Christie's $1B Evening Sale Features Nicole Kidman, Pollock, Brancusi

Christie's held a record-setting $1 billion evening sale on May 18, featuring works by Jackson Pollock and Constantin Brancusi alongside Hollywood star Nicole Kidman. The event underscores the art market's continued appetite for high-value transactions. In other news, Paterson, New Jersey unveiled a new Gaza Square with a sculpture titled 'Gaza Love' (2014–) by artist and activist Kyle Goen, commemorating the city's large diasporic Palestinian community. Tara Anne Dalbow explores the resurgence of painted book covers as a human counterpoint to AI-generated imagery. Daria Simone Harper reviews 'Paris in Black: Internationalism and the Black Renaissance' at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, celebrating Black American artists who sought freedom in post-war Paris. Bahar Behbahani's 'Damask Rose: A Gathering' on Governors Island blended performance, dialogue, and rest as part of the Interventions series. Sponsored exhibitions include In Kyoung Chun: Make Room at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art and Maria Britton: Second Sleep at the same venue. A member comment by Christopher Pelham criticizes art fair booth costs as excluding inspiring contemporary artists. From the archive: Ed Simon reflects on memento mori in art.