Global contemporary art events and news observed from New York City. Suggestion? Email us.

Picasso Plate Worth $90,000 Stolen from Art Miami

Thursday, December 11th, 2014

A silver plate created by Pablo Picasso, and worth nearly $90,000 was stolen from the Art Miami fair this past week, part of a daring heist that has police still searching for the culprit.  “I’ve been doing art shows all my life,” says David Smith, the owner of the Leslie Smith Gallery and the victim of the theft. “I’ve never, ever had anything stolen.” (more…)

German Artist Reportedly Buried £10k in Gold Bars on Folkestone Beach

Thursday, August 28th, 2014

German artist Michael Sailstorfer is preparing a “participatory” installation work for the arts festival at Outer Harbour beach in Folkestone, UK, claiming that £10,000 in gold bars have been hidden across the beach.  The work, titled Folkestone Digs, opens today at 4PM, around low tide. (more…)

AO Photoset – Rockaway! Presented by MoMA PS1 in Fort Tilden, June 29th through September 1st, 2014

Tuesday, July 1st, 2014


Rockaway! Festival, photo via Art Observed

The art world decamped to the Far Rockaways this weekend, as MoMA PS1 initiated its new public arts festival at the increasingly popular Queens beachfront.  Sponsored by the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC) to celebrate the reopening of Fort Tilden, as well as to benefit the ongoing recovery of the area following the immense damages wreaked by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the event included exhibitions, performances and an after-party at the Rockaway Beach Surf Club.


James Franco Reads Walt Whitman during Rockaway! Festival, via Art Observed (more…)