AO Art Observed™

Joan Miro piece thought to be among those stolen Via Monterey County Herald

Approximately $27 million of artwork has been stolen from a home in Monterey, California on Friday afternoon. The substantial collection, belonging to A. Benjamin Amadio and Dr. Ralph Kennaugh, contained several important works including pieces by Jackson Pollock, Matisse, Miro, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The Jackson Pollock, a painting measuring  3-by-7-foot has never been on the open market and could potentially be worth more than $40 million alone.

Related Links:
$27 Million in artwork stolen Pebble Beach home [Monterey County Herald]
$27 million worth of Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Pollock artworks stolen from Pebble Beach home [LA Times]

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Still from Doug Aitken’s ‘migration’ via Regen Projects

Doug Aitken’s film, ‘migration,’ makes its West Coast debut at Regen Projects in Los Angeles, along with an exhibition of  new text-based light boxes. ‘migration,’ which was first shown at 303 Gallery in New York and then at the 2008 Carnegie International, shows a number of different wild animals in motel rooms across the US, acting as wild animals will do, but in settings unnatural, with only subtle variations. The film is shown at both of Regen Projects’ locations, projected outside of the Santa Monica Boulevard location from sunrise to sunset, and on a billboard inside the North Almont Drive location.

Doug Aitken [Artist's Page]
Doug Aitken [Regen Projects]
Doug Aitken’s ‘Migration’ at Regen Projects [LA Times]
Doug Aitken at Regen Projects Preview [SlamXHype]
Doug Aitken at Regen Projects [Sundance]
Doug Aitken’s Migration [KCET]
Doug Aitken: Migration [Daily Serving]
DOUG AITKEN – LOS ANGELES [Look Into My Owl]

Installation view of Doug Aitken’s ‘migration’ via Regen Projects

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Murakami aluminum bears via Billionaire Boys Club

Galerie Emannuel Perrotin is showing, until October 17, an important collection of new works by Takashi Murakami.  The exhibit brings together seventeen paintings, including three monumental ones, as well as five sculptures and two movies.  Coming shortly after the end of Murakami’s retrospective exhibition, which traveled from the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art to New York, Frankfurt and Bilbao, at a time when Murakami’s work is very much in the public eye, this exhibit is entitled “Takashi Murakami Paints Self-Portraits” and is dedicated to the portrayal of the artist himself, through the means of the various characters who populate his work.

Kaikai Kiki and Me, Takashi Murakami (2008) via Galerie Perrotin

Related Links:
Takashi Murakami Artist Page [Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin]
Kaikai Kiki Co. [Official Website]
Murakami Paints Himself Warhol [Interview Magazine]
Takashi Murakami: in the court of the king of cute [Times]
Openings: Takashi Murakami “Self-Portraits” @ Emmanuel Perrotin [Arrested Motion]
Artist Takashi Murakami talks on how he paints [Guardian]

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Installation view of Anish Kapoor’s work at the Royal Academy of Arts in London via BBC

Anish Kapoor, the first living artist to exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, installs a work that shoots red paint to the walls of the famed 18th century building [The Wall Street Journal]
Jeff Koons to be the curator of the New Museum show of Dakis Joannou’s collection, including works by Maurizio Cattelan, Urs Fischer, Robert Gober, Chris Ofili, and Jeff Koons himself [The New York Times]
Russia’s biggest contemporary-art fair opened September 23, 2009 in Moscow to coincide with Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art [Bloomberg]
Donald Fischer, founder of Gap and art collector, loses his battle to cancer at 81; his collection will be permanently housed at San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art [San Francisco Chronicle]
Artist Ed Ruscha stars in a film by video artist Doug Aitken to be projected as installation entitled “Frontier” on Tiberina island in Rome [The Art Newspaper]
Andreas Gursky, his works and Pop influences, mainly Warhol’s, as analyzed in the Economist conclude “99 cents II (Diptych)” as the artist’s most important piece [Economist]

Ryan McGinness via J. Crew

Last summer painter Alex Katz modeled clothes for J. Crew catalog; this year seven New York artists, including Ryan McGinness and Vito Acconci, are featured [J.Crew]
Tate Modern to recreate a 1992 exhibition that took place in New York’s Leo Castelli and was criticized as racist; 15 years later Tate curators appropriate the show as a part of a bigger Pop Life: Art in a Material World exhibit and hope for a different reaction [The Independent]
A Sigmar Polke painting, Untitled – Oil on Drape (1969), stolen directly from the artist’s atelier, the police deliberates the thief could only be someone with access to the space [Artforum]
Frieze Art Fair 2009 announces the details of its sculpture park, in London’s Regent’s Park; “Henry Moore Bound to Fail” by American artist Paul McCarthy is to remain on display for six months [Frieze Art Fair]

Guggenheim Museum Art Award via The New York Times

Louise Bourgeois, Urs Fischer, Dan Graham and Mary Heilmann are among the select individuals nominated for the First Annual Art Awards Guggenheim Museum announced this week [The New York Times] In related, the Frieze Art Fair announced the call for entries to The Cartier Award 2010 [Art Review]     
Results from Sotheby’s mid-season Contemporary Art Sale details at Art Market Monitor [Sotheby's]
The British Arts Council and the London 2012 organization announce Anthony McCall as a finalist in their nationwide initiative to commission public art in celebration of the upcoming Olympics. McCall has proposed a 1,5 mile earth sculpture in the form of a simulated vertical cloud in Liverpool [ArtInfo]
A detailed survey of Contemporary-Art Auction values in the midst of economic crises as influenced by several variables, show a significant decrease [Bloomberg]
65 year old Jehuda Reinharz, President of Brandeis University- home to Rose Art Museum housing works by artists such as Warhol and De Kooning, is to resign [Los Angeles Times]

Sophie Calle photographed by Yves Geant via Guardian UK

France’s conceptual artist Sophie Calle’s path to art world recognition as examined through a personal perspective: stripping, spying, sleeping, “seducing her father” all turned into artistic practice [Guardian UK]
At Westminster Cathedral, British painter Peter Doig is to create a new installation to coincide with a concert from the British pianist Stephen Hough whom he met after a recital in London in 2008 [Art Review]
Two new co-directors, both previously with Art Basel, promote this year’s Art Forum Berlin to attract some of the city’s big name art galleries, among which: Max Hetzler, Johann König, Klosterfelde and Neugerriemschneider [Financial Times] and here is some video of the event [Vernissage TV]
60 Galleries are not returning to Art Basel Miami Beach, but 65 new ones are added, hence the fair grows in quantity [Lindsay Pollock]

Picasso’s sketch to be auctioned via Guardian UK

Picasso’s sketch that must have taken seconds to produce is expected to sell for more than £20,000 at Duke’s auction [Guardian UK]
Christie’s “First Open” Post-War and Contemporary Art sale brings in good results, appealing to many buyers while providing a wide range of pricing and themes [Art in America]
Christie’s Frieze exhibitions and auctions dedicated to Post-War and Contemporary Art will include works by artists such as Lucio Fontana, Damien Hirst and Gerhard Richter [ArtDaily]
Museum of Contemorary Art in Los Angeles raises $60 million since December 2008 when it had revealed its financial troubles [Culture Monster]
Annie Leibovitz and Damien Hirst to design for Louis Vuitton [Elle UK]

Tracy (Dripping), Ryan McGinley (2009) via RyanMcGinley.com

Currently on show at the Alison Jacques Gallery, London is Moonmilk; a series 22 new color photographs from the American photographer Ryan McGinley. For this, his first ever solo show in the UK, McGinley presents the viewer with a series of photographs he captured over the period of a year in spectacular caves across North America.  The show’s title, Moonmilk, alludes to the white, crystalline deposits found on the walls of caves – a substance once believed to have been formed by light from celestial bodies passing through rock into darkened worlds below. In this instance, the huge geographical features created by the Moonmilk serve as a phenomenal backdrop to McGinley’s nude models.

Related Links:
Alison Jacques Galley Homepage
Ryan McGinley website
Sexy Art: Ryan McGinley’s ‘Moonmilk” nudes exhibit [examiner.com]
Moonmilk: going underground with Ryan McGinley [Guardian.co.uk]
Openings: Ryan McGinley’s ‘Moonmilk’ [ArrestedMotion]

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YARD (to harrow), William Pope L. Via ArtNet

Dramatic reinventions of Allan Kaprow’s ‘YARD‘ are currently on show at various locations in New York City; the primary site, showcasing the sprawling reinvention realized by the famed performance artist William Pope L., is the Manhattan townhouse at 32 East 69th Street where Kaprow first exhibited his Environment YARD in 1961. The townhouse was then home to the legendary Martha Jackson Gallery and has just now opened as Hauser &Wirth’s first American Gallery.  Hauser & Wirth has extended the show to include reinventions of YARD in public spaces in Queens and downtown Manhattan by the two noted artists Josiah McElheny and Sharon Hayes.

Allan Kaprow installing YARD in New York City in 1961. Via Hauser & Wirth

Related Links:
Hauser & Wirth Homepage
Allan Kaprow Homepage
Queens Museum of Art Homepage
Changing Un-Arts Tires [NYTimes]
Video of YARD (to harrow) at Hauser & Wirth [ArtObserved via Twitvid]
Triple blowout for Hauser & Wirth debut [Artnet]
Reinventing the Wheel [Artinfo]
Yard (To Harrow), 1961/2009 [The New York Times]
Wall to Wall: Homage to Allan Kaprow [The Wall Street Journal]

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James Turrell’s ‘Untitled (11NOR)’ via PaceWildenstein

Now at PaceWildenstein’s West 25th Street location is the gallery’s fourth solo exhibition of James Turrell, ‘Large Holograms.’ Working within the language he developed in his seminal projection pieces of the 1960s, Turrell’s fifteen large-scale hologram works deal with the physicality of light and the changes of its presence via the changes in perspective. Using traditional dichromate holographic material, Turrell, instead of using light to create the illusion of a three-dimensional object, makes an object out of light itself.

Video of James Turrell’s ‘Large Holograms’ via Art New York City

Related Links:
James Turrell: Large Holograms [PaceWildenstein]
James Turrell Holograms @ Pace Wildenstein [Art New York City]

James Turrell’s ‘Untitled (9NSB)’ via PaceWildenstein

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Olympia, Rene Magritte (1948). Via Telegraph.co.uk

This morning two men stole an oil painting by the Belgian Surrealist Rene Magritte with an estimated street value of $1.1 million. The painting, Olympia (1948), was part of an appointment-only exhibition at The Rene Magritte Museum, Brussels.

Journalists gather outside the Magritte Museum in Jette, Brussels. Via NYTimes

It has been reported that the two men, one armed with a pistol, entered the museum shortly after it opened at 10 am. Brussels city police spokesman, John Berckmans announced today that one thief entered the building first after ringing the doorbell, “and as soon as he came in he threatened personnel with a weapon.” Museum staff, along with two tourists – a Japanese couple – were forced to lie on the ground by the first thief, while his accomplice took the painting from the wall.

Berckmans has added “The investigation is continuing but we have found no trace of the culprits.”

Related Links:
Rene Magritte Museum Homepage [MagritteMuseum.be]
Magritte painting stolen at gunpoint [Guardian.co.uk]
Magritte painting stolen [NYTimes]
Armed thieves steal Magritte work [BBC News]

Afro Margin Four, Chris Ofili (2004)

Currently on show at the David Zwirner Gallery, New York is Afro Margin – a show consisting of eight pencil drawings by the Turner Prize-winning artist, Chris Ofili. This is Ofili’s second exhibition at the gallery; his first was the very large, multi-disciplined, ‘Devil’s Pie‘ in 2007. Ofili first sprang to widespread fame with his paintings embellished with elephant dung at Sensation, the 1997 exhibition of Young British Artists. Afro Margin happens upon the recent news that Tate Britian will put together a mid-career survey of Ofili’s work opening in January 2010.

Afro Margin Eight, Chris Ofili (2007)

Related Links:
David Zwirner Homepage [DavidZwirner]
Tate Britain – Chris Ofili Survey 2010 [Tate.org.uk]
The Elephant in the Room. Review of “Devil’s Pie”. [NYTimes]
Inua Ellams Homepage [phaze05.com] Ellam’s poetry will feature in the exhibition catalog

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Helvoetsluys – the City of Utrecht, 64, Going to Sea, Joseph Mallord William Turner (Exh 1832). Via Tate

In acknowledgment of the grand artistic tradition of admiration, imitation and competition, through January 31 Tate Britain will present the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner alongside some 100 related works by Old Masters and Contemporaries. Amid the 30+ artists presented are Canaletto, Titian, Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens, Veronese, Watteau and Constable.

Moonlight, a Study at Millbank, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1797). Via Tate

J.M.W. Turner is often regarded as one of the most artists of his time, whose work varied to include watercolors, oil paintings, drawings and prints. While Turner’s spirit is often deemed as independent, David Solkin, Professor of the Social History of Art at the Courtauld Institute, University of London who conceived the exhibition, wishes to highlight how Turner was in fact, deeply engaged with the work of other artists.

Related Links:
Tate Britain Website [Tate.org.uk]
Tate Britain exhibition revives Turner’s and Constable’s old rivalry [TimesOnline]
Turner and the Masters [Guardian.co.uk]
The Times; May 8, 1832 – Royal Academy Exhibition [TimesArchive]
Turner and Constable: We’ve lost the art of feuds for art’s sake [Telegraph.co.uk]
Revealed: how Turner began his career copying the old masters [TheIndependent]

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Carter, 1942, 1955, 1977, 2009, Portrait of a thoughtful abstraction with arranged interior and Modern Sculpture via Salon 94

Currently showing at Salon 94 Freemans in New York are works by Carter.  The paintings presented are new and his largest to date.  Also included is a sculptural ensemble comprised of a life-sized black portrait bust, garments designed by Carter  and candles. Titled “And Within Area Although”, it is Carter’s second solo show at Salon 94 Freemans following his 2007 debut. The paintings featured although abstract in their concept, utilize recognizable forms and patterns. “And Within Area Although” runs through October 24, 2009.

Related Links:
Carter And Within Area Although [Salon 94]
Carter at Salon 94 Freemans, New York [Saatchi Gallery]
Salon 94 [ArtObserved]
Cindy Sherman, David Byrne, Join LES Art Ramble [Linsday Pollock]

Carter, Likeness (2009) via Salon 94

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Rembrandt’s portrait of an unknown man via Times Online

Estimated at £25m, a portrait by Rembrandt is expected to raise a record price for the artist at Christie’s in London [Guardian UK]
Despite crisis, Mikhail Piotrovsky- the director of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg is planning an expansion, reinstallation and several new international venues [ARTnews]
Tate’s plan to increase display space by 60% is challenged by a £140m shortfall; donation for the past year amount only to £4m due to recession [The Independent] in related Tate announces upcoming exhibitions of Gauguin, Picasso and Chris Ofili [Guardian UK]
More on ex art-dealer Anthony d’Offay, who traded a $160m profit for a chance to provide the British public with an access to contemporary and modern art [Bloomberg]
Reuters Felix Salmon calls on Bloomberg’s Scott Reyburn who claims that Damien Hirst’s sales are recovered to levels seen at peak of the art market boom; Salmon claims the analysis by Reyburn is unsubstantiated [Reuters and Bloomberg via ArtMarketMonitor]

Ai WeiWei via Twitter

Ai Weiwei publishes on twitter images of himself going in for surgery after undergoing an attack by Chinese police [The Art Newspaper]
RoseLee Goldberg, Performa’s founding director, reads an excerpt from the Futurist Manifesto, announces details and gives hints about the surprise performances and their locations [Artinfo]
The director of the MET, Thomas Campbell, shares that the painting reattributed to Velazquez last week, “Portrait of a Man”, may soon travel to the Prado Museum in Madrid [ArtDaily]
More on the Artist Pension Trust, an investment vehicle that provides artists, who rarely engage in financial planning, with financial security when they retire [Guardian UK]
An antique shop in New Mexico put on sale a Van Gogh sketch for his painting Night Cafe, from a May 13 burglary, worth $250,000-1million, for $250 [Artinfo]

Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus via Artinfo

The National Gallery in London is sending Caravaggio’s The Supper at Emmaus to be exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago from October 10, 2009 to January 31, 2010 [Fine Art Publicity]
Since Thursday, 110 galleries, most of them in Chelsea opened their doors to the new art season, showcasing what sells, what is missing on the art scene and which gallery spaces are more beneficial to the sales [New York Magazine]
Pope Benedict XVI organizes an art summit reaching out to 500 contemporary artists to reunite in Vatican [BBC via Art Market Monitor]  in related After his initial refusal to participate in Vatican’s art initiative, that will attempt to reestablish the dialogue between spirituality and art, Bill Viola rearranges his schedule and accepts Pope’s invitation [Artnet]
Curator of Modern and contemporary art at Menil Collection, Franklin Sirmans will be appointed chief curator oc contemporary art in LACMA and will assume his position in January [Culture Monster]

Anish Kapoor via Times Online

After an attempt to investigate the very nature of the scale of Anish Kapoor’s work and the man behind the work in an article published last week, Times Online writes on Anish Kapoor’s retrospective, providing a survey of the artist’s career, at the Royal Academy [Times Online]
An interview with Turner Prize winning video artist Steve McQueen where the artist speaks of his childhood, artistic influences, his musical preferences and view on art world and Artist Yoshimoto Nara speaks of musical, artistic and personal influences on his work [Guardian UK]

Velazquez, Las Meninas via The Wall Street Journal

Velazquez’s “Las Meninas”- an enigmatic work that has contributed to the shift of its very medium from the realm of craft to that of art [The Wall Street Journal]
Marlene Dumas, Tracey Emin, Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley and other contemporary artists donating works to Sotheby’s “Art for Africa Auction” on tonight [ArtDaily]
September 16, at the Guggenheim International Gala, a $1.2m Ellsworth Kelly painting received by the Museum as a gift was auctioned [Auction Central News]
The life and death of Dash Snow [Guardian UK]
Art critic, Holland Carter, proposes smaller and more smartly curated shows to take place of large blockbuster exhibits [The New York Times]
A new 37,000-square-foot outdoor space is lent temporarily to Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for exhibitions and performances by developers postponing their building projects, hence the name- LentSpace [The New York Times]

Richard Serra, Shift (Detail) via Arts Journal

As a 1970 iconic earthwork by Serra outside Toronto remains endangered, a litigious battle concerning access to and protection of the artwork continues [Arts Journal]
New York’s Armory show will move in geographic pattern from representing one city to another, its first choice is Berlin [Lindsay Pollock]
A short interview by brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman, discussing their drawings [Guardian UK]
David Zwirner is to be the first dealer to solely represent The Estate of Dan Falvin [David Zwirner]
New works by Julian Schanbel, Paul Chan, John Currin and Francesco Vezzoli are currently on show at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in an exhibition inspired by Mary Magdalene [metoperafamily.org]
Book review: “I Sold Andy Warhol (too soon)” by Richard Polsky [WallStreetJournal]

Zac Posen, RTW Spring 2010. Via WWD.com

Rosson Crow designs floral prints for Zac Posen’s Spring RTW collection [wwd.com]
Julian Schnabel is selling pieces from his art collection, including work by Picabia, Braque and Balthus to finance his divorce [New York Post]
The Roman Empire – Russia’s Roman Abramovich’s toychest of expensive things, inlcuding works by Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud, is examined [Wall Street Journal]
Sales of Chinese art at Sotheby’s Total: $15,532,479 Exceeding Expectations [ArtDaily]
The king of Japanese Contemporary Art, Takashi Murakami, speaks openly about the state of the art market, his legacy and his upcoming plans [Artinfo.com]
An encounter with Takashi Murakami in the Boom Boom Room at the Standard Hotel, New York following his opening at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea [NYTimes]

Installation view of Rudolf Stingel’s exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ

Rudolf Stingel’s third solo exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ in London is now on view. The Italian artist continues his conceptual exploration of painting, with a series of gauze paintings as well as photorealistic paintings of medieval statues of saints. Stingel’s gauze paintings are made by placing gauze over a wet canvas, spraying paint over top, then removing the gauze.  Both series toy with the idea of memory and the idea of originality.

Rudolf Stingel’s ‘Untitled’ at Sadie Coles HQ

Rudolf Stingel [Sadie Coles HQ]

Rudolf Stingel’s ‘Untitled’ at Sadie Coles HQ

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Martin Eder, Stagnancy via Hauser & Wirth

Works of Berlin-based artist Martin Eder are currently showing at Hauser & Wirth. This is the first UK exhibition of the artist. Displaying the dialogue between culture and kitsch, a suite of Martin Eder’s new paintings may be perceived initially as bordering on perverse; yet a closer and collective examination of his work reveals a somewhat surrealistic world, where the vocabulary established is translated into the themes of fear and desire. Coinciding with the exhibition occupying two floors of the Old Bond Street gallery in London, was a concert performed by Martin Eder’s alter-ego Richard Ruin at Hoxton Hall on September 11, 2009. The show runs through September 26, 2009.

Related Links
Martin Eder (Press Release) [Hauser & Wirth]
Exhibition Preview: Martin Eder, London [Guardian UK]
Hauser & Wirth announces the first UK exhibition of the Berlin-based Artist Martin Eder [Art Knowledge News]
The Figure and Dr Freud Group show at Haunch of Venison [ArtObserved]

Martin Eder, Night via Hauser & Wirth

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Detail of a photograph by Virginie Marielle, Installation view of Veilhan’s work at main courtyard of Versailles via Veilhan Versailles

Works by French artist Xavier Veilhan are currently being shown at the Chateau de Versailles, its gardens, and Royal and Main Courtyards.  Veilhan, born in Lyon, lives and works in Paris. The artist covers a variety of mediums including sculpture, film, photography, painting and installation art. A 50 foot long coach and horses in purple, a color Veilhan sees as complex and ambiguous when at the backdrop of its perception is the idea of Monarchy and Royal power, is the first work encountered upon the nominal entrance to the exhibit. Also, among the works being shown is a statue of a girl, delicate and quiet in color as opposed to other works, it complements Versailles to a degree where it may be passed unnoticed by the visitor of the show. Also showing are sculptures and installations that tackle the worlds of photography and politics. A statue of Gagarin, first man to fly to space, titled “Le Gisant” is laid on the ground of the Royal Courtyard. The show runs through December 13, 2009.

Xavier Veilhan at Chateau de Versailles via Chateau Versailles

Related Links:
Veilhan Versailles [Chateau Versailles]
Veilhan Bio [Gering & Lopez Gallery]
Contemporary Art Storms Versailles [Telegraph]
Veilhan Versailles [Veilhan Versailles]

Veilhan at Versailles, Interview with Xavier Veilhan via Vernissage TV

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“Still Life Negative after Mignon” by Wittwer via Uwe Wittwer

A new body of work and the first solo show titled “Raised Hide” of the Swiss artist Uwe Wittwer is currently on view at Haunch of Venison in London, UK. The show is comprised of a series of works on paper, in watercolor and inkjet, which represent Wittwer’s continued inquiry into authenticity of images and the truth of perspective. All of Wittwer’s prints and paintings are sources and are downloaded from the internet before undergoing a perceptual and physical transformation. In the tradition of Gerhard Richter and Luc Tuymans, Wittwer adapts and reclaims photographic and digital images as his own translations of artistic vision. He explores the role of artist as a voyeur and image generation and his visions are available to the public until October 3^rd, 2009.

Related Links:
Uwe Wittwer: Raised Hide, Haunch of Venison, London [Financial Times]
Uwe Wittwer [Haunch of Venison]
Catastrophes in Sepia: On Uwe Wittwer’s Recent Watercolors [Exhibition Catalog]

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Artist Ida Ekblad with Michael Nevin, editor-in-chief, and Julia Dippelhofer, managing editor of the journal. Photo courtesy Kathy Lo of the journal.

ArtObserved was on hand last Wednesday, September 9, 2009 for the opening of Ida Ekblad’s ‘Salty Sap Green Black’ at The Journal Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The exhibition features a number of sculptural works collectively titled ‘The Gold Bug Drift (NYC),’ which take their title, and process, from Edgar Allen Poe’s story ‘The Gold Bug,’ in which the main character is bitten by a gold bug and goes searching for treasure. Ekblad’s sculptures are made of “gems and treasures” she found while on “drifts” throughout New York City, which are placed in vessels of concrete as they are discovered and carried around the city until completion.

the journal/The Journal Gallery
Ida Ekblad
Europäisch-Amerikanische Freundschaft (featuring Ida Ekblad) [Gavin Brown's enterprise]
Ida Ekblad at The Journal Gallery [Existing Visual]
Ida Ekblad Solo Exhibition [Norway]

Ida Ekblad’s ‘Salty Sap Green Black’ via the journal/The Journal Gallery

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the journal entry 27, all images courtesy the journal

Last night the journal released its ten-year anniversary issue at the Rodarte show at Gagosian Gallery. Started by Michael Nevin with some friends at art school in California as a xeroxed zine that focused on skateboarding and snowboarding, the journal has evolved into a glossy affair, counting William Eggleston and Richard Prince among its contributors. The journal is like a personal journal, with each issue carefully curated, including drawings and photographs, interviews, ramblings, and now for the first time, fashion spreads. Five years ago the journal moved with Nevin to New York, and through luck and happenstance, expanded to include a gallery, then in a building in the East Village. That space saw a number of exhibitions as well as parties to pay the rent. The Journal Gallery continues in Williamsburg, with its current exhibition featuring sculptural work by Norwegian artist Ida Ekblad.

Cover of William Eggleston’s supplement to the journal entry 27

The new issue, entry 27, is the premier of the journal‘s new design by Peter Miles. ArtObserved talked with Nevin about the evolution of the magazine and gallery, and has a preview of the issue, featuring Jonathan Meese, Walter Pfeiffer, Ida Ekblad, and a supplement by William Eggleston

the journal

Interview and images after the jump

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William Blake, Melancholy

“William Blake’s World: A New Heaven is Begun” runs at the Morgan Library & Museum through January 3, 2010. The Morgan has one of the the largest Blake collections in the world; this exhibition, containing some 100 works, is focused on providing an opportunity to view Blake’s extraordinary creativity throughout the many disciplines in which he worked. Assembled are some of Blake’s most spectacular watercolours, prints, and illuminated books of poetry.

Morgan Library & Museum Homepage [themorgan.org]
The Palace of Excess Imagination [NYTimes]
New Morgan exhibition to present genius of William Blake [ArtDaily]
Pictures courtesy of The Morgan Library & Museum

William Blake, America: A Prophecy

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Angel of the North (Life-Size Maquette), Antony Gormley 1997. Via Chatsworth

Currently on display in the grounds of Chatsworth House, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, is Sotheby’s ‘Beyond Limits‘; a selling exhibition of modern and contemporary sculpture which the auction house claims is their “largest and most diverse to date.” The exhibition will continue through November 1.  It will be the fourth year of the installation, which has become known as one of the most prestigious platforms for displaying monumental works in an outdoor setting.  On display are bronze sculptures by Henry Moore and Aristade Millol, as well as contemporary pieces by Antony Gormley, Marc Quinn, Subodh Gupta and Fernando Botero.  All works on display are available for private sale.

Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped, Henry Moore (1975). Via Sotheby’s

Related Links:
Chatsworth House Homepage [Chatsworth House]
‘Beyond Limits’ Event Page [Chatsworth House]
‘Beyond Limits’ Catalogue [Sotheby's]
‘Beyond Limits’ Press Release [Sotheby's]
VIDEO TOUR Beyond Limits: A Selling Exhibition of Monumental Sculpturewith Simon Stock, Deputy Director, Impressionist & Modern Art [Sotheby's]
In Pictures: Giant Sculputres at Chatsworth House [BBC NEWS]
Big-money sales behind closed doors [Telegraph.co.uk]

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Marc Quinn’s Blood Head Self-Portrait displayed in a refrigeration unit at The National Gallery in London via Guardian

The National Portrait Gallery in London acquires and shows the most recent of Marc Quinn’s self-portraits created with the use of artist’s own blood [Bloomberg]

Titian, Diana and Acteaon via Artdaily

In related, Titian’s Diana and Acteaon, one of the six large-scale mythologies inspired by Ovid, acquired by The National Gallery in London, is to be displayed at Trafalgar Square [Artdaily]
Three paintings attributed to Adolf Hitler were sold at Weidler’s auction house in Germany for an accumulative price of  $60,000 to three phone bidders [The New York Times]
The Museo National del Prado’s is exhibiting 2 Sorolla paintings of the Fanjul family that were illegally confiscated by the Cuban government which may cast the museum’s directors legal bind [Reuters]
A private European collector helps settle a 7-Year discord between the Swedish Moderna Museet and heirs of a Jewish businessman over a Nazi-looted Nolde painting and in related, Dutch Museums will return 13 artworks lost during Nazi occupation to heirs of Jewish collectors [Bloomberg]

Velázquez, Portrait of a Man via The New York Times

After restoration and cleaning of “Portrait of a Man” in MET’s collection, the author of the painting attributed to Vélazquez’ workshop is confirmed to be Vélazquez himself [The New York Times]
Phillips de Pury auction house, known for its focus on contemporary art, is adding 18 new sales for the upcoming year and a half [The Wall Street Journal]
As the market fluctuates, art collectors seize opportunities of investment, yet the auction market based on no identical units, making calculated predictions almost impossible, turn investing into gambling [NYTimes]
The Glyndebourne Opera House, England to sell a painting by the Italian Old Master, Domenichino; estimated at $16.5 million [Bloomberg]
Bill Viola declines an invitation to participate in a culture summit, organized by Pope Benedict XVI in an attempt to reconcile spirituality and artistic expression, supposedly due to the artist’s disagreement with policies put forth by the Vatican and the Catholic Church [Artnet]

Six of the missing works by Andy Warhol via Telegraph

$1million is being offered for a lead to locating the “Athletes” series by Andy Warhol from Richard Weisman’s collection that has been stolen from the collector’s Los Angeles residence [Telegraph]
Pencils from an installation by Damien Hirst were stolen by a 17-year old artist named Cartrain [The Independent] who had been stripped of his artwork for incorporating Damien Hirst’s ideas into his collages [ArtObserved]
“You can be immortalized in an artwork” says Damien Hirst in his search for a numerous sets of identical twins to literally become part of his artwork at Tate Modern [Guardian]

Charles Saatchi with his wife Nigella Lawson via The Independent

“My Name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic”, a book written by Charles Saatchi, who almost never gives interviews, is released without a loud PR campaign and is written in a format of potential interviewer’s questions and answers [Guardian UK]
Aleksandra Mir’s installation at Collective gallery in Edinburgh consists of rows of a limited edition cookbook titled “The How Not to Cookbook: Lessons Learned the Hard Way” [The Moment]
German police uncover a thousand fake Giacometti bronzes in the possession of  a man who tried to sell them as originals [Art Market Monitor]
An editorial on the state of galleries dictated by the financial market provides an encompassing snapshot of what a gallery represents in the art-world and how it is likely to function in the current economic condition [NYTimes]

Bruce Nauman’s skywriting fittingly reads “Leave The Land Alone” via Los Angeles Times

On September 12 in Pasadena, artist Bruce Nauman realized his skywriting project, reading Leave the Land Alone, after a 40 year wait [Los Angeles Times]
Frédéric Mitterrand’s appointment to the post of French minister of culture is well received by most for his extensive previous background  and involvement in the world of art and culture [The Art Newspaper]
London’s Outset Contemporary Art Fund brings artwork to a fair to be seen publicly and then purchased by the Tate [Bloomberg]
The story of Tony Shafrazi, art terrorist and later gallerist [Artnet]

A view of Sol LeWitt’s unveiled mural at 59th street via Gothamist

Sol LeWitt’s mural, comprised of 250 porcelain tiles, is installed at Columbus Circle subway station in Manhattan[Lindsay Pollock]
Run by oligarch Viktor Pinchuk, the PinchukArtCenter in Kiev announces a new art Prize and the shortlisted 20 nominees [ArtReview]
Gagosian’s plan for a gallery in Paris’ prestigious 8th arrondissement promises to gain instant success by providing access to Picasso’s work [Bloomberg]
In related, Gagosian is to open a bookstore on Madison avenue in Manhattan selling books, catalogues, magazines and Jeff Koons puppy vase that come in an edition of 3,000 [Art fag City]
UBS, a global financial services firm, is to close its gallery in Manhattan in an attempt to cut back on costs [Artinfo]

A photograph of Emmanuel Perrotin via The Selby

The Selby visits Emmanuel Perrotin at his gallery in Paris [The Selby]
Research shows that visitors to museums housing modern art are likely to respond emotionally, while those viewing ancient artworks are more prompt to describing their experiences in more cognitive terms [Miller McCune via Artinfo]
“The Art of the Steal”, a documentary film by Don Argott, explores the Barnes Foundation, a Post-Impressionist and early Modern art collection [The New York Times]
John Currin interviewed by Glenn O’Brien speaks about art, the art market and shares personal stories [Interview Magazine]
The rating service Moody’s estimates the current financial troubles and hence auction market distress to persist and drops Sotheby’s corporate credit rating by one level [Bloomberg]
Kara Walker’s participation in Whitney’s Biennial is manifested in an email correspondence with the organizer of the show documenting the artist’s refusal to participate in the Biennial [Artnet]

Centquatre art space in Paris via The Daily Undertaker

A site of the Municipal Funeral Services in Paris is now turned into an arts center providing the capital’s northern reaches an art initiative it has been lacking [Financial Times]
A survey of artistic practice based on technology and its move towards the usage of the Internet as means of expression [The New York Times]
Thomas Campbell, director of Met, shares his plans for the museum in an interview with The Art Newspaper [The Art Newspaper]
American artist Greg Wyatt’s 22-thousand-pound bronze sculpture “Two Rivers” is being transported to Piazza della Signoria in Florence, “the soul of the world of sculpture,” where it is to become the first American displayed at that location [Bloomberg]
An interview with the billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, who spoke about democratization of art and educational reforms [The Wall Street Journal]

Annie Leibovitz during a photoshoot earlier this year. Via The New York Times

On Friday, September 11, The New York Times reported that the photographer Annie Leibovitz and her creditor, Art Capital Group reached an agreement to restructure the photographer’s finances and reconsider how much more time she had to repay a $24 million loan. Leibovitz’s financial struggles became apparent early this year when news broke that she had used real estate and the rights to all of her photographs as collateral for the loan.

Related Links
Agreement Reached on a Reprieve for Leibovitz Loan Repayment [NYTimes]
Understanding the Leibovitz Loan [ArtMarketMonitor.com]
Annie Leibovitz buys back copyright to her photos [The Associated Press]
Photographer Leibovitz could lose portfolio due to debt [CNN.com]
Annie Leibovitz as Everywoman [San Francisco Chronicle]
Annie Leibovitz avoids bankruptcy [Telegraph.co.uk]
Road to Recovery [Vogue.com]
Leibovitz buys back control of Photos, Real Estate [Bloomberg]
Art Capital Group sues Annie Leibovitz to collect on $24million loan [ArtObserved]

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One third of Monet’s famous triptych, ‘Water Lilies,’ via NY Times

This fall, New York’s two most venerable art museums will each each spotlight famous paintings by two old masters. The Museum of Modern Art is exhibiting all three paintings of Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’ triptych together for the first time in eight years.  Also in the exhibition is a single large painting, also entitled ‘Water Lilies,’ as well as three smaller studies.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has lent Johannes Vermeer’s most famous painting, ‘The Milkmaid,’ in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage up the river that would bear his name. This is the first time in 70 years that the painting has been exhibited in the United States, and it joins the Met’s five paintings by Vermeer as well as works by a small number of other Dutch artists.

‘Monet’s Water Lilies’ runs September 10, 2009-April 12, 2010 at the Museum of Modern Art, and ‘Vermeer’s Masterpiece “The Milkmaid”‘ runs September 10-November 29, 2009 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, both in New York.

Monet’s Water Lilies [MoMA]
Vermeer’s Masterpiece ‘The Milkmaid’ [Metropolitan Museum]
Serenade in Blue [NY Times]
Moanin’ With Monet [Artnet]
Nieuw Girl [Art Market Monitor]
Vermeer’s ‘The Milkmaid’ on View at a New Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art [Art Knowledge News]

Vermeer’s ‘The Milkmaid,’ via Art Knowledge News

The opening of Juergen Teller’s ‘Paradis’ at Lehmann Maupin Gallery all photos by ArtObserved or courtesy of the gallery

Last week marked the start of the new gallery season with a number of Chelsea galleries opening their doors on Thursday night. Coinciding with Fashion Week was the opening at Lehmann Maupin of Juergen Teller’s fifth exhibition with the gallery, ‘Paradis.’ Originally commissioned for the French magazine Paradis, the exhibition features Charlotte Rampling and Raquel Zimmermann, whom Teller has photographed previously, alone and nude in the Musée du Louvre.

Juergen Teller: Paradis [Lehmann Maupin]
Photographer Juergen Teller: “It’s Time for You to Take Your Clothes Off” [Wall Street Journal]
Lehmann Maupin – Juergen Teller: Paradis Photography Exhibition [Freshness]
Bringing Humanity To The Fashion World [Style.com]
Cathy Horyn & Juergen Teller Talk Paradis [Elle]

Juergen Teller’s ‘Paradis’ via Lehmann Maupin Gallery

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