Michael Heizer (Installation View), via Gagosian

Spanning the breadth and depth of the artist’s work in both sculpture and land art, Gagosian’s Paris in Le Bourget is currently presenting a body of work by Michael Heizer that moves from 1968 to the present.  Over fifty years, Heizer has redefined the very idea of sculpture in his explorations of size, mass, and process. His earth-moving constructions, paintings, and drawings explore the dynamics of positive and negative space.  With this show, the magnitude and nuance of his work is allowed to breathe at scale, presenting a body of works that underscore his evolution and incorporation of increasingly complex methodologies into his practice. (more…)

Dan Colen, The Trap (2016-2018), via Gagosian

Currently on view at Gagosian Gallery’s Beverly Hills location in Southern California. Dan Colen has pulled together a body of paintings that feel decidedly at home in a location so close to Hollywood.  His show of new works, High Noon, is a striking interrogation of corporate image production, shared memories, and the cognitive effects of modern commercial communication, all pulled together by their use of a distinct style of background painting utilized heavily in the classic Wile E. Coyote cartoons of the Warner Brothers’ cartoon universe.   (more…)

A major dispute has arisen over the sale of a Picasso bust, with Larry Gagosian and the royal family of Qatar facing off in court to determine who purchased the work rightfully from the artist’s daughter Maya Widmaier-Picasso.  Gagosian claims he purchased the work in May of last year for $106 million, while the Qatari royals claim they had arranged to buy the work in 2014 for $42 million, with both parties bringing forward documentation showing a considerable amount of wrangling and attempts to change the conditions of the deal.  “It’s regrettable that this has come to a quarrel between dealers and collectors,” said John Richardson, Picasso’s biographer. “It’s a major work by Picasso.” (more…)

Joe Bradley is reportedly leaving Gavin Brown’s Enterprise and Eva Presenhuber for Gagosian Gallery, the Observer reports.  The news comes on the heels of the artist’s inclusion in last year’s Forever Now painting show at MoMa, and a recent profile in W Magazine.   (more…)

Richard Prince, Original (Installation View)

Richard Prince’s Original series is currently the subject of a new exhibition at Gagosian Gallery, nestled at the gallery’s Upper East Side bookstore showroom, and using Prince’s ‘arrangements’ of soft-core adult novels with artworks created for their covers, showing the next step in the artist’s fascination with collecting, ownership and presentation.  An ardent, perhaps even obsessive collector himself, Prince often mines and unfolds worn and sometimes clandestine images, not only from vintage pulps, which serve for the selection here, but also from copies of influential literary pieces, a pattern the artist has studied throughout his career of media appropriations.  A devoted member of a group of artists who started experimenting with appropriation in the ‘70’s, Prince usually employs minimal alteration to his subject matter; rearranging, editing and sometimes even rephotographing what already exists. (more…)

Michael Heizer is profiled in The Guardian this week, following the opening of his newest show in New York.  “Years ago, when I had no money and I made a work of art, maybe I couldn’t afford to make it more resistant to the weather. I did, however, exploit that situation,” he says of his early work.  “I wasn’t an environmental, greenie artist making things out of moss and leaves. But I knew that some things dissipate, and I factored that into the work.” (more…)

Photographer Donald Graham has sent a cease and desist letter to Richard Prince and Gagosian Gallery, after a work of his ended up in Prince’s recent show of Instagram appropriations.  Interestingly enough, the work itself was already used without license on user @rastajay92’s account, which is the image Prince apparently printed. (more…)

Dan Colen, The Pastoral Symphony (2012), all images © Dan Colen, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Photography by Christopher Burke

On view currently at Gagosian New York is an exhibition of new paintings by American artist Dan Colen, which aims to question the nature of painterly practice, particularly focusing on the intersections of materials, chance and the interactions of these elements with the actual intent of the artist.  The Miracle paintings are based on Disney stills, particularly from Fantasia, famous for its pairing of musical compositions with animated sequences.  In similar form, the pieces on view walk a fine line between abstraction and representation, drawing on the audience’s collective memory of the film.

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Ed Ruscha, Periods (2013), all images courtesy Gagosian Gallery

On view at Gagosian Gallery in New York is a survey of prints and rarely seen photographs produced by Ed Ruscha from 1959 until the present. The exhibition was organized by Gagosian’s director Bob Monk, and will remain on view through July 11, 2014.

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Glenn Brown, Cactus Land (2012), via Osman Can Yerebakan

In his first solo show in New York in seven years, Glenn Brown delivers a large scale body of work, focusing on sculptural works besides his widely recognized paintings. Palatially spread across Gagosian Gallery’s twenty-first street location with an array of exuberant colors, Brown’s selection of artistic references in this exhibition include nods to Rococo, Baroque and Mannerist techniques, alongside the likes of Frank Auerbach and Pieter Bruegel. (more…)

Richard Prince, Cheese & Crackers (2008), via Art Observed

Showing for the first time since Richard Prince settled his lawsuit with photographer Patrick Cariou over several of the source photographs, Gagosian’s uptown location is currently presenting Canal Zone, the series of photo and paint collages that sat at the center of the legal dispute for the first time since 2008. (more…)

Julian Schnabel, Untitled (los Patos Del Buen Retiro II) (1991), via Art Observed

It’s not difficult to make links between young painters currently working today and Julian Schnabel.  The improvisatory, often deconstructive approach to the canvas as such pervades much of the medium’s current practice, and as if by some tacit understanding, few artists can be seen at as many shows of young painters as Schnabel himself, a man who seems invested not only in the next generation of New York artists (his patronage of the BHQF, for example, among others), but also in his impact on them. (more…)

Larry Gagosian is preparing to add another pair of New York exhibition spaces to his already impressive set of spaces, including a new space at Park Avenue and 75th, and a temporary exhibition space on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side, both of which will open next month with shows of new sculpture by Urs Fischer.   (more…)

Former Harper’s Bazaar and V Magazine Editor Derek Blasberg has reportedly joined on with Gagosian Gallery in an unspecified position.  “Derek brings a new perspective to the gallery, and as one of the leading media voices in fashion and the creative arts, I think he will make a valuable contribution,” Larry Gagosian said in a statement. “Our aim is to create a diverse program, to inspire our audience and promote our artists. I look forward to working with Derek to broaden our reach.” (more…)

Larry Gagosian’s proposed space in the Mayfair neighborhood of London has been approved, and will take up residence after renovations headed by Caruso St John, the firm responsible for the refurbishment of Tate Britain.  “We’re really excited to be working with Gagosian to create a preeminent commercial art gallery for London and we are delighted that Westminster City Council has given us the go-ahead,” says Ian Morrison, development director for Grosvenor’s London. (more…)

VIP’s prepare to enter at Art Basel, via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

Another year of Art Basel Miami Beach is officially in full swing after a bustling first day of sales, exhibitions, installations and parties has wrapped up.   The crowds were out in earnest for the press and VIP previews yesterday, as the convention center opened its doors to welcome in a swarm of interested collectors who made no delay in picking up some of the most significant pieces.  Collectors and art advisors could be seen frantically talking to cell phones, and dealers jotted down quick figures as the first hours of the fair counted up a solid series of sales.

Anish Kapoor at Lisson Gallery, via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

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Balthus, Untitled (1990 – 2000) ©Harumi Klossowska de Rola.  Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Inaugurating a new ground-floor gallery at 976 Madison Avenue, Gagosian presents The Last Studies, a never before seen exhibition and the gallery’s first partnering with the Estate of Balthus – on display until December 21.

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Lynette & Janette (2013). All images courtesy the Gagosian Gallery.

John Currin’s work is currently on view at the Gagosian Gallery in Paris through December 21^st. Currin is known for his seductive and, to some, lewd appropriations of sixteenth and seventeenth century European painting. His paintings pair explicit sexual representations with the extremely polished and delicate details of this classical style. The result is a fascinating, touching and often hilarious interpretation of the politics of visual representation and sexual provocation.  (more…)

Alexander Calder, Rouge Triomphant (Triumphant Red), (1959–63) © 2013 Calder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Jean Prouvé, Chaise Métropole n°305 (1953), courtesy Galerie Patrick Seguin.  Courtesy Gagosian Gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin.

Currently on view at Larry Gagosian’s Paris location is an exhibition focusing on the communications, collaborations, and creative dialogues shared by two of the pioneering minds of art and design: Alexander Calder and Jean Prouvé.  Exploring the pair’s elegant distillation of sculptural and architectural forms, the show catalogues a moment of shared concerns that helped to define the path of mid-20th century modernism.

Installation view, Calder | Prouvé, Gagosian Gallery, Le Bourget, Paris. Artwork by Alexander Calder © 2013 Calder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Artwork by Jean Prouvé, courtesy Galerie Patrick Seguin. Photo by Thomas Lannes, courtesy Gagosian Gallery and Galerie Patrick Seguin. (more…)

In an effort to raise $30 million for scholarly and educational programming, the Willem de Kooning Foundation is selling ten works by de Kooning from its collection.  Rather than selling at auction, the works will go on view at Gagosian Gallery this November, bypassing the often harsh public spotlight for a more subdued, conservative sale.  “It’s as much about presentation as it is about money,” says foundation board member John L. Eastman, who also served as de Kooning’s longtime lawyer, executor and conservator. (more…)

Roy Lichtenstein, Woman Drying Her Hair (1980), Courtesy Gagosian Paris

On view at Gagosian Paris is an exhibition exploring the work of Roy Lichtenstein, who remained the motifs and stylistic tropes of Expressionism motifs using his signature primary colors and flat geometry, a style he had slowly developed and refined during the 1960’s and early 1970’s.

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Thomas Houseago, Roman Masks III, (2013) Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Currently on display at Gagosian Gallery in London is an exhibition of new sculpture by British contemporary sculptor Thomas Houseago entitled Roman Figures.  Showcasing a continuation of the artist’s signature, rugged forms and unique approach to figuration, the exhibition is a strong continuation of Houseago’s celebrated practice.

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Renzo Piano, Model for New Whitney Museum (Installation View), via Alex Cosio for Art Observed

The Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea, in collaboration with Fondazione Renzo Piano, is currently exhibiting a retrospective of work produced by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the architecture firm conceived and headed by Pritzker Prize laureate Renzo Piano. Piano, who was born into a family of contractors in Genoa, has emphasized the importance of hands-on experimentation as well as technological innovation throughout his career.  Particularly of note are Piano’s models and sketches regarding the design and construction of the Whitney Museum’s future home, tucked between the High Line and Hudson River in the Meatpacking District. (more…)

London’s Mayfair district, traditionally known for its boutique shops and high-end British art galleries, is seeing a number of American dealers moving in, The New York Times reports.  Gagosian, Pace, David Zwirner and more have opened spaces in the area, seeking to provide an even greater global offering for potential artists and customers in a vibrant market.  “We’re all chasing the same artists,” says Marc Glimcher, president of Pace. “But the intensity of interest in art in London is long-lasting. You can get 10 reviews in 10 different newspapers. And besides the new collectors and galleries, there is a very vibrant museum community.” (more…)