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Picture Industry (Goodbye to All That), Installation view, Regen Projects II, Los Angeles. All images courtesy of Regen Projects.

Currently on view at Regen Projects, Los Angeles, is the group show Picture Industry (Goodbye to All That), curated by artist Walead Beshty. ‘Picture Industry’ refers both to the physical setting and the conceptual pretext within which the show is presented, with Los Angeles as the focus in terms of both place and content. Included in the exhibition are works by Tauba Auerbach, Thomas Barrow, Carol Bove, Troy Brauntuch, Tony Conrad, Abraham Cruzvillegas, De Rijke / De Rooij, Liz Deschenes, Isa Genzken, Wade Guyton, Robert Heinecken, Karen Kilimnik, Imi Knoebel, Michael Krebber, Glenn Ligon, Erlea Maneros Zabala, Albert Oehlen, Manfred Pernice, Seth Price, Richard Prince, Josephine Pryde, R.H. Quaytman, Eileen Quinlan, Miljohn Ruperto, Michael Snow, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Charline Von Heyl, Kelley Walker, James Welling, Christopher Williams & Christopher Wool.

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Avenza Revisited II (1968-1969) by Louise Bourgeois, via Museum of Cycladic Art

Currently on view at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, Greece is an exhibition featuring the work of late artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010). The exhibit highlights a body of the artists sculptural work known as the “Personages,” which Bourgeois produced between 1947 and 1953. These totem-like objects have Surrealist origins, and explore the subconscious human sentiments of anger, sexuality, fear and suffering. Eight of these “Personages” are displayed alongside the artist’s most recent series of gouaches.

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Above: Karen Kilimnik, Me Corner of Haight & Ashbury, 1966, 1998.
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Below: Joseph Cornell, Untitled, c. 1953.
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Image courtesy of the Artists, 303 Gallery New York and Sprueth Magers Gallery Berlin London.

Currently on view at Sprueth Magers London is “Something Beautiful,” a collaborative show by American artists Joseph Cornell and Karen Kilimnik. Curated by Todd Levin, the exhibition features paintings, collages, and mixed-media installations that reflect the influence of the Romantic-era ballet on both artists.

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was an American artist known for pioneering the art of assemblage. Created from found objects, Cornell’s boxes often read like three-dimensional Surrealist paintings. He admired the work of Max Ernst and Rene Magritte, but claimed to have found their work to be too dark.  His work was also inspired heavily by his beliefs in Christian Science, which he adopted in his early twenties. He never received formal training as an artist, but was influenced by American Transcendentalist poetry and French Symbolist painters, such as Mallarme and Nerval. Another motif of his work, 19th century European ballet dancers, comes to life in this exhibition.

Similarly, Karen Kilimnik’s work redeploys discreet objects in a quest for the romantic sublime. Theater and stagecraft have figured strongly in her installations, and her use of particular materials suggests the influence of Cornell. Often making direct references to Degas and other Impressionist painters, Kilimnik’s subjects occupy a nineteenth-century world: one of mystery, drama, and romance.

Anthony Byrt, in his review for Art Forum, refers to Levin’s conceptual approach here as a “bold curatorial statement,” suggesting that the premise upon which the two artists are connected is a precarious one. However, “Ballet aside,” says Byrt, “tangible links do emerge, such as theatricality, quiet spectacle, and ideas of feminine beauty, which both artists explore.”

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Karen Kilimnik, Paris Opera Rats, 1993. Image credited as above.

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Lawrence Salander Appears for Sentencing, via New York Post–>

Art dealer Lawrence Salander, 61, was sentenced to 6-18 years in prison on Tuesday for defrauding clients of more than $120 million. Salander, formerly of Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, was arrested last March on charges of more than 100 counts of grand larceny and other felony offenses.  He pleaded guilty to 29 of those counts earlier this year, admitting to having engineered an elaborate series of fraudulent investment schemes over the course of more than a decade.  His offenses include selling single works of art to multiple buyers, selling shares of artwork owned outright  by other investors, and leveraging works he had already sold to secure bank loans.

Prior to closing in 2007, Salander-O’Reilly Galleries had been known for their eclectic Old Master and Modern holdings.  Their high-profile clientele included tennis champion John McEnroe and actor Robert De Niro’s late father, Robert De Niro Sr. According to the New York Times, McEnroe had acquired a 50% share of two important Arshile Gorky paintings, titled “Pirate I” and “Pirate II,” in 1994. Salander subsequently sold these paintings in their entirety to another dealer, while simultaneously listing them as security to obtain a loan from Bank of America.  In an effort to constantly expand his business and maintain an ostentatious lifestyle, Salander continued to engage in increasingly audacious personal and professional transactions.

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Sophie Calle, Photograph from the “North Pole” series, courtesy of Arndt.

Currently on view at Arndt in Berlin is a solo exhibition by Sophie Calle entitled “North Pole,” in which the artist combines objects created in a variety of media to illustrate a narrative of personal significance. Born in France in 1953, Calle is known for her work as a writer, photographer, and conceptual artist. In “North Pole,” she examines the perception and creation of human identity through an abstracted portrait of the life of her mother.

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Jorge Pardo, “Bulgogi” Installation View (2010) All images via Gagosian Gallery

“Bulgogi,” a solo exhibition featuring artist Jorge Pardo, is currently on view at Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills. The show’s title is derived from the name of a traditional Korean dish which translates as “fire meat.” Given the strong Korean presence in Los Angeles, Pardo uses this title as a metaphor for the cultural assimilation of Korean immigrants in this Californian city. The exhibition includes a variety of mixed media pieces, and features a range of objects including furniture, jewelry, and scrapbook images transformed into wallpaper.

Image from Bulgogi Installation.

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Henri Matisse The Moroccans, 1916. Image via MoMA.

Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917, at the Museum of Modern Art, features almost 120 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures completed by Henri Matisse within the span of four years.  1913 marks a turning point in Matisse’s evolutionary career: in the twilight of WWI, the artist made a profound move toward conceptual distortion.  He worked in German-occupied France while his brother was in a prison camp and his mother was behind enemy lines–conditions he deemed the “methods of modern construction” that altered the course of his artistic and personal development.

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Artist Jenny Holzer, via Artnet

Currently showing at the DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art in Montreal is an exhibition of works by Jenny Holzer, an American artist. The exhibition covers a variety of works by Holzer, ranging from the 1990s to the present, and highlights her ability to use text in her art. Holzer was an abstract artist who turned to painting and finally to including language and words in her art. She is well-known for her large LED art.

Redaction Paintings (2008) by Jenny Holzer, via Art21

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Anish Kapoor with his work, Vertigo (2008), via Guggenheim Bilbao

Currently showing at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain is an exhibit of works by Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor. Kapoor is known for his simple, large, monochromatic pieces. His work has been shown internationally and is featured in many large cities around the world. According to the gallery’s website, this show is the first large-scale exhibition of Kapoor’s work shown in Spain.

Shooting into the Corner (2008-09) by Anish Kapoor, via A World to Win

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Loved Despite Great Faults (2008) by Andrea Da Corte, via Yvon Lambert Gallery.

Currently on view at Yvon Lambert in New York is “Christmas in July,” a group show which features the work of John Baldessari, Lynda Benglis, Michael Brown, Alex Da Corte, Douglas Gordon, Christian Holstad, and Katja Strunz among others. The exhibit also includes a section of the gallery designated to artist Jonathan Horowitz who creates a “Free Store” where visitors can drop off their belongs and take things if they please. The work displayed reveals the multiple meanings of the spirit of Christmas.

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Darren Almond, Fullmoon@Eifel 2, 2010, c-print, 180 x 180 cm. All images via Galerie Max Hetzler.

From July 31 to August 1 Galerie Max Hetlzer, Berlin will present a show by London based artist, Darren Almond. The exhibition contains several large scale photographs all of which the capture moonlit landscapes. To achieve the surreal effect of these half light half dark nature scenes, Almond uses a lengthy exposure time to photograph a landscape illuminated solely by the light of the moon. The artist has been experimenting with this technique since 1998 when he created Fifteen Minute Moon. Almond has traveled extensively to attain new scenes for these Fullmoon photographs. The first location, Montagne Saint-Victoire in Provence, evoked Cezanne’s impressionist explorations in the same region, while the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda and South East China’s Yellow Mountains have been the focus of more recent series. All seven photographs included in Fullmoon@Eifel were taken in 2010 and feature the landscapes of Weidingen (Eifel), Germany.

Fullmoon@Eifel 7

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Rachel Garrard performing Geometric Void, in which she mapped the sacred geometry of a human form on a perspex window over the course of the six hour exhibition

Art Observed was on site July 24th for “Field of Dreams”, a D.I.Y. world’s fair of music and art, presented by Celebrate Brooklyn!, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, and Andres Levin.  The much-anticipated event took place at the Prospect Park band shell in Brooklyn, running from 4PM to 10PM. Music was a constant throughout the day, featuring a wide range of established and emerging acts alike, including standouts Pablo Picasso (who performed a second set, to great effect, at the Littlefield after-party), Les Nubians, and Luis Guzman.

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Performing band

Approximately forty installations were constructed in a semi-circle on the grassy knoll across from the band shell, representing both individual artists and creative collaborations.  In a nod to the synthesis of visual arts and musical performance which was the order of the day, Ray Smith created two massive canvases to adorn each side of the band shell stage.  Art Observed was able to speak with a few of the participating artists, who offered comments on their own work and its place in the show.

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Performers with a friend at  “Power Animal Pavillion,” which featured Power Animal wrestling.

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Rineke Dijkstra, Still from The Krazy House, Liverpool, UK, 2008-2009, 4 channel video HD installation, color, sound, 32 minutes, loop. All images courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery.

Currently on view at Marian Goodman Gallery, New York is a solo exhibition of recent works by Dutch artist, Rineke Dijkstra. Three video installations and a number of photographs are on display. Dijikstra frequently takes adolescents and teenagers as her subject, and these works are no exception. Her emphasis on youth never feels exploitative or overly voyeuristic, rather it invites the viewer to recall the feelings associated with nascent adulthood – a mindset focused on escapism, self-consciousness, and a burgeoning sense of identity.

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Still from The Krazy House, Liverpool, UK, 2008-2009.

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Gary Hume, Big Bird, 2009. All images courtesy of Sprueth Magers.

Gary Hume’s first solo exhibition in Berlin in over 15 years is currently on view at Sprueth Magers. The show consists of a selection of new works, including Big Bird (2010), a major large-scale six-panel painting, in addition to a group of six paintings, four sculptures and five works on paper. Painted in Hume’s trademark bright palate, the series of six paintings relate to his earlier American Tan series which explored cheerleaders as an emblem of American society. Elegantly simplistic in appearance, yet endlessly complex in its meaning, Hume’s imagery conveys a potent sense of discontinuity at the heart of representations of beauty.

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Hired dancer at exhibit next to piece chosen by curator James Shaeffer
All images by Olivia Loving for ArtObserved unless otherwise noted.

Gallery View

Art Observed was on site July 22^nd for the opening of ‘Young Curators, New Ideas III,’ the new exhibit at P.P.O.W. in Chelsea, Manhattan. As the name suggests, the exhibit focused on eight individual curators and the pieces that they chose. The list of curators is as follows: Andrew Russeth & Liza Buzytsky, Erin Dziedzic, Kate Greenberg & Hilary Schaffner, Stamatina Gregory, Gabriella Hiatt, and James Shaeffer. The gallery was packed, and despite no air-conditioning (handmade fans and cups of water abounded), the elevators constantly opened and closed, shuffling in new visitors. The exhibit will be on show until August 20^th, 2010.

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Atrial Flutter (2010) by Polly Morgan, via Haunch of Venison

Currently on view from today until September 25^th, 2010 is an exhibition of works by Polly Morgan, a British artist known for her fascination with taxidermy. The exhibition is Morgan’s first solo show at  Haunch of Venison in London. Morgan has been interested in animals since a young age; after college, she experimented with films and sculpting before she finally turned to taxidermy. Her animals are well-known because she often places them in unusual and unrealistic situations.

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Image featured on gallery website, via Vera Munro

Currently showing at the Vera Munro Gallery in Hamburg, Germany through September 30^th, 2010, is an exhibition of works by various artists and chosen by Gerwald Rockenschaub.The full list of artists can be found on the gallery’s website, and includes established artists such as Ellsworth Kelly and Gerhard Richter, and younger artists like Tomma Abts and Katja Strunz.

Show assembled by Gerwald Rockenschaub, via My Contemporary

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Dara Friedman, Bim Bam, 1999, courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art is the first part of a two-part exhibition titled “Off The Wall.” The exhibition at large brings together thirty works from 1946 to the present involving performative actions and seven iconic works by Trisha Brown. Part one, “Thirty Performative Actions,” was curated by Chrissie Iles, the Whitney’s Anne and Joel Ehrenkrnaz curator and is scheduled to be on display until September 19th. Part two, “Seven Works by Trisha Brown,” will run from September 30^th to October 30^th. This section features the return of the Trisha Brown Dance Company to the Whitney. Many of Brown’s dances were performed at the museum in 1971, so in addition to the performances taking place in the fall there will be video footage of Trisha Brown’s past work.

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“Off The Wall” Opening at The Whitney Museum of American Art on June 30^th, 2010, photograph courtesy of Taylor Derwin.

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Sip my Ocean (1996) by Pipilotti Rist, via Ars Magazine.

Currently on view at the Fundacio Joan Miro is “Friendly Game- Electronic Feelings” an exhibition by renowned Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist. The show is the largest exhibition of her colorful work in Spain and features 13 installations spanning the artist’s career. Ten installations are shown at the Fundacio Joan Miro and the other three are hosted at the Centre Cultural de Caixa Girona. Also shown are small video installations including Porque te vas? (Nass) (2003) and Grabstein fur RW (2004).

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Gordon Matta-Clark, Office Baroque (view of second floor & removed section), 1977, 10 x 8 inches, via Galerie Thomas Schulte.

Currently on view at Galerie Thomas Schulte (in partnership with Florent Bex), is a rare collection of works documenting one of Gordon Matta-Clark’s last building interventions, Office Baroque (1977).  The Antwerp office structure was legally secured for Matta-Clark’s building cuts, which—in contrast with pieces like Bingo (Bin.go.ne) (1974) bulldozed by authorities immediately upon completion, or Day’s End (Pier 52) (1975), for which the artist repeatedly evaded police arrest—allowed for ample opportunity to record the alterations Matta-Clark executed.  Three rooms reveal photography, photo collage and film, on loan from public and private collections, much of which has never before been published.

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Liebespaar II (1965) Sigmar Polke, via Thomas Ammann Gallery

Currently on view at Thomas Ammann Gallery is a selection of important works made by one of the masters of contemporary painting and photography, German artist Sigmar Polke (1941-2010). Renowned for his pictorial jest and vibrant layering of found images, the exhibition features some of the artist’s masterworks many of which probe the ghosts of Germany’s postwar years.

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Domecke – [Cathedral Corner] (1987) by Gerhard Richter, via Gerhard Richter

Currently showing at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentia, is an exhibition of works by German artist Gerhard Richter. The exhibit is titled Synopsis, and it includes a variety of works that span four decades. Richter is well-known for his photo-paintings and abstract pieces, both of which are on display. The title Synopsis is fitting; the museum called the exhibit “retrospective” and therefore indicative of Richter’s growth over the years.

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Half Gallery Opening Night: July 14th for ‘Normal Dimensions’. All images by Olivia Loving for AO unless otherwise noted.

AO was on site July 14^th for the opening of “Normal Dimensions,” the new exhibit at Half Gallery. The six-piece exhibit is curated by Neville Wakefield, and shows work by Carol Bove, Olympia Scarry, Xaviera Simmons and Susan Collis.  All are women in roughly the same age group. The works in the exhibit largely reflect the artists’ past works, and the issues that continue to inspire them. The opening was packed, and visitors spilled out onto the street, relaxing and chatting with fellow attendees. The show will be on display until August 13^th, 2010.

Saliva (2010) by Olympia Scarry.

Olympia Scarry standing outside Half Gallery

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