Global contemporary art events and news observed from New York City. Suggestion? Email us.

FT Looks at the Complicated Proceedings in Issuing a Catalog Raisonné

Monday, June 29th, 2015

The Financial Times charts the ambitious efforts and long time frame for bringing an artist’s Catalog Raisonné to fruition, the effects this effort can often have on an artist’s market, and the resulting disputes over authenticity of works that may occur as a result.  “The authentication of individual works clearly belongs in the purview of the individual author or foundation,” says Deborah Aaronson, Phaidon’s group publisher, who just published the final volume in Andy Warhol’s Catalog Raisonné. “Authentication is clearly a huge issue with Warhol, so it’s not our policy to get caught up with those things.” (more…)

Hans Ulrich Obrist Releases New Book of Artist Conversations This Week

Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

The endlessly prolific Hans Ulrich Obrist has a new book out this week, titled Lives of the Artists, Lives of the Architects, tracing a series of the artist’s ongoing conversations with artists and designers over the course of his career, including pieces with David Hockney and Marina Abramovic. (more…)

Paris – Ed Ruscha: “Prints and Photographs” at Gagosian Gallery Through May 7th, 2015

Friday, April 10th, 2015


Ed Ruscha, Cold Beer Beautiful Girls (2009), all images courtesy Gagosian Gallery
Ed Ruscha, Cold Beer Beautiful Girls (2009), © Ed Ruscha. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Robert McKeever

On view at Gagosian Gallery’s Paris exhibition space are two exhibitions entitled “Prints and Photographs” and “Books & Co.,” organized by Gagosian director Bob Monk to explore the innovation and legacy of Ed Ruscha across a range of printed media.

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303 Gallery Launching Publishing Imprint

Friday, March 20th, 2015

303 Gallery has announced plans for its own publishing imprint, appointing former Fulton Ryder director Fabiola Alondra as the head of the wing. which will feature “limited edition artist’s books, ephemera, and all manner of printed materials in collaboration with gallery artists,” according to the gallery. (more…)

New York – Paul Chan’s Hugo Boss Prize Exhibition: “Nonprojections for New Lovers” at The Guggenheim

Friday, March 20th, 2015

Paul Chan, Sock N Tease (2013), via Art Observed
Paul Chan, Sock N Tease (2013), via Art Observed

For a semi-retired artist, Paul Chan has been busy in past years.  Following his step back from creating video and installation work in 2010, the artist dove headfirst into the world of publishing with Badlands Unlimited, an imprint responsible for a broad variety of works that have included Saddam Hussein’s On Democracy, and even a recent series of erotic works inspired by Olympia Press, the Paris-based smut peddlers that also published some of the Twentieth century’s most significant works of literature (Lolita and Henry Miller’s Rosy Crucifiction Trilogy).

This diversity of practice was what earned him the 2014 Hugo Boss Prize, one of the U.S.’s top honors, and an exhibition at The Guggenheim.  Given his output over the past decade, the artist is presenting a new series of sculptures that combine his recent publishing ventures with his particular approach to ready-made, object-focused sculpture. (more…)

Paris – Louise Bourgeois: “A La Librairie” at Galerie Lelong Through March 28th, 2015

Tuesday, March 17th, 2015

Louise Bourgeois, Anatomy (1998), all images courtesy Galerie Lelong
Louise Bourgeois, Anatomy (1998), all images courtesy Galerie Lelong

On view at Galerie Lelong is an exhibition featuring graphic works, sketches and drawings made early the career of the late French-American artist and sculptor Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010), whose work often incorporated autobiographical elements.

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Marina Abramovic to Release Memoirs in Fall of 2016

Wednesday, March 4th, 2015

Marina Abramovic has announced that she is preparing to publish her memoirs, due for the fall of 2016.  The book will be released in conjunction with the artist’s 70th birthday.  “My experiences have always been a big part of my work — they’re the source of everything I do, they’re my inspiration,” Abramovic said in a statement. “I hope that by sharing my story, I can give people the courage to do the things they’re afraid to do in their own lives.” (more…)

Kehinde Wiley’s Recent Models Don Spring Fashions for New York Magazine

Monday, February 9th, 2015

Kehinde Wiley is in New York Magazine this week, showcasing gowns from the spring fashion season worn by a number of female models the artist painted for his soon to open Brooklyn Museum exhibition.  “What we wanted to do was to play up the real world within the language of glamour,” Wiley says. “I wanted to have a reprise of that moment, to go back to this idea of fashion and art having something in common, the idea that fashion could change the perception of an individual.” (more…)

Grayson Perry Publishes Autobiographical New Book

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014

Artist Grayson Perry’s newest book, Playing to the Gallery, is out this month, tracing the artist’s early development and insights into the practice, inspiration and politics behind his unique work.  “I firmly believe,” Perry says early in the book, “that anyone is eligible to enjoy art or become an artist – any oik, any prole, any citizen who has a vision they want to share.” (more…)

Cory Arcangel Publishes New Book “Working on My Novel”

Tuesday, July 29th, 2014

Cory Arcangel‘s ongoing project Working on My Novel has finally been published in book form, compiled from posts by Twitter users in which they use the phrase “working on my novel. ”  “Now that I have a great domain name I can start writing on my novel,” reads the first tweet. (more…)

Milan – Dieter & Björn Roth: “Islands” at HangarBiocca Through Febraury 9th, 2014

Saturday, January 25th, 2014


Björn and Dieter Roth, Selbstturm (1994-2013), via HangarBiocca

HangarBicocca, Milan’s 12,000 square meter former industrial space turned gallery, is the perfect place for Björn and Dieter Roth’s Islands exhibition. The huge interactive installation, curated by HangarBicocca’s Artistic Advisor Vicente Todolí (the former Director of the Tate Modern in London), interacts with the space beautifully, creating a unique environment defined by the artists. Visitors are drawn into the artwork as they walk through the several “islands” created by groupings of work: walls of paintings and prints, sculptures, an installation of repurposed materials, musical instruments, furniture, screens and household items that visitors are encouraged to interact with, including the 131 screens of Dieter Roth’s well-known video diary, the floors from the artists’ studio, and their sculptures: Zuckerturm (Sugar Tower), 1994-2013 and Selbstturm (Self Tower), 1994-2013. (more…)