy Would Rather Trust Objective Reality than Reach for Eve’s Apple
The self-taught Belgian painter’s new exhibition at Sorry We’re Closed in Brussels turns flea-market finds, folk imagery and everyday objects into saturated, strangely affecting still lifes. In conversation with Observer, he talks about his factory work, his debt to Philip Guston and why he resists symbolism.
Newly Appointed Madre Director Eugenio Viola Sees the Museum as a Living Archive
The curator of Italy’s 2022 Venice Biennale pavilion has returned to the museum where his career took shape after years working in Australia and Latin America. His vision for the institution includes rethinking its collection displays, broadening its funding and anchoring its program in the Mediterranean.
Business
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The Nordic Blueprint for Building A.I. Infrastructure at Scale
atNorth’s Anders Fryxell examines how the Nordic region has emerged as a global leader in A.I.-ready digital infrastructure, at a moment when hyperscalers and enterprises are struggling to secure sustainable capacity. The Nordics’ investments in renewable energy, grid resilience and circular economy practices offer a practical blueprint for scaling A.I. without sacrificing reliability or climate goals.
Bill Gates Is Spending $1 Billion to Keep A.I. From Widening the Global Divide
Bill Gates wants to keep A.I. from becoming another technology that reaches wealthy countries first. His foundation is committing at least $1 billion to put the tools to work in clinics, classrooms and farms around the world.
Patek Philippe Has Two Heirs and One Presidency
Thierry Stern has spent 17 years leading Patek Philippe. Now, with sons Adrien and Tristan entering the family business, he has roughly a decade to decide which one is ready to succeed him.
Dario Amodei’s Anthropic IPO Faces a Test Beyond the A.I. Market
Anthropic is betting that A.I. adoption will accelerate fast enough to justify its enormous infrastructure commitments. But many businesses, argues McMillanAI’s Jeff McMillan, are still building the systems needed to deploy it responsibly.
The A.I. Boom Is Creating a New Market for the Physical Economy
Coast’s Daniel Simon examines how the A.I. infrastructure boom is transforming the electricians, HVAC crews, plumbers and other trades businesses building the physical economy behind the technology. Simon argues that the rapid growth of A.I. infrastructure is exposing a parallel need for financial tools built around crews, vehicles, materials and working capital.
Travel
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Nordic by Nature: Ski Touring Through Norway’s Fjord Country
With no chairlifts in sight, the only way to earn your turns in the backcountry paradise of the Sunnmøre and Romsdal Alps is to hike your way up.
In Finnish Lapland, Every Season Brings a New Arctic Adventure
From winter auroras and spring skiing to the midnight sun and autumn ruska, Finnish Lapland rewards travelers year-round.
The Stylish Traveler’s Guide to a Greener Paris Getaway
Seven addresses for vintage fashion and inventive reuse, with meals shaped by the harvest and a small hotel on rue des Martyrs.
Lights, Camera, Action: An Insider’s Guide to L.A.’s Historic Hollywood Neighborhood
From swanky speakeasies to Michelin-starred restaurants, we’re covering the very best of dining, drinking and doing in Hollywood.
Everything You Should Know About Truffle Hunting in Italy
From Tuscany’s hotel estates to white-truffle season, Italy’s truffle hunts are less about luck than timing, terrain and knowing which dog to follow.
Nightlife & Dining
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Chris Bianco, Kwame Onwuachi and L.A.’s Culinary Stars Savor the Moment
The L.A. Chef Conference offered a snapshot of a restaurant world in flux, with Chris Bianco, Kwame Onwuachi and others looking firmly ahead.
Budapest’s Most Noteworthy New Bakeries Take Tradition in New Directions
A mix of new and old flavors alike defines the city’s sweet scene.
Xander Soren’s Wines Make a Case for Pinot Noir With Sushi
Inspired by high-end dining in Japan, the former Apple executive is making California wines designed specifically for sushi and omakase.
At Restaurant St. Barts, Johnnie Crowe Celebrates Britain’s Culinary Bounty
Crowe has turned a self-imposed sourcing constraint into a tasting menu built on the breadth of what Britain can produce.
Inside the Room: The Founders, Investors and Operators at Observer’s A.I. Power Index Party
Founders, CEOs and investors packed Dante Elizabeth Street as Bloomberg’s Shawn Edwards and Candidly’s Laurel Taylor accepted Observer’s 2026 A.I. awards. Here’s who was in the room.
Expert Insights
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The Bigger Economic Story Behind Higher Mortgage Rates
Economist Jane Liu, Ph.D. examines what the return of 7 percent mortgage rates reveals about the broader economy. Liu looks beyond housing to explore how persistent inflation and higher interest rates are reshaping investment, capital allocation and the way economists measure money.
The Carbon Cost of Culture: How the Art World Is Confronting Its Shipping Emissions
Alexander Bradford, who leads business development and sustainability at global fine art logistics company Gander & White, explores how the art world is beginning to confront the carbon footprint of its shipping practices. Bradford offers an insider’s look at the systemic challenges and promising solutions emerging within fine art logistics, arguing that if the art world wants to remain a cultural leader, it must also lead on sustainability.
Dario Amodei Wants to Pace A.I. The Industry Needs to Pace Its Release.
Dario Amodei’s call to pace frontier A.I. raises a more practical question: how can the industry slow deployment without slowing innovation? Uniphore’s Umesh Sachdev argues for a clearer distinction between advancing the technology and deploying it, with rigorous testing and independent evaluation before systems reach widespread use.
At Paris Fashion Week, Luxury Has to Prove What It’s Worth
The luxury industry is redefining status as consumers increasingly look beyond logos to craftsmanship, provenance and the origins of what they buy. RIISE’s Sara Bell argues that luxury’s future will depend on whether brands can connect rising prices to tangible proof of value, from exceptional materials and human skill to transparent supply chains and lasting design.
Eat Dior, or Eat at Dior? How Luxury Brands Are Building Beyond the Product
For decades, luxury houses have expanded from products into stores, hotels, restaurants and other experiences. From Dior’s Milan flagship to Dubai’s transformation into a luxury capital, international luxury expert Carlo Pignataro explores how the most enduring brands can become something clients don’t simply see or buy, but experience and return to.
Lifestyle
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The Essentials With Frama’s Niels Strøyer Christophersen: Copenhagen Tables, Tokyo Guesthouses and Design Books
The Frama co-founder shares his go-to Copenhagen restaurant, favorite Tokyo guesthouse, all-black uniform, design books and the objects he never stops collecting.
Five Luxury Watches Backing Sustainability Claims With Substance
Built to be serviced and handed down, fine timepieces already have an environmental advantage over other accessories, but these particular watches from ID Genève, Citizen, Chopard, Oris and Ulysse Nardin pair specific environmental commitments with serious horological credentials.
Watchmakers Are Catching Up to Cartier’s Small-Case Instincts
For much of the past two decades, luxury watches seemed to move in only one direction: bigger. Cases stretched past 40 millimeters and sports watches grew increasingly imposing as brands built entire identities around watches designed to announce themselves from across the room. Now the pendulum is swinging back.
For Younger Collectors, Fashion Is the New Fine Art
Where figures like Mouna Ayoub, Azzedine Alaïa and Daphne Guinness once assembled private couture archives, a broad new audience of young buyers sees storied handbags and runway pieces as both personal expression and investment.
How Industry Fairs Evolved into Places to Meet Horology’s Most Famous Makers
Collector-focused watch shows are proliferating across the United States and around the world, reflecting a fundamental shift in watch culture. What began a decade ago as a novel marketing experiment now spans boutique-filled weekends in Aspen, a crowded autumn calendar in New York and an ambitious 2027 launch in Las Vegas.
Interviews
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At the Getty, the Beauty of Medieval Manuscripts Is in the Materials
“The Making of a Medieval Manuscript,” curated by conservator Nancy Turner, brings together volumes ranging from animal-skin folios to gilded books, with Christian, Jewish and Islamic examples drawn from Europe, Armenia and Ethiopia.
Michael J. Anderson Grew OKCMOA’s Collection by 30 Percent. Now He’s Bringing His Approach to Portland.
The incoming director arrives from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, where he added important works to the collection and built relationships focused on inclusivity and accessibility. He inherits the Portland Art Museum’s newly opened $111 million Rothko Pavilion, along with a film program, PAM CUT, that plays directly to his own background as a film curator.
Saying No for Change: Dawn Chan On Grounding Herself in a Jet-Setting World
The critic and CCS Bard lecturer has sent proxies, collaborators and even a namesake doppelganger to biennials and other cultural events, turning the art world’s jet-set habits into a research project on climate, privilege and refusal.
Bernardo Paz Is Extending Instituto Inhotim’s Legacy With a New Museum for Art and Nature
Museu Bernardo Paz, currently under construction on 311 acres adjoining Instituto Inhotim, will unveil its first pavilions in September 2027. Chief curatorial advisor Allan Schwartzman and artistic director Paulo Miyada describe a project built to extend Inhotim’s model of integrating art directly into landscape.
Constantin Nitsche Wrestles with the Limits of Painting
In conversation with Observer, the artist describes working without concept or deadline, the longing for completeness he borrowed from Kafka and how Marseille inspired him to embrace a broader palette.
Features
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How Oslo’s Museums Are Confronting the Contradictions in Their Collections
Across the city’s major art museums, directors including Astrup Fearnley’s Solveig Øvstebø describe reworking permanent collections and curatorial frameworks to reflect a more diverse, contemporary understanding of identity.
The Nobel Prize Diploma’s Century Long Artistic History
After receiving the category commission, Nobel Prize artists learn who the year’s awardees are at the same time as the general public. From there, they have just a few weeks to determine how best to represent what are oftentimes extremely complex or nuanced accomplishments.
Corporate Cultural Investments Are Finding Their Place in ESG Reporting
Corporate art collections and cultural programs are widespread, but their impact remains inconsistently measured and reported. A new Deloitte framework links cultural investment to ESG strategy without reducing it to a single metric.
Experts On How to Mitigate the Ethical and Environmental Impacts of Collecting Art
In the fine art world, one increasingly hears terms like “ethical” and “sustainable” used in reference to art advising, installation practices, upcycled mediums and even curation. But these concepts aren’t fully defined in the cultural sphere, and industry professionals say collectors who want to do the right thing may run into structural obstacles.
Institutions Are Increasingly Rethinking Public Art Conservation With Climate Extremes in Mind
Museum directors and conservators describe taking increasingly proactive measures to protect artwork from the effects of climate change, including hiring art-savvy engineers to oversee installations and asking artists to provide wind-load calculations.
Power Lists
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Observer’s 2026 A.I. Power Index: Who Controls the Capital Flow in A.I
Power in artificial intelligence no longer moves through the channels everyone learned to watch.
Observer 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.
Latest
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Inside the Vanity Museum That Star Wars Built
George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s $1 billion Los Angeles institution is well-stocked and selfie-ready, but its curation treats storytelling in a flat, literal way.
The Toronto Biennial Sets Ancient Wisdom Against Modern Collapse
This edition proposes that, against the uncertainties produced by the relentless Promethean anxiety of a technology-led future, artists can reorient humanity toward a better tomorrow by turning our attention back toward the wisdom of the past.
Screening at the New York Film Festival: Andrew Haigh’s ‘A Long Winter’
Set on an isolated Colorado homestead in the 1950s, the Colm Tóibín adaptation charts a closeted son’s slow awakening as his mother’s absence lays bare secrets his household kept hidden.
Untitled Art Finds Its Footing in Houston With Its Second Edition
Strong opening-day sales across the fair’s 99 booths, from emerging talent priced in the low thousands to established names approaching $100,000, suggest a buyer base deeper than many outsiders expected.
David Ellison Names His Empire Skydance After a Rocky Week on Wall Street
The Paramount CEO is inheriting the profitable streaming business David Zaslav spent years building, along with a debt sale that left bond investors nursing losses.
Andy Jassy Needs Alexa to Close the Sale, Not Win the A.I. Race
Jassy sold Wall Street on Alexa as a shopping engine. At Amazon’s fall hardware event, it mostly learned to pick movies.
Two Dealers on West Broadway: A History
The art world is a fickle place. One day you’re planning its conquest; the next you’re fighting to survive. Yet according to dealer Georges Bergès, the trajectories of Leo Castelli and Larry Gagosian are proof that the secret to success isn’t aggression, but heart.
Brian Niccol Says Starbucks Is Back. Pumpkin Spice Season Will Tell.
From the first PSL through Red Cup Day, Starbucks’ busiest stretch is the real stress test for Niccol’s ‘Back to Starbucks’ overhaul.
Dario Amodei’s $518 Billion Bet Gives A.I.’s Infrastructure Leaders the Upper Hand
Dario Amodei is betting more than $518 billion on AI infrastructure. The contracts behind that wager show how much certainty the leaders supplying chips and cloud capacity negotiated for themselves.
Five Artists Who Treat the Earth as Both Medium and Beneficiary
Making climate-conscious art at scale and in public is arduous, expensive and often exhausting. Agnes Denes, Mary Mattingly, Maya Lin and their peers have built substantial careers, sustain themselves through their practices and hold places in major collections, yet haven’t shied away from creating works that help the planet.
Toronto’s Lassonde Art Trail Reimagines Public Art as Part of a Healthier Urban Ecosystem
The trail expands on the $1.4 billion tri-government investment reshaping Toronto’s waterfront through flood protection, environmental restoration and new public spaces. LAT’s curator, November Paynter, told Observer that the curatorial process began while the park was still under construction, with the team researching the site’s engineering, natural environment and history, before conducting studio visits with artists whose practices could respond to those conditions.
Freeman’s New CEO Muys Snijders Is Betting on Regional Roots and a Wider Reach
The auction house’s newly appointed chief executive plans to leverage Freeman’s strong local networks and estate expertise, along with new technology and a less rigid auction calendar, to compete with larger rivals without chasing every trophy consignment.