The trial over the alleged art fraud committed by San Francisco real estate developer Luke Brugnara took a strange turn this week, as Brugnara was sentenced to 21 days in jail for contempt of court and bullying witnesses.  Brugnara reportedly screamed for a mistrial during court proceedings, and accused dealer Rose Long, who testified that Brugnara took over $11 million in art and refused to pay for it, of being a “liar.”  “I think she’s probably got post-traumatic stress disorder now,” said presiding judge William Alsup. “I’m afraid it’s done mental damage, the way she’s been treated.” (more…)

Ai Weiwei is preparing to open his newest exhibition of work at the former Alcatraz Prison this week, made possible through the efforts of dealer Cheryl Haines and her For-Site Foundation, a project that seeks to install specially focused works in unique environments.  “We are addressing issues of human rights, freedom of expression, the role of creative individuals in addressing these issues, and the role that communication plays in creating a just society,” Haines says. (more…)

The collaboration between Ai Weiwei and Alcatraz National Park has been officially announced, with the Chinese artist installing a number of site-specific works that respond to the former prison’s long history.  “The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned,” Ai said in a statement. “This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.”  The show will run September 27, 2014 to April 26, 2015. (more…)

Artist Ai Weiwei has announced plans for a show of work at the former prison island Alcatraz in the San Francisco bay.  Weiwei is currently working on obtaining approval from the National Park Service, and if approved, would look to open the show in February of next year.  Little other information has been released. (more…)

Painter Ed Ruscha has been elected to a three-year term serving on the board of trustees for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, almost exactly one year after he left his same post at Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art.  The move comes as SFMoMA begins a landmark $610-million expansion that will leave its main building closed until 2016.  Ruscha also voiced his support for departing MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch.  “I thought he would add some unconventional touch to the picture. Maybe it didn’t work out for him. But he started to get the engine rolling.” (more…)

Jay DeFeo, The Rose, (1958-66), via The Whitney

The story of painter Jay DeFeo, and her landmark work The Rose, has become something of a legend in the annals of American contemporary art.  The work took over 8 years to complete, constructed through the continuous process of painting and chiseling at the canvas until its weight reached nearly one ton, and its removal from her apartment necessitated the removal of an exterior wall.  Buried in storage for years at the Pasadena Museum of Art, the piece was nearly lost to antiquity before being rediscovered behind a hastily erected wall, and rushed to preservation.  Now The Rose has returned to the spotlight, the centerpiece of a massive retrospective of the work of DeFeo, currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. (more…)

Leo Villareal, The Bay Lights (2013) Courtesy of The Bay Lights; Photography Lucas Saugen

The work of Leo Villareal often operates on grand scales, using bright LED lights to accent and underline the inherent characteristics of human structures around the world.  Frequently using coded algorithms to create complex, shifting patters of light on buildings, walls, and other constructions, his infinite variations of light offer new ways of seeing and viewing already present architectures.

Following up on a number of massively successful public projects (including his popular “Buckyball” installation at Madison Square Park in New York), Villarreal has unveiled his largest installation to date: a string of LED lights running the length of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.  TitledThe Bay Lights, his work highlights the iconic dimensions of the bridge, and projecting its stature into the night sky of the San Francisco Bay.

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With the two year shut-down of SFMOMA for its major expansion project beginning this June, the institution is gearing up to announce a range of exhibitions and events across the Bay Area.  The museum released a small press announcement on its Facebook recently, welcoming external input, and hinting at events to come.  The construction will span 2013 to 2016, and will cost the museum $555 million. (more…)