AO Art Observed™

‪‬Terence Koh launches new website with minimal aesthetic, “both ‘lo-fi’ and HD” [AO Newslink]

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Terence Koh x Opening Ceremony release a new collaboration in the form of a “furry sneaker” [AO Newslink]

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Performance view. All photos for Art Observed on site by Zachary Concepcion

Tuesday night, Haunch of Venison‘s new Chelsea gallery co-hosted a Kreëmart one-night-only performance with The American Patrons of Tate. Kreëmart is an artist collective that often collaborates with well known contemporary artists to produce performances and installations that use the medium of food, generally confectionery, to reposition one’s perspective and  interaction with such sweets.  Cake sculptures and banana ice cream (served by monkeys), along with two candy-obsessed women, kept visitors high on sugar whilst speculating the powdery white substance of Terence Koh‘s Untitled on the floor.  The evening teamed up seven artists with pastry chefs to indulge the senses in art, all works interactive and made specifically for the 2011 show.

Terence Koh, Untitled.

More photos after the jump…
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Ryan McGinley, Tom (Golden Tunnel) (2010), via OHWOW Gallery

On view now through August 27^th is “Post 9-11” at Los Angeles’s OHWOW Gallery. The group show features works by  New York-based artists who have in common both their rise to fame in the years since 9/11, and outspoken work that addresses sex, drugs, and the general decadence of the New York art scene at the time. Dan Colen, Terence Koh, Hanna Liden, Nate Lowman, Adam McEwen, Ryan McGinley, Agathe Snow, Dash Snow, and Aaron Young  all have work represented in this show that aims to chronicle their relationships, collaborations, and responses to external circumstances of the past decade.

More text and images after the jump…

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AO was on site Saturday, August 6th for the opening of James Franco‘s new project at Terence Koh‘s Asia Song Society. The exhibition features installations of three films: “Three’s Company: The Drama,”  a reconsideration of the popular television show (previously shown at Sundance), “Road Trip,” in which Franco reads excepts from Rob Lowe’s autobiography West Wing aloud as he visits notable land art sites in the United States, and ”High/Low, Rob Lowe”installed on fifty monitors and showing footage recorded by the artist/actor/student, etc., moving throughout his daily life.  Despite the rain, the opening was well attended, with appearances by PS1 director Klaus Biesenbach, artist Laurel Nakadate and, of course, James Franco himself.

James Franco: High Low/Rob Lowe at ASS – Asia Song Society from Art Observed on Vimeo.

more text and images after the jump…

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Move over vaporetti — there’s a new barge in town. Slated to gracing the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice over the past five days was a project by The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, entitled “Commercial Break.” The exhibition is organized by Neville Wakefield, a contemporary art writer prolific curator globally. Powered by POST Magazine, “Commercial Break” considers itself to be a provocative architectural intervention in a city where no advertising is traditionally displayed. Unfortunately, as Artinfo reported, the city pulled permits a few days before and the videos were instead screened at the project’s Bauer Hotel party. The woman behind the “GCCC” is Dasha Zukhova, girlfriend of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich; it is the institution’s second project in Venice.  All videos are now viewable on the exhibition’s website.

Among videos featured is one by  Richard Phillips, starring Lindsey Lohan.

More text and images after the jump…

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Dearraindrop, Mutant Pop (2010), via The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture

Organized by Kathy Grayson, director of The Hole and former director of Deitch Projects, in collaboration with exhibition designer Rafael de Cárdenas, “New York Minute” is in its current manifestation at The Garage Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow. The show features over fifty artists living and working in and around New York City, who are are entwined by professional and personal relationships and whose work overlaps similar themes and issues.

more images and story after the jump…

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Terence Koh, The Self Become the Wood (f) (2009). Courtesy of Thaddaeus Ropac Galerie

“Adansonias” is the most recent solo show of Chinese-Canadian artist Terence Koh, running through June 18th at Thaddaeus Ropac Galerie‘s Austrian space.  The exhibition was titled after Koh’s imaginary opera–first performed at the Parisian Thaddaeus Ropac Galerie in 2009–and it gathers vestiges of the piece’s conception and execution, including two white grand pianos, and photographies.  Koh’s “Adansonias” has been referred to as a Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, involving sound, theatrical, and visual art. The stillness and silence in the space contrast with the dynamism of the documented opera piece, as this show barely echoes the performance itself, but elucidates on the aesthetic and intellectual aspects of Koh’s creative process behind the work, while attributing a perennial solemnity to the artifacts on display.

Terence Koh, Installation View (2011). Courtesy of Thaddaeus Ropac Galerie

More text and images after the jump…

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Terence Koh, nothingtoodooterencekoh (2011) All photos by Art Observed unless otherwise noted.

Chinese-Canadian artist and Lower East side fixture Terence Koh opened his first solo show nothingtoodooterencekoh in New York (February 12th through March 19th 2011) at Mary Boone Gallery with a serene performance in which he circumnavigated a perfectly conical pile of crystalline salt rocks. Moving excruciatingly slowly and delicately, Koh made several rounds as onlookers such as Vito Schnabel observed in almost complete silence.

More text and images after the jump…

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Kathy Grayson mid-smooch. Image courtesy Taylor Derwin for Art Observed.

Currently on view at the new art outfit, The Hole, on 104 Greene St. in Soho is “Not Quite Open for Business.” The show, which opened to much hype last night, runs until August 21st. The Hole is run by former directors at the legendary and now-closed Deitch Projects, Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman, in collaboration with former Executive Director at Deitch Projects, Suzanne Geiss. With the gallant goal of filling a hole in the downtown community, they are off to a running start.

The first exhibition is called “Not Quite Open for Business,” a conceptual group show of unfinished art, unfinished poems, and unfinished symphonies. The installation is designed by Taylor McKimens and the show includes over twenty artists from the community.

Left: Ben Jones, Unfinished Video, 2010, single channel DVD, edition of 5. Right: Kunle, Vomit, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 40 in.

More text, images, and an interview with Kathy Grayson after the jump…

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Masters of the Universe, Tim Noble & Sue Webster (1998-2000). All photographs by Oskar Proctor for ArtObserved.

“Skin Fruit,” the much-anticipated, Jeff Koons­-curated exhibition featuring million-dollar works by the biggest names in contemporary art continues at the New Museum through June 6, 2010. The New Museum’s questionable decision to exhibit works from the collection of one of its trustees, Greek billionaire Dakis Joannou, resulted in an art world controversy that threatened to upstage the show itself from the very beginning. When a large mix of celebrities and art-world-insiders flooded the Museum for the opening reception – attendees included Cyndi Lauper, U2’s the Edge, and collectors Don and Mera Rubell – the irony of placing the ritzy collection in a museum that was once championed for its promotion of the underdog was only exaggerated. And the critics responded accordingly. Christian Viveros-Fauné lambasted that the show is totally wrong for our times “in just about every possible way.” According to the exhibition press release, the featured works by Franz West, Charles Ray, Matthew Barney, Richard Prince, Robert Gober, Mike Kelley, Paul McCarthy, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Kiki Smith, Kara Walker, Maurizio Cattelan, Tauba Auerbach, Chris Ofili, Dan Colen and Terence Koh, amongst others, aim to “evoke the tensions between exterior and interior, between what we see and what we consume” – a curatorial spin critics say was invented in an effort to disguise a “rudderless display of art as trophy hunting” as an art exhibition. While this may be true, Skin Fruit essentially offers the common man an opportunity to view important works from one of the finest and most original collections of contemporary art in the world that have rarely, or never been seen in New York.

Revolution Counter-Revolution, Charles Ray (1990/2010)

Photo-essay and full round-up of links after the jump….
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The entrance to Art Basel Miami Beach 2009

“There’s a lot less ornament and a lot more substance,” declared Micky Wolfson Jr., founder of Miami Beach’s Wolfsonian Museum – this phrase sums-up many reflections on the eighth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach closed on Sunday, December 6 where smaller parties dominated and collectors purchased cautiously. In keeping with tradition edgy Contemporary pieces were bestsellers at Art Basel Miami Beach with larger, museum-targeted pieces dominating the booths along with traditional works by Popular Latin American artists such as the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco. Interestingly, while many Asian and European buyers skipped the fair, additional Portuguese speakers were hired to aid Latin American buyers who were out in force.

Santigold performs at the Raleigh Hotel

Much more text, images and a full round-up of related links after the jump….
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Terence Koh captured mid-lecture during his performance “Art History: 1642-2009″ at the National Arts Club, New York via Zimbio

Last night ArtObserved was on site at New York City’s National Arts Club to witness a performance,”Art History: 1642 – 2009,” from Terence Koh.  The performance was curated by Stacey Engman, the National Arts Club‘s Contemporary Art Chair and Chief Curator and was in conjunction with Performa 09. Indeed, the theme of the night – a tour through the great canon of Art History – was set from the beginning of the night as guests, who included Aurel Schmidt, Vito Schnabel, Klaus Biesenbach, Marina Abramovic and Mary Boone, mingled in a salon-style reception in the beautiful front parlours of the club house. The performance was to take the form of an Art History lecture, accompanied by images of artworks – this was about all guests knew before the show started and so guessing and anticipating became the game of choice for all in attendance.

More text, images and related links after the jump……
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The Royal College of Art Secret Postcard fundraiser via The Guardian

-The Royal College of Art’s Secret 2009 event has 2,500 postcards for sale for £40, made by artists including Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry and Yoko Ono.  Though buyers don’t know who the artist is until after they buy. [Times UK]

-Penelope Curtis has been appointed director of Tate Britain, the first woman to hold a directorship at Tate. [Guardian]

-Tracey Emin opens a new exhibition in New York, that, while popular, comes nowhere near the levels of sales or attendance she normal receives in Britain. [NY Times]

An artist’s rendering of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Cirkelbroen’ bridge to be built in Copenhagen via Artinfo

-Olafur Eliasson has designed a bridge to be completed by 2012 in Copenhagen’s harbor. Called ‘Brikelbroen,’ the bridge is comprised of five circles that take pedestrians on a winding path rather than straight across. [Artinfo]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week… (more…)

Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Trophy Wife,’ depicting Stephanie Seymour, currently going through a messy divorce from Peter Brant, who owns the piece

-Recent court filings in the divorce of Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour reveal disputes over nearly 50 works by Andy Warhol, as well as works by Richard Prince, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Julian Schnabel, and a bust of Seymour made by Maurizio Cattelan [Vanity Fair]

-And in related, Udo Fritz-Hermann Brandhorst, an heir to Germany’s Henkel AG & Co. fortune, settled out of court a dispute with his former mistress over two works by Damien Hirst [Bloomberg]

Allison Schulnik’s music video for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Ready, Able’

- Painter Allison Schulnik’s claymation music video for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Ready, Able’ via The Flog

-Tracey Emin reading her new book of poems “Those Who Suffer Love” and “Strangeland” at University Settlement as part of Performa 09 [Supreme Being]

-Also related, a round-up of Performa 09 includes a “Pasta Sauna” based on the Futurist Manifesto, Tacita Dean, William Kentridge, Merce Cunningham and more [Financial Times]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week…

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Installation view of Adansonias at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris via gallery’s website

Terence Koh, a controversial Canadian multimedia artist, has premiered his first solo show with Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris. The enigmatic exhibition cum installation cum operatic performance in two parts distinctly embodies Koh’s ouevre. The gallery is transformed via the artist’s multitude of references to mythology, identity, power, religion, fashion and sexuality. In addition to the time-based pieces Koh presented on October 6th and October 22nd, on display are various objects and wall pieces executed in the artist’s signature white monochrome style. An amalgam of drawings, photographs, and collages document the experimental opera project and reflect the influence of Parisian architecture and sensibility on Koh’s art.

A photograph of Adansonias opera performance staged by Terence Koh and 8 white-clad participants via Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

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Kathy Grayson, center, at the opening of ‘New York Minute’ via Depart Foundation

New York City has been the center of the contemporary art world for over half a century, and while contemporary art production and dissemination has been influenced by globalization, with new centers of of activity gaining recognition around the world in cities such as Berlin, Moscow, or Shanghai, there’s still something about New York that attracts new and established artists alike. ‘New York Minute’ is an exhibition produced by the young Italian philanthropist Pierpaolo Barzan’s DEPART Foundation to bring the energy and sense of community found in New York’s downtown art scene to Rome, hosted by Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma (MACRO).

‘New York Minute’ brings together sixty artists who live and work in New York, or are involved in its extended network, and showcases new tendencies in art that have developed out of that community. Curated by Kathy Grayson, director of New York’s Deitch Projects, the exhibition groups those new tendencies under three headings: the brash and gritty street punk aesthetic of artists such as Dash Snow, Terence Koh, Aurel Schmidt, the rainbow inflected wild figuration of Assume Vivid Astro Focus, Paper Rad, or Jules de Balincourt, and the new abstractions of artists including Tauba Auerbach, Xylor Jane, and Dan Colen.

The opening night brought thousands of young Romans looking to vibe on the energy brought to the city by the New York contingent. Kathy Grayson answered ArtObserved’s questions about what makes the New York scene so special, how ‘New York Minute’ is spreading its infectious communal energy, and what the plans are for the future.

DEPART FOUNDATION BOWS WITH “NEW YORK MINUTE” [Artnet]
New York Minute [Art in America]
Minute Made [Artforum]
Sixty New York-Based Artists Featured in Exhibition at Museo D’Arte Contemporanea Roma [ArtDaily]
The Heart of the New York Art World Beats in Italy at the “New York Minute” Show [Paper Magazine]
It’s a New York Art ‘Renaissance,’ Argues Upcoming Show [NYMagazine]
Wine-Maker Uncorks New York in Rome [Bloomberg]
New York Minute with Dash Snow, Aurel Schmidt, Barry McGee and Others [The Fader]
“New York Minute” exhibition [SLAMXHYPE]

The logo of ‘New York Minute’ by Chris Johanson via Depart Foundation

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Kirsten Dunst on the set of a production by Takashi Murakami in collaboration with McG via aarting

Tate Modern’s “Pop Life: Art in a Material World,” features a video that is a collaboration between McG – famous Hollywood director, and Murakami – Japan’s king of pop art: starring actress Kirsten Dunst on the streets of Akihabara in Tokyo for “Turning Japanese” by rock band The Vapors [The Wall Street Journal]
A 1984 work by Chinese artist Li Keran sold for $940,000, the most for a print at a Hong Kong auction, where bidding led by mainland buyers has taken many prices several times above estimates [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s Asia sales in Hong Kong revealed that demand for Chinese paintings, while firm, is mixed; as the market is still vulnerable, less pricey, quality pieces were the ones to realize numbers higher than their estimates [Reuters]
Works including those by Renoir, Pollock, Degas and Rembrandt stolen from the home of a retired Harvard Medical School professor and collector, and his business partner; only authentic pieces were taken, leaving behind impeccable reproductions [Boston Globe via Art Market Monitor] in related Uncooperative and unable to produce evidence that the stolen art existed, Angelo Amadio and Dr. Ralph Kennaugh, become suspects of the theft to which allegedly they are victims [ArtDaily]

Tracey Emin via Guardian UK

Discouraged by British government’s top rate tax, Tracey Emin threatens to abandon England for France where she claims the politicians understand the importance of supporting culture and art [Guardian UK] in related At the London’s Frieze Art Fair, in the booth of New York’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Tracey Emin, known for her confessional artwork, is offering to make customized artworks based on answers to fifteen personal questions [Artinfo]
Fanjul paintings nationalized by Cuba in an exhibit in Museo del Prado in Madrid involve legal consequences as the Museum is being investigated by the US department of state for illegal trafficking of a work of art owned by US citizen confiscated by Cuban government [The Art Newspaper]
Turner Prize exhibit at Tate Britain in London this time startles the viewers with the lack of now expected blood, outrage and other shock factors [Bloomberg]
The Bloomberg administration makes an announcement of its plan to give nonprofit cultural groups access to gallery and theater space in city owned properties and help artists develop business plans [Crain's Business]

Donald Judd concrete constructions in Marfa Texas via Hip-Ster-Krit

6 of 15 concrete constructions built by Donald Judd in Marfa Texas required repair and conservation work, October 10th the works will once again be open to the public [Artinfo]
A look at the Chinese Gao brothers who are shocking their country with brave, politically challenging art works, such as a life-size sculpture of Mao whose body is only reunited with his head on ‘special occasions’ [The New York Times]
When most artists’ prices are decreasing in a recession, a few go up: Italian Maurizio Cattelan is one of those who thrive in the tough economic times, an analysis of his work reveals some truths on the variables of the art market [The Economist]

Damien Hirst posing in front of his work via ARTblog +

A portrait of Damien Hirst built through an interview: his influences, unusual artistic paths (such as painting) and mediums to come, and a subjective depiction of the artist’s personality [Times Online] in related Hirst tells BBC that he will not be producing large scale installations and will rather concentrate solely on painting by applying oil to the canvas with his hands, something he has been secretly doing these recent years [BBC] and in related the FT reports that Hirst lays off much of his staff, closes two studios and is actually making paintings himself; while the galleries give no comments on the unsold works worth millions [Financial Times]
As art fairs struggle to retain exhibitors, a new modern and contemporary fair in Abu Dhabi signs up forty-eight names, including PaceWildenstein, Gagosian, Acquavella and White Cube [Lindsay Pollock] related 50 paintings from the New York Guggenheim Museum to be shown in Abu Dhabi [Arts Abu Dhabi]

‘Fuego Flores’ by Jean Michel Basquiat via Auction Publicity

Sotheby’s October Contemporary Art Auction, estimated to realize in excess of £9 million, will include works by leading artists, such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Anish Kapoor, Andy Warhol, Chris Ofili, Damien Hirst, Gerhard Richter, Antony Gormley and Yan Pei-Ming [Auction Publicity]
Following in the footsteps of Anselm Kiefer and Toni Morrison, Umberto Eco has been named the next guest curator at the Louvre; the show “Vertige de la Liste” (Vertigo of Lists) will revolve around his chosen theme “the list” [Artinfo] in related news, talks are underway to open a McDonald’s restaurant and a McCafé at the Louvre next month [Telegraph]
An art dealer from Stockholm, Sweden has been accused of faking works by heavyweight modernists including Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch, and Egon Schiele [Artnet]

Child of lonely – performance by Terence Koh October 6 at Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, Photo Olivier Zahm via purple DIARY

Terence Koh prepared his first solo show at the Parisian gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, which takes a form of an imaginary opera in eight acts, the first act taking place October 6, 2009 [The Art Newspaper]
The four artists shortlisted for Turner Prize 2009 are: Enrico David, Roger Hiorns, Lucy Skaer and Richard Wright; the winner is to be announced December 7th [Turner Prize 2009]
Jerry Saltz writes about new galleries emerging despite the economic crises, provides a list of new galleries to see and comments on the effects of the recession on the female artists [New York mag]

The current state of the building to house Sperone Westwater and the computer rendering of it via Lindsay Pollock

A concrete foundation is rising at the site of the future Sperone Westwater gallery designed by the British architect Sir Norman Foster on the Bowery; the 10 story building will rise only one block away from New Museum [Lindsay Pollock]
As opposed to expanding outside their home in LA, Tim Blum and Jeff Poe open a new 21,000 square foot space conveniently located in front of their existing gallery on South La Cienga Boulevard, Los Angeles [Los Angeles Times]

Jacket designed by JR via The World’s Best Ever

A jacket from JR’s Face2Face Project comes in a limited edition of only 100 [The World's Best Ever] in related A video interview with JR in Paris about his project Women are Heroes, which allows the viewers to call a number and hear an interview with one of the chosen women for the project [Vernissage TV]
An interview with Dasha Zhukova that notes her easy acceptance in the art world [Guardian UK]
28 as opposed to 40 exhibitors had pulled out of the Frieze Art Fair, yet despite the equally disappointing numbers, many lesser known, but in no way inferior galleries, will get a shot at the famous art fair [Telegraph]

Miranda July via Vice

Miranda July creates a series of photographs to imitate and bring attention to the extras in iconic movies [Vice]
An Italian professor, Dr Seracini, has been working on technology that can enable the search for the largest painting Leonardo da Vinci ever painted – The Battle of Anghiari, a work he believes to be hidden underneath the frescoes in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio [The New York Times]
MoMA received an unexpected gift this month – an estate, estimated to be worth more than $10 million, belonging to the late Michael H. Dunn, a bachelor from Derby, Vermont [The New Yorker]

A glimpse of the Sol LeWitt mural, ‘Swirls and Whirls,’ being constructed in the Columbus Circle subway station, via NY Times

A mural designed for the Columbus Circle subway station in New York by Sol LeWitt in 2007, just before his death, is nearly complete [NY Times]

In related, Turner Prize winner Richard Long designs the cover for the London Tube Map [FAD]
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid has seen visitor numbers quadruple since the opening of its Henri Matisse exhibit [Art Daily]
Following the success of earlier Beyond Limits exhibitions, Sotheby’s announces its fourth contemporary sculpture exhibit at Chatsworth including works by Henry Moore, Marc Quinn, Zhan Wang, among others [Auction Publicity]

Jeff Koons via the Telegraph UK

Jeff Koons sits for lunch with the Financial Times and discusses his love of inflatables and how the custody battle for his son has affected his work [Financial Times]
MoMA’s PS1 in Queens will soon reprise its Greater New York exhibit, which will be its 3rd [LindsayPollack]
On Miuccia Prada and her still to be built €25 million, 20,500 square meter Prada Foundation in a south Milan industrial complex [ArtNewspaper]
Sotheby’s CEO William Ruprecht sells 5% of his equity holdings; he retains a 1% stake in the company [Barron's via Art Market Monitor]

The Starns Brothers’ cover for the fifth anniversary of T Magazine, via NY Times

T Magazine celebrates its fifth anniversary with specially designed covers by Mike and Doug Starns, Jeff Koons, Francesco Vezzoli, Jenny Holzer, and Frank Gehry [NYTimes T Magazine]
Christie’s abandons its plan to establish an art-investment fund and a lending division [Bloomberg]
In related, Leibovitz creditor Goldman Sachs has stepped in to help negotiate the photographer’s financial troubles with Art Capital Group [Artforum]
The recession in the art world has not stopped bartering of valuable works between contemporaries [TimesUK]

Creative Time’s short shorts for sale at Creative Time

Creative Time is selling limited edition short shorts, and the campy video is here [CreativeTime via Artnet on Twitter]
On collecting phenomenon Herb and Dorthy Vogel’s gift of 50 works to 50 US States [Wall Street Journal]
Interpol allows online access to its 34,000 work database of stolen art [ArtDaily]
In related, roughly 1,000 Alberto Giacometti counterfeit sculptures seized in Germany [GlobeandMail]

Dasha Zhukova via Style.com

Dasha Zhukova, rumored pregnant with 2008 top collector Roman Abramovich’s child, as new editor of Pop magazine has a Damien Hirst work on the cover [NYMag]
Russian oligarchs invest enough money in the Constructivist and Suprematist art of the beginning of 20th century to provoke forgeries, more than half of items bought of these movements are reported to be inauthentic [The Independent]
In related, as Princeton Architectural Press claims to have discovered Frida Kahlo’s lost archive, scholars involved with the artist’s work refute the possibility of it being authentic [GuardianUK]
A new high intensity x-ray developed by Cornell University has already revealed a lost NC Wyeth illustration [ArtInfo]

Stephen Power’s Hold My Own Iverson’s Arm

2007 Fulbright Scholar Stephen Powers, known as ESPO, is completing his Love Letter project, comprised of murals by multiple artists stretching across his home town of Philadelphia that can be seen from one train [A Love Letter For You]
Shepard Fairey calls his decision to graffiti-proof the brick walls of his studio personal preference and rebutts claims of hypocrisy [Street Level] and separately he is to unveil a large scale mural produced by the gallery Country Club at Art Basel Miami Beach [ArtDaily]
Are Museums crossing the line by granting curatorship to corporations? [The New York Times]

Terence Koh’s window display at Opening Ceremony which reads “The Whole Family” via this hearts on fire

Terence Koh sends a very Terence Koh letter regarding his latest project with Opening Ceremony, a window installation [Hint]
On the relatively accessible yet potentially financially rewarding decision to invest in the works of MA students [The Guardian]
The Bortolami Gallery building is up for sale at $6.1 million by collector Adam Lindemann as Stefania Bortolami prepares to move to another location in Chelsea [Lindsay Pollack]
Matthew Barney and Bjork buy a four bedroom townhouse in Brooklyn Heights listed for $4.2 million [NYMag]

Agathe Snow, Wish upon a Star detail via The Fireplace Project

Currently showing in The Fireplace Project in East Hampton, New York, is an exhibition by Agathe Snow.  Works exhibited are made from recycled materials that went into Agathe Snow’s show at the Sculpture Center in Long Island City in Queens last year. The installations are great in size, yet light to the eye- almost childish in their appearance of clean forms and bold color combinations; they play with conventions of contemporary art but do not defy them in establishing a language of their own.  The show of Agathe Snow’s works runs through August 23, 2009.

Related Links:
Agathe Snow “Terrestrial Forms” [The Fireplace Project]
Layout 1 [The Fireplace Project]
The Fireplace Project [Artfacts]
Wrap Artist/Agathe Snow [The Moment - NYTimes]
Agathe Snow “Terrestrial Forms” at The Fireplace Project [Slamxhype]

Agathe Snow, “Terrestrial Forms” an installation view via The Fireplace Project

More text, pictures and an interview with Edsel Williams after the jump…

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A Jeff Koons sculpture causing consternation to the owner’s neighbors, via Curbed

A hedge-fund king adorns his Upper East Side penthouse terrace with a huge sculpture of a diamond by Jeff Koons [NY Post]
In related: Two interviews where Jeff Koons speaks about his work, financial troubles due to custody battle after divorce and art market [Art Market Monitor]

At the Ace Hotel via New York Magazine

The new ACE Hotel in New York has commissioned a mural of 4,000 graffiti stickers collected in New York by the Bronx-born artist, Michael Anderson [New York Magazine]
Lehman Brothers selling its corporate art collection to contribute to the bankrupt company coffers [Bloomberg]

Terence Koh in in a wedding dress via Supreme Management

Terence Koh gets married to Garrick Gott in a wedding dress like his mother once wore [Supreme Management]

T-shirt, Terence Koh’s design via Pipeline

In related, “Hand-finished” limited edition T-shirts with a bullet scar by Terence Koh are now in sale at the Opening Ceremony [Pipeline]
Robert Stevens’ film depicting animal cruelty starts a lawsuit resulting in a debate around free speech in art community [Artinfo]

Nate Lowman at the Hydra Workshop via C-Monster

The artsy jet-set on the Greek Isle at the Hydra Workshop presenting works by New York “bad boy,” Nate Lowman [Hydra Workshop via C-Monster]
Auction Houses face a dilemma as the previously bullish market reduced the supply of quality works to a growing market [NY Times]
The Tate Britain is looking for a director [e-flux]

A rendering of Pier 57 via Hudson River Park River Trust

Youngwoo’s proposal will bring in the Phillips auction house to turn part of Pier 57  into contemporary art galleries, the Tribeca Film Festival will program a movie theater and a two-acre park will be built on the pier’s roof [The New York Observer]
Reduced rents, spurred by a difficult economic climate, cause such galleries in L.A. as Gagosian, Blum & Poe, Susanna Vielmetter, and Cherry and Martin Roberts & Tilton to expand in Culver City [Art Review]

Zhang Huan to design Semele via Art Knowledge News

KT Wong Foundation commissions Chinese artist Zhang Huan to design and direct Semele opera in Belgium’s leading Opera House [Art Knowledge News]
French street artist, known as Zevs, arrested for painting a dripping Chanel logo above Armani boutique in Hong Kong; prosecutors ask for $861,000 to replace the affected facade [South China Morning Post]
Buyers battered by a credit crisis look for bargains in contemporary art, works by artists born post-1945 may be a smart investment [The Wall Street Journal]

The Fifer, Manet via Artinfo

While Musée D’Orsay is partially closed, de Young Museum in San Francisco will host two landmark exhibitions of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art from the vast collection of the French museum [Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]
The Palm Springs Art Museum’s contemporary art collection grows with a gift of 116 works by 66 artists including Donald Judd, Louise Bourgeois and Gary Hume [Los Angeles Times]

Cindy Sherman on cover of Men’s Vogue via Art is Alive

Cindy Sherman, on the cover of L’Uomo Vogue [Art is Alive]
An interesting editorial on the issue of London’s National Portrait Gallery battling Wikipedia for uploading the copyrighted reproductions of their collection [The Wall Street Journal]
Sam Taylor-Wood’s debut film, a John Lennon biopic, to close the London film festival [TimesUK]

Louvre, FIAC hosted at Louvre, Cour Carree and Grand Palais via Erco

In Paris the 36th edition of FIAC brings together 196 modern art and contemporary galleries from 21 countries [Art Daily]
In related, the Musée du Louvre launches the English version of its online collections database [NY Times]
Rocco Landesman awaits confirmation for his position as a chairman-designate to National Endowment for the Arts and is likely to start the job on firmer ground than any of his recent predecessors [The New York Times]

The Wassaic Project via The New York Times

The Wassaic Project, an elevator grain converted into an art gallery, attracts art and young curators to the small town Northeast of New York [The New York Times]
The Downtown branch of the Whitney museum designed by Renzo Piano should be ready in 2012 [The Villager]

Terence Koh and Simon De Pury at the 16th Watermill Summer Benefit. Photo by Patrick McMullan

Robert Wilson greeted his guests as they arrived at the 16th Annual Watermill Summer Benefit- an event he choreographs every summer in order to raise funds for the artistic community to which he is the director. The evening included a silent auction, a live auction hosted by Simon de Pury – Chairman of Philips de Pury auction house, over 10 art installations interpreting this years theme “Inferno,” dinner,  theater performances of various genres and attendance by many from the worlds of art, fashion and music.

Related Links:
Hot as Hell At Watermill [ArtInfo]
Fire Starters at Watermill Benefit [WWD Lifestyle]
Isabella Rossellini shows for Water Mill Benefit [Newsday]
Flaming Creatures [ArtForum]
The 16th Annual Watermill Summer Benefit Hot As An “Inferno” [Hamptons]
About Watermill Center [Watermill Center]
The 16th Annual Watermill Summer Auction and Benefit [Art Observed]

Attendees walk the trails behind the 16th Annual Watermill Summer Benefit and Auction at the Hamptons, all photos by Art Observed unless noted

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Manaus, Christophe Schlingensief. Inferno, this year’s theme of the 16th Annual Watermill Summer Benefit. Via Hamptons

The Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation’s sixteenth Annual Summer Benefit will take place on July 25th in the Hamptons.  Robert Wilson, its Artistic Director, envisages an event that will include various installations, theatrical performances and auctions all framed by this year’s theme- Inferno.  An auction in support of artistic programming at the Watermill Center conducted by Simon de Pury, Chairman of Phillips de Pury auction house, will certainly be one of the highlights of the evening.

Related Links:
Inferno: The Sixteenth Annual Watermill Summer Benefit [Artdaily]
Sixteenth Annual Watermill Summer Benefit [The Watermill Center]
About Watermill [the Watermill Center]
16th Annual Watermill Center Benefit [Artinfo]
Summer Is a-Kooning In: We Preview Watermill Benefit Goodies! [NYObserver]
Simon de Pury [Bigthink]
Welcome to Watermill – a review of last year’s (2008) Watermill Benefit [BIZBASH]

Julian, Elizabeth Peyton. At the Annual Watermill Benefit this year. Via Watermill Center

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Gilbert and George’s ‘Hoi Polloi,’ part of their exhibition ‘Jack Freak Pictures’ via Arndt & Partner

Gilbert and George speak about friendlessness, bigotry in the art world, and their latest exhibition, ‘Jack Freak Pictures,’ opening in London at White Cube next week [Guardian]
Damien Hirst turns down the Royal Academy’s offer to become a Royal Academician [Artdaily]
Thief sentenced to two and half years in Oslo for the 2004 Munch ‘Scream’ Heist [NY Times]
Haunch of Venison will close its Zürich gallery by 2010 [ArtNewspaper]
After concerted effort by Eli Broad, MOCA announces that its financial troubles are over with a number of new gifts and trustees [LA Times] and LACMA also announces new trustees, including Dasha Zhukova, founder of Moscow’s Garage Centre [LA Times]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art responds to economic crisis, cuts 357 positions [Crain's]

Titian’s ‘Triumph of Love’ via Artdaily

Director of Tate Britain Stephen Deuchar is appointed director of Art Fund [ArtReview] in related, the Tate Britain recently bought and secured for Britain Titian’s Triumph of Love [Artdaily] and, finally the Art Fund launched an “Art Saved” resource online [Art Knowledge News]
At least 24 New York galleries have closed since the economic collapse, with a number closing for the summer [Artnet]
Connoisseurs are buying increasingly rare Impressionist and Modern masterpieces [NYTimes]
Why auctions may not be the best method for museums’ deaccessioning [Wall Street Journal]

Cai Guo-Qiang and Shen Wei speaking Lincoln Center via WSJ

Choreographer Shen Wei and artist Cai Guo-Qiang discuss their role in the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies and how changing attitudes in China have affected their work [Wall Street Journal]
ArtTactic’s Art Market Confidence Indicator shows increased confidence in the contemporary art market, with 2/3 of those survey predicting a rebound by 2011 [ArtTactic via The Art Collectors] and more cautious indicators of a rebound [Artnet]

Ji Lee’s ‘Duchamp Reloaded’ via Wooster Collective

Duchampian street sculpture in front of MoMA [Wooster Collective]
Bravo’s art reality show holds open calls and Paddy Johnson speaks with the casting director [Art Fag City]
A work painted in 1623-24 by a fellow scholar depicts Rembrandt at 16 [TheIndependent]
The Pietzch Collection, which includes many rare surrealist art works, opens to public display in Berlin [Monsters and Critics via Art Market Monitor]

Adam Kimmel stands in front of a photo of Dan Colen as the Marlboro Man via Purple

Riffing on Richard Prince, fashion designer Adam Kimmel has Dan Colen as the Marlboro Man in a series of photos by the creator of the original ads, Jim Krantz [Purple]
A look at what the latest auctions in London could mean for the outlook of the art market [Financial Times]
How London’s proximity to emerging market art buyers from Middle East, Russia and Asia may now have negative effect [Wall Street Journal]

Rachel Wardell, the first participant in Antony Gormley’s ‘One and Other’ via The GuardianUK

The first participants are announced in Antony Gormley’s ‘One and Other’ on the fourth plinth in Traflagar Square [Guardian]
More Intelligent Life investigates the increased interest in Picasso’s late musketeer paintings and finds links between the artist’s pacifism, the mood of the 1960s and younger collectors today [Economist]

A vandalized Banksy mural in Bristol via Bristol Evening Post

A popular Banksy mural in Bristol is vandalized as the Bristol Museum currently holds a major exhibition of the grafitti artist’s work [Bristol Evening Post via Arts Journal]
Jeff Koons describes Michael Jackson as a “contemporary Christ figure” [Bloomberg]
and Koons is now collaborating with watchmaker Ikepod to make a titanium watch [Newsweek]

Terence Koh in his studio via Whitewall

Terence Koh in his all white studio in New York [Whitewall]
Critic Jerry Saltz initiates a discussion with MoMA Chief Curator Ann Tempkin over the museum’s lack of female artists through Facebook [Edward Winkleman]
A Holocaust conference including 46 nations urges more efforts to restitute art stolen by Nazis [Bloomberg]