Art collectors Clara Wu Tsai and Joseph Tsai are ending their marriage after nearly three decades, according to a report cited by the couple's representative as mutual and amicable. Their partnership has long extended beyond family life into sports, philanthropy, and contemporary art.
Married in New York in 1996, the Tsais were recognized together on ARTnews's Top 200 Collectors list in 2018 and 2025. Their collecting interests have centered on contemporary art, while their public support for artists has helped bring new work into major urban spaces.
The pair's cultural footprint has been especially visible at Barclays Center, where they supported projects by Rashid Johnson, Tavares Strachan, and LaToya Ruby Frazier. In 2025, Frazier presented freestanding portraits of New York Liberty players there in her first public art commission.
Their influence also reaches major New York institutions. In 2022, they contributed $50 million to the redevelopment of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and they have backed exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of the City of New York. Through the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, established in 2014, their philanthropy spans the arts, science, and social justice.
Following the separation, Joseph Tsai will remain chairman of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment and governor of the Brooklyn Nets, while Clara Wu Tsai will continue as vice chair and governor of the New York Liberty. Their next chapter may reshape how art, sport, and philanthropy intersect in the years ahead.
