X Zhu-Nowell Is Remaking Rockbund, From Admissions to the Archive
The executive director and chief curator has turned the private, nonprofit museum into one of China’s most experimental institutions, with radical exhibitions, free admission, international co-commissions and collabs in working hotels.
By Dan Duray
Lisa Su Is Giving AMD’s Biggest A.I. Customers a Stake in the Company
Lisa Su controls AMD’s push into A.I. infrastructure. The company’s data-center business now supplies nearly two-thirds of its sales, with major customers receiving conditional rights to buy AMD shares.
By Tim Keary
Private Members’ Clubs Reveal What Money Can’t Buy in Luxury
From private members’ clubs to the Milken Institute Asia Summit and Art Basel, the most meaningful luxury experiences are often rooted in community rather than transactions. For Quintessentially’s Lauren Wilt the industry’s future depends on offering something money alone cannot buy: trust
By Lauren Wilt
New York
See AllThe New York Exhibitions Worth Seeing During Art Week NYC
Major surveys of Roy Lichtenstein and Arthur Jafa share the season with a Krasner-Pollock reassessment and Yoshitomo Nara’s largest New York show in years. Ambitious gallery presentations by Doris Salcedo, James Turrell and Tuan Andrew Nguyen round out the list.
Kinsey Robb Explains the Thinking Behind the ADAA Fair’s Year Off and Its Return
The Art Dealers Association of America’s executive director says rising costs, an overcrowded calendar and shifting collector behavior made it necessary to rethink the longest-running art fair in the U.S. It returns in 2026 with a rebranded identity, the Whitney as its beneficiary and a slot in one of New York’s busiest art weeks.
By Dan Duray
Chopard’s Most Glamorous Era Gets a Brilliant Revival
Alongside Cartier, Piaget and Bulgari, the maison has spent decades blurring the line between timepiece and jewelry. Its modern L’Heure du Diamant collection shows why its reputation endures.
At Core Club, Chopard’s “L’Heure du Diamant” Celebrated Six Decades of Glamour
Executives, creators and longtime devotees of the watchmaker gathered to examine heritage jewelry timepieces and to try on millions of dollars’ worth of red-carpet jewels at an exclusive soiree co-hosted with Observer.
By Jasmine Lobe
CEO Albert Yang On Taking Din Tai Fung’s Precision Coast to Coast
The 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree reflects on how the chain scaled up without cutting corners, what opening in New York taught him and where, other than Din Tai Fung, he’d take his toughest critic for dinner.
By The Editors
Art
See AllCan A.I. Help Us Engage More Closely with Art? Some Museums Think So.
Administrators argue that artificial intelligence can replace one-size-fits-all wall text with experiences tailored to an individual’s background and interests. But while the technology promises deeper engagement, its adoption by institutions raises fresh questions about privacy and the human touch.
By Daniel Grant
Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani’s Avenue Floquet Collection Achieves €24.4M at Sotheby’s Paris
More than 1,400 objects from his home, an environment of refinement and elegance created by designer Alberto Pinto, went under the hammer across five sales. The results nearly doubled expectations, and every lot sold.
Valentina Castellani’s Market History Shows How Dealers Built the Canon and Art Became an Asset
Comprehensive histories of how art is bought and sold are rare, and her debut book makes a solid, readable attempt at filling the gap. Its compelling insight into the dealers who shaped modern taste outweighs its occasional reluctance to take sides.
By Evan Beard
How the Art World’s Gender Gap Is Hardwired into Its Networks
Women have gained ground in the primary and secondary markets, but new research suggests the art world’s gender issues are embedded deeply in the systems that determine visibility, institutional validation and economic success.
Art Collaboration Kyoto Keeps Growing Its Reach Without Losing Its Soul
More international galleries and collectors than ever came to the sixth edition, yet the fair kept its unhurried, contemplative character.
Business
See AllFIS CEO Stephanie Ferris Pauses Deals After a $12B Issuing Purchase
The gap between FIS’s reported growth and its pro forma segment growth needs careful reading. A $12 billion net purchase also brings a debt-reduction priority.
By Ivan Castano
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn Is Trading Premium Revenue for Scale
Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn oversees a platform averaging nearly 65 million daily users. His next subscription move brings speaking practice to more of them.
By Tim Keary
Dario Amodei’s Pitch to IPO Investors: Claude Is Worth What It Costs
As CEO of Claude’s creator, Dario Amodei is seeking public-market funding for a lab with $900.9 billion in infrastructure commitments.
By Rachel Curry
Dana Strong’s £1.6B ITV Deal Puts Sky Back in the Ad Business
Examining the advertising relationships and technology Sky would gain, the production business it would not buy and the concessions that could follow.
By Shaili Singh
Matthew Prince Wants Cloudflare to Gatekeep the Agentic Web
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince posted record Q3 revenue of $782.5 million as bots overtake humans online. Here’s how he plans to make A.I. agents pay.
By Tim Keary
Travel
See AllArosa Is the Charming Mountain Town Where Swiss Locals Actually Go to Ski
While tourists battle for reservations in Zermatt and St. Moritz, Switzerland’s most discerning skiers slip off to this high-altitude haven for crowd-free runs and fireside nightcaps.
Views From the Top: The Art of Wintering in St. Moritz
Come for the skiing, stay for the grand hotels, cashmere, caviar and the kind of après that has kept St. Moritz fashionable ever since the resort town invented winter tourism.
How to Experience 4 Premier Swiss Ski Resorts Aboard the Glacier Express
An eight-hour masterclass in alpine indulgence that connects Zermatt, Andermatt, Davos and St. Moritz—and not a single rental car in sight.
By Rana Good
Beyond Cheese and Chocolate: The 8 Swiss Dishes to Try, Canton by Canton
A canton-by-canton guide to the dishes locals love, from creamy veal in Zurich to cherry cake in Zug and porcini risotto in Ticino.
By Rana Good
At 1 Hotel Austin, a High-Rise Stay With the Comforts of Home
The new Austin property blends the brand’s sustainability focus with cozy interiors, destination dining and a rooftop that has already become a draw.
By Juliet Izon
Nightlife & Dining
See AllThe Miami Restaurant Openings to Know This November
From Gordon Ramsay’s steakhouse pivot to Tokyo-style pizza on South Beach, these are the new tables to book before peak season arrives.
By Leila Najafi
Eugene Remm’s SoHo Sizzle Hits The Strip as The Corner Store Makes Its Vegas Debut
Pete Davidson, Russell Westbrook, Scott Sartiano and Ludacris were among the attendees celebrating Eugene Remm’s The Corner Store as it made its official Las Vegas debut.
By Andy Wang
Chef Paul Bartolotta’s Faith in Milwaukee Keeps Paying Off
The Bartolotta Restaurants founder and 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree reflects on believing in his home city, what people get wrong about supper clubs and how to delight diners who have a flight to catch.
By The Editors
What Pairs With Snow? How Alpine Chefs Turn Local Ingredients Into High-Altitude Standouts
At ski destinations around the world, chefs are moving beyond standard après fare with dishes rooted in the landscapes and ingredients around them.
At Luna and Juno, Leonard Tanyag Puts a Playful, Lunar Spin on Traditional Omakase
At Luna in London City and Juno in Notting Hill, Leonard Tanyag serves everything from smoked toro to sweet potato and caviar tacos, making conversation as much a part of the experience as the food.
By Emily Zemler
Expert Insights
See AllThe Leisure Expansion Era: Culture Over Consumption
What comes after achievement? The John Chamberlain Estate’s Alexandra Fairweather argues that as technology changes the value of time, some of the world’s most successful people are turning away from constant novelty and toward the slower, deeper rewards of culture.
Cultural Institutions Need New Audiences. Design Can Help Them Find One.
As cultural institutions face attendance and funding pressures, reaching people beyond their existing audiences has become increasingly crucial. Thoughtful design, argues MiresBall’s John Ball, can help institutions make their programming more accessible, communicate what a visit offers and give newcomers a reason to return.
By John Ball
Tesla’s Bitcoin Bet Holds a Lesson for CFOs Facing Tighter Credit
A strong balance sheet doesn’t guarantee access to cash when credit tightens. Drawing on Tesla’s Bitcoin decisions, Thomas Wu explains how companies can prepare for liquidity pressure before it arrives.
By Thomas Wu
Barclays’ A.I. Bet Signals a New Era for Corporate Hiring
From Barclays to professional services firms, employers are finding ways to automate work once handled by junior staff. Orca’s Chris Simmance unpacks the long-term cost of a broken pipeline of talent.
The A.I. Boom Has a $2 Trillion Question: When Will It Pay Off?
Economist Jane Liu, Ph.D. examines whether the enormous investment fueling the A.I. boom will generate enough productivity gains and revenue to justify its costs. Liu explores the growing role of debt in A.I. infrastructure financing and the risks that could emerge if investor expectations outpace economic returns.
By Jane Liu
Lifestyle
See AllThe 2026 Dodge Charger R/T AWD SIXPACK S.O. Misses the Muscle Car Mark
It’s hard to say exactly who this iteration of the Charger is for. Styled after its legendary ancestors yet burdened with a name that takes a picnic lunch to get through, it aspires to muscle car status but achieves it in appearance only.
Crazy Like Jeremy Fox: Birdie G’s Returns While The Restaurant at Edna Marks a New Chapter
How reviving a deeply personal family restaurant and launching a vineyard dining room in the span of 10 days brought one of California’s top chefs unexpected calm.
By Andy Wang
CEO Georges Kern’s 200-Year-Old Bet to Win Back Breitling’s Walkouts
A Gallet sale ostensibly adds business if the buyer would otherwise have walked out, but replaces a more expensive purchase if that buyer chooses it over a Breitling. Keeping both names worth their asking prices is the CEO’s next complication.
By Paul Jebara
Southwest Michigan’s Next Generation of Winemakers Has a Bigger Vision for the Region
Younger winemakers are drawing on old vines, local training and a collaborative spirit to push southwest Michigan wine further.
At American Ballet Theatre’s Fall Gala, Cynthia Erivo Argued for the Arts
Artistic director Susan Jaffe built the night’s program around the seductive spirits, enchanted dolls, devils and angels. VIPs included Misty Copeland, Katie Holmes, Rashid Johnson, Debbie Allen, Sai De Silva, Ben Platt and Michael Kors.
By Jasmine Lobe
Interviews
See AllArt Week Tokyo’s Most Dynamic Event Is Tucked into the Pods of a Capsule Hotel
Rather than simply offering another alternative to the conventional art fair, co-founders Robbie Okuda Fitzpatrick and Yael Salomonowitz set out to rewrite the rules of the game. Their newest endeavor, Tokyo Jazz Club, makes room for unexpected encounters, creative improvisation and a degree of productive disorder.
Curator Anne Reeve On Trading the National Mall for the Hudson Valley
The Hirshhorn veteran, who led the curatorial program for Hiroshi Sugimoto’s sculpture garden redesign, just became senior curator of Storm King Art Center’s 500-acre outdoor museum. In conversation with Observer, she explains how a dense civic garden and a vast rural park can offer visitors similar experiences on different scales.
By Dan Duray
With UESHIMA MUSEUM, Kankuro Ueshima Makes a Case for Collecting the Present Moment
His Shibuya museum shows emerging local artists alongside globally celebrated figures, giving both domestic and foreign visitors compelling points of entry. Following artists’ careers over many years has become central to his approach.
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.
By Adam Robb
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.
Features
See All72 Hours of Art (and Skiing) in Salt Lake City
With a little endurance and the right set of wheels, you can visit Robert Smithson’s most consequential work, ski past a Sekine and make it back into downtown in time for dinner.
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.
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 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.
By Paul Jebara
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.
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.
By The Editors
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.
By The Editors
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.
Make sense of power as our journalists guide you through the most important trends in business.
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Latest
All LatestWith a Bigger, More International Art Week Tokyo, Japan’s Scene Is Expanding Its Impact
Collectors, curators and trustees from Europe, the U.S. and across Asia arrived to find established Japanese galleries, rising newcomers and international outposts showing at full strength.
Helen Lee-Kim and Lionsgate’s $1 Billion ‘Hunger Games’ Bet
The Hunger Games has grossed $3.3 billion across five films without one entry reaching $1 billion. With ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ arriving Nov. 20, here’s what Hollywood’s post-COVID billion-dollar hits say about the job Helen Lee-Kim has ahead of her.
By Brandon Katz
Jay Rockefeller’s Lesson for Today’s Billionaire Heirs
Born into America’s most famous fortune, the “renegade Rockefeller” took his family name to West Virginia’s coal country and won its trust for half a century. He proved Americans will embrace an heir who’s on their side.
What Collectors Should Know Before Saying Yes to a Museum or Gallery Loan
Collectors approached by curators should settle questions of transport, conservation, credit, copyright and liability before any works leave their walls. But with the right agreement, experts tell Observer, both lender and institution can benefit.
By Daniel Grant
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Ramps Up Robotaxi Deals as Freight Revenue Jumps
Dara Khosrowshahi runs a platform used by 215 million monthly active consumers. Bringing more driverless cars onto it changes the costs he has to manage.
Qualcomm Boss Cristiano Amon Targets $10B in Car Chips as Handset Sales Fall
Cristiano Amon is trying to diversify a chipmaker that generated $43.1 billion in fiscal-year revenue. Cars and data centers carry different timelines for replacing lost handset sales.
Single-Owner Sales Dominate a High-Stakes Auction Season in New York
Many of the works headed to the block later this month have not been in the public eye for decades or longer, and their arrival in New York represents an opportunity that may not come again for a generation.
One Fine Show: “Mining and American Photography” at the Milwaukee Art Museum
This traveling survey gathers 180 years of images capturing the grandeur and devastation of extraction. The result is a powerful meditation on landscape, labor, exploitation and consumption.
By Dan Duray
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke’s $3.7 Billion Quarter Tests His A.I. Shopping Strategy
Tobi Lütke’s Shopify handled $119 billion in quarterly merchandise sales. Three merchants explain what its checkout strategy means for them.
By Rachel Curry
Can Palantir CEO Alex Karp Turn Shorter Contracts Into Long-Term Growth?
Alex Karp’s Palantir reported $984 million in U.S. commercial revenue, overtaking its government business there for the first time.
By Tim Keary
Arteba Was Rescheduled, Realigned and Refreshed—But Was It Ready?
Under executive director Lucrecia Palacios, the collector-founded art fair has traded scale for focus, giving room to emerging galleries, LGBTQ+ artists and edgier works. The result felt more regional than international, but also more daring than many of its Latin American peers.
Fiction Has Never Been More in Tune With Music
Seven years after ‘Daisy Jones & The Six,’ novelists have returned en masse to the stage, the studio and the conservatory for their inspiration. This year’s strongest titles span nearly every genre and two centuries of musical history.
By Juliet Izon