Archive for June, 2013

Constable’s “The Hay Wain” Targeted by Protestor

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

Painter John Constable’s 1821 canvas The Hay Wain, widely regarded as one of Britain’s most iconic paintings, has been a attacked by a protestor from the group Fathers4Justice.  The alleged protestor, 41 year old Tim Haries, was arrested on charges of attaching a small photograph of a young boy to the work while it was on view at The National Gallery.  “A member of the Gallery’s security team quickly intervened and called for assistance. The photograph was approximately 4 inches wide, and the back had been coated with glue.”  Said a Gallery spokesman. (more…)

Mönchsberg – Alex Katz: “New York/Maine” at MdM Mönchsberg, through July 7th 2013

Sunday, June 30th, 2013


Alex Katz, Yellow Seagull (2000), courtesy MdM Mönchsberg

The Museum der Moderne Mönchsberg in Salzburg, Austria has collaborated with the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine to present a comprehensive view of work by Alex Katz. Mostly drawn from the collection of over 700 of Katz’s works held by the Colby College Museum of Art, the exhibition also includes a number of paintings on loan from European museums and private collections.

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London – Haroon Mirza at Lisson Gallery Through June 29th, 2013

Sunday, June 30th, 2013


Haroon Mirza, Pavilion for Optimisation (2013), via Lisson Gallery

In one of the pale, white rooms of Lisson Gallery’s current show of works by Haroon Mirza, a light continually goes on and off, accompanied by a bizarre whooshing noise.  The sound is that of an ant, walking across a small copper plate buried inside of an ant farm, and mixed together with the sounds of a shower head draining into a plastic bin.  At turns confusing, surreal and immersive, the viewer cannot help but linger in this minimal environment, seeking to understand the subtle links between action and reaction. (more…)

New York – Ugo Rondinone: “Soul” at Gladstone Gallery Through July 3rd, 2013

Sunday, June 30th, 2013


Ugo Rondinone, Soul (Installation View), via Gladstone Gallery

Gladstone Gallery is currently presenting a series of new works by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, exploringhuman creativity, expression and individuation through a series of primitive stone sculptures, collectively titled Soul.  Complementing the artist’s enormous sculptural installation Human Nature, on view at Rockefeller Center, the exhibition features a series of individually carved stone statues. (more…)

Dia Foundation will auction works in November

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

This coming November, the Dia Foundation will auction a number of its works in order to increase its resources for further acquisitions. The decision follows the Foundation’s recent purchase of the Alcamo Marble building, for its new Chelsea location.  “Dia cannot be a mausoleum, (…) It needs to grow and develop” says Dia director, Philippe Vergne. Among the works to be sold are pieces by Cy Twombly, Barnett Newman, and Richard Chamberlain(more…)

Grayson Perry Interviewed in Financial Times

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

Financial Times editor Simon Schama recently sat down with artist Grayson Perry for an interview covering the artist’s new exhibition at the Royal Academy in London.  Discussing his influences and practice, the artist goes on to discuss the broader context of British art in the global community. “We are all so desperate to hunt for Englishness, to try and connect to the European renaissance, that we are missing our own brilliant contribution to world culture, which is to say, “Oh come off it!” That’s what we do, hold complex ideas and manage to be ambiguous in a humane way, to celebrate humanity while at the same time satirising it, that’s what makes us English.” (more…)

BitCoins Enter the Art Market

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

A new website, titled BitPremier, is currently offering a number of luxury goods for purchase using the digital currency BitCoins. The initial offering of products on the site include works by Peter Beard and LeRoy Neiman.  “This is a way for them to diversify their assets into bitcoins. At this point, it’s a lot easier to sell a $1 million painting to get bitcoins than trying to buy a million dollars of bitcoins on an exchange.”  Says Bitpremier founder Alan Silbert. (more…)

Harris Lieberman Gallery Closes

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

New York’s Harris Lieberman Gallery, which has operated in the city for 7 years has closed, after finishing its last show on June 15th. “We had a great seven years,” said co-founder Jessie Washburne-Harris, “but we decided it was time to make a change”  Ms. Washburne-Harris will join Metro Pictures as a director beginning July 15th. (more…)

Oslo Makes Moves to Become a Global Arts Destination

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

The Wall Street Journal reports on Oslo’s burgeoning art scene, which is taking major strides to become a global capital for contemporary art.  Combining a relatively small and close knit community with major efforts to increase the Norwegian city’s cultural offering, the city is already attracting major attention.  “It’s because Oslo’s small. In New York, if you want certain kinds of materials, there are so many rules, and it’s so difficult to get things done sometimes,” says painter Ida Ekblad. (more…)

New York – Jake and Dinos Chapman: “Insult to Injury” at Yoshii Gallery, through June 29th, 2013

Friday, June 28th, 2013

Jake and Dinos Chapman, Great deeds – against the dead!, (2003), via Yoshii Gallery

From May 1st until June 29th the Yoshii Gallery, New York is exhibiting a series of works entitled Insult to Injury by Jake and Dinos Chapman. For Insult to Injury, the artists reworked Francisco de Goya’s The Disasters of War, a set of 80 etchings, by changing all the visible faces of victims to heads of clowns and puppies.

Jake and Dinos Chapman, Nobody Knows Why, (2003), via Yoshii Gallery

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New York – Jeff Koons: “Gazing Ball” at David Zwirner, Through June 29th, 2013

Friday, June 28th, 2013


Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Snowman), (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

The counterpoint to Gagosian Gallery’s survey of recent work by Jeff Koons, David Zwirner is currently presenting a markedly more subdued set of works by the American artist.  Consisting of a cohesive series of plaster and steel sculptures, Gazing Ball fuses Koons’ signature approach to American kitsch and the art historical with a new sense of minimalism.


Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball (Farnese Hercules), (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed (more…)

The new Whitney in the West Village will be “a model of storm protection”

Friday, June 28th, 2013

The Whitney’s new building, scheduled to be finished in 2015, was affected by hurricane Sandy’s floods last year, forcing “significative adjustments.” Located at the intersection of Gansevoort and Washington Streets, the building is just one block away from the river, raising concerns about the possibility of future floods. As a preventive measure, the Whitney has committed to bring top-specialists to remodel the walls, lobby, and basement, to make them waterproof. In consequence, the museum has also increased its capital goal by $40 million to a total expense of $760 million. In this regard, Adam D. Weinberg–the Whitney’s director–says that “77 percent of the total [has] been raised. About half of the additional funds will pay for flood mitigation, [...] the other half will cover unexpected costs.” (more…)

New York – Ellsworth Kelly: “At Ninety” at Matthew Marks Gallery Through June 29th, 2013

Friday, June 28th, 2013


Ellsworth Kelly, Curves on White (Four Panels) (2011), via Matthew Marks Gallery

Capping off a trio of New York shows this spring, Ellsworth Kelly has brought a his work to Matthew Marks Gallery, taking up all three of the gallery’s New York City locations with a series of new paintings and sculptures that illustrate the artist’s continued interest in location, color and form.


Ellsworth Kelly, At Ninety (Installation View), via Matthew Marks Gallery (more…)

The Andy Warhol Foundation and insurance firm reach agreement

Friday, June 28th, 2013

Following two costly lawsuits against the Foundation by collectors Joe Simon and Susan Shaer in 2007 after their Warhol works were deemed “fake” by the Foundation’s Authentication Board, its insurance firm, Philadelphia Indemnity, refused to pay its share of legal fees. “Philadelphia Indemnity said it was not liable to pay for the Warhol Foundation’s defence because the organisation had “failed to notify them—as [its] insurance policy required—of ‘any specific wrongful act’ committed by one of the foundation’s members, including the publication of material ‘with knowledge of its falsity’”, according to a 20 June article in the New York Review of Books.” This derived in an over two year-long legal dispute between the two organizations, which was finally settled last week, in favor of the Foundation, which has already processed the insurance company’s payment. (more…)

AO Auction Results: Post-War and Contemporary Evening Auctions in London, June 2013

Friday, June 28th, 2013


Gursky Sells at Sotheby’s, via Sotheby’s

The final auction hammers have fallen for the first half of 2013, concluding June’s London auction weeks. While the results of this week’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s were solid, final sales events before the summer break showed a marked tapering off in both sales prices and quantities. With the bountiful auctions, events and fairs, including the $1.1 billion New York auctions, Frieze New York, Art Basel Hong Kong, and the Venice Biennale with its record 86,000 attendance count.


Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Isabel Rawsthorne (1966) via Sotheby’s (more…)

Matthew Barney Seeks Extras For New Film

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

Volunteers are needed as extras for a film collaboration between artist Matthew Barney and composer Jonathon Bepler, entitled River of Fundamental. The filming will take place on Saturday, June 29th at the Brooklyn Navy Yards, and volunteers will be needed for a 10-hour period. Requirements for the position include a willingness to get your feet wet, enclosed shoes and vocal participation. In return for involvement, volunteers will receive a box lunch and a limited-edition, signed, and numbered t-shirt. (more…)

New York – Yoshitomo Nara at PACE Gallery Through June 29th, 2013

Thursday, June 27th, 2013


Yoshitomo Nara, Missed Autumn Rendez-Vous (2013), via PACE Gallery

The images of Japanese kawaii have become, at this stage of the contemporary arts dialogue, something of a trope, an analytical signifier earmarking a work for commentary on Japan’s encounters with global pop culture.  Creeping into press releases, catalogues and countless reviews as a convenient sounding point for Japan’s obsession with the bizarre and the cartoonish, the use of the word often leaves something to be desired, doing little to quantify the aspects or implications it actually carries.


Yoshitomo Nara, (Installation View), via PACE Gallery (more…)

New York – Marc Quinn: “All the Time in the World” at Mary Boone Gallery Through June 29th, 2013

Thursday, June 27th, 2013


Marc Quinn, All the Time in the World (Installation View), via Mary Boone

Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea is currently exhibiting four new bronze sculptures and one oil painting, which together make up an exhibition by Marc Quinn entitled All the Time in the World. The display was opened to the public on May 4th, during the busy weeks around Frieze New York, and will remain on view through June 29th, 2013.   The exhibition also corresponds with Quinn’s major retrospective of works currently on view at the Fondation Giorgio Cini in Venice this summer. (more…)

Ed Ruscha in the New Yorker

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

Artist Ed Ruscha is profiled in the most recent issue of the New Yorker, discussing his life in Los Angeles, his practice, and the inspiration for some of his most iconic works, including his famous painting Oof.  “It had one foot in the world of cartooning,” he says. “You get punched in the stomach, and that’s ‘Oof.’ It was so obvious, and so much a part of my growing up in the U.S.A. I felt like it was almost a patriotic word.” (more…)

Zwirner: Local Communities Need to Support Mid-Size Galleries

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

During a recent visit to London, David Zwirner spoke with Spear’s about the current state of the art market, offering his perspective and opinion on the current struggle that small and mid-size galleries are currently facing.  ” Those [mid-size] galleries have to be strong. That’s a little bit on the local communities to support them.”  He said.  “When I was a mid-size gallery and a small gallery, I really got my support from New York. It seems that the audience seems to gravitate towards the galleries that have a little glory attached to their name. That’s too bad.” (more…)

Senate Expected to Pass Improved Visa Process for Foreign Artists

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

Americans for the Arts, an arts advocacy nonprofit, announced on Monday that the Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) Act in the Obama-endorsed immigration bill is anticipated to pass in the Senate. The brief argues that the current visa scheme has cultural and economic disadvantages for the American public, in particular artists. The new legislation would reduce the total processing required by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for O and P visa petitions filed for nonprofit arts-related matters. (more…)

Director of Perm Museum Fired Over Political Art Exhibition

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

Russian Marat Guelman has been fired from his post as the director of the Perm Museum of Contemporary Art, and is currently under investigation for his financial practices.  The firing comes days after Guelman’s exhibition Welcome! Sochi 2014 (a protest against the upcoming winter olympics as a Kremlin publicity project) was raided by authorities.  “All of this looks like they received an order from Moscow. To find something at any cost,” he said. “And this is even though I’m not in any way part of the opposition, but simply a person who openly speaks what I think.” (more…)

New York – Blinky Palermo: “Works on Paper 1976-1977″ through June 29th, 2013 at David Zwirner

Thursday, June 27th, 2013


Blinky Palermo II Gelber Fluß, (1976), via David Zwirner

David Zwirner is currently presenting an exhibition of German artist Blinky Palermo’s works on paper from the years 1976-1977, on view at the gallery’s 20th Street exhibition space in New York. The exhibition was organized by the Palermo archive to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the artist’s birth, and the selection of works on display are culled from both museum and private collections, made mostly in New York City where he lived from 1973-1976, shortly before his death in the Maldives in 1977.


Blinky Palermo, Works on Paper (Installation View), via David Zwirner (more…)

Bruce High Quality Featured in Village Voice

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

The Bruce High Quality Foundation, which opens its first ever museum retrospective tonight at the Brooklyn Museum, is profiled in the most recent issue of the Village Voice.  Speaking with two members of the amorphous collective, the interview covers the group’s history of art world subversions, their efforts towards a more populist art world, and their take on the economic value of art.  “Art’s most radical quality is that it’s useless,” says one member. “People have used art for lots of purposes throughout history, but artists have to protect its uselessness—it serves as a shield against corruption.”  (more…)