Amid years of uncertainty, we appear to have reached the “What if?” phase—that thrilling interlude where everyone pretends to know what happens next and the moment immediately preceding the question, “Whose idea was this?” It is a sequence that the art world has rehearsed, though never, remarkably, with improved results. 

In the US, the globe-trotting glitterati flocked to upstate New York to attend the 2026 Dia Art Foundation Spring Benefit in Beacon. Some 600 usual suspects made the trek from Manhattan (and beyond) to honor living artists Lee Ufan, Tehching Hsieh, and Kishio Suga (plus deceased visionaries such as Jack Whitten and Agnes Martin). Among the throng: the glamorous Jenny Yeh, founder of Taipei’s Winsing Art Foundation, and Isha Ambani, daughter of India’s richest billionaire, proving that nothing says “intimate celebration of artistic vision” quite like the heirs of industrial magnates. One unexpected attendee: Tim Blum, nearly 12 months after abruptly shuttering his midsized mega gallery. Word has it he came to “support” his once long-time artist Kishio Suga—though astute observers might wonder whether this support was emotional, financial, or merely rhetorical. In an industry where exits are seldom permanent and reunions rarely sincere, his presence served its purpose: to be noticed, to be discussed, and above all, to suggest that closing a gallery is merely another form of performance art. 

A similar note of resignation might have motivated Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s (LGD) curious decision to hold private auctions in their private gallery. On the same day as the Dia fundraiser, LGD staged their “LGD Hammer”: a single Willem de Kooning that reportedly fetched the low estimate of USD 10 million. Translation: “We hoped for more, but here we are.” The move tracks Brett Gorvy’s departure from Christie’s in 2016 after 23 years at the summit as chairman and international head of postwar and contemporary art. The subsequent Frankenstein arrangement at leading secondary-market galleries has not gone unnoticed. Whether this heralds a broader trend among auctioneers-turned-gallerists or consultants remains to be seen, though eyes are already fixed on the next moves by erstwhile auction chairladies, Rebecca Wei (formerly of Christie’s and LGD in Hong Kong) and Patti Wong (ex-Sotheby’s).