London Artist Maya Golyshkina Is a Model of Self-Promotion
The Russian-born designer/photographer transforms her body into airplanes, pizzas and cityscapes for absurdist photographs that blend sculpture and performance. With a profile built on Instagram and works sold directly to collectors, her practice is a portrait of success in the attention economy.
Norway Oil Fund CEO Nicolai Tangen Pushes Back on Tech Caps for $2 Trillion Nest Egg
Nicolai Tangen oversees a fund large enough to shape markets but bound by a public mandate. But there’s tension brewing between Norway’s financial independence and its reliance on American technology.
The Essentials With Leslie Frank: The Orient Express, Vienna State Opera and an Excellent Napa Chardonnay
A former journalist turned Napa wine executive, Leslie Frank shares the places, products and rituals she relies on at home and on the road.
New York
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Pauline Karpidas’s Surrealist Sensibility Returns to Sotheby’s in a Dedicated Jewelry Sale
After her art collection achieved record results in London, a dedicated New York evening sale will present the jewels she wore and loved, led by a JAR ring estimated at up to $3.5 million. The 70-lot sale spans bold avant-garde commissions, Art Deco masterpieces and historic pieces.
Luxury Asset Capital Fine Art Lead Chloe Kilburn on Borrowing against Collections
Chloe Kilburn helps collectors raise money without selling their art. Her valuations depend on auction records, marketability and what a work could fetch if a borrower fails to repay.
Inside the Making of Rockefeller Center’s First Hotel
Opening in 2027, the Nell New York is transforming vacant office floors at 10 Rockefeller Plaza into a 134-room hotel.
How Masa Takayama Created a Culinary Empire on His Own Terms
At Tobi Masa, Takayama reflects on the risks, reinventions and uncompromising approach that shaped a restaurant career spanning Los Angeles, New York and London.
Carnegie Deli’s Sarri Harper Isn’t Shrinking the Sandwich
Nearly a decade after Carnegie Deli closed its original dining room, Sarri Harper has reopened it one block south, in the space Stage Deli once occupied. The 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree says the portions aren’t getting any smaller.
Art
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The Real Barrier to Collecting Art Isn’t the Cost But the Commitment
After building a rental model for original contemporary art, Art House co-founder and CEO Angela Chatzidimitriou contends that the appetite for artworks is ubiquitous across demographics. What keeps it off most walls is not price or lack of desire but taste anxiety.
10 Must-See Exhibitions in Tokyo
Mariko Mori’s sweeping survey at the Mori Art Museum anchors an Art Week Tokyo that also includes shows by Philippe Parreno, Gabriel Orozco and Kour Pour, reflecting a scene growing more international—and more confident—each year.
The Best Art Galleries in Engadin Valley, Switzerland
Known for its unparalleled skiing and five-star hospitality, Switzerland’s Engadin Valley has, in recent years, become a must-visit destination for art lovers and collectors.
A Los Angeles Itinerary for Art Lovers
L.A.’s cultural riches range from encyclopedic museums and idiosyncratic galleries to design studios and architectural wonders. Our four-day guide covers where to stay, what to see and where to eat between stops.
Kerry James Marshall’s “The Histories” Finds a Fitting Home in Paris
Following stops at Kunsthaus Zürich and the Royal Academy, the survey has landed at Musée d’Art Moderne. In more than 70 works, it traces how Marshall absorbed painting traditions to fill art history with the Black subjects it omitted.
Business
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Armani CEO Giuseppe Marsocci Weighs Who Gets the First 15 Percent of the House
For Armani’s beauty and eyewear partners, a shareholding would add influence to longstanding licensing deals. Marsocci also has to settle how a first investment leads to the next sale.
Executive Chairman Brunello Cucinelli Raises His Cashmere Empire’s 2026 Forecast
Brunello Cucinelli generated €1.124 billion in revenue through September and raised his 2026 growth outlook to 12 percent. Behind the numbers is his decades-long experiment in humanistic capitalism.
AlphaSense CFO Samantha Greenberg on Wall Street, A.I. Pricing and a Possible IPO
AlphaSense CFO Samantha Greenberg says the company is absorbing significant A.I. costs as agents take over 99 percent of research on its platform.
Ana Botín’s Santander Payouts Face a Dealmaking Test
In 2015, Ana Botín cut Santander’s dividend to strengthen the bank. Eleven years later, she is returning billions while integrating purchases in Britain and the United States.
How David Ellison Can Reinvent His Cable Brands Without Cable
David Ellison has inherited cable brands with audiences, libraries and talent relationships. Brandon Katz argues that their next act should focus on what they offered viewers, rather than how viewers watched.
Travel
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The Hotel Breakfasts That Turn the First Meal Into the Main Event
From gold-leaf dining rooms in Paris and Champagne buffets in Ibiza to canoe deliveries in Bora Bora and giraffes at the table in Nairobi, these hotels know breakfast should be more than eggs and obligation.
Larry McGuire on Why Breaking Into Dallas Is Harder Than Buying a Hotel in New York
The MML Hospitality co-founder talks about waking up Austin’s Driskill, bringing April Bloomfield to Texas and why Clark’s Oyster Bar can be a chain.
Tracing Family Roots Back to Romania, With a Little Dracula on the Side
A descendant of Dracula returns to Romania to discover family roots, folklore and plenty of tuică.
The Business of Keeping a French Château Alive, Beyond the Fantasy
Behind the romance of château ownership lies a constant negotiation between preservation, regulation, modernization and the money required to keep the estate going.
Philippe Starck Is Shaping a New Retreat Around Village Life in the Portuguese Countryside
A few minutes from his own home in Melides, Starck is helping shape ASerra, where villas, a hotel and a timber village are planned across 210 acres of woodland.
Nightlife & Dining
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Margarita Kallas-Lee and Phillip Frankland Lee Set Their Sights on Three Michelin Stars
The Scratch Restaurants co-owners already operate 30 venues across the United States. Now, they’re gearing up to debut an inn and a fine-dining establishment on a Texas farm.
Chris and Harris Pappas Let Diners Land Helicopters at Pappas Bros. Until the FAA Found Out
Chris and Harris Pappas run more than 80 restaurants across eight states, and their CEO started as a college waiter. The 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees talk about putting the family name on the door and the Dallas steakhouse guests started flying to.
For Rasmus Munk, Alchemist’s Intermission Is Only the Beginning
Rasmus Munk is betting that a five-month experiment away from service could be the best thing to happen to his two-Michelin-starred restaurant.
The Enduring Allure of the Masquerade Ball
The masquerade has survived centuries of bans, scandals and reinvention, sustained by the same promise of mystery, escape and social freedom.
2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List
The people who decide where we eat and drink, and who gets in.
Expert Insights
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Luxury’s Growth Problem: Can Rarity and Sustainability Restore Its Appeal?
After decades of expansion and steep price increases, luxury faces a crisis of perceived value. Rebuilding its appeal will require more than marketing, argues IMD’s Stéphane JG Girod, brands must make scarcity meaningful and sustainability central to how they design, produce and sell.
From Stadium to City, The Next Frontier in Venue Design Is Everything Around the Building
The next frontier in venue design is the space between the building and the city. From circulation and public space to neighborhood connections and non-event-day activity, Populous’ Jonathan Mallie explains why the most successful venues are designed as interconnected destinations that invite people to gather, explore and return.
Could Enterprise Data Determine Who Wins in A.I. Agents?
A.I. is making it easier for employees to generate dashboards and custom applications without waiting on data teams. The next challenge, argues MotherDuck’s Jordan Tigani, is ensuring those tools reflect the way a business actually operates.
To Succeed, Museums Must Capture Attention Online and Cultivate It Offline
In an economy built on distraction, Voorlinden director Suzanne Swarts argues that cultural institutions should resist adding more spectacle. Space, silence and time may be the most valuable things they can offer visitors once they pass a museum’s threshold.
Will the A.I. Assistant Wars Produce a SuperApp?
The race to build an A.I. assistant for everything is accelerating, but consumer habits and the challenges of real-world execution could make a single superapp unlikely. The next opportunity, argues Premise Ventures’ Mercedes Bent, may lie in specialized agents that can reliably complete tasks and work together.
Lifestyle
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The 15 Standout Luxury Watches Setting the Tone for 2026
This buying guide of debut timepieces and established references proves that this year’s most compelling watches need not be either brand-new or impossible to buy.
Jihan Lee and Takahiro Sakaeda Are Taking TBD Gimbap Permanent
Nami Nori has five restaurants in four states and grew 40 percent last year. Launchpad Hospitality is also taking TBD Gimbap permanent in Manhattan.
Fidel Caballero and Sofia Ostos Want You to Respect the Tortilla Like You Respect the Baguette
The Corima founders talk about the dish that tastes like home, going into business with childhood friends and who gets to be the “bad guy.”
Sam Bakhshandehpour on Bilt, José Andrés and the Rainy Monday Problem
Bilt’s president of merchants talks about the family dinner table, what he learned beside José Andrés and why a company built on rent cares where you eat.
Ahmass Fakahany Brought Wall Street’s Rules to the Restaurant Business
The Altamarea Group founder talks about what Wall Street taught him, his alliance with Major Food Group and why opening in New York is harder than anywhere else he operates.
Interviews
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Elvira Dyangani Ose Wants Zeitz MOCAA to Belong to Its City
Arriving at the museum after years at Tate Modern and MACBA, the newly appointed artistic director sees its historical and spatial contradictions as a curatorial invitation. Her vision centers on collectivity, Pan-Africanism and real accountability to the communities the institution serves.
Ukrainian Folk Art Survived Soviet Suppression. Now It’s Joining the Historical Canon.
GUNIA Project and Assouline are bringing this overlooked heritage into international focus with “Naïve My Love: Ukrainian Folk Art of the 20th Century,” a book that celebrates the country’s self-taught artists while documenting a cultural legacy increasingly threatened by war.
For Hassanein Hiridjee, Collecting Art Is a Commitment to Africa’s Future
The AXIAN Group CEO founded Fondation H, the country’s first private foundation of its kind, and has assembled a fast-growing collection of Malagasy and African artists. He sees their work as a source of identity, pride and hope for the continent’s future.
With FUZE, John Cox Is Carving Pathways Between the Caribbean’s Scenes and the Broader Art World
Now in its fourth edition, FUZE Caribbean Art Fair is helping position the Bahamas as a meeting point for the region’s artists, collectors and global arts institutions. Beyond the booths, a network of museums, artist-run initiatives and corporate partnerships is laying the foundation for a more robust and visible cultural ecosystem.
Inside Dario Duran’s Initiative Connecting Iranian Artists to the Global Art World
Born from a moment of crisis, “Continuum: Artist Relief for Iran” has evolved into a platform that gives international collectors, curators and institutions access to contemporary Iranian art, with 100 percent of sales proceeds going to the artists.
Features
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How a Paris Art Collective Turned Squatting into a Sustainable Model of Artistic Production
“In the end, it isn’t necessarily about money or success. Sometimes it’s just space, tools, some free materials and a few friends to talk things through with. I think that’s one of the most important things we’re trying to preserve with this project,” Le Wonder founder Nelson Persico tells Observer.
The French Watchmakers Every Collector Should Know
Some design in Paris and build in Switzerland, others assemble internationally sourced components at home and still others develop their own mechanisms in complex cross-border arrangements. Our guide to French makers, from Breguet to Depancel, maps the many forms the country’s horological brilliance takes.
Curator Catherine Nichols’s Lyon Biennale Turns the City’s Trading Past Into a Poetic Framework
She borrows from Robert Filliou and Walter Benjamin to present the work of 119 artists around themes of consumption, industry and exchange. The overall concept feels nebulous, but the art, especially at Les Grandes Locos, delivers.
Amid Protests and an Early Closure Announcement, Art Basel Paris Finds Buyers for Its Safest Bets
The fair announced that it will conclude its 2026 edition on Friday evening in response to protests planned in the French capital for Saturday. Yet despite the unrest in the streets, a Modigliani priced above $100 million and eight-figure sales set an optimistic tone at the Grand Palais and VIP collectors came ready to buy.
How Bars Are Building Cocktail Menus Around Art Collections
Art is moving beyond the walls and into the drinks list, as bartenders use collections and artist archives as a framework for entire menus.
Power Lists
See All2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List
The people who decide where we eat and drink, and who gets in.
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.
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.
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.
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One Fine Show: “Solid Pictures, Photosculpture and the Making of Modern Likeness”
At Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center, an exhibition revisits the Parisian inventor whose ingenious, short-lived process combined photography and sculpture in the 1860s. Its pairing with contemporary art suggests how little the dream of mechanical rendering has changed.
These Are the World’s Most Haunted Paintings
Museums, hotels and private collections worldwide hold canvases rumored to harbor restless spirits and malevolent energy. Their legends range from the merely eerie to the genuinely chilling.
A Collector’s Guide to Bangkok’s Best Art Galleries
The Thai capital rewards travelers willing to look beyond the temples with riverside art complexes, galleries in restored schoolhouses, private museums and experimental project spaces. Inside these venues, you’ll find works that reflect a scene shaped by Buddhism, pop culture, political unease and global exchange.
ICOM’s New Ethics Code Reconsiders What Museums Owe the Public
Adopted this year, the revised guidelines ask institutions to serve as inclusive, reparative spaces while confronting A.I., the climate crisis and colonial pasts, marking the latest step in museums’ evolution from guardians of objects to civic actors.
Anthony Noto Puts $25 Billion of SoFi Card Volume on Stablecoin Rails
SoFi is migrating more than $25 billion in annualized debit and credit card volume to settlement using SoFiUSD. Record earnings give CEO Anthony Noto room to test whether the infrastructure can become a business of its own.
Ryan McInerney Finally Gets Visa a Path Into China’s Domestic Card Market
Visa has preliminary approval to build a domestic clearing business in China. CEO Ryan McInerney enters the push after a record fiscal year and into a market transformed by UnionPay, Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Observer’s 2026 November Art Fair Calendar
Our roundup of this month’s art fairs will help you put together the perfect itinerary.
Artists Are Turning to Folklore to Make Sense of Technology
Myth and ritual have always helped humans navigate change, and contemporary sculptors are increasingly drawing on both to interrogate digital life and technologies like A.I. Rather than retreating into nostalgia, they treat the past as raw material for imagining what comes next.
At Fondation Louis Vuitton, Gustave Fayet Emerges as a Forerunner of the Modern Multi-Hyphenate
In Paris, a sweeping exhibition presents the Béziers-born collector, artist and entrepreneur through the lens of the Post-Impressionist works he acquired and the decorative objects he made. The result is an absorbing portrait of taste, ambition and creative range.
Sotheby’s Sells “Jodi” the Nanotyrannus for $47.3 Million, Reigniting the Fossil Ownership Debate
The 67-million-year-old skeleton, shown at Frieze Masters in 2023 as a juvenile T. rex with a $20 million asking price, drew six bidders and now ranks as the second-most-valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction. With fossils increasingly showing up in the international art market, sales like this one raise questions about speculation, scientific rights and the ethics of private ownership.
Chintan Pandya, Roni Mazumdar and Vijay Kumar Aren’t Apologizing for Indian Food
The restaurateurs behind Semma, Dhamaka and Adda and 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees, talk about regional Indian cuisine, growing their nine-concept group and the limits of pleasing diners.
John Terzian and Brian Toll Built Delilah for Their Friends. 10 Years Later, They’re Bringing It to New York.
The h.wood Group co-founders and 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees talk about Delilah’s 10th anniversary, their first New York venue and keeping famous rooms private.
