Dana Schutz, The Visible World (2018), via Petzel Gallery

Marking her third solo exhibition with Petzel Gallery, artist Dana Schutz returns to New York this month with “Imagine Me and You,” a solo show of new paintings and sculptures. Diving deeper into her kinetic, often bizarre juxtapositions and alterations of physical space, Schutz’s work in the show marks a continuation and elaboration of her aesthetic practice. (more…)

Dana Schutz, Red (2016), All images via Anna Corrigan for Art Observed

Now through the 29^th of October, the CFA in Berlin hosts an exhibition of new work by Dana Schutz, Waiting for the Barbarians, retaining the artist’s prior interest and investment in absurdist and dark humor and pushing it onto new ground.  Where earlier work depicted often surreal or unlikely scenarios, Schutz’s new series is far more concerned with depicting the absurdity of current political and social realities. This is the artist’s fifth solo exhibition with the CFA. (more…)

Carroll Dunham, Mound A (1991-1992), via Art Observed

Flexing his curatorial muscle at both Skarstedt Gallery locations in New York, David Salle has compiled an intriguing collection of recent paintings by a vastly diverse group of artists, and examines their shared interests in the grounds of abstract painting: formal concerns of size, scale and focus, in combination with the compositional elements of color, contrast and hue. (more…)

Dana Schutz, Fight in an Elevator (2015), via Art Observed

Currently on view at Petzel Gallery is a series of new works by artist Dana Schutz, the New York-based painter whose fluid hand, surreal scenarios and meticulous commitment to polymorphous narratives have made her a leading voice among U.S. painters. (more…)

Piano in the Rain, a solo exhibition by painter Dana Schutz, opened at Friedrich Petzel Gallery on May 2^nd.  Schutz’s signature blend of cubist figures, brightly colored scenery, and chaotic compositions is a stylistic combination reminiscent of the artwork produced by the German Expressionist groups of the early 20^th Century.  Similar to the way that many of these groups found inspiration in the streets of Dresden and other large European cities, Schutz’s work also reflects troubles related to urban life; Heroin in the Wind shows a woman struggling with drug addiction while Small Apartment confronts the frustrating physical realities of city habitation. And as the title of the show suggests, each of these 13 paintings feature worlds fraught with troubles and instability and characters whose problems seem both common and insurmountable.

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Jean-Michel Basquiat’s, Untitled (1981). Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury.

The Contemporary Art Evening Sale at Phillips de Pury marked the last auction of the May season in New York. At the start, the salesroom was filled with lively energy among the crowd, with collectors mingling, including a Mugrabi brother. This show came after a record breaking fortnight of auctions and fairs within the art world. Coming down to the final sale, it was apparent that the buying was beginning to slow. Still, Phillips de Pury achieved a solid total sale of $86.8 million, which fell within their anticipated estimate of $75–110 million.

Before the Contemporary Evening Sale begins. Photo By Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed.

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Paul McCarthy, Cultural Gothic (1992). All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Art Observed was on site for the private Tuesday evening preview of the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation show American Exuberance. Throughout 28 gallery spaces in a 45,000 sq ft museum, 190 works by 64 artists explore the American condition today through art, dissecting the paradoxical arenas of culture, economics, and politics. A 244-page catalog includes written commentaries by 13 of the artists from the notable roster, as follows: Thomas Houseago, Richard Jackson, Rashid Johnson, Nate Lowman, Richard Prince, Sterling Ruby, Haim Steinbach, Ryan Trecartin, and to name a few. About a quarter of the works were made in 2011 specifically for the show.  Also, Art Observed returned the next morning on Wednesday for Jennifer Rubell’s 11th annual breakfast, which is presented every morning throughout the week, treats visitors to a small jar of fresh yogurt, to be ‘anointed’ with honey dripping from the ceiling.

Collecting dripping honey at Jennifer Rubell’s Incubation yogurt and honey breakfast.

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The audience at SculptureCenter’s Lucky Draw 2011. All images courtesy of SculptureCenter.

Last Wednesday, Art Observed was on site at SculptureCenter’s Lucky Draw in Long Island City. Of the events in New York’s spring benefit circuit, Lucky Draw stands out for its rapid paced, chance-dependent operation that lends the event an element of excitement and guarantees that each ticket holder brings home a piece of art. Even though the auction format gala keeps it casual by omitting a formal dinner or seating order, anticipation leads up to a quick raffle draw that replaces the traditional art world bidding process. Every ticket purchased guarantees the lucky philanthropist a piece of art as decided by the raffle’s random draw and not the highest bidder. However, SculptureCenter knows the anxious collector’s soul and lets the event begin with a traditional search for the three highest bidders, who are then allowed to bypass fate and pick the first three works of art.

SculptureCenter volunteer carrying an Olaf Breuning piece 

More images and text after the jump… (more…)

Anselm Kiefer, Winter Ade Scheiden Tut Weh Aberdein Scheiden Macht, Dass Mein Herz Lacht (Goodbye, Winter, Parting Hurts But Your Departure Makes My Heart Cheer), 2010
Listed at $100,000

Last night at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery on Chrystie street in the Lower East Side of New York, West-Village-based Foundation for Contemporary Arts held a benefit auction selling nearly 200 paintings and sculptures.  All proceeds went to programs of the FCA, “hoping to assist and encourage innovation, experimentation and potential in the arts,” this year providing 14 grants to artists, of $25k each.

A view from the balcony

The benefit was extremely well attended, with some of the artists joining as well. The large number of works represented a variety of globally well-known artists, including Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Brice Marden, Francesco Clemente, Bruce High Quality Foundation, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Julie Mehretu, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, David Salle, Frank Stella, Elizabeth Neel, Julian Opie, Cecily Brown, Vija Celmins, Robert Gober, Nate Lowman, Dan Colen, Dana Schutz, Kara Walker, and T.J. Wilcox, to name a few.

More photos after the jump…

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