Bortolami Signs Emily Sundblad as White Cube Adds Shigeo Otake

By Daniel Okafor

Bortolami now represents Emily Sundblad, the New York painter and cofounder of Reena Spaulings Fine Art. She'll have a work in the gallery's booth at Art Basel Miami Beach in December. In February, she debuts a theatrical production made with Ken Okiishi at the New Theater Hollywood.

Shigeo Otake joins White Cube. The Kobe-born, Kobe-based painter makes surrealist-inflected canvases crowded with otherworldly figures. New paintings debut at the gallery's Art Basel Paris booth, ahead of a solo at Mason's Yard in spring 2028. That's a patient runway. Galleries rarely schedule two years out unless they mean it.

Who else switched galleries this week?

The October shuffle, in brief:

• Olney Gleason takes on Kour Pour. The artist works with his British and Iranian heritage; a solo opens at the gallery in early 2027. Works are on view now in its Frieze London booth.
• Hanna Hur joins Greene Naftali. The Toronto-born, New York-based painter is showing new work there now. She appeared in the 2025 Made in L.A. biennial.
• Alexander Berggruen now represents Raul de Lara. The sculptor handcrafts wood pieces depicting flora and household objects. He recently made work for Hermès.
• Jan Kaps adds Lukas Luzius Leichtle. The hyper-realist body painter showed solo at the Cologne gallery in June and brings new work to its Art Basel Paris booth.

What's happening on the ground in New York?

Tanja Grunert and Fierman will share a Chinatown space at 19 Pike Street. They're not merging. Both galleries keep their own programs and artists, rotating use of the room. The first show is a solo for Odette Steinert, opening November 13.

Institutions moved too. Mary Deleary (Chippewas of the Thames First Nation) becomes director of the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in Santa Fe on October 19. She currently directs the IAIA Research Center for Contemporary Native Arts under the same Institute of American Indian Arts umbrella. An internal promotion, in other words.

Chicago's Gertie, the company behind Chicago Exhibition Week, promoted Chanelle Lacy to managing director. Lacy joined in 2023. "Chanelle is a force, and this appointment is about recognizing that and giving her an even bigger platform," founder Abby Pucker said in a statement.

The Rubin Museum gave nearly $195,000 in research grants for Himalayan art. The 2026 cycle drew 250 letters of inquiry; 13 grantees receive between $3,000 and $25,000 each. Winners include Peldon Tshering, Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye, and Tenzing Rigdol.

Why is everyone talking about $35 million?

That's the high estimate for Amedeo Modigliani's limestone Tête (1911–12), heading to Phillips. Modigliani painted the famous nudes — elongated figures, almond eyes — but he also made roughly 28 sculptures in his lifetime. This one hasn't changed hands since 1972, which is what "fresh to the market" means when a specialist says it.

The work "embodies everything that makes Modigliani's sculpture so revered, including its profound art historical importance," Phillips deputy chairman of the Americas and senior international specialist Jeremiah Evarts said.

The numbers frame the bet. The estimate sits just above the second-most expensive Modigliani sculpture ever sold — another Tête, which made $34.3 million in 2019. His sculpture record is $52.8 million. For paintings, Nu couché (1918) set $170.4 million in 2015, a benchmark that has held for over a decade.

What does Frieze's opening tell us about the art world's backstage?

Ahead of Frieze's VIP opening, the New York Times ran a dispatch from Hong Kong on what it takes to mount a fair at that scale. Reporter Mercedes Hutton skipped the fair director and focused on what she calls the work that happens "in the shadows" — the logistics firm that builds the crates moving artworks by land, sea, or air.

The best moment is craft talk. Franck Vidal, head of fabrication for Eythos, describes building a crate even before a work is finished. "To me, the journey starts on the screen or as data," he says. Worth reading what comes next.

With Miami Beach in December, Paris this week, and a $35 million Modigliani in between, the season's chessboard is already set.