In an effort to increase global vaccination rates for easily preventable illnesses, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has commissioned a group of artists to create works centered around encouraging disease prevention.  Among the artists is Vik Muniz, who has been experimenting with biological infection as a generative force for intricate printed works.  “Normally, patterns are soothing structures,” Mr. Muniz says, “and all of a sudden, there’s a lot of drama.” (more…)

Jeff Koons was on hand last night at Simon de Pury’s benefit auction for collector Svetlana Uspenskaya’s Project Perpetual, offering a series of Hermès Birkin bags (previously owned by stars like Sofia Coppola, Marc Jacobs, and others) turned into readymade artworks, as well as a sculpture paying homage to Picasso’s La Soupe.   “You look into the gazing ball and it’s very immediate,” Koons said.  “You see your reflection. You’re affirmed, your senses are stimulated…and if you move the abstraction changes. But the piece also becomes affirmed. It becomes reflected into the gazing ball, and when that happens, you go from that Dionysian type of velocity into Platonism.” (more…)

Artist Gabriel Orozco will be honored this week with the Americas Society Cultural Achievement Award, a prize that acknowledges the artist’s ongoing commitment to the development and perpetuation of a global language for Latin American contemporary art.  “As we prepare to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our organizations in 2015, the creation of the first Americas Society Cultural Achievement Award reaffirms our commitment to highlight and support culture in the hemisphere,” says Americas Society and Council of the Americas President and CEO Susan Segal. “Gabriel Orozco is a truly worthy recipient of this very important recognition.”  (more…)

In another sign of increased confidence in new Director Philip Vergne, MOCA has added 4 new seats to its board of trustees, among them artist Mark Bradford, public policy strategist Heather Podesta, and art collector Cathy Vedovi.  “I don’t get the feeling that this is the new MOCA, and we don’t want to talk about the old MOCA,” says Bradford.  “It feels like we’re here now, and we’re moving forward, and we have a history.” (more…)

Artist Glenn Ligon has created a specially-designed tote bag, for sale to benefit Harlem’s Studio Museum.  Based on the artist’s work Untitled (I am Somebody), the bag is co-designed with MZ Wallace, and is available for $225.  “It’s always been a favorite text of mine,” Ligon sayws. “When I was approached about an image for this project, I thought the message of that image and its history, and also how it works on the bag when I saw the sketches, that this is a perfect marriage of these two things.” (more…)

Damien Hirst has donated the gilded skeleton of a woolly mammoth, secured inside a steel and glass case, for auction in benefit of non-profit amfAR’s 21st Cinema Against AIDS gala.  “I wanted to play with these ideas of legend, history and science by gilding the skeleton and placing it within a monolithic gold tank,” Hirst said. “It’s such an absolute expression of mortality, but I’ve decorated it to the point where it’s become something else, I’ve pitched everything I can against death to create something more hopeful.” (more…)

The Brooklyn Museum has been given a $5 Million endownment towards its director position from the Leon Levy Foundation.  The gift formally makes Director Arnold L. Lehman the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum.  “I grew up in Brooklyn,” says gift namesake Shelby White, a founding trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation, “and I remember taking class trips to the museum to look at the Egyptian collection. I didn’t realize, until much later, that it was one of the greatest museums in the world.” (more…)

Kehinde Wiley, via Art Observed

On Wednesday night, the Brooklyn Museum opened the doors for its annual Gala, bringing together a diverse group of artists, collectors and trustees to honor painter Kehinde Wiley, artist Jenny Holzer, and developer Jane Walentas.

Orly Genger, via Art Observed

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A minimalist portrait of Disney icon Mickey Mouse, done by Damien Hirst, is up for sale next month at Christie’s in London to benefit the Kids Company charity.  Created using Hirst’s signature “dot” technique, the portrait plays on a long history of pop art appropriation of the character.  “Mickey Mouse represents happiness and the joy of being a kid and I have reduced his shape down to the basic elements of a few simple spots. I hope people love it, because it is still instantly recognizable – Mickey Mouse is such a universal and powerful icon.”  Hirst says. (more…)

Julian Schnabel with May Andersen and Peter Brant, via Art Observed Staff

Painter, sculptor, filmmaker, Julian Schnabel is larger than life, and so are his artworks, some towering to two to three times the height of an average person.  The artist’s monumental works are currently being shown at The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, on view through March.  The exhibition captures the diversity of Schnabel’s work, from the many facets of his “plate paintings” to the table he designed for Francisco Clemente. By bringing Schnabel’s emblematic works together, the Brant Foundation offers a comprehensive look at how Schnabel has impacted the art world in a way that has not been attempted since the Whitney Museum’s retrospective show 26 years ago.

Julian Schnabel, The Walk Home (1985), via Art Observed Staff (more…)

Concluding his October residency on the streets of New York, street artist Banksy has unveiled his last work, the donation of a painted canvas to the Housing Works thrift store in Gramercy Park.  Titled The Banality of the Banality of Evil, the canvas features a man in a Nazi uniform viewing a classically rendered mountain vista, and is being auctioned off to benefit the Housing Works organization.  So far, bids have already reached over $200,000.  “Most New Yorkers have been watching pretty closely what he’s been doing for the past 30 days,” said Housing Works director of PR Rebecca Edmondson. “There has been controversy. But it’s great to end on such a high note by giving back to the New York community.” (more…)

A collaboration between Robert Motherwell’s The Dedalaus Foundation, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Jamestown Charitable Foundation has resulted in Come Together, a selling exhibition benefitting artists and New York residents affected by Hurricane Sandy last year.  Including works by Alex Katz, Mark di Suvero and the Bruce High Quality Foundation, the show opens on October 20th.  “Hurricane Sandy affected the art community more directly than 9/11,” says Phong Bui, an artist and the publisher of the Brooklyn Rail, who is organising the show. (more…)

Dinner view, all photos by Anna Mikaela Ekstrand for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

The Parrish Art Museum held their annual Midsummer Party this past Saturday, an essential event in the Hamptons social calendar, welcoming benefactors and guests to the museum’s newly completed home.

Guests inside the museum (more…)

Inside the Brooklyn Artists Ball at the Brooklyn Museum

The annual Brooklyn Artists Ball took place last week on April 24th, featuring award presentations to Barbara Knowles Debs, Vik Muniz, Wangechi Mutu and Roxy Paine for their collective contributions to the vibrant and growing arts scene of New York’s second borough.  The event also featured a series custom designed table settings from a number of New York artists, including Jules de Balincourt, Njideka Akunyili, Daniel Arsham, FAILE, Jennifer Catron and Paul Outlaw, a performance by Brooklyn’s The Push Pop Collective, and more.  Art Observed was on site for the event, and took these photos showcasing the highlights of the night.

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Creative Time is honoring artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel this year during its annual Spring Gala, and has just released a video of actor Al Pacino, recounting his personal experiences with Schnabel.  “He came to my house once and looked at a couple of my paintings.”  Pacino said.  “I thought: ‘he’s looking at a painting I did.  If he likes, it I know he’s a real phony.  He didn’t like it, and with Julian, he lets you know right away.” (more…)

After announcing the construction of a performance dome in the Rockaways this spring, MoMA PS1 has taken more steps to aid in the New York neighborhood’s relief, calling for video proposals on how to create a sustainable waterfront.  Twenty-five proposals will be selected by a panel including Klaus Biesenbach, Niklas Maak, and Hans Ulrich Obrist among others, and presented at the new dome in the Rockaways this April. (more…)