The Defining Art World Moments of 2025, According to the Art Daddy

Over the past year, the art world watched trends rise and fall, much of it shaped by the political and social forces that defined 2025. Between tariffs, a sluggish economy, climate change and the never-ending machinations of the Trump administration, the sector took a clear hit. Debates over freedom of speech and censorship intensified, galleries shuttered, art dealers sued one another and auction records were shattered, even as some players surged ahead while others fought simply to stay afloat. Through the turbulence, Daddy was there to track the most unforgettable moments of 2025—and the ones we would rather forget. The year left me with plenty to unpack, and what follows are the defining art world moments of 2025, in no particular order.

Jason Farago’s open acknowledgment of fair fatigue

This year, critics finally said what many of us have been thinking for the past few cycles: art fairs are exhausting. What once felt essential now often feels like just another obligation, and the spectacle has gotten repetitive. That exhaustion was articulated most clearly in Jason Farago’s analysis of the Art Basel trifecta in a quiet takedown of the fair’s predictability. By dissecting what Basel, Paris, Miami and Hong Kong each reliably deliver, Farago exposed how routine the experience has become, with branding and scale increasingly standing in for risk, discovery or intellectual surprise.

That critique sharpened further in this month’s Miami Basel roundups, many of which lingered on the fair’s tackiest and most excessive aspects, from influencer theater to overproduced booths to luxury spectacle posing as cultural engagement. Reading them, I kept returning to a question that once felt unsayable but now seems unavoidable: Is Art Basel Miami Beach tacky, and are we finally allowed to admit it? What was once defended as playful maximalism now risks looking hollow, and the fact that critics are willing to name that shift suggests something deeper than fatigue and points to a growing discomfort with the fair model itself.

The Guggenheim-Asher Implosion

This was one of the most unhinged art world lawsuits in years. Former business partners Barbara Guggenheim and Abigail Asher sued one another after nearly 40 years in business, and the details were wild. Guggenheim filed a complaint in August 2024 that became public in 2025, accusing Asher of misappropriating more than $20.5 million in company revenue for personal use. The suit alleged that firm funds were used for rent, dinner bills, home repairs, including a roof, and European health club retreats. Guggenheim also claimed Asher secretly formed a competing business, Asher Art Group, in 2023 to divert clients and revenue, and alleged spyware was installed on Asher’s computer to monitor these activities.

Asher filed a countersuit in July 2025 denying the claims and accusing Guggenheim of decades of unethical behavior. She alleged Guggenheim pressured her to wear leather and be provocative and to sleep with clients to secure business. The lawsuit also claimed Guggenheim encouraged her to build a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein to gain access to wealthy contacts. Asher further alleged Guggenheim treated firm money as a personal slush fund, citing expenses for luxury vehicles, including two Bentleys, $36,000 for Guggenheim’s late husband’s funeral, and costs tied to African safaris, spa trips and dance lessons. The countersuit also referenced a 1989 lawsuit in which Sylvester Stallone sued Guggenheim for overcharging him for a damaged painting, alleging conflicts of interest were never disclosed. Together, the filings exposed a disturbing portrait of power, exploitation and unchecked behavior at the highest levels of art advising.

The end of the Lowry era at MoMA

In September, Glenn D. Lowry stepped down as director of the Museum of Modern Art after a 30-year tenure, making him the longest-serving director in the museum’s history. His departure marked the end of an era and immediately triggered a prolonged search for his successor. What followed was nearly a full year of speculation, leaks and wild art world rumors, as MoMA struggled to signal what kind of future it wanted.

At one point, speculation that Thelma Golden might take the role sent shockwaves through the field. Her appointment would have represented a significant shift in institutional priorities at a time when MoMA has faced ongoing criticism regarding equity and relevance. That possibility ultimately faded, and the museum landed on a more predictable institutional choice with Christophe Cherix. The decision reassured trustees and emphasized continuity, while raising questions about whether major institutions are willing to take real risks at a moment when the art world is clearly demanding change.

Trump’s attack on the arts

From Sally Mann’s photographs being removed from a Texas museum in January to Amy Sherald’s controversy surrounding the Trans Forming Liberty painting and the Smithsonian, artists and institutions across the United States found themselves in unprecedented scenarios caused by sweeping reforms under the Trump administration aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives and silencing marginalized communities.

Things reached a fever pitch when the administration issued an executive order titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, which was widely interpreted as an attempt to reshape cultural narratives at the institutional level. In response, more than 800 artists, culture workers and institutions signed the Collective Courage petition in August, marking one of the most visible moments of collective resistance from the cultural sector in years.

The Daddy Deathpocalypse

One of the biggest shakeups in the art world this year was the cascade of high-profile gallery closures. What I dubbed the ‘Daddy Deathpocalypse’ saw at least five major galleries shutter, with other blue-chip and mid-tier galleries closing strategic outposts. In March, Mitchell-Innes and Nash closed to become a project advisory space, and we are still trying to understand what that actually means.

That same month, Blum announced the closure of its Los Angeles and Tokyo locations. On first take, it felt like an elegant exit, but further scrutiny revealed that the gallery closed in a way that left staff and artists scrambling to figure out what to do next. Venus Over Manhattan closed after 14 years, followed in August by another drastic shift with the closure of CLEARING and Tanya Bonakdar shuttering her Los Angeles outpost. Other galleries followed suit, making this mass exodus not so much a trend but a systemic rupture that shook the gallery ecosystem to its core and forced many to rethink sustainability and scale.

November’s auction extremes

In November, the auction world was graced with several major sales of the sort that usually come around only once in a lifetime. Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer sold for more than $230 million. The painting was previously owned by Barbra Streisand, adding to the spectacle. That same week, Frida Kahlo’s El sueño (La cama) fetched $54 million, the highest price ever achieved for a female artist.

Cecily Brown also set a new record when High Society sold for $9.81 million at Sotheby’s Now and Contemporary auction, surpassing her previous record of $6.78 million set in 2018. These sales were historic, but they were not the entire picture of the art market. While the very top surged, much of the rest of the market continued to struggle.

The Gulf’s soft power glow-up

The region experienced one of the fastest expansions the art world has seen in decades in 2025. From major auction houses like Sotheby’s opening luxury outposts in Abu Dhabi to high-level art world players like former MoMA director Glenn Lowry reportedly consulting on major museums slated to open in the region to the coming edition of Art Basel in Qatar, the Gulf glow-up is real.

There were several museum openings alongside major announcements, including the Zayed National Museum showcasing Emirati history, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and continued expansion at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Will the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi ever open? Who knows, but with this rapid buildout, the Gulf has become one of the fastest-growing cultural hubs in the world. What this expansion signals for global cultural power remains an open question.

Koyo Kouoh’s unexpected passing

In a year marked by collapse, instability and institutional retreat, Koyo Kouoh’s curatorial vision stood apart. Her work consistently pushed the global visibility of African and diasporic contemporary art, not as a geographic category but as a way of rethinking how the art world understands power, history, and collective experience. In December 2024, she made history as the first African woman appointed to lead the international exhibition of the Venice Biennale, a role she approached with the explicit goal of moving beyond national frameworks toward art that reflected a shared human mindset.

Following her sudden passing in May 2025, the Biennale board announced it would realize her vision for the 61st edition, titled In Minor Keys, which focuses on quieter registers of resistance and relation. Kouoh’s career spanned major exhibitions including EVA International in 2016 and documenta 12 and 13, as well as foundational institution building through RAW Material Company in Dakar and her leadership at Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town. In a year when much of the art world felt reactive and diminished, her legacy served as a reminder that curatorial leadership, intention, and care still shape what comes next.

Ultimately, the art world is no longer operating on autopilot. Power structures were exposed, institutions were tested and survival could no longer be seen as a given. Daddy was there to witness it all, and I predict that whatever comes next will demand sharper vision, real accountability and far less tolerance for business as usual.