Dasha Zhukova’s long-awaited Garage Center for Contemporary Art has opened in Moscow’s Gorky Park, designed by architect Rem Koolhaas from a repurposed Soviet-era dining canteen.  “We are very happy to work on turning the almost-ruin of vremena goda into the new house for garage,’ says Koolhaas. “We were able, with our client and her team, to explore the qualities of generosity, dimension, openness, and transparency of the soviet wreckage and find new uses and interpretations for them.” (more…)

With Dasha Zhukova’s Garage Center for Contemporary Art set to open on June 12th in Moscow, the museum has released a video offering a preview of both its impressive architecture and its world-class collection, including a colorful mural unearthed during renovations of the site, previously a Soviet-era restaurant.   (more…)

Richard Tuttle, Aspect XII (2015), via Pace

As the New York art world returns home following the Biennale previews last week, the first days of the Frieze Art Fair are set to get underway.  Opening its doors to VIPs this Wednesday, May 13th, the fair brings a number of events, openings and exhibitions along with it, marking the last major fair week in the U.S. for several months, and penultimate major fair week internationally before the slow summer months. (more…)

First Lady Michelle Obama was on hand Thursday for the opening ceremonies at the Whitney Museum, which opens to the public today, and made remarks praising the vision of the new space.  “Maybe you can discover the next Carmen Herrera, or Archibald Motley, or Edward Hopper, or maybe even the next Barack Obama. That is the power of institutions like the Whitney. They open their doors as wide as possible both to the artists they embrace and to the young people they seek to uplift.” (more…)

Part of the celebrations surrounding the opening of the Whitney Museum this week, the Empire State building will display colored lighting schemes centered around famous works from the museum collection.  The lighting, which goes live Saturday, is designed by acclaimed designer Mark Brickman.  “We’re dealing with Andy Warhol and Elizabeth Murray and Rothko,” Brickman says of the challenge. “Giants.” (more…)

Outside the New Whitney Museum, via Art Observed

When the Whitney’s migration downtown was first announced, the anxiety and anticipation over its move away from the Breuer building on 75th and Madison was palpable, to say the least.  But as the initial reviews of the space begin to trickle in, the move downtown seems to have made all of the difference for one of the bastions of American fine arts.  Sure enough, the museum, which opens its Renzo Piano-designed doors to the public on May 1st, has created the conditions for something truly incredible in the Meatpacking District, an effortless, flowing viewing experience that manages to tie the museum’s impressive holdings together with the skylines and scenic views of its iconic hometown.

John Storr, via Art Observed (more…)

The completed Whitney Museum is set to open in a matter of days, and articles in both New York Magazine and the New Yorker are already praising the space for its massive exhibition spaces and intriguing design by architect Renzo Piano.  “The audacity of the building shows that, yes, the Whitney will survive the new era,” writes Jerry Saltz.  “But the better question is whether it has found a way to thrive in it. And, believe it or not, I am in love with what this building represents.” (more…)

The New York Times profiles gallerist Bridget Donahue’s new space at 99 Bowery, founded by the former Gavin Brown’s Enterprise director and focusing on a broad selection of artists, including “older, under-the-radar, and anti-establishment” artists.   (more…)

After five years of renovations, delays and even the replacement of former head Anne Baldassari, the Pablo Picasso Museum in Paris’s Marais District has reopened to strong reviews and even stronger attendance.  “There is a lot of fluidity,” says new director Laurent Le Bon. “One can move around much more easily than before, one has a freedom which goes well with the spirit and the works of Picasso.” (more…)

Phillips has opened its new exhibition and auction space at 30 Berkley Square in London, part of its increased efforts to compete at the highest end of the contemporary market.  The space is currently exhibiting a curated show in the space, titled A Very Short History of Contemporary Sculpture, and curated by Francesco Bonami.  “I thought about sculpture, as soon as I saw this space,” Mr. Bonami says. (more…)

Three of France’s most popular musuems, The Louvre, The Musee d’Orsay and The Palace of Versailles, will soon be open to visitors every day, the French government announced. The move “will allow better access for the public and better access to the works,” according to the French Culture Ministry. (more…)

The New York Times interviews Marcel Dzama this week, in the wake of the artist’s opening at David Zwirner, alongside his collaborators Kim Gordon and Tim Kingsbury (of Arcade Fire).  The trio worked together on Dzama’s newest film Une danse des bouffons (A jester’s dance), a fantastic film incorporating numerous Dadaist and Surrealist references into a work inspired by the affair between Marcel Duchamp and sculptor Maria Martins.  “It’s amazing how many things you can do when you’re just pretending,” says Gordon. (more…)

The Whitney Museum will keep its doors open on Mondays next month, providing visitors an extra day to visit the vast Jeff Koons retrospective before the institution closes its uptown space for its move to the Meatpacking District.  The new hours are in effect until the exhibition closes on October 19th. (more…)

Team Gallery is planning to open a space in Los Angeles on September 14th, 2014. The new space, called Team Bungalow, will be the third iteration of the Team Gallery and the first outside of New York City. The gallery will be based in a small bungalow and garage on Windward Avenue in the Venice neighborhood and will be open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Team Bungalow’s inaugural show will be called “tl;dr” and feature work by Cory Arcangel.  (more…)

FIAC has announced a new event set to take place during the larger fair this October, titled (OFF)ICIELLE, and focused around promoting young galleries and artists on the international circuit.  The event will present 50 galleries from around the world in Paris, opening for a private viewing on October 21st. (more…)

The newest Hauser and Wirth space in Somerset opens its doors this week in the small town of Bruton.  The new gallery is celebrating its opening with a show of works by artist Phyllida Barlow, titled Gig.  But is also showing a number of site-specific installations on its expansive grounds. (more…)

This year’s temporary summer pavilion by the Serpentine Gallery has opened in Hyde Park, an enormous rounded structure likened to a doughnut, and designed by Chilean architect Smilijan Radic.  The rounded fiberglass space is designed to act as a public social space, and will remain open through October.

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Following a previous excursion by Pace Gallery in the Swiss Alps, the gallery will return to a temporary space in the Engadin gallery town of Zuoz, bringing works by Donald Judd and John Chamberlain for an exhibition running from July to September. “Many collectors have beautiful houses and spend a significant amount of time in this part of Switzerland,” says director Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst. (more…)

The Guggenheim’s currently under construction space in Abu Dhabi is hosting a preview exhibition of its collection, showing 16 works in the exhibition  “Seeing Through Light: Selections From the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection” at Manarat later this year.  “It is small in nature because the space, a temporary exhibition gallery used to foster audience engagement for the three museums, is only about 15,000 square feet,” says Curator Susan Davidson. (more…)

Jack Shainman Gallery has opened its newest location, a three-floor, converted schoolhouse located in Hudson, NY.  “I just love the building so much—especially its bones,” says Shainman. “We were pleasantly naive when we first took the project on, otherwise, we’d never have done this.” (more…)

Kehinde Wiley, via Art Observed

On Wednesday night, the Brooklyn Museum opened the doors for its annual Gala, bringing together a diverse group of artists, collectors and trustees to honor painter Kehinde Wiley, artist Jenny Holzer, and developer Jane Walentas.

Orly Genger, via Art Observed

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Outside last year’s Armory show, via Art Observed

As March rolls into New York, so too does the art world, as the city prepares for the 2014 edition of Armory Week, capped by The Armory Show on Piers 92 and 94 of Manhattan’s West Side, and complemented by a series of additional events, fairs and openings around the city.

Serge Alain Nitegeka, Exterior I: Studio Study I (2013), via The Armory Show (more…)

The Delfina Foundation has reopened its doors after a ten-month. £1.4 million renovation, making it London’s largest artist residency program.  The foundation’s gallery space opens today with an exhibition titled The Politics of Food.  “It’s great to be in a place that takes food as seriously as I do,” joked UK Culture Minister Ed Vaizey. “I expect hundreds of MPs will be beating a path to the door, especially when they hear how tidy it’s kept and that there is food here.”  (more…)

New York Times Magazine profiles the Retrospective Gallery, which just opened last Saturday in Hudson, N.Y.  The space, founded by dealers Zach Feuer and Joel Mesler, is looking to experiment in the upstate city, trying new events and strategies “outside the pressure cooker,” as Feuer says.   (more…)