Adrian Ghenie will now be represented by Thaddaeus Ropac, with the news coming shortly before the artist opens his solo exhibition at the Romanian Pavilion. Ghenie will open his first exhibition at Ropac’s Paris Marais gallery this October. (more…)
Gert & Uwe Tobias, Untitled (2014), all images via Maureen Paley
In their second solo exhibition at Maureen Paley, Gert & Uwe Tobias have brought a new selection of their mesmerizing woodcuts and collages. With a collection of fantastical characters printed on dark backgrounds, the woodcuts exemplify the tension between the fanciful and the terrifying present in fairy tales and folklore. These passed-down stories, as told in countless variations, have a tone that is at once childlike and unsettling, a contrast that the Tobias brothers exploit in their work. (more…)
Adrian Ghenie, Darwin and the Satyr (2014) ©Adrian Ghenie Courtesy of The Pace Gallery
Tempestuous, chaotic and captivating are only a few of the many attributions to describe the delirious colors and harmonics of Adrian Ghenie. Born and raised in Romania, the thirty-seven year old artist often experiments with the set techniques of painting through extensions and variations of narrative, conveying eerie tales of decay and disarray throughout his works. On view at Pace Gallery in London until July 25th is Ghenie’s most recent body of work, featuring nine oil on linen paintings and a large-scale room installation, reflecting the artist’s approach to the roots of Western ideology and the impact of intellectual thinking. (more…)
The thieves behind last year’s audacious heist of works from the Kunsthal Rotterdam have been sentenced to six years in prison for their thefts, which included works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Paul Gauguin, and which held a total value of over $24 million. The 2012 theft has yet to see the paintings recovered, and officials say that some of the works have been destroyed. (more…)
Constantin Brancusi, Mademoiselle Pogany II (1925-2006), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed
In 1913, Constantin Brancusi sent 5 sculptures to the now-infamous Armory Show, gently loping sculptural works that set the stage for the revolutionary sculptural abstractions that would change the face of contemporary art for good. It was the beginning of a long and occasionally rocky relationship with the United States, including a defining court case in which the artist successfully proved his work’s position as art, and breaking the long-held definition of an artwork asbased on a model or subject, opening the door for the proliferation of American abstraction. (more…)
As the trial for the suspects in the 2012 theft from the Kunsthal Rotterdam looks to begin, Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu has begun work on a feature film about the suspected thieves, an action adventure that documents their rise to art world infamy. “The subject sells itself, it is an excellent pretext for an action movie.” Giurgiu said. (more…)
The suspects currently on trial for the theft of seven paintings from a Rotterdam Museum have pledged to return five of the works if their trial is moved from Romania to the Netherlands, the BBC reports. Including works by Monet and Picasso, the total value of the works has been estimated at €18 million, and were feared destroyed by the mother of one of the thieves. “It is more likely the paintings are intact. My client says they can be handed over to the Dutch authorities. In exchange, they want to go on trial in the Netherlands.” Said lawyer Maria Varsii. (more…)
While Olga Dogaru, the Romanian woman who claimed she burnt works by Picasso and Monet in her stove after fearing for the arrest of her son, has since retracted her story, Romanian authorities have identified at least three paintings in the ashes of the woman’s home. Authorities found nails and tacks, as well as traces of oil paint in Dogaru’s oven, but were unable to correctly identify the paintings as the missing works. “We found remains of burned oil paintings, but whether they are the ones that were stolen is a separate question, to be determined by prosecutors and judges.” Says Ernest Oberlaender-Tarnoveanu, head of Romania’s National History Museum. (more…)
Fearing for her son, the suspect in the theft of seven paintings by Picasso, Monet and more from a Dutch Museum, a Romanian woman has come forth saying that she has burned the paintings in her stove. Olga Dogaru, the mother of suspect Rodu Dogaru, had buried the works when her son was arrested, and finally destroyed them in February. Investigators are analyzing the contents of her stove to check for evidence of the works, which were worth tens of millions of dollars. (more…)
Adrian Ghenie, Pie Fight Interior 8 (2012), Courtesy Pace Gallery
Romanian painter Adrian Ghenie’s first U.S. gallery exhibition, Adrian Ghenie: New Paintings, explores a dark, distorted side of modern European history, pulling images from publications, films, and artistic sources and blending them with his own personal memories and visceral artistic style. The exhibition is presented by Pacc Gallery, which has represented the artist since 2011.
Gert and Uwe Tobias, Untitled ’13 (Installation View), via Team Gallery
Continuing in their uniquely distinctive practice that weaves printmaking, installation, sculpture and typography, twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias are currently exhibiting a selection of new work at Team Gallery in New York City.
Gert and Uwe Tobias, Untitled (GUT 2055) (2012), via Team Gallery (more…)
Romanian authorities have arrested three men suspected of the theft of seven paintings by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paul Gaugin, and others from a Rotterdam museum. The paintings were stolen last October in an overnight break-in. While the works have yet to be recovered, police believe that they are hidden in an undisclosed location in Romania. (more…)
Gert and Uwe Tobias at FRAC-Auvergne (Installation View), via FRAC-Auvergne
The work of Romanian brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias operates in a peculiar space between diverse artistic traditions. Combining watercolor, woodcut prints, sculptures, typewriter drawings and ceramics, the Tobias brothers have created a body of work that combines Art Nouveau with Romanian folk heritage, Paul Klee with Russian Constructivism, and archaic technologies with contemporary art theory. Using the broad world of contemporary art as their sounding board, the Tobias brothers seek to reevaluate and re-contextualize their native heritage. (more…)
