The Wall Street Journal evaluates the trend towards galleries moving into Manhattan’s flower district, as many dealers tire of the rapidly increasing rents and steady stream of towering condos.  “The spirit of the neighborhood is dramatically changing,” says Casey Kaplan. “A lot of the conversations I’ve had with artists have been about wanting to break out of the art mall and have a different experience.” (more…)

Dan Graham, Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout (2014), All Images Via Kelly Lee for Art Observed

The annual rooftop commission at The Metropolitan Museum of Art always manages to draw a crowd, whether it be Imran Quereshi’s bloody installation last year, or Tomás Saraceno’s vastly popular Cloud City.  For this year’s Rooftop Commission at , the Met has sided with a more heritage artist, Dan Graham, working in conjunction with Swiss landscape architect Günther Vogt to create the work Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout (2014).  Graham, 71, known for his conceptual bent and exploration of multiple mediums, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, installation, and performance art, has long focused on how architecture directly impacts its occupants and shapes their experiences of looking, a strikingly perfect fit for the Met’s scenic view and unique location.

(more…)

Martin Kippenberger, ab in die Ecke und Schäm Dich (Martin, Into the Corner, You Should be Ashamed of Yourself) (1989) via Osman Can Yerebakan

Paris was where the artists that planted the roots of Modernism in late 19th century. New York on the other hand emerged in the middle of 20th century as the destination for a large group of international artists as well as those from all around the United States who expanded notions of material and practice as the 20th century waned. Today, cities like Berlin, Tokyo and Sao Paulo are some of the top centers for artists to create and be a part of a community.  No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, a group show currently on view at David Zwirner, is presenting a transatlantic approach to the 80’s art scene through the works of twenty-two artists from Germany and the United States.  Underlying the dense creative vibrance of Cologne on one side of the Atlantic and New York on the other side, the exhibition presents a concentrated look at the productive interaction between the two cities, bringing together notable names that shaped the artistic nature of the era. (more…)

Urs Fischer at Lever House, via Art Observed

Running concurrently with his show of new works at two Gagosian exhibition spaces, Urs Fischer is exhibiting a selection of past works in the glass-encased lobby of the Lever House on Park Avenue.  Taking an intriguing approach towards the artist’s own glass-encased objects, the show makes for an intriguing perspective into Fischer’s interests in display, perspective and construction. (more…)

Blinky Palermo II Gelber Fluß, (1976), via David Zwirner

David Zwirner is currently presenting an exhibition of German artist Blinky Palermo’s works on paper from the years 1976-1977, on view at the gallery’s 20th Street exhibition space in New York. The exhibition was organized by the Palermo archive to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the artist’s birth, and the selection of works on display are culled from both museum and private collections, made mostly in New York City where he lived from 1973-1976, shortly before his death in the Maldives in 1977.

Blinky Palermo, Works on Paper (Installation View), via David Zwirner (more…)

Kevin Sutherland, the Miami pastor who was arrested last month for the attempted sale of several counterfeited works attributed to Damien Hirst, was indicted yesterday on grand larceny charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.  The pastor had allegedly attempted to sell undercover officers a number of fake Hirsts (one of which is pictured here) for $185,000.  His attorney, Sanford Talkin, claims that there is “more to the story.”

(more…)

Mere weeks after the announcement that Christopher D’Amelio would be joining David Zwirner Gallery, the gallery has  announced that it will be opening a new, five-story location in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.  The gallery will be christened with a dual show by Dan Flavin and Donald Judd on February 15th, and plans to host major exhibitions that rival the those of much larger art institutions.  “The first show is a marriage between the space and the work,” Zwirner said last week. (more…)

The New Art Dealers Alliance will return to New York City this year for its second art fair in the city, and will look to the Basketball City sports complex in the Lower East Side to accommodate its stable of artists and exhibitors.  The event will showcase new and emerging contemporary artists and galleries, complementing the concurrent events of Frieze New York on Randall’s Island that weekend. (more…)