AO Art Observed™

The Peaceable Kingdom, by Edward Hicks, the subject of a dispute between Halsey Minor and Sotheby’s, via Wikimedia

The founder of CNET sues Sotheby’s, citing non-disclosure of its economic interest in a painting sold to him, which he has withheld payment for [Bloomberg] more on this here [LATimes] and here [Wall Street Journal] and here [New York Times]
A prediction that the new leadership of the MoMA and Guggenheim will broaden and focus each institution respectively [NewYorkMag]
A profile of the emerging Zoo Fair artists at the National Academy in London [Guardian]
In a recent interview, Tracey Emin addresses her being raped at age 13 in Margate as well as her being a victim of child abuse [ThisisKent]
Artist builds a custom environment to work for 3 months at the Whitney for an upcoming exhibit of photographs of the happenings [ArtInfo] more on this here [New York Times]

“Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio” by Lucio Fontana via Christie’s

Highest-valued sale Christie’s has yet to auction during Frieze Art week will be a Lucio Fontana egg-shaped canvas estimated at $21.8 million [Bloomberg]
LACMA announces $55 million gift directed toward new pavilion amongst other endeavors from POM Wonderful and Fiji water owners [ArtDaily]
Street artist Kaws, now at Emmanuel Perrotin in Miami (as covered by AO here), collaborates on shoes with Marc Jacobs [TheWorldsBestEver]
An interview with Catherine Opie, whose work can now be seen at the Guggenheim [Artforum]
Ukrainian (not Russian, as cited in linked article) steel oligarch Victor Pinchuk announces Director for his new Kiev museum and that he was in fact a major buyer at Hirst’s Sotheby’s auction [ArtInfo]

Catherine Opie via NYTimes

On Catherine Opie, whose exhibition opens at the Guggenheim today [NY Times]
Sotheby’s: Cat painting by 17-year old Damien Hirst is worthless [Guardian]
Auction of purported artist friend-of-Andy Warhol blocked by Warhol foundation due to its never having heard of the man [New York Post]
A review of “After Nature”- an apocalyptic themed exhibition at the New Museum [NYMag]
Accusations of a conflict of Interest concerning François Pinault and Jeff Koons at Versailles exhibition [ArtForum]
A full 1/2 of Gagosian Gallery’s London sales are to Russians [ArtInfo]

Jenny Holzer’s light projection For the Guggenheim via Art Daily.

Jenny Holzer’s site-specific design for the facade of the Soloman R. Guggenheim museum is now on display. The Guggenheim commissioned the piece to mark the completion of the museum’s three-year restoration project.  The piece is a light projection of political statements about terrorism and the Iraq war along with poems by Nobel Prize recipient and Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska.  The work was inaugurated September 22 when Mayor Bloomberg switched on the installation causing the epigrams of white capital letters to cascade down the building.  The work entitled “For the Guggenheim” will be on display from sunset to 11 PM every Friday through December with a special showing on New Year’s Eve.
Jenny Holzer to Light Up Facade of Guggenheim Museum [Art Info]
Guggenheim Marks Completion of Restoration With First Public Viewing of Work by Artist Jenny Holzer [Art Daily]
Guggenheim Museum to display text art to celebrate renovation [USA Today]
Guggenheim Museum Marks Completion Of Building Restoration With First Public Viewing Of Commissioned Work By Artist Jenny Holzer [Guggenheim Press Release]

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Richard Armstrong, the new Director of the Guggenheim via NY Times.

As anticipated by Art Observed earlier this month in a report here, Richard Armstrong of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh has been named the new Director of the Soloman R. Guggenheim Foundation and its flagship the Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.  The announcement made yesterday by the Board of Trustees follows an extensive seven-month international search. The search begin February 2008 after Thomas Krens resigned as Director of the Guggenheim after nearly 20 years. Armstrong served four years as Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art at the Carnegie Museum prior to his appointment as director there. He has also worked previously as the curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art where he organized four biennials and as curator at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, California.

Guggenheim Chooses a Curator, Not a Showman [NYTimes]
Guggenheim Foundation Names New Director Richard Armstrong [Art Daily]
Richard Armstrong appointed director of the Guggenheim [The Art Newspaper]

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Echo (2008) Louise Bourgeois via Cheim & Read

Louise Bourgeois revisits familiar themes in her exhibition Echos, on display now at Cheim & Read. Like Bourgeois’s recent retrospective held at the Guggenheim this past June Echos concentrates on the themes of home, family, motherhood, and sexuality. Echos examines the constructs of the female identity, especially those in conflict such as female/male, organic/geometric, and particular to this exhibit mother/father. Comprised of discarded clothing and aged painted wood the featured sculptures are reminiscent of Bourgeois’s earlier work of the 1940’s and 50’s and serve to represent the familial hierarchies. The gouaches on display depict the relations between mother and child and are influenced in part by Bourgeois’s own role as mother as well as the death of her own mother when the artist was twenty. The paintings which are comprised of blood red paint further the organic aesthetic of the exhibit and mirror the artist’s continual emphasis on nature as seen in her mixed-media exhibit held at the Zurich’s Hauser & Wirth this past June covered here.

Louise Bourgeois at Guggenheim [Art Observed]
Louise Bourgeois Echo at Cheim & Read [Cheim & Read]
Louise Bourgeois: Echo at Cheim & Read [Chelsea Art Galleries]

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Francois Pinault via the TheLuxeChronicles

In February 2009, works from Francois Pinault’s collection coming to Moscow’s Contemporary Culture Centre “Moscow Garage” [RussiaIC]
Hirst’s $100 million diamond encrusted skull to begin its world tour in … Amsterdam [NYSun]
MoMa selects a Chief Curator of Painting from in-house [NY Times] and, the Guggenheim may soon appoint a new Director from Carnegie Museum [NY Times]
The Jeff Koons-in-Versailles debate continues on [TimesOnline]
Matthew Barney is on Ovation TV, airing Wednesday [OvationTV via C-Monster]
New on the global art scene Roman Abramovich’s girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, basically summarized [Wall Street Journal]

A rather political work by Banksy spotted in Alabama via Supertouch

Banksy, moving north from New Orleans, (previously covered by AO here), to Alabama [Supertouch]
In October an artist will allow you to stay in a hotel room set up at the Guggenheim [GuardianUK]
New York Magazine highlights 30 art shows for the Fall [NYMag]
Explaining the dearth of Japanese curators [JapanTimes via Artsjournal]
Two books reviewed on the exploits Han van Meegeren: master forger [NYSun]
The Moment reports on vast industrial artspaces at Manifesta 7 in the Italian Alps [The Moment]

Martin Kppenberger’s Zuerst die Füsse (Feet First)

The Pope condemns late German artist Martin Kippenberger’s crucified frog sculpture [GuardianUK] and more here [NYTimes]
A critique of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Waterfalls’ as ineffective “shock and awe” public art [NYSun]
Jeff Koons on Night Talk [YouTube via ArtFagCity]
Guggenheim Foundation receives $1 million from National Endowment for the Humanities [ArtForum]
Banksy’s auction-donated $137,000 work to support Ken Livingstone invalidated due to his anonymity [ArtInfo]
Damien Hirst to open his 2nd ‘Other Criteria’ retail shop next to Sotheby’s on New Bond Street, London [Blomberg]

Brice Marden via the The New York Observer

Artist Brice Marden is redeveloping a hotel in the Caribean island of Nevis [NYObserver]
S&M self-portraiture coming to the Guggenheim with Catherine Opie retrospective [NYTimes TMagazine]
After 30 years, lawyer on trial for attempting to profit off stolen art, including a $29.3M Cezanne [Artinfo]
Fake American Apparel ads in Brooklyn reference Jeff Koons and perhaps Damien Hirst [AnimalNY]
Ed Ruscha’s open-air studio in Venice Beach, CA may become a city parking lot [NYTimes]
The 100% self made custom wardrobe of artist Mike Latham, of Art’s Corporation, features his signature barcode [NYSun]

Jacob Rothschild via BBC

Interview with Lord Jacob Rothschild, scion of legendary collector family [The Economist]
Tracey Emin rejects offer to remake her definitive ‘Sensation’ work: “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–95,” which burned at the Saatchi gallery warehouse in 2004 [Artinfo]
Guggenheim Foundation expands, taking over 60,000 sf in West Soho [Crain's New York]
Blue chip gallery Pace Wildenstein is up and running in Beijing before the Olympics [NYSun]
More on the China thing: Beijing’s 798 art district prepares for sales tied to the Olympic rush [WallStreetJournal]
And still more on the China thing: female Chinese artists move to the forefront [NYTimes]

Louise Bourgeois via Artatien
The iconic artist, Louise Bourgeois, is honored by the culmination two major events. Her exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York recently opened on June 27th. June 25th was the theatrical premier of “Louise Bourgeois:The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine”, a documentary about her life and work at the Film Forum.

New Louise Bourgeois Documentary Film to Premiere at New York’s Film Forum [Artdaily]
Louise Bourgeois at the Guggenheim [The Art Newspaper]
Portrait of a Haunted Artist Who Befriended Giant Spiders [NY Times]
‘Louise Bourgeois’: An Intimate Look at a Provocateur [NYSun]
The Guggenheim Museum: Louise Bourgeois [Guggenheim]
Raw Materials of a Life, Revealed by Sculpture [NYTimes]
Louise Bourgeios at the Guggenheim [NYTimes]
`Cumuls,’ Dolls Recall Daddy Dearest in Louise Bourgeois Show [Bloomberg]
For Your Distorted Pleasure: Louise Bourgeois [NYTimes]
Bourgeois Looms Large at the Guggenheim [NY artbeat]

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Guggenheim Vilnius Museum via ejpress

The government of Lithuania has approved the construction of a new contemporary art museum for its capital, Vilnius.  If the project reaches it’s fund raising goals, the museum would be a joint project between the Guggenheim and the Russian State Hermitage Museum. The renowned Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid has been selected to design the building, which is projected to open in 2013.

The Guggenheim Goes East Again [TIME]
Coming Soon: Guggenheim Vilnius [NYSun]
New Hermitage-Guggenheim museum in Vilnius to house centre on ‘Litvaks’ [EJPress]
Lithuania Approves Guggenheim Project [NYTimes]
Zaha Hadid to Design Planned Museum in Lithuania [Bloomberg]

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La Rivière Gentille, 2007 via Hauser & Wirth

Hauser & Wirth, Zürich, is currently displaying a new series of works on paper, La Rivière Gentille (2007), by Louise Bourgeois. The exhibit, featuring 42 mixed-media works by the contemporary master mostly known for sculpture, evokes the dual nature of water and memory through imagery and text. The installation wraps around the gallery, reinforcing Bourgeois’ long-held emphasis on architectural and psychological spaces. This show coincides with the traveling, full-career Bourgeois retrospective that visits New York this summer.

Bourgeois Retrospective at Centre Pompidou [moreintelligentlife.com]
La Rivière Gentille in Zurich [Hauser & Wirth]
Louise Bourgeois at Guggenheim [Guggenheim Museum]
Bourgeois Spider Sells for Record $4.5 Million [Bloomberg]
Louise Bourgeois: A Retrospective [Art:21 Blog]

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Leonard Lauder via The New York Times

Lauder Steps Down as Whitney Chair [NY Times, Art Forum]
“The primary market has only one event, and that is Art Basel” [Bloomberg]
A look at the work of the Guggenheim’s Chief Conservator [NySun]
An Interview with Nan Goldin in her Paris home [The GuardianUK]

Kauffman Desert House in Palm Springs via greatbuildings

Christie’s auction of Neutra house didn’t actually close [NYTimes]
Recent auction results belie underlying market weakness [Economist]
Herzog & de Meuron to design Kolkata Museum of Modern Art [ArtForum]
Ukranians as a new force in art buying [Financial Times]
A financial take on the state of the art market [TheStreet.com]
Guggenheim and Met hunt for museum heads [New York Sun]

The Hermitage Guggenheim museum in Vegas via Las Vegas Sun

The Hermitage Guggenheim Museum, a scion of the New York-based Guggenheim Museum and the St. Petersburg-based State Hermitage Museum, will close next month. The gallery space, designed by Rem Koolhaas, was based in the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and was met with some success when it opened.

Hermitage guggenheim Museum will close next month [Bloomberg]
Guggenheim Museum in Vegas will close after seven years of residency [ArtDaily]
The Guggenheim museum in Vegas will close in May [Las Vegas Sun via C-Monster]
Guggenheim hermitage will close in less than one month [ArtForum]
Staying in Vegas? Not the Guggenheim [LATimes]

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Justin Anderson via the Moment

Art handlers in the forefront, and the back story [NYTimes, the moment]
The story of Gauguin’s severed head Arii Matamoe [NY Times]
Gugg. ex-director Krens up to more than expected in Abu Dhabi [NYMag]
China’s art market as a mere “pump and dump” PR play [Forbes]
Murakami interview before Brooklyn Museum show [New York Magazine]
Spencer Tunick’s nudes at Four Seasons restaurant [New York Post]
Update: The Guardian’s criticism of Whitney Biennial [Guardian.co.uk]
Asian art wrap-up: Yen bolsters Christie’s sales; Sotheby’s slumps [Bloomberg]

Melissa Bent and Mirabelle Marden via Style.com

Interview with Melissa Bent, Mirabelle Marden, founders of Rivington Arms [Style.com]
Former Guggenheim director Krens looking for other New York projects[Bloomberg]
Emmanuel Perrotin’s review “La Louvre - Paris” exhibition by Gelitin [The Moment]
Ralph Rugoff’s blunt critique of Damien Hirst’s “decorative” £50m skull [The Independent]
Hirst work sells for 500 times €380 paid for it last year [The Independent]
A Rare Richard Prince Interview [Dejour Magazine via Raw art weblog]

Alec Wildenstein via Telegraph

Obituary for Alec Wildenstein, of major art world dynasty[Independent UK]
Update: D’Offay wants ‘iconic’ gallery to house £125 million gift [The Scotsman via ArtForum]
In Brooklyn, DUMBO’s most controlling real estate family keeps 1,000 artists and arts organization in the neighborhood [The New York Times]
De Kooning sells for $5 million at the European Fine Art Fair [Bloomberg]
Bill Ruprecht continues to navigate Sotheby’s through uncertain times [Economist]
Future of Metropolitan and Guggenheim is controlled by same exec search firm [NYSun]
‘Gallery condos’ as artist and dealer space for sale in Chelsea [ChelseaNow]
Jeff Koons studio visit is auctioned off, for charity [c-monster], [charitybuzz]