The Wall Street Journal has published a thorough profile on MoMA’s recently hired curator of photography, Quentin Bajac.  Recruited last year, Bajac is the first non-American to be named to the post, and brings a diversified view into the art form that often incorporates fields like astronomy.  “Photography has established a fruitful dialogue with other media,” he said. “With film, with architecture, with sculpture. What I’m really interested in is this dialogue with other techniques.” (more…)

Massimiliano Gioni, the 39-year old director of special exhibitions at the New Museum in New York, sat down with the Wall Street Journal recently to discuss his upcoming position as the youngest curator for the Venice Biennale in one hundred years, his history of innovative exhibitions, and his inclusive take on conceptual and contemporary art.  “We need to remind ourselves that contemporary art is first of all a form of conceptual gymnastics, in which we learn to coexist with what we don’t understand,” he says. (more…)

Contemporary artists are once again exploring the medium of wallpaper, hearkening back to the wall-based works of Andy Warhol and Sol LeWitt in the 1960’s.  Using new developments in digital printing and , many artists are using the classic decorative material to move beyond the canvas and explore new modes of exhibition and presentation in their works.  “Artists are becoming more interested in that line between what’s art and what’s part of your everyday life, and wallpaper becomes this weird fuzzy space—is it art, or is it decoration?” Says 29-year-old Brooklyn artist Gregg Louis. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on Yasuo Minagawa, one of the most renowned framers in Manhattan, who uses precision and care to create beautiful and handmade frames for his clients: “Mistake is enemy number one.”

(more…)

In other auction news, The Wall Street Journal analyzes Christie’s and Sotheby’s most recent auction performances and current buyer trends. “The combination reflects the increasingly unsettled state of the art market lately, as billionaire collectors chase after the world’s priciest masterpieces while collectors further down the food chain sneer at second-tier material that suddenly looks overpriced.”

(more…)

 “What is it about Pablo Picasso that attracts vandals?” The Wall Street Journal asks, while contemplating the artistic and social relevance of the recent Picasso vandalism in Houston. The painting, Woman in a Red Armchair  (1929), is being restored and will show again soon.

(more…)