Diane Arbus, Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. (1962), via Art Observed

In 1956, Diane Arbus struck off on a path that would redefine the practice of photography in the 20th Century, adopting a wide-ranging yet equally nuanced eye for subjects and situations in the teeming metropolis of post-War New York City and beyond.  Culling together a selection of these works, including a wide grouping of previously unseen shots from the artist’s personal archives, the Met Breuer has opened a landmark exhibition documenting the artist’s formative years, titled In The Beginning, and spanning the first seven years of her practice as an artist (1956 to 1962). (more…)

Performance artist Joey Arias with 60th gala cake

Tuesday night marked Aperture Foundation’s Sixtieth Anniversary Gala Dinner & Photography Auction. The live auction featured an incredible selection of 60+ works up for grabs by such notables as: Diane Arbus, Chuck Close, Dorothea Lange, Sally Mann, Vik Muniz, Hank Willis Thomas and William Wegman. (more…)

Diane Arbus – A young man in curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. (1966), Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum

In partnership with Jeu de Paume, Paris, The Estate of Diane Arbus LLC, Fotomuseum Winterthur and Foam Photography Museum, Amsterdam, The Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum is hosting a major retrospective of the work of American Photographer Diane Arbus, including a number of previously unseen pieces.

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Diane Arbus, Lady at a Masked Ball with Two Roses on Her Dress, NYC (1967). Images via Jeu de Paume unless otherwise noted.

Diane Arbus’ (1923-1971) first retrospective in Paris is on now at Jue de Paume. Between the Arbus Estate and 41 private collections, 200 photographs are shown, a handful of which have never been seen before. Describing her work, Arbus once said, “I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don’t like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.” Her frank approach to portraiture confronts one with a sense of identity that is often hidden away; she exposed and celebrated the unique in all, her oeuvre showcasing an underlining sensitivity to the human condition.

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Installation view. All images courtesy of Cheim and Read unless otherwise noted.

For the first time in its fifteen years, Cheim and Read is showcasing all of its female artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Holzer, and Diane Arbus, for a celebratory exhibition. Less of a critical show on feminism, the exhibition is more of a simple gathering of varied artists. “The Women in Our Life: A Fifteen Year Anniversary Exhibition” reminds us of the voice and vision of some of these major players in contemporary art.

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Diane Arbus, A Castle in Disneyland (1962), via Gagosian

The Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles presents “People and Other Singularities,” an exhibition of the photographs of Diane Arbus between the years of 1956 to 1971. The gallery showcases  the most extensive collection of Arbus photographs within Los Angeles since “Diane Arbus: Revelations” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2004. “People and Other Singularities” contains several photographs that have never before been exhibited publicly, along with some older favorites that have become part of photography’s canon.

Diane Arbus, Identical Twins(1962) via Diane Arbus Photography

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Untitled (Newspaper on Ground, Grass, California) (2000) by William Eggleston, via Cheim & Read Gallery

Currently on view at Cheim & Read Gallery in New York are two concurrent photography exhibitions featuring rarely shown photographs by Diane Arbus and William Eggleston.  The works by Diane Arbus are grouped under the “In the Absence of Others” and feature empty rooms  and artificial rooms taken during the 1960s. The exhibition of Eggleston’s works is entitled “21st Century” and highlights his most recent works.

An Empty Movie Theater (1971), by Diane Arbus, via T Magazine

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Tall Figure II and Tall Figure III both 1960 Alberto Giacometti. All images via MoCA

To celebrate their 30th Anniversary, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MoCA) are exhibiting ‘Collection: MoCA’s First Thirty Years‘ – an exhibition comprising of more than 500 artworks by more than 200 artists, it is the largest ever installation of works from MoCA’s permanent collection. This comprehensive survey of the past 70 years of contemporary art history fills both of MoCA’s downtown L.A. locations – MoCA Grand Avenue and The Greffen Contemporary.

Big Wheel, Chris Burden (1979) via MoCA

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Barbara Kruger’s installation at the Lever House on Park Avenue in New York via Lever House Collection
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Whether we realize it or not, our daily lives are filled with multitudes of graphic and visual information. While reading a newspaper, watching television, walking on the street past countless advertisement, we constantly absorb information. It is this aspect of social and public sphere that Barbara Kruger exploits in her current installation at the Lever House in New York. A project commissioned by the real estate  mogul Aby Rosen, whose collection features such names as Jeff Koons, George Condo, John Chamberlain, Keith Harring, and Barnaby Furnas, holds tight to its message of “an image is worth a thousand words.” The text as art exhibition, titled “Between Being Born and Dying” runs through November 21st, 2009.

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Barbara Kruger “Between Being Born and Dying” installation [Lever House]
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Barbara Kruger Bio [PBS]
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Barbara Kruger at Lever House [Lindsay Pollock]
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Helvetica at 50 [BBC News]
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50 Years of Helvetica exhibition [MoMa]

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Untitled, Gerhard Richter (1985) via mima

Currently on show, through November 15, at Middlesbrough’s Institute of Modern Art (mima), is Gerhard Richter: Modern Times. Gerhard Richter is undoubtedly one of the most significant artists of our time; with works held by almost every major museum in the world, and is said to have brought ‘painting back to life.’  This exhibition covers all aspects of the artist’s complex practice and is particularly important as it includes unique works in many different media. Gerhard Richter: Modern Times comes close on the heels of a number of exhibitions that have widened the public’s view of Richter including a major retrospective at The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, a groundbreaking survey of his portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the unforgettable 4900 Colours: Version II at the Serpentine Gallery in London.

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11 Schieben [11 Panes], Gerhard Richter (2004) via mima

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Jonathan Meese, “mutter mit roter Brille und roetlicher Perlenkette,” part of “The Figure and Dr. Freud,” a group exhibition on at Haunch of Venison New York.

Haunch of Venison’s New York branch is showing “The Figure and Dr. Freud,” a group exhibition by 31 artists from the last century.  These include past and currently producing artists, from the sculptor Alberto Giacometti to the painter Daniel Richter.  The show, which closes on August 22, focuses on the human figure as the artists have rendered it, through the lenses of the late Dr. Freud’s psychoanalytic theories.

Related links:
Haunch of Venison
Sigmund Freud [freudfile]

David Salle, “With All Due Respect Sir, We Need Modesty Blaise,” at Haunch of Venison.

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Exhibition view, “The Female Gaze: Woman Look at Women,” at Cheim & Read. Pictured works include Victoria Civera’s Searcher (far left) and Vanessa Beecroft’s Blonde Figure Lying (floor).

Through September 19, 2009, Cheim & Read will show “The Female Gaze: Women Look At Women.”  Featured are works by women of women, with aim to reorient the typically-male framing of women in art.  Works range in medium from the paintings of Alice Neel and Lisa Yuskavage to the sculptures of Kara Walker, the text poems of Jenny Holzer and the photographs by Diane Arbus, the installations by Louise Bourgeois and even collage work by Ellen Gallagher.

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Cheim & Read – Exhibition – The Female Gaze [Cheim and Read]
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Now Hanging: Girlie Show [The Moment Blog, New York Times]
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The Female Gaze, The Cheim and Read Gallery, New York [Financial Times]
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The Female Gaze: Women look at Women [Artforum]
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“The Female Gaze: Women Look at Women” at Cheim & Reid [Contemporary Art Daily]

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Cindy Sherman, Untitled, at Cheim & Read.

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Diane Arbus, “Identical Twins” (1962) via Fine Art Photography Masters

From May 9 to August 31, Cardiff’s National Museum’s main exhibit will reveal the work of legendary New York photographer Diane Arbus (1923-1971).  The retrospective exhibit is comprised of 69 black and white photographs, including the rare portfolio of ten vintage prints, “Box of Ten,” which Arbus began assembling in 1969.  This limited edition portfolio, which was intended to present her work as an artist, constitutes a conscious statement of what she stood for and how she regarded her own photography.  Arbus’ photography, marrying the conventions of 19th century portraiture with the seamy concerns of the 1960s, remains startling today.

Related links:
Diane Arbus at the National Museum Cardiff [Financial Times]
Diane Arbus Exhibition Page [National Museum Wales]
Exhibition Preview: Diane Arbus, Cardiff [Guardian UK]
Diane Arbus: a Flash of Familiarity [Telegraph]
Exhibition of Legendary Photographer Diane Arbus’ Work to be Displayed at National Museum Cardiff [Art Daily]

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Abstraktes Bild 809-3 (1994) by Gerhard Richter, via the Tate

Under a program called “Artist Rooms,” the British public (and anyone visiting the United Kingdom) will be able to enjoy a large and diverse collection of contemporary art, including works by Joseph Beuys, Jenny Holzer, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Gerhard Richter, Gilbert and George, Damien Hirst and other prominent and influential artists ranging from the immediate postwar period to the present.

The works originally belonged to Anthony d’Offay, one of contemporary art’s most powerful dealers and collectors. d’Offay relinquished his 725-piece collection worth £125 million to the British and Scottish governments; the dealer effectively sold his collection to the governments for £26.5 million, far below market value . The collection was then transferred it to the National Galleries of Scotland and the Tate.

The works are set up in a series of 50 rooms featuring 25 artists, located at 18 galleries and museums throughout the United Kingdom, in an ambitious effort to broaden the audience and geographical reach of contemporary art. Sir Nicholas Serota, head of the Tate, expressed the hope that the show could be kept on the road indefinitely(as reported last February by Art Observed here).  The Art Fund, an arts charity, is working in conjunction with the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, and has pledged £250,000 a year to help keep the “permanent tour” going.

“Artist rooms” marks the first time a national collection is being shown simultaneously across the UK, and the first room will open on March 2nd, 2009 at the Tate Britain, featuring the work of Ian Hamilton Finlay.

Rooms with a view: £125m art collection tours UK [Guardian]
Art collection to be split and shown around UK [Reuters]
Artist Rooms Collection of Contemporary Art Goes Nationwide [ArtDaily]
British Dealer Anthony D’Offay Sells 725 Works to Tate for Reported Fifth of Their Value [ArtObserved]
Exhibition page: Artist Rooms collection at the Tate
Exhibition page: Artist Rooms collection at the National Galleries of Scotland

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Jeurgen Teller and his son via New York Magazine

Art auctionable fashion photographer (and husband to London gallerist Sadie Coles) Jeurgen Teller [New York Mag]
A billionaire’s $4 million, 14,000 sf gallery to sell his mother’s art in midtown Manhattan [Bloomberg]
After her big art event in Moscow, more on Daria “Dasha” Zhukova [Times Online]
Curating the Met’s acquisition of the complete Diane Arbus archive [NYsun]
Police recover final piece stolen during the daylight theft at Estacao Pinacoteca Museum, Sao Paulo [Art Daily]