Joseph Beuys, Felt Suit (1970), via Art Observed

Beyond his most iconic performance works and sculptural environments, Joseph Beuys’s multiples constitute an entire aspect of the artist’s practice rarely seen as a complete series of works.  While some of his more iconic small-scale works, including Capri Battery or Sled, as well as his prints and drawings have become iconic entries in the artist’s elusive, and often enigmatic creative history, the works have rarely been presented as a complete series. (more…)

Yoko Ono is profiled in the Wall Street Journal this week, as the artist reflects on her career, and offers advice for young artists following in her footsteps.  “Artists should adhere to what we are, instead of being sidetracked by other desires,” she says.  “We’re supposed to have that independence. But many artists today are, you know, going with this gallery, with that museum, and thinking too much about monetary success, which means they can’t be free. A life of not being challenged and only hearing what you want to hear is being dead.” (more…)

Allan McCollum, Collection of Thirty-Six Perfect Couples (2005-2014), via Art Observed

Now on view at Petzel Gallery is a solo exhibition of works by Los Angeles-born, New York-based artist Allan McCollum.  Entitled The Shapes Project, the purpose of the series on view was to design a system that would allow for the production of a single, unique shape for every person in the world, using rapid manufacturing technologies to produce infinite variations of shape and form. This exhibition will be McCollum’s sixth solo exhibition at Petzel.

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Gutai: Splendid Playground (Installation View), Courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

The main hall of the Guggenheim Museum’s signature, spiraling exhibition space is currently dominated by an enormous hanging sculpture.  Long plastic envelopes swim over the atrium, filled with brightly-dyed water that casts faint, glimmering shadows on the floor below.  This is Work (Water), by Motonaga Sadamasa, a foundational member of the Gutai art collective. Hailing from the Japanese town of Osaka, the Gutai helped to define the vibrant Japanese contemporary and conceptual art scene of post-war Japan.  Blending an open exploration of the raw materials of creation with a playfully subversive worldview, the Gutai made enormous contributions to the contemporary art practice worldwide.

Shiraga Kazuo, Work II (1958),  Oil on paper, mounted on canvas  183 x 243 cm  Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe

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Exhibition view, Joseph Beuys, Iphigenie, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, all photos via Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

Curated by Jörg Schellmann, director of Edition Schellmann, the first exhibition shown in the new performing arts-dedicated space within Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Paris Pantin, is a collection of works by renowned German artist Joseph Beuys. The exhibition, entitled Iphigenie, inaugurated Thaddeus Ropac’s massive new space in the suburbs of Paris on October 17th, 2012 and will continue through January 27th, 2013.

Exhibition view, Joseph Beuys, Iphigenie, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

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