RARE JUVENILE DINOSAUR FOSSIL NETS A JAW-DROPPING $30.5 MILLION AT AUCTION
Following a six minute bidding war, the only known juvenile Ceratosaurus fossil fetched $30.5 million in a Sotheby’s New York auction this week, surpassing its high estimate of $6 million. Currently there are only three known Ceratosaurus fossils, with the recently sold fossil measuring just over 6 feet tall and nearly 11 feet long. It is estimated that the Ceratosaurus would have existed about 154 to 159 million years ago. The remains were discovered at the Bone Cabin Quarry in Wyoming in 1996, making its first public appearance at Sotheby’s. This particular quarry has been an archaeological site for the American Museum of Natural History from 1898 to 1905, with the museum’s curator of vertebrate palaeontology describing it as “the greatest find of extinct animals made in a single locality in any part of the world.” Other dinosaurs such as a Brontosaurus, Allosaurus, and Stegosaurus have been found in this site too. Cassandra Hatton, the vice chairman for science and natural history at Sotheby’s, has shared, “This juvenile Ceratosaurus is a marvel of prehistoric preservation—an extraordinary specimen that bridges scientific rarity with natural beauty. Among the very finest dinosaur fossils to ever be offered at auction, this unique specimen underscores Sotheby’s ongoing commitment to presenting the most important and precious treasures from our planet’s deep past.”
The juvenile Ceratosaurus that went to auction on July 16th 2025
MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ AND PETER DOIG WIN £77,000 PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE PRIZES
Marina Abramović has been announced as the recipient of the 2025 Praemium Imperiale Award for Sculpture and Peter Doig has received the award for painting. The two artists are among the five international recipients for the award and will receive 15 million yen (£77,000) honorarium. The selected artists include Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker for theatre and film, András Schiff for music, and Eduardo Souto de Moura for architecture. The award is presented by the Japan Art Association, under its honorary patron Prince Hitachi, the younger brother of the Emperor Emeritus of Japan. Marina Abramović is a household name, celebrated for her provocative performance art. Abramović recently held an exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, which also marked the first time a woman artist occupied the entire gallery space. London based Peter Doig has established himself as a leading practitioner of the “New Figurative Painting.” Following studies at Central Saint Martin’s and the Chelsea School of Art, Doig moved back to Trinidad. Across three decades, Doig has been exhibited at Tate Britain (2008), the Fondation Beyeler (2014-15), the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (2020), and the Courtauld Gallery (2023). The nominees for the award are selected by international advisors before the list is submitted to the Japan Art Association.
Peter Doig and Marina Abramović
THE CITY PALACE IN JAIPUR TO HOST FIRST GALLERY-CURATED SHOW
Los Angeles’ Rajiv Menon Contemporary is curating an exhibition titled “Non-Residency,” at Jaipur’s City Palace. The show will explore what it means to be part of the Indian diaspora and will mark the first time the Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA) has partnered with a single gallery on a full exhibition. The exhibition is also Rajiv Menon’s first project in India, with the gallery spotlighting contemporary perspectives from South Asia and the diaspora. Featuring works by sixteen artists, the exhibition will examine the cultural divides created between those based in their homeland and those who are part of the diaspora. Artists such as Melissa Joseph, Baseera Khan, and Suchitra Mattai, explore themes of immigration, exile, and cultural hybridisation. Alongside this, there is also an artist residency programme, with participating artists Anoushka Mirchandani and Nibha Akireddy. Both will be showcasing new works in the exhibition, crafted within the context of Jaipur’s culture and history. Rajiv Menon has described how, “This collaboration is an opportunity to create an international dialogue around Indian contemporary art that isn’t tangled in the logistics of authenticity, but rather meditates on evolution and fluidity, to put forward a new understanding of our shared culture.” JCA co-founder Noelle Kadar also shared, “We are linking the art of India’s past to its future, to demonstrate to the world the excellent work that is being made by Indian artists today.” The show will run from August 9th – September 8th, 2025.
Suchitra Mattai, Set Free, 2025
MEYER RIEGGER AND JOCELYN WOLFF OPEN JOINT SEOUL GALLERY AHEAD OF FRIEZE
This September will see two galleries, Meyer Riegger and Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, opening a permanent joint space in Seoul, ahead of the 2025 edition of Frieze Seoul. This venture has been led by director and partner at Meyer Riegger, Gaia Musi. The project sees the continuation from a previous joint venture between the galleries where they opened a temporary space in Manhattan’s East Village with project space Osmos. As for the inaugural exhibition, titled Heute Nacht geträumt (Dreamed Last Night), it will follow a layout inspired by the French salon. Works spanning across four centuries by artists such as Miriam Cahn, Eugène Carrière, Meret Oppenheim, and Jonathan Monk will be featured in the show. The two galleries also co-represent a number of artists, including Swiss painter Miriam Cahn and Katinka Bock, a German sculptor.
Meyer Riegger Wolff, Seoul. Designed by Choi Wook
LONDON ARTS CENTRE TO AMPLIFY GLOBAL MAJORITY VOICES AND ‘URGENT QUESTIONS’
Ibraaz, a new art institution set to open this October in London, aims to amplify global majority voices and pose “difficult, urgent questions” alongside civil debate. Its founder, Lina Lazaar has said, “There has never been a greater need to create the conditions for genuine dialogue and a space for inquiry.” The centre is funded by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, named after Lina’s father, a Tunisian businessman who has been a long-term advocate for north African and Middle Eastern art. The inaugural exhibition is set to be Ibrahim Maham’s long-running work Parliament of Ghosts, featuring discarded objects from Ghana. In addition, a “library-in-residence” will be curated by the Otolith Collective, while the centre’s bookshop will be run by Burley Fisher, an east London bookseller, and curated by the Palestinian festival of literature. Ibraaz will be situated at 93 Mortimer Street, a building that has seen previous lives as a synagogue, the residence of Sir Robert Bateson, a Conservative politician, the London Galvanic hospital, and the German Athenaeum. Lazaar has noted that she was initially hesitant regarding space due to its history, but she now sees Ibraaz as a way to “reclaim the space” and champion marginalised voices.
Ibrahim Mahama’s Parliament of Ghosts showing at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester in 2019
EXPERTS UNCOVER THE FIRST ROYAL TOMB AT ANCIENT MAYA CITY IN BELIZE
The remains of the first royal tomb at Caracol, an ancient Maya city in Belize, have been uncovered. The tomb houses Te K’ab Chaak, who came to the throne in 331 C.E. as the first ruler of the city and founder of its royal dynasty. A number of objects such as pottery vessels, jadeite jewellery, and a mosaic jadeite mask, were found in the tomb alongside Chaak. The tomb was discovered by Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase, a married archaeologist duo, who discovered that Chaak’s tomb was the first of three major burials dating to around 350 C.E. The archaeological remains have also revealed contact with the city of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, a major trading player throughout Central America. Diane Z. Chase, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Houston, shared that, “Maya carved stone monuments, hieroglyphic dates, iconography, and archaeological data all suggest that widespread pan-Mesoamerican connections occurred after an event in 378 C.E. referred to as the ‘entrada,’ whether this event represented actual Teotihuacanos in the Maya area or Maya using central Mexican symbols is still debated. The Caracol archaeological data suggests that the situation was far more complicated.” The Chases have been able to deduce the connections and highlight the trading reach of the Maya rulers at the time, through the exploration of remains such as cremations within the archaeological sites.
Caana, the central architectural complex at Caracol, Belize.
Jordan Tan holds an MA in History of Art from the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art. With a passion for fine art and the art market, Jordan plays a key role at Art Works by researching and interpreting trends across the primary and secondary markets, delivering valuable insights and business intelligence for the fine art department.
