A former employee of sculptor Dale Chihuly has been accused of stealing over $3 million in works from the artist’s Tacoma, Washington warehouse.  The accused assistant, Christopher Kaul, had been dealing with drug addiction, and began stealing works after leaving rehab.  “We’ve seen this story before — an employee is hooked on drugs and steals from his boss,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “The twist here is the boss is a world famous artist.” (more…)

The New York Times profiles Dick Polich, the foundry owner and metalworker who has worked closely with some of the world’s most ambitious contemporary artists, including Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, and Frank Stella.  “He told me, ‘You’re trying to push the envelope, and I’ll go there with you,’” says sculptor Rona Pondick. “And then he said, ‘And while I’m going there with you, can I show you a few things I’m playing around with?’ ” (more…)

Richard Serra has been announced as the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Americans for the Arts organization.  Serra will receive the award on October 20th in New York. (more…)

Lee Bul, Via Negativa II (2012), via Art Observed

On view at Lehmann Maupin in New York is an exhibition of works by South Korean artist Lee Bul, exploring “the intrinsic tension within utopian idealism,” and composed of sculptural works and large-scale installations.  Addressing humanity’s vision of an ideal future, the works focus on formal, architectural, and theoretical concepts, moving away from her former focus on the human form and into a consideration of the larger human environment.

Lee Bul, Untitled sculpture (M5) (2014), via Art Observed

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Sterling Ruby is interviewed in the New York Times this week, following the opening of the artist’s new show at Hauser and Wirth.  “When you look at what I do,” he says, “it’s schizophrenic to the point where it should never have a market. With my work, you can’t be like, “Well, we can plug this into what’s happening in the market because it looks like the last series.” (more…)

ArtNews has published a profile on Michelle Grabner, the sculptor and curator tapped to curate this year’s Whitney Biennial.  “One of the interesting things about including an artist is that they really understand process from within, and I think that affects how Michelle approaches the works of art she selects and the exhibition itself,” says Whitney chief curator Donna De Salvo. “She has been a curator at a pioneering gallery, but also she is incredibly well published and has engagement with artists across the country. A mix of all those aspects were needed for participation in the Biennial.” (more…)

Sculptor Anish Kapoor has been inducted as a knight of the British Empire this week, part of Queen Elizabeth II’s 2013 Birthday Honors.  The 59-year old Turner Prize winner joins a list of 24 other Indian-born honorees, and also became the first living British artist of Indian origin to take over the Royal Academy in 2009. (more…)

The Luck You Collective, a group of young, born and bred New York artists aged 19 to 21, is currently making on impact on the downtown arts scene.  “To me they represent the heart and soul of the young New York creative scene,” says photographer David Mushegain. “They are the ones who grew up here and are continuing the conversation that started so long ago. They are seemingly the last stand in a downtown scene that is surely vanishing, and I love them for that.” (more…)

Alex Turnbull, a musician and filmmaker who once fronted the British punk band 23 Skidoo, is releasing a documentary chronicling the life of his father, sculptor William Turnbull.  Titled Beyond Time, the film details Turnbull’s highly regarded career alongside his family life, as well as his relentless creative drive.  “Bill cared if people didn’t like his work,” Alex says. “But do you change what you do if they don’t? No. That was Bill.” (more…)

Tony Cragg,  Installation View (2012), courtesy Lisson Gallery

Tony Cragg is a prominent British visual artist known for his smooth, blobular, almost alien formations. Cragg commonly uses a range of materials to produce smooth, curved surfaces that explore his observations of the surrounding world by challenging form, volume, scale and function through the medium of sculpture. His latest exhibition at the Lisson Gallery features a variety of new works in a continuance of form, yet extending his practice beyond the previous limits with ever more intricate surfaces areas and new formations.

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