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

Inside the Rebuilding Process at Glasgow School of Art

Tuesday, April 21st, 2015

The Guardian reviews the ongoing rebuilding efforts at the Glasgow School of Art, after the school’s Mackintosh library was destroyed in last year’s massive blaze.  A fundraising campaign has already launched to help finance a new building, but a debate over rebuilding the space or starting over is currently drawing considerable attention.  “[Mackintosh] was driven by a lifelong search for new forms in architecture and technology and was never a copyist,” architecture professor Alan Dunlop says. “I have no doubt that he would reject the approach of building a replica.” (more…)

Battersea Arts Center Receives £1 Million in Funding Following Massive Fire

Thursday, March 26th, 2015

The Battersea Arts Center has received a £1 million grant from the United Kingdom following a massive fire at the South London institution that destroyed its Grand Hall.  “The arts center is having to divert all its available resources into dealing with the aftermath and so I am pleased to be able to confirm that the government will provide £1 million towards the ongoing redevelopment work to help get this south London venue back on track,” says Culture secretary Sajid Javid. (more…)

Loris Gréaud Exhibition Attacked in Dallas, Potentially at Request of Artist

Wednesday, January 21st, 2015

Artist Loris Gréaud, who is represented by Pace Gallery and Yvon Lambert opened an exhibition at Dallas Contemporary this weekend, which was attacked by a group of vandals some speculate were sent by the artist himself.  “About 90 minutes in, it was stormed by 25 individuals who proceeded to destroy the exhibition,” one witness told the New York Post. (more…)

60 Artworks Destroyed at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf

Tuesday, June 24th, 2014

Over 60 artworks at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf have been destroyed, allegedly by janitorial staff, who slashed artworks with a knife and stomped the works’ stretchers to pieces before leaving the destroyed pieces in the school’s yard.  “It’s just terrible for the students,” says Director Rita McBride. “The works are irreplaceable.”  (more…)

New MoMA Design Will Not Spare Former Folk Art Museum

Saturday, January 11th, 2014

The finalized plans for the expanded Museum of Modern Art campus have been announced, following a lengthy evaluation process, and the final decision by the organization has been unable to reconcile the preservation of the former American Folk Art Museum building with its new plans.  The new space, which will include a retractable glass wall, new gallery space and the opening of its entire first floor free to the public (including the sculpture garden), requires the destruction of the much-loved space, and goes against protests from a number of premier architects.  “It’s not for lack of trying that we find ourselves at the same pass,” said Elizabeth Diller, a principal at the firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro, which evaluated the new plans. “We can’t find a way to save the building.” (more…)

Video Shows Richard Prince Burning Disputed Canal Zone Painting

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013

A video, released online yesterday and since removed, purportedly depicts artist Richard Prince burning one of the five still disputed Canal Zone pictures that were challenged in court by photographer Patrick Cariou.  While Prince had won the case for the majority of the works in the series, Graduation, the work depicted in the film, was still under consideration for not being fully “transformative.”  Cariou had originally sued to have the works destroyed.  In the video, Prince is quoted as saying “to them this stands for money,” before having an assistant douse the work in gasoline and light it on fire. (more…)

New York – Dirk Skreber: “pain(t)ology and other trials” at Petzel Gallery Through March 30, 2013

Friday, March 29th, 2013


Dirk Skreber, pain(t)ology and other trials (Installation View), via Petzel Gallery

German Dirk Skreber paints works at the intersection of cultural subsets, depicting moments of intense violence and figures abstracted from the pages of science-fiction. Revisiting the immediacy of violence and collision of forces.  Currently, the artist is exhibiting a selection of new works at Petzel Gallery in Chelsea, titled pain(t)ology and other trials. (more…)