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

New York – Sherrie Levine at David Zwirner Through April 2nd, 2016

Monday, March 28th, 2016

Sherrie Levine, Pink SMEG Refrigerator and Renoir Nudes (2016), via Art Observed
Sherrie Levine, Pink SMEG Refrigerator and Renoir Nudes (2016), via Art Observed

Opening her first exhibition with David Zwirner in New York City, Sherrie Levine has taken over the 2nd floor of the gallery’s 20th Street Flagship, bringing a body of works that feels like a fitting first entry in her collaboration with Zwirner, while signaling new steps forward in her challenging and cerebral practice.

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Art Newspaper Investigates Health of Market for Sherrie Levine Works

Saturday, March 5th, 2016

The Art Newspaper looks at Sherrie Levine’s recent move to David Zwirner, and speculates if the artist’s market is due to mature.  “Sherrie Levine is one of the leading artists of her generation and has considerable museum support for her work,” says Zwirner partner Chris D’Amelio. “Her prices, relative to her importance, are attractive to collectors.” (more…)

New York – “Greater New York” at MoMA PS1 Through March 7th, 2016

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015

GreaterNewYork_PS1_sk18
Greater New York
at MoMA PS1, all photos via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

America is Hard to See
, the Whitney recently proclaimed, opening the doors on a space that made the city around it part of its exhibition program.  For the most recent iteration of MoMA PS1’s Greater New York exhibition, the museum and its curators attempt a similar program, turning to the artists living and working in and around New York to present a deep, nuanced exploration of life in the metropolis. (more…)

New York – Collier Schorr: “8 Women” at 303 Gallery, Through April 12th, 2014

Monday, March 17th, 2014

Collier Schorr, N.K.(2013), Courtesy of Collier Schorr and 303 Gallery, New York

The recently opened Collier Schorr exhibition at 303 Gallery suggests a fresh dialogue on appropriation, a trend in art that has been associated with photographic work more often than any other medium since the 80s, and is here taken up again by a long-time photographer. Instead of Richard Prince’s infamous rephotographing of Marlboro ads or Jeff Koons’ re-sculpting of the kitsch, though, Schorr’s practice stands closer to the likes of Sherrie Levine or Barbara Kruger, presenting new discussions on feminism, the female body and its place in the contemporary aesthetic discourse.


Collier Schorr, The Bricks (2013), Courtesy of Collier Schorr and 303 Gallery, New York (more…)

AO on Site – Stockholm: Sturtevant ‘Image over Image’ at Moderna Museet through August 26, 2012

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012


Sturtevant. Photo by Loren Muzzey. All images courtesy the artist and Moderna Museet unless otherwise noted.

For half a century, Sturtevant has built her practice on the citation of other artists’ works. Challenging authorship through acts of appropriation long before it was made popular by the likes of Sherrie Levine and Richard Prince, Sturtevant made her artistic debut in 1965, when she presented a roomful of Warhol silkscreen flowers at a gallery mere months after the originals had been created. Although largely overlooked until recent years, Sturtevant won a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at last year’s Venice Biennale. Her latest exhibition, Image over Image, opened March 17th at Moderna Museet in Stockholm. Showcasing 30 works, 4 of which are the artist’s “originals,” the exhibition fosters a sort of wall label guessing-game. As visitors travel from room to room they are confronted with familiar works from modernist art history—a Jasper Johns here, a Duchamp there. Among other artists cited in this exhibition are Joseph Beuys, Keith Haring, Félix González-Torres, John Waters, and Paul McCarthy.

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Don’t Miss – New York: Carl Andre, Jennifer Bartlett, Donald Judd, Sherrie Levine, Sol LeWitt and Robert Wilson in “Elemental” at Paula Cooper Gallery Through April 16th, 2011

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011


Installation view of Elemental at Paula Cooper Gallery. All images via Paula Cooper Gallery.

On view now through April 16th at the Paula Cooper Gallery is a group exhibition titled Elemental. What binds the selected works of Carl Andre, Jennifer Bartlett, Donald Judd, Sherrie Levine, Sol LeWitt and Robert Wilson is the use of “repeated elements arranged in a sequential structure.” The gallery notes that this strategy is often associated with minimal art, and the show pairs pieces by three pioneers of Minimalism with works by what the exhibition is defining as representatives of the second (and possibly third) generation of Minimalists.


Donald Judd, Untitled (1982)

More text and images after the jump…

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Go See – Stockholm: Investigations of a Dog, Works from the FACE Collections featuring Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Urs Fischer, Maurizio Cattelan, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Fischli & Weiss, Thomas Hirschhorn, William Kentridge, Aurel Schmidt, Kara Walker, Bruce Nauman and others at Magasin 3 Konsthall, through May 29, 2011

Monday, March 14th, 2011


Jeff Koons, Ushering in Banality, 1988. Polychromed wood. All photos by Christian Saltas, unless otherwise noted.

The Foundation of Arts for a Contemporary Europe (FACE) is a collaboration between five non-profit art foundations: the Deste Foundation in Athens, Greece; the Ellipse Foundation in Cascais, Portugal; the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Italy; La Maison Rouge in Paris, France; and Magasin 3 Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden. Established in 2008, the FACE alliance is dedicated to the promotion of emerging international artists by supporting the production and exhibition of new works. Their first initiative takes the form of a traveling exhibition entitled “Investigations of a Dog.”


Bruce Nauman, Untitled (Suspended Chair, Vertical III), 1987.

The exhibition draws its title from a 1922 short story by Franz Kafka, and the selection of works take up the existentialist themes present in Kafka’s work: disillusionment, humanity, and marginalization. Among participating artists are: Maurizio Cattelan, Roberto Cuoghi, Mark Dion, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Urs Fischer, Fischli & Weiss, Claire Fontaine, David Hammons, Thomas Hirschhorn, William Kentridge, Kimsooja, Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Mark Manders, Paul McCarthy, Bruce Nauman, Martin Parr, Aurel Schmidt, Santiago Sierra, Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker.

More text and images after the jump… (more…)

Don't Miss – Your History Is Not Our History at Haunch of Venison, New York through May 1, 2010

Monday, April 26th, 2010


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L: Barbara Kruger, Untitled (He entered shop after shop…), 2008 R: Eric Fischl, Rebirth I: (The Last View of Camiliano Cien Fuegos), 1986. All images courtesy of Haunch of Venison, New York.

On view at Haunch of Venison New York, until May 1, 2010, is “Your History Is Not Our History.” Organized by artists David Salle and Richard Phillips, this group show presents works produced in 1980s New York City.

Including works by Donald Baechler, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ross BlecknerFrancesco ClementeCarroll DunhamEric FischlRobert GoberJeff KoonsBarbara Kruger,Louise LawlerSherrie LevineMalcolm MorleyRichard PrinceDavid SalleJulian SchnabelCindy ShermanLaurie SimmonsJenny Holzer, Phillip Taaffe, Terry Winters and Christopher Wool, this exhibition seeks to convey “a more accurate portrayal of the energy and experimentation that was permeating the city during that time,” says Phillips.

L: Christopher Wool, Untitled, 1988   C: Jeff Koons, Buster Keaton, 1988 R: Eric Fischl, The Old Man’s Boat & The Old Man’s Dog, 1981.

More text and images after the jump…

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Go See – New York: “The Pictures Generation, 1974-84” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art through August 2, 2009

Sunday, June 7th, 2009


Untitled (Four Single Men with Interchangeable Backgrounds Looking to the Right) (1977) by Richard Prince, via The Met

Currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is “The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984.” It is the first major museum exhibition devoted entirely to the “Pictures Generation,” a close-knit group of artists concentrating on the self-reflexive and critical principles of Minimal and Conceptual Art.  The exhibition explores how images shape perceptions of ourselves and the world and features 160 works made in all media by thirty artists including Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Kruger, Sherrie Levine, Robert Longo, Louise Lawler, Laurie Simmons and David Salle.

The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984 [Exhibition Page]
The Original Artistic Recyclers [Wall Street Journal]
The Pictures Generation [The New Yorker]
At the Met, Baby Boomers Leap Onstage [NewYorkTimes]
Framing the Message of a Generation [NewYorkTimes]
The Pictures Generation: A Conversation with Douglas Eckund [Art in America]
Preview the Met’s Fab New Show, “The Pictures Generation” [The Washington Post ]

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AO On Site Auction Results: Phillips de Pury Part I Contemporary Art Sale falls short but with records set for artists represented by moderately priced works

Saturday, May 16th, 2009


Simon de Pury at the helm at the auction in front of the Philip Guston

Last night’s contemporary auction at Phillips de Pury fell short of its low estimate of $12.2 million, bringing in $7.7 million, with 12 of the 43 lots going unsold.  The sale’s highlight, an untitled Robert Gober sculpture of a Farina cereal box valued at $2.5-3.5 million, went unsold with only one bid at $1.6 million.  An untitled Anish Kapoor sculpture, estimated at $800, 000-1.2 million, also was met with no bids.  However, one of the auction highlights, Philip Guston’s painting, ‘Anxiety,’ was the highest selling lot, going for $1 million, just making its low estimate. John Baldessari’s painting, ‘Person with Pillow: Desire/Lust/Fate,’ sold for $290,500, missing its estimate of $300,000-400,000.  It had sold at Sotheby’s a year and a half ago for nearly double that amount.  Many artists however, such as Zeng Fanzhi, whose show just concluded at Acquavella Gallery in New York and was covered by Art Observed here did break auction records (work shown below), the details of which are after the jump.

Phillips Contemporary Auction Falls Short of Estimate [NY Times]
Phillips Limps to the Finish Line [Artinfo]


Zeng Fanzhi’s ‘Little Boy’ via Phillips de Pury sold for $446,500 against estimates of $250,000-300,000

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Whitney 2008 Biennial Artists Announced

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007


Image via tfaoi.com

On November 16th the 2008 Biennial Artists were announced. The curatorial team stressed a broader take on the American Art scene, moving away from the post-punk sway exhibited in 2006. This expansion primarily pertains to the genres and mediums covered within the biennial, not the physical number of artists, as there were 100 artists selected in 2006 compared with 81 for 2008’s Biennial. Also unique to the upcoming show, is the use of the Armory space on Park and 67th, primarily for perfomance and interactive exhibitions.
Headliners include John Baldessari, Robert Bechtle, Mary Heilmann, Michael Smith and Sherrie Levine.

ArtNews
Whitney.org
NYTimes
Full list of artists after the jump. (more…)