Observer (original) (raw)

At Basel Social Club, the Office Becomes a Playground of Anti-Productivity

In an increasingly commodified art world, this is one fair at which creativity doesn’t feel dependent on returns and maximization.

In Full Bloom: The Most Beautiful Hotel Gardens in America

From English-style courtyards to Tuscan-inspired estates, these hotel gardens make the case for checking in and heading straight back outside.

After the Clearing: Remembering Hilde Lynn Helphenstein

Most of the world knew Hilda as “Jerry Gogosian,” the art world satirist. But within her often hilarious dispatches, Georges Bergès found a profound message.

SpaceX’s First Post-IPO Deal Mints Four Young A.I. Multibillionaires

Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif, Aman Sanger and Arvid Lunnemark turned a college-era bet on A.I. coding into one of Elon Musk’s biggest prospective deals.

From Fingerprints to Passports: Trust After A.I. Detection

Building ever more sophisticated A.I. detection tools may already be reaching its limits. As synthetic content floods the digital ecosystem, A.I. expert Mike Pino argues the future of trust will depend less on identifying what machines created than on constructing systems of provenance, authorship and accountability.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault Says He Uses A.I. Weekly to Design Products

LVMH is scaling A.I. from product design to retail operations, with CEO Bernard Arnault personally testing A.I. tools on a weekly basis.

With Roku, Murdoch’s Fox May Have Found the Smarter Way to Win Streaming

Fox sat out much of the costly content arms race, and Roku now gives it a way to monetize the platforms where that battle plays out.

Lachlan Murdoch Pushes Fox Deeper Into Streaming With $22B Roku Deal

Murdoch is betting on Roku to accelerate Fox’s next phase of streaming growth. The Roku acquisition would unlock user data, expand reach and position the company as a leader in the fast-growing CTV ad market.

Konstantina Krikzoni’s Warriors Find Their Power in Balance

In her latest work, she channels grief, Greek antiquity and Jungian duality into a fresh language of feminine force, androgynous physicality and open possibility.

Yoko Ono Has Outlasted the Scorn, the Caricatures and the Blame

“Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind” at The Broad in L.A. brings together decades of work that predated and anticipated many of the ideas now central to contemporary art.

Middle Node and What It Takes to Build an Art Scene Outside New York and L.A.

There are plenty of exhibitions in the Rust Belt; the challenge has always been finding them.

“Climate Clock” in Oulu Reckons With a Warming World

Curator Alice Sharp describes the project as an attempt to step outside the ordinary tyranny of clock time and into something else: a space “between the tick and the tock,” where new worlds can be imagined.

Michael Gallagher’s ‘The Leader’ Drops the Ball Dramatically

The film, which screened at Tribeca, is shockingly dull for a tale of people so impassioned that they were willing to kill themselves based on misguided beliefs about the world and about themselves.

Aktar Islam’s Indian Fine Dining Is Built on a Lifetime of Curiosity

At Opheem and Oudh 1722, Aktar Islam turns books, travel and years of research into Indian fine dining that moves from Bengali broths to Awadhi kebabs.

Lisa Vanderpump’s Vegas Hotel Is Campy, Clever and Somehow Good

Lisa Vanderpump’s first hotel turns reality-TV spectacle into a surprisingly persuasive Vegas stay.

Andaz One Bangkok Finds Calm Above the City’s Electric Chaos

Set above Wireless Road, the new hotel balances Bangkok’s street-level rush with warm design, sharp dining, custom tea cocktails and skyline-facing calm.

The Insider’s Guide to Athens, Beyond the Greek Island Stopover

The city most travelers once rushed through now makes a better case for lingering, with serious hotels, ambitious kitchens, late-night bars and enough energy to make the islands feel almost optional.

The 10 Most Exciting Restaurants Opening in New York City This June

From a bar on a boat to the long-awaited unveiling of a food hall in a historic space, June’s openings are built for summer.

How Chess.com Co-Founder Danny Rensch Turned a Centuries-Old Game Into a Media Empire

Danny Rensch helped transform Chess.com from an online playing platform into a media, subscription and creator economy business. As Netflix, streaming and A.I. reshape chess’s cultural profile, Rensch has become one of the game’s most visible executives.

Ho Jae Kim’s Civil Art Returns to Christie’s With a Million-Dollar Milestone in Sight

What began as a fundraiser has become a nonprofit ecosystem connecting artists, institutions, galleries and community organizations.

Francesca Mollett’s Architecture of Abstraction

In “Buried Shadow” at GRIMM, she transforms memory, matter and perception into tableau vivants in which light, color and form shift under the eye.

MOCAD’s Co-Directors On What a Museum Owes a Changing City

“Meaningful cultural work doesn’t happen in isolation—it’s built through listening, collaboration, adaptability and trust,” artistic director Jova Lynn told Observer.

The Essentials With Carley Fortune: “Off Campus,” Tofino and All Things Barry’s Bay

The bestselling novelist shares the settings, shows, skincare and travel staples she returns to, from Barry’s Bay nostalgia to Tofino’s foggy coastline.

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.

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.

In Basel, a Cautious But Committed Market Rediscovers Its Nerve

“Art Basel remains the most important fair of the year… It starts strong, and it stays strong.”

Performa’s Broadway Benefit Brought Fresh Magic to an Old Format

Fifty artists gathered at New York’s Town Hall theater for one unforgettable vaudeville-inspired evening of live performance art.

‘Giant’ and the Seduction of Certainty

Director and playwright Moisés Kaufman sees the play’s power not in its denouncement of antisemitism but in its depiction of how antisemitism persists.

At Liste Basel, Market Trends Give Way to Explorations of Contemporary Anxiety

While the usual sense of urgency was lacking, dealers reported that collector response on opening day was solid.

New York’s Design Sales Offered a Clearer Picture of What Serious Collectors Want

From French postwar design and American studio craft to ceramics, Tiffany lamps and contemporary collectibles, buyers at Sotheby’s and Phillips pursued rarity in all its forms.

For David Hockney, Looking Was Living

He was born in Yorkshire, died in London and never lost his flat Northern accent. Something else he never lost in his 88 years on earth was his love of looking and using whatever tool felt right to capture what he saw.

The Best Rosé Wines to Sip This Summer

Whether you’re poolside lounging or gathering with friends for a backyard BBQ, rosé shines as the ultimate summer sipper.

What the Cultural Sector Got Wrong About the Philadelphia Museum of Art Rebrand

Arts institutions may now think twice before touching their brands, but MiresBall principal and creative director John Ball says it’s short-sighted to assume a rebrand is always the wrong move.

€3.5 Million Raised in 20 Minutes: Inside the American Friends of Versailles Gala

Among the elegant evening’s auction lots were luxury excursions, fine art and a diamond bracelet that became the lively paddle round’s most coveted piece.

Why Cutting Humans Too Fast Could Backfire in the A.I. Era

Drawing past corporate efficiency revolutions, from outsourcing to open-office culture, Patty Azzarello examines why so many companies are approaching A.I. as a labor-reduction strategy rather than a leadership challenge.

Our Favorite Looks from the Frick Collection Spring Garden Party

The see-and-be-seen set leaned hard into stunning seasonal pastels and flouncy floral motifs.

Sun Valley 2026 Guest List: A Mix of Familiar Moguls and Newer Names

This year’s Sun Valley gathering is expected to bring together tech CEOs, media moguls, A.I. founders, investors and journalists for another week of dealmaking and power-watching.