A group of artists including Tomma Abts, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Anish Kapoor, and Jeremy Deller have issued a statement condemning Cuba’s treatment of artist Tania Bruguera, following her performance several weeks ago in Havana.  “In her work Tania Bruguera frequently addresses issues embedded in Cuba’s social, political and economic history. But her aim is not a question of direct political action but to open our eyes to the injustices and social issues in the world and to expose the mechanisms of power and protocol that shape human behavior,” the letter reads. (more…)

Artist Grayson Perry has designed a special holiday home in Essex, part of a special commission by Living Architecture, and developed in collaboration with the FAT architectural firm.  Appropriately titled A House for Essex, the home boasts a golden copper alloy roof, and a secret narrative incorporated into the space by Perry, focused around an imagined previous inhabitant.   (more…)

W Magazine profiles the sprawling rural estate of two anonymous New York City collectors in the Hudson Valley region, a site which formerly served as the working farm of the James Cagney estate.  Featuring works by Sol LeWitt, Monika Sosnowska, Franz West and Jeppe Hein, the site is a new adventure for the couple.  “We’d see people pack up their cars on a Friday night and laugh,” they say. “But we always considered ourselves sculpture collectors—and in a New York City apartment that’s a hard thing to do.” (more…)

The rural home of Pablo Picasso in Mougins, France, where the artist spent the last 12 years of his life, is up for sale, with a momentous asking price of $220 million.  Originally purchased for $13 to $16 million by a Belgian art dealer, the asking price stands at well over 8 times its previous sale price. (more…)

As social attitudes towards country living shift in the United Kingdom, more and more artists are abandoning city life for residence and working space in the countryside, where inexpensive living and the economic struggles of small British towns have paved new modes of work and living for British artists.  “I can negotiate having a social life living in a city, or I can be an artist. I found I can’t do both … Britain has become so complex to be poor in. At least if I am skint here, I can look at the mountains.”  Says artist Bedwyr Williams. (more…)

The Venice Biennale

Every two years, the floating city of Venice floods with with the multitudes of art visitors, customers, gallerists and exhibitions that are all a part of the Venice Biennale. This year, marking the 55^th edition of the world’s largest art fair, sees the continuation of an event that first began in 1896. Between June 1^st and November 24^th over 300,000 visitors will travel to Venice for the expansive installations of exhibitions of work from artists in 88 nations, at both official and fringe sites. Art Observed will be on-site this week, with photos from variety of events around the city.

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