Erik Parker, New Soul, 72 Ø (2018), via Art Observed

It’s hard to boil down the vivid, swirling compositions of painter Erik Parker into any one point, or even a series of entry points. His canvases combine pop cultural signifiers, swirling cartoonish caricatures, and a bright, day-glo sentiment as if his paintings were in the midst of some high-contrast meltdown. This approach gets a series of conceptual and figurative workouts in the artist’s show of works this month at Mary Boone Gallery, which compiles a range of pieces mixing both figurative and abstract techniques into an almost inextricable mass. (more…)

Math Bass, Newz! (2018), via Mary Boone

Currently on view at Mary Boone Gallery’s 745 Fifth Ave space, artist Math Bass has brought together a range of new sculptures and paintings that continue her equally meticulous and playful interpretations of the art object, twisting vaguely familiar forms and figures into foreign landscapes and minimalistic constructions. (more…)

Ai Weiwei, Roots and Branches at Lisson (Installation View), via Art Observed

Ai Weiwei has returned to New York City for the first time since the return of his passport from the Chinese government, opening a quartet of exhibitions across its urban expanses that offer a strikingly deep and varied series of perspectives into the artist’s practice over the past few years.  Spread out across both locations of the Mary Boone Gallery, in addition to a show at Lisson, and one at Jeffrey Deitch Projects, the artist’s selection of works presents a nuanced look at his ongoing investment in the defense and articulation of universal human rights, moving from China, to Syria, and beyond.

Ai Weiwei, Roots and Branches at Mary Boone (Installation View), via Art Observed

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The court case between Alec Baldwin and Mary Boone drags on this week, after Baldwin filed a new request for New York State Supreme Court to punish Boone over the sale of an allegedly deceptive Ross Bleckner work.  “Dismissing [his] demand for punitive damages, and allowing defendants to pay nothing but compensatory damages (essentially a refund), would be akin to asking a bank robber to simply return the money if caught; it would tell New York’s art dealers that fraud pays,” the filing states. (more…)

Mary Boone is fighting back in her feud with Alec Baldwin this week, accusing the actor of attempted tax fraud in the purchase of a Ross Bleckner piece.  Baldwin had previously had the work shipped to California upon purchase, before sending it back to his New York apartment, a move Boone describes as an attempt to avoid New York sales tax.  “I respectfully submit that Baldwin cannot connive an elaborate scheme to evade sales taxes and yet claim that there are any circumstances under which he is entitled to punitive or exemplary damages in connection with the same transaction,” she said in a sworn affidavit. (more…)

Sadie Benning, The Crucifixion (2015), via Art Observed

Artist Sadie Benning has returned to New York for a strong summer exhibition this month, filling Mary Boone’s Fifth Avenue location and Callicoon Fine Arts’s downtown space with a series of mixed media pieces that continue a taste for colorful abstraction, formal evasiveness, and cartoonish figures, applied here towards the perception of and reflection on the presence of higher powers.  Viewing the catastrophes and power struggles of modern society through the lens of the divine, Benning has realized a series of images depicting various gods and value systems in her signature blocks of color, lending a loose style to already weighty subject matter.

Sadie Benning, Nature (2015), via Art Observed

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Judith Bernstein, Cockman Always Rises Gray (2015)

Seminal New York painter Judith Bernstein is the subject of a solo exhibition, titled Dicks of Death, currently on at Mary Boone Gallery, shortly after her 2015 exhibition Voyeur at the gallery’s midtown location.  Subverting the fixations of male chauvinism and patriarchal discourse that have deep-seated roots in public realm, including an art community that ostensibly has an equitable façade, Bernstein emerged in the late ‘60s alongside a group of female artists who raised their defiant voices against subtly pervasive misogyny. (more…)

Marc Quinn, All the Time in the World (Installation View), via Mary Boone

Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea is currently exhibiting four new bronze sculptures and one oil painting, which together make up an exhibition by Marc Quinn entitled All the Time in the World. The display was opened to the public on May 4th, during the busy weeks around Frieze New York, and will remain on view through June 29th, 2013.   The exhibition also corresponds with Quinn’s major retrospective of works currently on view at the Fondation Giorgio Cini in Venice this summer. (more…)

Keith Sonnier, Lit Circle Blue with Etched Glass (1968), via Mary Boone Gallery

Mary Boone’s Chelsea gallery is currently glowing with Keith Sonnier’s early fluorescent works from 1968 – 1970, on view through February 23. Along with Bruce Nauman, Eva Hesse, and Donald Judd, Sonnier’s approach to spatial and aesthetic considerations  radically changed the conceptions of sculpture, embracing experimentation with unconventional materials and approaches to presentation.  The works on view at Mary Boone mark the period in which Sonnier first began working with neon light tubes, using them as a method to explore everyday materials, and to examine the impact that light makes on the surrounding environment.

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Peter Saul, Francis Bacon Descending a Staircase (2012), via Mary Boone

Defying critical characterization and classification for the bulk of their careers, artists Jim Shaw and Peter Saul have continually pushed the art of figurative drawing in new directions.  Exploring the multi-generational impact of these two artists, curator Klaus Kertess has brought the two artists together at Mary Boone New York to exhibit a selection of their works on paper.  Bringing the subconscious to the forefront of the viewer’s attention, the artists’ show is packed with images of altered realities, presented in their trademark styles.

Jim Shaw, Dream Drawing (1996), via Mary Boone

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Artist Nate Lowman at the DJ Booth – All photos by C. Dalaeli for ArtObserved

On Tuesday December 11th, The Whitney Museum of American Art hosted its annual Gala and Studio Party, sponsored by Microsoft and Pamella Roland. Originally scheduled to take place at Hudson River Park’s Pier 57 on October 30th, the annual events were postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. With more than $2.7 Million raised Tuesday evening, a portion of which will be donated to the New York Foundation for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund.

Atmosphere

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With soaring prices for certain contemporary and modern artists, some say there are signs of a bubble that is about to burst, such as the fact that people are attracted to high prices and “trophy” art. Some say it is similar to “tulipomania” in 17th century Holland, whereby the insiders have already purchased, so the market expands to newer, international audiences to continue growth. One [anonymous] advisor put it like this:  “The market has to come down—because it has to. They don’t call it a market because it only goes up. You call that ‘magic.’” Others such as Mary Boone and Sean Kelly, question whether the frenzy at the top of the market is truly an indicator of a bubble. Kelly says, “Every time you thought the world was ending, this market has confounded that prediction.”  (more…)

All photos on site for Art Observed by Elene Damenia.

Five tons of porcelain sunflower seeds—made in China—cover the floor of Mary Boone Gallery in Ai Weiwei‘s latest installment of Sunflower Seeds. Ai Weiwei employed nearly 1,600 artisans for two years in the traditional porcelain-producing city of Jingdezhen in northern Jiangxi, China, to individually craft and paint each actual-size seed by hand. Proclaimed one of the most influential artists of 2011 by several authorities, the work explores social, political, and economic issues of contemporary China. The seemingly uniform floor covering is composed of millions of the unique seeds, drawing attention to the role of the individual versus the masses, as well as China’s history of mass-production and export.

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Allora & Calzadilla, Umbrella and Bell (2011), front; Anish Kapoor, Untitled (2011), behind. At Lisson Gallery, booth J1. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

International collectors and art enthusiasts filled the Miami Beach Convention Center for the Wednesday preview of Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. While the maze of gallery booths could seem overwhelming, buyers were able to navigate through for a solid day of sales and works placed on reserve. Larger galleries such as Gagosian, David Zwirner, and Sprüth Magers sold several works and editions thereof. Speaking with Neil Wenman of Hauser & Wirth, “We’ve had a great response on the opening day. In particular for works by Thomas Houseago, Rashid Johnson, Paul McCarthy, Matthew Day Jackson, Richard Jackson—all works sold and all available editions.” Jenny Holzer’s new paintings at Sprüth Magers sold for upwards of $300,000, as well as Condos and Krugers at the booth. Lesser-known galleries were pleased to gain the exposure the fair offers; if not selling right away, interest was high and therefore also prospects for the remainder of the fair. Gallery Arratia Beer said the crowd was very engaged and informed, also saying, “The fair feels very international. It’s also good to see young internationals here too.” The newer Latin American presence was reportedly strong, both exhibiting and buying, as expected in Miami as opposed to the Frieze or FIAC fairs across the Atlantic earlier this year. Celebrities on hand included Julian Schnable, Eli Broad, Brett Rattner, Naomi Campbell, and Sean Combs/P. Diddy.

Larry Gagosian

Entrance D at the Miami Convention Center

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‪‬Ai Weiwei to show his multiple tons of porcelain sunflower seeds at Mary Boone gallery in January while prohibited to leave China [AO Newslink]

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All photos Art Observed by Guillaume Vandame

A festive atmosphere opening night at Mary Boone surrounded visitors while they studied Chicago artist Nick Cave‘s parade of bright and exotic soundsuits. Unique hybrid costumes made from a variety of materials, the works combine antique carpets, fabrics, beads, and everyday kitsch objects. Similar to naming the works Untitled, each piece is called a ‘soundsuit;’ various objects, all under the same title. The artist said of his style, “The world is my inventory,” drawing on roots in Trinidad and Haiti, and gathering resources that are no longer used in order to create something new.

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Detail of Soundsuit

More text and images after the jump…

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