Francis Bacon, Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer (1967), via Christie’s

Another auction come and gone for Christie’s tonight in London, and another set of strong results, as the auction house capped a 76 lot sale to the tune of £95,646,500, meeting expectations, and setting several records for non-blue chip artists along the way, with 10 lots going unsold, including a string of Gerhard Richter works that may signal a downturn in the artist’s market popularity. (more…)

Damien Hirst is the subject of a lengthy profile in The Guardian this week, exploring his often overlooked role in curating and presenting the work of the YBA’s in their early years, and his soon to open London gallery.  “I’ve always wanted a gallery like Saatchi, the original Boundary Road,” he says. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal looks at the life of Alma Mahler, the brash lover of some of Austria’s most noted artists during the turn of the twentieth century, who inspired both staunch admiration and loathing from the European art world.  Having married Walter Gropius,  Gustav Mahler, and writer Franz Werfel, she also counted a number of artists, including Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, among her many lovers. (more…)

Professional Gambler and Collector David Walsh is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, discussing his recently founded Mona Art Museum in Tasmania, and his vision for its collection and expansion.  “I’ve got four or five works by James Turrell which will go in the new wing along with a few Jean Tinguely pieces. I like kinetic stuff, I like weirdness,” he says. “The budget for the new extension is about $8m, the art will cost another $2m to $3m.” (more…)

An article in Barron’s this week notes the number of fake artworks in the marketplace today, and precautions collectors may take to prevent acquiring such works, including a set time frame for independent evaluation of a work before money changes hands.  “It’s an effective way to assess the good faith of the gallery or dealer,” says James Martin, a trusted researcher who worked for years researching and evaluating claims of faked art. “And if they won’t agree to that, you have to scratch your head and ask why.” (more…)

Doug Aitken has launched another iteration of his Station to Station project at London’s Barbican Center, bringing his vast multimedia project to bear on the British capital.  “It will be amazing to see Station to Station come to life in London in such a unique, multi-arts environment as the Barbican,” Aitken says.  “This is a living exhibition with artists of all mediums, creating unique works and unpredictable encounters every day.” (more…)

Frieze London has announced its list of projects for its October opening in Regent’s Park, including pieces by castillo/corrales, Lutz Bacher, and Thea Djordjadze among others.  Projects range from Jeremy Herbert’s planned subterranean cavern beneath the fair, to Djordjadze’s reinterpretation of the massive plants that inspired many of Henri Mattisse’s famous cut-out works.   (more…)

The Whitney has announced new officers for its Board of Trustees, appointing Neil G. Bluhm and Laurie M. Tisch as co-chairs, while Richard M. DeMartini will act as president.  “I am grateful for the immense contributions of these devoted individuals and thank them with all my heart for ushering the Whitney into a new era, particularly Bob Hurst who chaired the capital campaign, which made the new building possible,” says President Adam Weinberg. (more…)

Ai Weiwei, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads (2010), via Phillips

Sales have concluded at tonight’s Contemporary and Post-War Evening Sale at Phillips Auction House in London, capping a strong outing by the company that saw 10 of the 53 lots going unsold.  With somewhat sluggish proceedings and a few surprises, the auction seems to be something of a stumble in Phillips’ attempts to challenge the larger auction houses this week.

Sigmar Polke, Carnival (1979), via Phillips (more…)

The Financial Times charts the ambitious efforts and long time frame for bringing an artist’s Catalog Raisonné to fruition, the effects this effort can often have on an artist’s market, and the resulting disputes over authenticity of works that may occur as a result.  “The authentication of individual works clearly belongs in the purview of the individual author or foundation,” says Deborah Aaronson, Phaidon’s group publisher, who just published the final volume in Andy Warhol’s Catalog Raisonné. “Authentication is clearly a huge issue with Warhol, so it’s not our policy to get caught up with those things.” (more…)

The Independent Art Fair has announced its plans to move downtown, and will open the 2016 edition of the popular Armory Week art fair at Spring Studios in TriBeCa March 3rd.  “We’re excited about the Spring/Independent partnership, as it will allow us to take the fair to a new and exciting dimension by hosting it in an extraordinary environment that the art world has yet to experience,” says fair Co-Founder, Elizabeth Dee In our new home at Spring, Independent will be even more adventurous in support of galleries’ and artists’ projects with the flexibility the space allows.” (more…)

Doug Aitken is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, as he opens the newest edition of Station to Station at The Barbican in London.  “Culture is the language that will bring us into the future,” Aitken says.  “But at the same time it is being surrounded by this conservative, capitalist system, which makes it harder than ever for individuals who have voices to push them as far as they can go.” (more…)

Yves Klein, Peinture de feu couleur sans titre (FC 27) (1962), via Christie’s

Following strong but subdued outings last week during the London summer sales, attention turns to the Contemporary market in the UK, as a trio of sales this week will usher in the summer months.  The sales start tomorrow, spanning three nights in the British capital, and drawing the first half of the year’s major sales to a close.

Andy Warhol, One Dollar Bill (1962), via Sotheby’s (more…)

Serpentine Pavilion, via Serpentine Galleries

The Serpentine Pavilion, the annual summer architecture project hosted by Serpentine Galleries, has opened in London, a swirling series of multicolored chambers and hallways by Spanish architecture firm SelgasCano (the first commission from a Spanish firm) resting on the lawn outside of the museum galleries. (more…)

Huma Bhabha at Salon 94 (Installation View)

Huma Bhabha’s new body of work is currently on view at both Lower East Side locations of Salon 94, showing the Pakistani-born and New York-based artist resuming her sculpture focused multi-media practice, pulling from vast inspirational sources, with her third exhibition at the gallery.  Spanning over centuries, religions, cultures and disciplines; Bhabha’s influences generate works of art that are hybrids of various methodologies. Not dictated by historical or cultural hierarchy, threads Bhabha weaves into her practice articulate on set modes of history writing, problematizing its embedded dynamics. Dystopian or utopian depending on viewers’ perception, Bhabha’s assemblies – most notably her robust sculptures – revoke remnants of a somber future that draws nourishment from its past. (more…)

Herzog de Meuron has announced plans to redevelop Berlin’s famous art squat Tacheles, located in the Mittes district of the city.  The plans have sparked renewed protests over gentrification fears in the city.   (more…)

The Serpentine has announced a Build Your Own Pavilion contest for young and aspiring architects, aged 8 to 14, inviting them to try their hand at executing their own unique architectural design.  “The platform and workshops give an insight to the basic principles of architectural design and workshop students will be given the Pavilion brief and a toolkit that begins with sketching by hand, working with simple modeling materials and progressing to 3D design and print technologies,” the Serpentine says. (more…)

Gallerist Jonathan Green has found a previously unknown pastel work by Claude Monet taped to the inside of another two works he purchased at auction last year.  “We were very excited,” Green told the Guardian. “Pastels by him are incredibly rare. These are a pointer to his future. You can see his fascination with light.” (more…)

An arrest warrant for Artist Shepard Fairey has been issued in the city of Detroit, alleging that the artist has caused over $9,000 in damages from various tags and murals he left in the city.  Fairey’s public recognition “does not take away the fact that he is also a vandal,” says Police Sgt. Rebecca McKay. (more…)

A muralist and designer is suing Starbucks, following the coffee company’s allegedly unlicensed use of her signature style.  Painter Maya Hayuk was approached by the corporation late last year, and declined an offer to work with them on a campaign, but sued when Starbucks rolled out new branding that seemed strikingly similar to her own work.  “Starbucks brazenly created artwork that is substantially similar to one or more of Hayuk’s copyrighted works,” the lawsuit claims. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal notes the growing number of volunteer museum docents and tour guides among the baby boomer generation, and problems with managing the volunteer staff that often comes with the territory.  “There was this culture of resistance,”says Hirshhorn Museum spokeswoman Kelly Carnes of volunteers who opposed changes in the tour guide structure. “They really felt entitled after spending enough time here not to make any changes from the way they had previously done things.” (more…)

François Pinault is reportedly looking to Paris for the potential site of a museum housing his collection of art, WWD reports.  “He has met with [Paris mayor] Anne Hidalgo, who expressed her interest,” says a source close to Pinault. “They are looking together.” (more…)

New shoes from artist Takashi Murakami and Vans hit stores this weekend, a collaboration that sees the artist’s signature flowers and skulls adorning the skateboard shoe company’s iconic slip-ons.  The collaboration also features a number of limited-edition skateboard decks and t-shirts. (more…)

Artist Cady Noland has repudiated another one of her past works this month, sabotaging a $1.4 million sale for Log Cabin Blank with Screw Eyes and Cafe Door, a work which she denounced after learning of the new owner’s plans to restore the piece’s rotted wood.  “Noland angrily denounced the restoration of the artwork without her knowledge and approval,” a complaint collector Scott Mueller filed in New York Federal Court this Monday. “She further stated that any effort to display or sell the sculpture must include notice that the piece was remade without the artist’s consent, that it now consists of unoriginal materials, and that she does not approve of the work.” (more…)