Gert & Uwe Tobias, Untitled (2014), all images via Maureen Paley

In their second solo exhibition at Maureen Paley, Gert & Uwe Tobias have brought a new selection of their mesmerizing woodcuts and collages. With a collection of fantastical characters printed on dark backgrounds, the woodcuts exemplify the tension between the fanciful and the terrifying present in fairy tales and folklore.  These passed-down stories, as told in countless variations, have a tone that is at once childlike and unsettling, a contrast that the Tobias brothers exploit in their work. (more…)

German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer’s 1515 woodcut “The Rhinoceros” has sold at Christie’s in New York City for $866,500, setting a new record for the artist’s works.  Originally estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, the price of the piece quickly exceeded its estimate.  While some highly valued works, including Knight, Death and The Devil failed to attract bidders, Dürer’s record price for a single work was broken three consecutive times over the one-hour auction.   (more…)

Gert and Uwe Tobias at FRAC-Auvergne (Installation View), via FRAC-Auvergne

The work of Romanian brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias operates in a peculiar space between diverse artistic traditions.  Combining watercolor, woodcut prints, sculptures, typewriter drawings and ceramics, the Tobias brothers have created a body of work that combines Art Nouveau with Romanian folk heritage, Paul Klee with Russian Constructivism, and archaic technologies with contemporary art theory.  Using the broad world of contemporary art as their sounding board, the Tobias brothers seek to reevaluate and re-contextualize their native heritage.  (more…)