Phyllida Barlow, Folly at the British Pavilion, via Art Observed

Spread out across the Giardini and the various storehouses and spaces inside the Arsenale, the Venice Biennale‘s annual invitations to various nations around the globe serves to offer a counterpoint to the sprawling main exhibition, Viva Arte Viva.  Presented by individual curators and supported by art institutions back home, the shows offer not only a selection of singular voices from around the globe, but equally a look at the various national discourses of each country’s artistic institutions and infrastructure, a point that equally sets it as a strong conversation piece against the curatorial discipline of the main exhibition’s lone organizer, in this case Centre Pompidou’s Christine Macel.

Jana Zelibska at the Czech Republic Pavilion, via Art Observed

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In what will become a permanent installation, artist Xavier Veilhan has installed his sculpture of Jean-Marc Bustamante a few steps from the Museum of Modern Art.  The piece sits at the entranceway for RXR Realty, the company that commissioned its installation, and was created with the use of three-dimensional scanning technology and stainless steel construction.

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Xavier Veilhan, The Bear(2010), courtesy The Phillips Collection.

Celebrated French artist Xavier Veilhan generally works with site-specific installations, reflecting art historical styles and concepts that are executed by employing technological innovation with a distinctly stylized futuristic aesthetic. Veilhan’s first major U.S. museum exhibition is currently on view at The Philips Collection as a part of its “Intersections” series. (more…)

Mircea Cantor’s work in FIAC 2011, image by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed, all photos by Art Observed unless otherwise noted.

By the close of FIAC on Sunday evening, some 68,000+ visitors had come through the fair.  These attendance figures represent a 6% increase from the previous year, reports the New York Times.  Housed this year in the exuberant Grand Palais, the fair showed strong sales from the get go. Despite the global economic downtown of recent years, the atmosphere was effervescent. French, American, and German galleries dominated the space (55, 26, and 21, respectively), but participants from Brazil, Turkey, and South Africa showed a strong presence at the fair for the first time. New York newcomers Matthew Marks, Eleven Rivington, Andrew Kreps, Michele Maccarone and Friedrich Petzel did well, and Pace Gallery made a comeback after a long absence. Compared to Frieze the week before in London, many fair-goers felt that the Parisian fair was riskier in content, creating a more exciting and eclectic display of artworks.

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Musicians play in front of a work by Alex Katz at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, where the painter’s show Face The Music runs through November 19th, 2011. All Photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed

Thursday evening, October 20th, Parisian galleries across the city participated in what is called Nocturne des Galeries (Galleries Night Out). Hosted by FIAC, the event is an opportunity to survey the French art scene, as well as to “step up the commitment and increase the visibility of galleries focused on 20th century furniture conceived by architects and and contemporary design work.” The galleries are divided into five different sections: Louvre/Saint Germain, Champ Élysées, Eastern Paris, Louise Weiss, and Marias, which boasts the largest number of galleries. Art Observed was on site for openings at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Galerie Chantal Crousel and Emmanuel Perrotin.

Xavier Veilhan, opening of Orchestra at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin through November 12.

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Installation view. All photos via Galerie Perrotin.

On view through November 12 at Galerie Perrotin, “Orchestra” is comprised of mainly new works by contemporary installation artist Xavier Veilhan. The artist reinvigorates his early sculpture work with his newer interactive installation techniques. By presenting his technical prowess in an abstract context, Veilhan invites a reconsideration in which historically important functional designs meet art history. In this way, “Orchestra” beckons visitors into a confrontational, interactive, and at times hypnotic space between reality and disrupted reality—a space in which a “polyphony of objects,” including turbines, birds, trees, monuments, and even a sculpted gorilla, become an entire enveloping landscape.

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Pharrell Williams and Emmanuel Perrotin, Galerie Perrotin, Miami.

Art Observed was present yesterday for the opening of exhibition featuring recent work by Daniel Arsham, Kaz Oshiro, Paola Pivi as well as the french artist Xavier Veilhan.  The exhibition will run until December 11, 2010 at the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Miami.  The following is a photo set from the opening.

The french and Italian artist Xavier Veilhan with Paola Pivi.

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Xavier Veilhan Photo ©: François-Thibaut Pencenat

One of the most prominent French artists, Xavier Veilhan, created a site-specific show at Versailles to run through December 13, 2009. Recognized for his work that transcends disciplines and employs an array of mediums, Veilhan, unlike many contemporary artists, makes art historical references while maintaining his very own recognizable style. Oftentimes, it is in recreation of the archetypal that the French artist’s singularity is manifested.  Figures and forms rooted in the collective memory of art history seem to be stripped down in their physicality, yet the very act of reduction translates into a broader measure of proliferating rather than voiding, when it is directed towards the archetype.

Fascinated by modernity, Veilhan considers the notion in its historical expression: “after World Wars I and II, it is difficult to feel the same way that Boccioni did with the idea of modernity,”  explains the artist. Similarly, his interests while transcending the imposed boundaries of present disciplines, stay respectful and sensitive to the complexity of their past.

Interview with Xavier Veilhan:

Manan Ter-Grigoryan for Art Observed: To jump right in, tell me how it all started for you. Not in Versailles, but your path as an artist?

Xavier Veilhan: I grew up in boring suburbs… and I saw that for a lot of art students there was a lot of art but also a lot of partying! (Laughs) It was a time of new radio, free radio; I worked a little bit in the radio. There was lot of traveling… I traveled to Germany, studied a little bit in art school. It was a very carefree time. I met a lot of people in those times… then I started to get more focused on visual arts and work with Pierre Huyghe and that’s when we started doing some shows. In 1989 I had my first solo show in Italy. It was important to use a kind of universal language for me, to be international.

Xavier Veilhan for Versailles via Chateau de Versailles

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Detail of a photograph by Virginie Marielle, Installation view of Veilhan’s work at main courtyard of Versailles via Veilhan Versailles

Works by French artist Xavier Veilhan are currently being shown at the Chateau de Versailles, its gardens, and Royal and Main Courtyards.  Veilhan, born in Lyon, lives and works in Paris. The artist covers a variety of mediums including sculpture, film, photography, painting and installation art. A 50 foot long coach and horses in purple, a color Veilhan sees as complex and ambiguous when at the backdrop of its perception is the idea of Monarchy and Royal power, is the first work encountered upon the nominal entrance to the exhibit. Also, among the works being shown is a statue of a girl, delicate and quiet in color as opposed to other works, it complements Versailles to a degree where it may be passed unnoticed by the visitor of the show. Also showing are sculptures and installations that tackle the worlds of photography and politics. A statue of Gagarin, first man to fly to space, titled “Le Gisant” is laid on the ground of the Royal Courtyard. The show runs through December 13, 2009.

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Xavier Veilhan at Chateau de Versailles via Chateau Versailles

Related Links:
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Veilhan Versailles [Chateau Versailles]
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Veilhan Bio [Gering & Lopez Gallery]
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Contemporary Art Storms Versailles [Telegraph]
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Veilhan Versailles [Veilhan Versailles]

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Veilhan at Versailles, Interview with Xavier Veilhan via Vernissage TV

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A sculpture of horses and a carriage at Versailles by Xavier Veilhan via artcollc

On September 13, Xavier Veilhan will follow in Jeff Koons’s footsteps by bringing contemporary sculpture to the Chateau de Versailles [ArtCoLLC]
On the lack of transparency in the art market reflected in this year’s Art Basel [Economist]
An interview with Chuck Close in which he discusses how his perceptive disabilities are reflected in his work [Wall Street Journal]

A still from Deadpan by Steve McQueen via the GuardianUK

Beginning July 1st, Creative Time will present Turner Prize winner and current UK Venice Biennale representative Steve McQueen’s Deadpan on the MTV screen in Times Square [Creative Time]
Parkett Art magazine marks 25 years this June 25th in Chelsea, NY [EFlux]
Conceptual artist Dan Graham is speaking at 192 Books in Chelsea, New York on Wednesday, July 1 [192Books.com]

Trafalgar Square’s empty fourth plinth, which will host Antony Gormley’s ‘One & Other’ via Guardian UK

The first round of participants have been announced for Antony Gormley’s living statue project: ‘One & Other,’ on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth in ondon [BBC]

A previous installation of Terracotta Army via VisitStHelens

In related, Anthony Gormley sets up his 40,000 figure “Terracotta Army” in a Devon, UK barn [TelegraphUK]
Dartmouth receives a $50 million donation to support the visual arts [Dartmouth]
Architect Richard Meier is designing major expansion for the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills [LA Times]

Picasso’s ‘Le Moulin de la Galette’ owned by the Guggenheim, allegedly sold under Nazi duress, via Artnet

Judge issues written memo chastizing MoMA and Guggenheim and heirs of Nazi victim for secret settlement over two Picasso paintings in restitution case [Bloomberg]
The Whitney kept it festive this week for its annual Art Party and auction in West Soho, New York [Park Avenue Peerage]
Behind the scenes shots of the making of Banksy’s Bristol exhibition [The WorldsBestEver]

‘Screentest’ for designer Adam Kimmel’s new campaign via Hint

Black and white films and stills by Andy Warhol’s long-time assistant Gerard Malanga from Designer Adam Kimmel’s look book, exhibited at Thaddeus Ropac gallery, feature art world figures Matthew Barney, Francesco Clemente, Ryan McGinley, Dan Colen, Aaron Young and Nate Lowman [AdamKimmel]

Still from Brett Gorvy’s interview with Andy Warhol’s assistant, Gerard Malanga, via Christie’s

In related (to the Kimmel story), Christie’s Brett Gorvy speaks Gerard Malanga on Warhol’s ‘Death and Disaster’ series [Christie’s via Art Market Monitor]

Moody’s, which currently has Sotheby’s bonds below investment grade placed its debt on review for a possible downgrade [Bloomberg] More on the damage to Sotheby’s profits here [ArtNewspaper]
Guy Bennett, co-head of Christie’s Impressionist and Modern art department worldwide, resigns [NY Times]
Christie’s begins more salary cuts [Bloomberg]
Citing financial difficulties, Bellwether Gallery closes after a ten year run [Art Fag City]
the Art Institute of Chicago lays off 20 staff members [Chicago Tribune via Artsjournal]
With its endowment down by 18%, the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum will lay off 25 full-time staff [CrainsNewYork]
Art museum attendance in the US is down 23%-26% [ArtReview]
And a summary on the methods New York galleries are using to deal with the recession [NYTimes]