Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, The Yawner, 1771-83. Via DNAinfo

1736-1783: From Neoclassicism to Expressionism focuses on the “character heads” of sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, curated by Guilhem Scherf at the Neue Galerie until January 10th. One of the most relevant details to interpreting the artist during this later period is the curious fact that Messerschmidt made no differentiation between his earlier neoclassical busts (for which he gained initial acclaim) and the so-called character heads.  The latter began after Messerschmidt started to suffer from hallucinations and paranoia, featuring stripped-down, realistic renderings of a myriad of extreme facial expressions.  The artist arrived at such expressions by contorting his face in a mirror—yet it should be noted that though they bear his likeness, the resultant busts are not considered self-portraits.

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Otto Dix, Portrait of the Lawyer Dr. Hugo Simons (1925) All images via Neue Galerie

Currently on view at the Neue Galerie is an exhibition featuring the work of German artist, Otto Dix (1891-1969). The show was organized by Olaf Peters, Professor of Art History at Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Following its run at Neue Galerie, the show will travel to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition is the first solo museum show of Dix’s work in North America. Although widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century in Europe, Dix has been slower to attain widespread appreciation among American audiences. The 100 plus works featured in this exhibition, which include drawings and paintings, emphasize Dix’s ability to portray the often brutal realities of his time, with the cynicism and satire which characterized the “New Objectivity” movement.

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Oskar Kokoschka, “Rudolf Blümner” (1910), part of a new show of the artist’s works at Neue Galerie New York.

Neue Galerie New York is currently showing six oil paintings and 40 drawings by the late Oskar Kokoschka.  All works are drawn from the museum’s holdings, and will be on display through October 5.  “Focus” runs concurrently with the Neue Galerie’s “Selections from the Permanent Collection,” which shows works that comment on the political and social changes in post-WWI Germany.

Related links:
Neue Galerie New York
Oskar Kokoschka – Modernity Met With Hope and Despair at the Neue Galerie [New York Times]
Viennese Culture on the Skids [New York Observer]

Oskar Kokoschka, “Martha Hirsch (Dreaming Woman” (1909), at Neue Galerie.

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Alanna Heiss via ArtNet

Alanna Heiss has retired after 37 years of curating MoMA’s PS1; an article on her final show [NYTimes]
$250,000 worth of prints including those by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse stolen in Berlin [AssociatedPress]
A chronicle of the rise of auction prices before the fall, and a rumor that 2/3 of the bidders for Hirst’s monumental September auction may not actually pay for the works, and part 2 here [Bloomberg]
A video of  Eric Fischl at Mary Boone [Newarttv]

Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally via the ArtNewspaper

US lawsuit filed to confiscate Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally from the Leopold Museum in Vienna is suspended [ArtNewspaper]
Art dealers as paparazzi fodder?  White Cube owner Jay Jopling garners attention with singer Lily Allen in St. Barths [TheMirror]
also on the island, dealer Larry Gagosian and the band Kings of Leon fete collectors Roman Abramovich, Dasha Zhukova and Aby Rosen, designer Marc Jacobs, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, musician Jon Bon Jovi and actor Daniel Craig among others [IndependentUK]
In other art world vacation news, Damien Hirst hires 4 guards formerly in the British Special Forces to protect him during his Mexico holidays [MercoPress]

The Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion via architecturelist

The Zaha Hadid-designed Chanel Mobile Art tour is stopped; London, Moscow, and Paris canceled [ArtInfo]
Emmanuel Perrotin on three current Parisian exhibitions [The Moment – NYTimes]
MoMA to launch two-year series of live performance works [NYMag]
Collector Ronald Lauder interviewed at his Klimt-rich Neue Galerie in New York [Financial Times]
Damien Hirst bans a documentary film of his Statuephilia work [TelegraphUK]
The Velvet Underground’s John Cale will represent Wales at Venice Biennale of Art next year [BBC]
The controversial act of State museums deaccessioning works [NYTimes]
The Getty endowment has declined 25% [LATimes]
Art Info’s Top 5 art world figures of 2008 [ArtInfo]

Self-Portrait With Horn, Max Beckmann (1938) via NYTimes

The Upper East Side gallery, Neue Galerie of modern German and Austrian art has put together an exhibition focused around Self-Portrait With Horn (1938), by German Expressionist Max Beckmann. The exhibition also includes two other works by Beckmann, as well as other portraits and self-portraits from various artists of that era, such as Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Christian Schad. The famous Beckmann portrait was painted in 1938, right after the artist relocated in Amsterdam after fleeing Nazi Germany. Art historian, Jill Lloyd, has prepared a complete catalogue for the exhibition that will be available for purchase. The exhibition at Neue Galerie will be on view until September 1.

The Mythic Imagination of Beckmann in Exile [NYTimes]
Max Beckmann, ‘Self Portrait with Horn’ [Neue Galerie]
The Ring of Truth: ‘Max Beckmann: Self-Portrait With Horn’ and A Persecuted Artist’s Call for Help [NYSun]
Max Beckmann: Self-Portrait with Horn [Artinfo]
Max Beckmann: Self-Portrait with Horn [Flavorpill]

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