AO Art Observed™

Banksy’s graffiti in London via Supertouch

Banksy’s possibly largest most brazen, work to date [Supertouch]
Update: Murakami’s superflat: “epidemic wanderlust produced by psycho-socio-sexual binarism”[NYObserver]
Update: Rothko kin successfully transfer his remains [NY Times]
“The New York canon” from Acconi to Warhol [New York mag]
Painter Ross Bleckner to write a memoir [Daily news]
Whitney Biennial annex at Henri Bendel window [Artnet]
Centre Pompidou cancels Calder exhibition due to lack of funds [Art NewsPaper]

Justin Anderson via the Moment

Art handlers in the forefront, and the back story [NYTimes, the moment]
The story of Gauguin’s severed head Arii Matamoe [NY Times]
Gugg. ex-director Krens up to more than expected in Abu Dhabi [NYMag]
China’s art market as a mere “pump and dump” PR play [Forbes]
Murakami interview before Brooklyn Museum show [New York Magazine]
Spencer Tunick’s nudes at Four Seasons restaurant [New York Post]
Update: The Guardian’s criticism of Whitney Biennial [Guardian.co.uk]
Asian art wrap-up: Yen bolsters Christie’s sales; Sotheby’s slumps [Bloomberg]

The Apotheosis of King James I via the Times U.K

Tate seeking £6 million to keep “country’s most significant” Rubens[Times UK]
Monet, Rodin, 30 other works stolen from ‘priceless’ French collection [Bloomberg]
As Indian art gains value, is it a good time buy? [NY Sun]
Chanel commissions Sophie Calle, others for bag inspired installation [The Age Australia]
Fake Picasso prints sold over eBay, arrests made in the U.S. [New York Post]
Update: Is the Whitney Biennial too smart for its own good? [NYMag]
Sischy, Brant formerly of Brant Publications (Art in America), are new editors of European Vanity Fair [Mediaweek]

Gustav Klimnt, Beethoven Frieze via secession.at

Klimpt’s historic ‘Beethoven Frieze’ to be reconstructed at Tate Liverpool [NY Times]
Old master stolen by Stasi (East German secret police) valued at $2 million [Bloomberg]
The architectural intelligence of the New Museum [Financial Times]
Update: Goat farm video, other favorites, at Whitney Biennial [Bloomberg]
Brooklyn and Manhattan street art gains fans, collectors [NY Times]
A case against art for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth [Financial Times]
Gagosian’s Uptown Gallery Expands, with a new director (former Picasso biographer) [Art Info]

Opening of the Whitney Biennial

The 2008 Whitney Biennial opened last night to throngs of people. It was curated this year by Shamim Momin and Henriette Huldisch and reverted back to the Biennial’s original mission to create a time capsule out of a far reaching art world that, as Adam Weinberg says, “… is, essentially, out of control.”

Whitney Biennial 2008
Opening of the Whitney Biennial [New York Times]
Whitney Opening [NewsDay]
The Launch of the Whitney [ArtInfo]
Biennial 2008 [New York Times]
Newslinks 03.03.08 [ArtObserved]
Round-Up: Whitney Biennial opens in New York [ArtObserved]

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“Animal Estates” by Fritz Haeg via the New York Times

The 2008 Whitney Biennial opened this Thursday at the Whitney Museum of American Art, to usual fanfare and anticipation. The exhibition will take place from March 6 until June 1, 2008 and will host eighty-one artists, selected to tell us ‘where American art stands today.’ The Biennial was founded in 1932 and has evolved into the most important survey of the state of contemporary art in the United States.
Whitney Biennial 2008 [Whitney]
Interactive installation view with audio commentary [ New York Times]
Opening of the Whitney Biennial 2008 [New York Sun]
Whitney and Park Avenue Armory Collaboration [City Guide NY]
By-the-numbers: New York, Los Angeles well-represented [artinfo]
Opening night photos: artists, curators and friends [ArtForum]
Whitney Biennial opens with ‘casual idealism’ [New York Sun]
Mood of Biennial reflects ’slowness’ in art economy [New York Times ]
Going prices for seven most talked-about artists [Portfolio]
Best of show and worst of show [artfagcity]
Podcast: Portraits of past biennial participants [Whitney]
Most represented dealers in the show[Portfolio]
Some say witty, some say ingratiating [culturegrrl]
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“The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil” via Telegraph.co.uk

Follow up: Monet’s “The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil” sells for £20 million at Christie’s [Telegraph.co.uk]
Update: Make your own movie at Gondry Deitch Projects [New York Times]
Tracey Emin spends $8 million to save an art district in London [ArtForum via the Guardian.com]
Whitney Biennial’s busy schedule, starting next Thursday [New York Times]
A good overall summary on artist Paul McCarthy [LATimes via C-Monster]
Judge Denies Salander’s bankruptcy [Bloomberg]
Michael Ovitz may buy the Chelsea Art Museum Building for growing art collection [New York Post]

With a cluttered presentation sprawled over two floors of Midtown space, the Columbia University MFA show comes across as energetic, adventurous, but undeniably student-y work; heck, at times it’s slightly muddled, unfinished, and, yes, even downright messy. Who’d ever have thought this would amount to a good thing? But, I must admit, it was all surprisingly refreshing. Over the last couple of years, Columbia has consistently met the challenge of its increasingly high profile, pumping out art stars in the making with graduate presentations as smoothed and polished as anything Chelsea might throw at you. Last year’s class’ offering in Dumbo was no exception: a cavernous space, filled with pristine pieces, thoughtfully arranged into a compelling exhibition which gave the Whitney Biennial “Day for Night” (on view at the same time) more than a run for its money. As expected, a new set of rising stars was ushered in, such as Tamy Ben-Tor and Julieta Aranda, who have already garnered pretty major accolades (and with good cause). (more…)