The sale of Pablo Picasso’s 1909 work Compotier et tasse has been blocked by U.S. authorities at the request of the Italian government.  The painting’s current owners, Gabriella Amati and her late husband, Angelo Maj, are being charged with embezzling $44 million from the city of Naples, and the work is suspected to have been purchased with the stolen money.  Immigration and Custons Enforcement director John Morton said: “Restraining this valuable artwork is an effort to help recover some of the estimated $44 million that this couple stole from the tax-paying citizens of Naples.” (more…)

The Divine Comedy, Ai Weiwei’s heavy metal album has been released this week, and is also available for streaming at his website.  Turning to music to continue his active dissent against Chinese political oppression, the album includes tracks documenting his abuse at the hands of the police and political confrontation, inspired by his 2011 detention at the hands of the government. (more…)

Wim Delvoye, Suppo, (2010), via Sperone Westwater

Belgian artist Wim Delvoye has continually pushed his signature brand of surrealist social critique over the past 30 years, creating works that subvert societal norms with a trenchantly humorous twist.  Often using the forms of classical art and architecture, Delvoye twists and bends these forms to create new dialogues with his medium, his subjects, and his own era. Cultivating a number of recent laser-cut works in steel and bronze, Sperone Westwater is currently presenting a minimal, yet potent review of Delvoye’s current work, examining his ongoing explorations of gothic architecture, religious symbolism, and modern psychology. (more…)

Jean Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1982), via Christie’s

The “solid” and “exceptional” results of last week’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sales have set the tone for the auctions to come over the next two days, as a number of high-profile Contemporary and Post-War works are expected to hit the auction stand in London. Christie’s is reporting estimated total sales of £69 million to £90 million for its Post-War and Contemporary evening sale on July 25th, while Sotheby’s has a total sales estimate of £83.4 million to £119.2 million for its Contemporary Evening Sale the next night, July 26th. This week will also see a June 27th auction at Phillips, with estimates upwards of £20,000,000.  The coming auctions are predicted to follow the trends set by last week’s auction, in which Sotheby’s higher priced lots and greater quantity will look to close the gap with its rival Christie’s.

Frances Bacon, Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne, (1966), via Sotheby’s (more…)

Details are emerging about a major exhibition of work by Damien Hirst, billed as the largest exhibition of work by the artist yet to be assembled, slated to open later this year in Doha, Qatar.  The show, titled Relics, will cull work from the full range of the artist’s work, and will include a number of the artist’s diamond-encrusted work. (more…)

A museum show intended to heal relations between the United States and Italy over claims of looted work has encountered turbulence, after Sicilian officials have refused to ship several works over concerns over tourism.  When asked about the region’s refusal to cooperate, Sicilian official Mariarita Sgarlata noted:  “How would an American tourist react who, trusting his Frommer’s travel guide,  has gone out of his way to visit the island of Mozia to admire this work of art in its original setting, only to discover that the statue is in Tokyo or St. Petersburg?” (more…)

Brian Ramnarine, currently out on bail on the charges of forging a work by Jasper Johns, was arraigned on Friday for allegedly attempting a similar fraud with works by Robert Indiana and Saint Clair Cemin.  “He knows it’s illegal and he keeps on doing it,” Prosecutor  Zachary Feingold said. “He knows what he did was wrong. He knew he couldn’t do it and he did it anyway.” (more…)

Fashion designer L’Wren Scott has announced the completion of her fall line, inspired by painter Gustav Klimt.  Speaking at a press conference last week, Scott discussed the artist’s inspiration on her work, and the inspiration he took from the fashion and culture of his era. “He was very avant garde and scandalous, in more ways than the children.” Ms. Scott said.  “It was a movement coming from something very strict to loosening up, but as you see, Klimt was a man who missed the waistline. He painted it in everyone of his portraits. He wanted to see the female form.” (more…)

With the Syrian civil war raging around them, a group of artists have smuggled their works out of the country for a survey exhibition in London, risking life and limb to get their works abroad for a show at P21 Gallery in Euston, opening this week.  “I travelled to Lebanon and Jordan twice to take work smuggled over the border,” said Fadi Haddad of support group Mosaic Syria. “The artists are worried that they could be traced if the work is stopped at a checkpoint. Some haven’t signed their work. The security police wouldn’t understand their message but they’d still see it as a danger. One artist went to Lebanon to remake her work just to avoid trouble from the authorities.”   (more…)

The billionaire Leon Black, who previously made headlines after buying Edvard Munch‘s “The Scream” for $120 million in Sotheby’s New York, has been identified as the mysterious buyer of Raphael’s “Head of a Young Apostle,” sold last December at Sotheby’s London for $47.9 million. Regardless of his winning bid, Mr. Black will have to wait until the Old Master’s drawing is released by the British government, as authorities have issued a export-deferral, in order to facilitate its acquisition by national collectors or institutions. “The waiting game for Mr. Black will end on July 3 if no serious offers are made, but may be extended until January 3, 2014,” reports Mary M. Lane. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Doug Aitken will be joined by a group of artists in a train ride from New York to Los Angeles, making stops in various cities for site-specific performances. The artist has envisioned the Amtrak train–outfitted with LED lights–as a cultural studio for prominent experimental artists, including Kenneth Anger, Olaf Breuning, Peter Coffin, Urs Fischer, Meschac Gaba, Liz Glynn, Christian Jankowski, Carsten Holler, Aaron Koblin, Ernesto Neto, Jack Pierson, Stephen Shore, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Lawrence Weiner; as well as musicians: Fiery Furnaces, Nite Jewel, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Deacon, No Age, Ariel Pink and Beck. Read more at Los Angeles Times.

Paul McCarthy, WS (2013), via Park Avenue Armory

There’s a lot that can be said about Paul McCarthy’s WS installation, which opened this week at the Park Avenue Armory in upper Manhattan.  One could note the full spectrum of sexual atrocities committed on-screen during his numerous filmic works, or the bizarre references to Walt Disney and his fantastic empire of entertainment, or even to the prosthetic noses he seems to put on all his characters of late.  No matter the line of discussion, McCarthy’s show, presented by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and Armory artistic director Alex Poots, is a dizzying and difficult immersion into McCarthy’s powerful body of work.

Paul McCarthy, WS (2013), via Park Avenue Armory”

(more…)

Los Carpinteros, Tomates (2013), via Sean Kelly

Cuban artist collective Los Carpinteros are currently presenting a show of new and recent work at Sean Kelly’s Chelsea art space, pulling together a trio of projects that serve as a strong summary of the artists’ complex and multifaceted practice.

Los Carpinteros, Irreversible (Installation View), via Sean Kelly (more…)

Lucien Smith, A Clean Sweep (Installation View), Photos Courtesy The Suzanne Geiss Company, New York

Suzanne Geiss Company’s New York’s SoHo neighborhood is currently housing A Clean Sweep, Lucien Smith’s nostalgic exhibition inspired by the changing streets of his home city.

Lucien Smith, Untitled (Pizzerias 001), (2013) Photos by Matthu Placek. Courtesy The Suzanne Geiss Company, New York (more…)

Monet Sells at Sotheby’s, via Sotheby’s

With the closing of this week’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, evidence of a strong art market is not hard to find.  Sotheby’s held a slight edge over its recently successful rival, managing an auction total of $165.9 million, with only 13 of the 71 pieces going unsold.  Two pieces passed the ten million dollar mark, and 29 were sold for more than one-million dollars. The auction also set auction records for Camille Claudel and Františk Kupka. In contrast, Christie’s achieved a result of $100.4 million over the course of its 44 lot sale. The result lies in between the total pre-sale estimate for the auction house of $82.8 to $118.8 million. Only seven works remained unsold, and two lots were sold for over ten million dollars.

Wassily Kandinsky, Studie zu Improvisation 3 (1909), via Christie’s (more…)

Scott Campbell, Things Get Better, (Installation View), courtesy OHWOW Los Angeles

A solo exhibition of work by artist Scott Campbell is currently on view  at OHWOW Los Angeles, featuring a series of large-scale ink wash paintings on paper, depicting invented objects, particularly makeshift tools, textual subversions, and intriguing figurations found in the world of underground and prison tattoo culture.

(more…)

South-African born artist Susanne du Toit has been awarded the prestigious BP Portrait Award at a ceremony in the National Portrait Gallery in London. The piece was part of a series of portraits of the artist’s family; where she allowed her son to find his own pose, as long it allowed her to depict his hands, as she considers them an essential element of character. This year’s panel of judges was comprised by the painter and assistant to the late Lucian Freud, David Dawson; Sarah Howgate, an NPG curator; Victoria Pomery, director of Turner Contemporary in Margate; the writer Ali Smith; and Des Violaris, BP’s director of UK arts and culture. (more…)

A James Turrell installation at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas has been declared destroyed by the artist, following the construction of a 40-story luxury condominium tower that obscured the view of the original work. Tending (Blue), part of the artist’s Skyspace series, was subsequently closed, with a sign on the front reading: “Because a clear view of the sky from the interior of Tending (Blue) is now obstructed by Museum Tower, the artist, James Turrell, has declared the work destroyed. Turrell has created a new design for a skyspace on this site, which will eliminate Museum Tower from the viewer’s line of sight.” (more…)

Sotheby’s has placed its York Ave. Headquarters on the Upper East Side of Manhattan up for sale, sources report.  The auction house will be looking to potentially lease back the building for the time being, as it looks to readdress its current home.  “Given the location of our building, the current real estate market, the unsolicited interest we’ve received in our property and our responsibility to our shareholders, we are exploring our options,” Sotheby’s spokesman Andrew Gully said. (more…)

Art F City’s weekly STUFF column took an interesting twist this week, as artist John Baldessari was invited to contribute a list of his ten most prized possessions.  Rather following his cue, the artist submitted a list of 10 incredibly wealthy individuals, including photographs of each billionaire’s personal yacht.  True to form, Baldessari’s witty subversion offers a pointed commentary on the fetishization of material objects. (more…)

Taking a cue from its country’s robust banking operations, the Swiss art market is luring more foreign buyers to the country for the purchase of Swiss works.  “A lot of collectors see that Swiss art has a very high standard in comparison with international movements, and our most important artists, like Hodler, Cuno Amiet and the Giacometti family, were not only Swiss but European avant-gardists.” Urs Lanter, head of Sotheby’s Switzerland unit says. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on the popularity of mirrored works on sale at the recently-concluded 2013 edition of Art Basel in Switzerland.  Reflective works by Anish Kapoor, Doug Aitken, Virginia Overton and others sold well this year, continuing the recent trends toward glass and mirrored works that seem to be appearing across the contemporary landscape.  When pressed for comment, dealer Eva Scherr noted: “narcissism often plays a role.”  (more…)

Giuseppe Penone, Le Corps D’Un Jardin (Installation View), via Marian Goodman

Leading up to a major installation of sculptures at the Chateau de Versailles in Paris, Giuseppe Penone and Marian Goodman Gallery are presenting a selection of past works by the artist, exhibiting a selection of works playing on themes of nature, flux, space and texture.  Consisting of large sculptures and wall-mounted works, Penone explores the interplay of  gesture and movement within the relatively static forms of the artistic practice, and the elegant exchange between nature and man’s depictions of it.

(more…)