The most recent issue of Billboard Magazine features a cover story on French rock band Phoenix, showing the band standing in front of a work by Dan Flavin from the artist’s recent show with Donald Judd at David Zwirner in New York.  The picture was taken during the first exhibition at Zwirner’s new 19th Street location, as the band searched for inspiration for their upcoming tour.  “These pieces have a very short lifetime,” frontman Thomas Mars said, “which makes them even more precious.” (more…)

The New York Times Magazine has published a profile on German gallery mogul David Zwirner, documenting his growing chain of galleries worldwide, and the dealer’s modest origins.  The profile comes after Zwirner recently opened his new space in Chelsea with a show of work by Dan Flavin and Donald Judd, and responds to scrutiny over the aggressive monetizaton of the art world.  “I don’t mind everyone knocking the money, complaining about how much money there is — that goes with the territory,” Zwirner says. “But what they don’t understand is that work like this has to have space like this to be shown the right way and you have to have money to be able to provide it.” (more…)

Dan Flavin (Installation View) via David Zwirner

The inaugural show at David Zwirner’s spacious new location on W. 20th Street in Manhattan is a pairing of two of minimalism’s major figures and long-time friends, Donald Judd and Dan Flavin.  Given the size of the new location, with its towering ceilings and ample floor space, the show is sparese in both form and quantity, containing 8 illuminated frameworks by Flavin and 5 welded steel boxes by Judd.

Donald Judd, untitled (1991), via David Zwirner

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Yayoi Kusama announced this week that she is ending her partnership with the Gagosian Gallery, and joining David Zwirner Gallery’s already formidable roster of artists.  The news comes after several months of speculation and rumors that Kusama would be breaking her ties with Gagosian. (more…)

Fred Sandback, Untitled, (1977-2008), via David Zwirner

Currently on display at David Zwirner’s London Gallery is a matrix of acrylic yarn evoking an eerie experience that heightens the spectator’s spatial awareness. Across the gallery, colored and blackened fibre is stretched into 3D geometrical forms that carry an uncanny resemblance to a two-dimensional line drawing in mid air. The viewer is literally immersed into the surreal world of Fred Sandback as he challenges our perceptions of dimension and reality.

Fred Sandback, Untitled (four part vertical construction) (1988), via David Zwirner

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Mere weeks after the announcement that Christopher D’Amelio would be joining David Zwirner Gallery, the gallery has  announced that it will be opening a new, five-story location in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.  The gallery will be christened with a dual show by Dan Flavin and Donald Judd on February 15th, and plans to host major exhibitions that rival the those of much larger art institutions.  “The first show is a marriage between the space and the work,” Zwirner said last week. (more…)

Luc Tuymans, The Summer Is Over (Installation View), via David Zwirner

With a consistency that can almost be regarded as mechanical, 2013 marks another show by Belgian painter Luc Tuymans at David Zwirner in New York.  Since joining the gallery in 1994, the Belgian painter has held solo exhibitions in the gallery every two years, and is currently presenting a new series of thematically interwoven works that expound on his sparsely colored, figurative approach, titled The Summer is Over.

Luc Tuymans, Zoo (2011), via David Zwirner

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Dealer Christopher D’Amelio, formerly of Paula Cooper Gallery and his own space in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, has announced that he will be closing his gallery to join the expanding gallery network of David Zwirner.  Mr. D’Amelio will be positioned at the gallery’s 20th Street space in New York City.  “Chris brings a lot of experience and knowledge, especially when it comes to Minimalism.” Said Zwirner in an interview with the New York Times. (more…)

Francis Alÿs, REEL-UNREEL (2011), via David Zwirner

In REEL-UNREEL, the recently completed film by Belgian artist Francis Alÿs, two Afghan boys race through the streets of Kabul, dodging traffic, pedestrians, and other children while military helicopters fly overhead.  Mimicking a game hoop-rolling, they push two large film canisters, a trail of film spilling out behind them as they go.  Winding through the streets and up into the hills of the Afghani capital, the reels of film take their fair share of abuse as they are dragged through dirt, puddles, and even a small fire before being mistakenly rolled straight off a cliff. (more…)

The man who spent nearly half a million dollars in the first hour of Art Basel Miami 2010 is missing from the action this year. Steven Cohen, founder of SAC Capital Advisors, may be taking a break due to recent legal trouble. Though Cohen has not been charged, his employee Mathew Martoma was accused of insider trading while working at SAC, and there are rumors the government will parlay their Martoma accusation into a charge against Cohen. Galleries to whom Cohen is especially loyal will miss him this year, and David Zwirner of the eponymous gallery told the New York Times, “We would absolutely hate to have him not active in the market, I can wholeheartedly say that. I think the art world is rooting for him. I’m rooting for him. I wish he were here right now.” (more…)

Steven Murphy, CEO of Christie’s, ranked No. 1 on Art + Auction’s Power 100 list, (which will be released today at a party at the Haven Lounge in Miami). Murphy has built the auction house’s online functionality and attracted new clients. Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner, Marc Glimcher, Christian Deydier, Eli Broad and Emmanuel Perrotin also ranked in the top ten.
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Inglett Gallery via Katya Kazakina/Bloomberg

As galleries in Chelsea, the Lower East Side and Brooklyn regain power and cleanup begins, reports about the extent of the damage are slowly emerging. Basements flooded and water surged into first floor spaces, often several feet high, damaging everything. Several galleries had just mounted new shows, and some, like Andrea Rosen, were about to inaugurate expanded or newly acquired spaces.

Major museums closed, and some quickly reopened, giving people a place to gather and power up – like MoMA/PS 1 – or just a respite from the storm – like the Met. The New Museum was in the part of Manhattan without power and just reopened in the past day.

In Red Hook, artist Dustin Yellin lost everything – artwork, including early pieces, as well as recent renovations completed on the $3.7 million building that houses the The Intercourse, a non profit hub for artists through exhibitions, studio residencies, magazine and lecture and workshop series that opened earlier this year.

Red Hook Flooding via The Art Newspaper

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Luc Tuymans, Allo!-Technicolor (2012), Courtesy David Zwirner

A show of Luc Tuymans featuring his latest series entitled Allo!, inaugurated the new David Zwirner Gallery in Mayfair on October 4th. To further heighten the significance of such an occasion, this is Tuymans’ first London show since 2004 at the Tate Modern.

Luc Tuymans, Allo!, peaches- (2012)  Courtesy David Zwirner

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FIAC crowds, photo by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed

FIAC closed today, Sunday October 21st, with dealers reporting strong sales and a collective sigh of relief that the proposed inclusion of artwork over €50,000 to France’s wealth tax had not passed.  The fair was, by all accounts, well-organized and exhibited an impressive program of young galleries alongside work by established blue-chip artists. This year the fair added exhibition space in the Salon d’Honneur, the newly-renovated upper floor of the historic Grand Palais.  In past years the fair has seen more European collectors, but this year dealers reported sales to many collectors from Asia, Russia and the Middle East as well. The fair was directed by Jennifer Flay.

Marc Quinn, The Origin of the World, 2012, photo by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed

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A woman ranked #1 on Art Review’s Power 100 of 2012 for the first time ever. The Bulgarian curator, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, topped the list for her dOCUMENTA (13) exhibition in Kassel.  After 100 days of being open to the public, the fair received a total number of 887,000 visitors. The Power 100 is based on “a combination of influence over the production of art internationally, sheer financial clout … and activity in the previous 12 months”. Numbers, 2, 3, 4 and 5, are Larry Gagosian, Ai Weiwei, Iwan Wirth and David Zwirner, respectively. (more…)

Lynda Benglis sculptures and Hans Hurting paintings at Cheim & Read’s booth at Frieze Masters. All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

Frieze Masters and Frieze London concluded on October 14th, with both fairs reporting solid sales on the high end. This year, there was a distinct focus on curated booths and curatorial projects and less of an overt feeling of commercialization. Frieze Masters in particular focused on serious connoisseurship and an academic approach, both of which translated into a successful fair for dealers.

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David Zwirner talks to the Financial Times about educating his clients and his new gallery in London’s Mayfair district. On October 5th, Zwirner will open his five-story exhibition space in a townhouse with an exhibition entitled “Luc Tuymans, Allo!”.  The gallery sees the expansion as a way to reach collectors from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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Image: Expo Chicago via The Chicagoist

Expo Chicago opens with a VIP vernissage tomorrow evening to benefit the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Many blue-chip New York galleries are participating this inaugural year, including big names like Matthew Marks, The Pace Gallery, Luhring Augustine and David Zwirner, as well as other international galleries like Yvon Lambert. In the Exposure section, younger galleries like DODGE gallery and Kate Werble will be exhibiting.

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Art Basel via The Telegraph

In it’s 43rd conception, Art Basel is continuing its legacy as the leader among the contemporary art world’s fairs.  Last year, 65,000 people flocked to the cultural capital, situated at the border of Switzerland, France, and Germany.  For this year, Basel will no doubt draw a similar, if not greater audience throughout its four-day duration.  Art Observed will be on site to cover and photograph throughout this fair.

Founded in 1970, Art Basel quickly surpassed Germany’s Art Cologne and similar fairs in scale and remains today as the world’s largest.  Almost 300 galleries from around the globe participate, spanning five continents.  This international representation results in a large and diverse assortment of exhibitions, video works, performances, and public installations.  This year specifically there will be more than 2,500 artists exhibiting $2 billion worth of art, nearly 300 gallery booths, and many more single stands present.

Perhaps the star feature of this year’s Basel will be Marlborough Fine Art’s Mark Rothko canvas, dated 1954.  The painting, for which there is already buyer interest, is priced from $78 to $84 million.

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‪‬Skarstedt Gallery to open space in Mayfair district of London this June, joining several other New York galleries expanding to London, including David Zwirner and Marlborough [AO Newslink]

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‪‬David Zwirner—after announcing a new London space—newly announces construction of a five-story exhibition and project space in Chelsea designed by Annabelle Selldorf, both to open this fall of 2012 [AO Newslink]

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Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild at Galerie Sho Booth, Pier 92

On the third and final day of the Armory Show 2012 both spirits and sales were high amongst the 228 exhibitors. Besides the notable success of David Zwirner’s solo booth by Michael Riedel, which sold out entirely in the first 30 minutes of the fair, many of the other galleries also benefited from the sales of their high-ticket items throughout the three-day exhibition. Art Observed spoke with representatives from various exhibitors including the Susan Sheehan Gallery, Spanierman Modern, Meredith Ward Fine Art, Art in General, Sprüth Magers, and the Gary Snyder Gallery. (more…)

All photos courtesy David Zwirner.

Michael Riedel’s solo site-specific installation of silk-screened posters and wallpaper sold out within the first thirty minutes of the Armory Show preview at David Zwirner’s booth. Art Observed spoke with Riedel that very afternoon in the following interview.

Art Observed: I was really taken by your work and its interaction with systems. I felt that to be a foundational aspect of how you interact with art and what your art-making process is about. How did you get interested or involved with systems?

Michael Riedel: Well, there is a big German writer on systems, and it’s interesting because I found his writing after I produced a lot of works, and then I could say, ‘Wow, this is exactly what is in my work.’ So there is a strong relationship to his writing. I think he is a sociologist… anyway, I think this is something which makes total sense for me—as a product. It’s something that’s ongoing and changing, but also in the same time it is a fixed form somehow. Yet inside there are a lot of interests. You can also touch on the word reproduction; a lot of people like to talk about reproduction in reference to my work, yet there has been a shift in meaning of reproduction—it isn’t about a product anymore, but the process of production. Which means, in the process of producing works, they are only done to produce the next step, to recycle, to transform, to translate. So it’s an ongoing thing.

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‪‬Chelsea-based David Zwirner gallery in New York seeks to open it first overseas space with a new location in London’s Mayfair. The London gallery will open November 2012, with an inaugural exhibition by Belgian painter Luc Tuymans. [AO Newslink]

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