This month has been a whirlwind of auction records, art fairs, major exhibition openings, and much more. Let us guide you through the art world's achievements, announcements, and our take on the market.
Editorial / Art Market
The Hang | October | Your monthly round up of art market based news
23 Oct 2025 | 4 min read
The Market Watch
We break down key sales and what they signal for sentiment and strategy.
The David Hockney Sale: The Arrival of Spring | Sotheby's London
Dedicated Hockney Sale at Sotheby's London, 17 October 2025.
A hugely successful sale, with every lot selling for significantly above its estimate. The standout piece, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 19 February , was estimated to sell between £120,000 - £180,000 and sold for a staggering £762,000.
Sale Total £6,210,300
“The market really hit the autumn season head-on with that incredible energy.”
Tom Eddison, Co-Head of Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s London
Jean-Michel Basquiat | Sotheby's London
Contemporary Day Auction - 17th October
Untitled - Executed in 1981
Oilstick on paper
77.47 x 107.63cm
Estimated £300,000 - £400,000
Sold - £495,300
Billy Childish | Phillips London
Modern Contemporary Day Sale | 18th October 2025
Man Howling at Wolves (2015)
Oil and charcoal on linen
Signed with the artist's monogram
152.4 x 182.8 cm
Estimated - £15,000 - £20,000
Sold - £54,180
Artist Updates
Highlighting who’s gaining ground institutionally and culturally.
Yayoi Kusama | Foundation Beyeler, Basel
In the autumn of 2025, the Fondation Beyeler will be the first museum in Switzerland to devote a retrospective to renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (*1929, Matsumoto). Organised in close collaboration with the artist and her studio, the exhibition will offer a complete overview of Kusama’s more than seven-decade career. Alongside some of her most iconic artworks, the exhibition will feature early works never seen in Europe before as well as new productions and one of the artist’s celebrated Infinity Mirror Rooms.
12 October 2025 – 25 January 2026
Marina Abramović to have historic solo exhibition at Venice’s Galleria dell’Accademia in 2026
She will be the first living woman artist to have a major show at the institution since it opened in 1817.
Frieze London
Frieze Week 2025 has wrapped, and what a week it was. London once again proved why it’s one of the art world’s most magnetic cities.
On View: Our Picks
Pointing you to the shows that matter.
Gilbert + George: 21st Century Pictures | Hayward Gallery, London
21ST CENTURY PICTURES brings together landmark series, including NEW HORNY PICTURES (2001), THE LONDON PICTURES (2011), THE BEARD PICTURES (2016), and THE CORPSING PICTURES (2022). Together, they navigate the messy terrain of modern life, hope and fear, sex and faith, corruption and mortality, laying bare the contradictions that define our time.
7 Oct 2025 – 11 Jan 2026
Nicholas Party - Clotho | Hauser and Wirth, London
This exhibition marks the Swiss artist’s first solo show with Hauser & Wirth London, transforming the gallery into a dreamlike world of colour and contemplation. Party’s pastel portraits, inspired by Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, explore themes of ageing, mortality and quiet reflection. His treescapes act as metaphors for time and transformation, from lush, full-bloom canopies to stark winter silhouettes. With vivid electric-blue walls and architectural arches, Party extends his signature pastel touch beyond the canvas, creating a fully immersive environment.
14 Oct – 20 Dec 2025
Peter Doig - House of Music | The Serpentine, London
Peter Doig transforms the gallery into a vibrant space for looking and listening. House of Music merges painting and sound, featuring recent works alongside rare vintage speakers that fill the space with tracks from Doig’s personal vinyl and cassette collection. Created partly during his Trinidad years, the paintings draw on sound-system culture, memory, and cinematic influence. Central to the show is a 1930s Western Electric sound system, the grandfather of hi-fi, brought back to life through collaboration with audio expert Laurence Passera. Live “Sound Service” sessions invite artists and musicians to activate this sonic environment.
10 Oct 2025 - 8 Feb 2026
Hang-Up's Take
In short, London remains a clear, resilient epicentre for the art world. The autumn auction season brings the focus back to collecting with headlining results from iconic artists such as David Hockney, Peter Doig, Banksy and more.
The return of Frieze and Frieze Masters ends on an optimistic note for the city’s art scene with major sales from Tracey Emin, Harland Miller and Billy Childish.
There is an evident appetite for collecting after the uncertainty of recent years. Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel?
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