Worst Artworks 2025: Critics Blast “Cynical” and “Hackneyed” Exhibits

As the year draws to a close, art critics are reflecting on the pieces that missed the mark, branding several high-profile projects as the worst artworks 2025 produced. From massive market-driven sculptures to “puerile” celebrity installations, the feedback has been unforgiving for those accused of prioritizing hype over substance.

One of the most discussed entries on the worst artworks 2025 list is Jeff Koons’ $3 million polychromed steel Hulk statue. Despite the staggering price tag paid by real estate magnate Aby Rosen at Frieze New York, critics slammed the piece as a “monstrosity” that lazily mimics a vinyl inflatable toy. Artnet News’ Ben Davis noted that while Koons is known for his trademark inflatables, this specific iteration felt like a “market-driven monster” lacking any fresh artistic vision.

Celebrity crossovers also faced heavy fire. Actor Adrien Brody’s solo show, Made in America, featured an installation called The Gum Wall, which invited visitors to stick chewed gum onto a canvas. Critics panned the work as “puerile” and “grim,” suggesting that it was little more than a collection of “regurgitated, chewed-up material” that felt more gross than profound. Similarly, Flora Yukhnovich’s site-specific mural at the Frick Collection, The Four Seasons, was criticized for looking like “A.I. slop” and lacking the textural depth of the François Boucher works it was meant to honor.

Even the masters weren’t safe. The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia faced backlash for its “surplus of dashed-off” Renoir paintings, which one critic compared to the work of an art school grad who shouldn’t “quit the day job.” As we look back, the worst artworks 2025 serve as a reminder that even in a cooling art market, big names and high prices don’t always equal critical success.