‪‬King’s Cross, London opens nine year art program called ‘Relay,’ beginning with two year installation of Jacques Rival’s 9-foot rainbow cage ‘IFU’ [AO Newslink]

(more…)

Wolfgang Tillmans, TGV, inkjet print on paper (2010). All images courtesy Gallery Chantal Crousel.

Wolfgang Tillmans returns for his second solo show at Gallery Chantal Crousel, presenting new works from the past few years. Images of both public and private nature are displayed in typical Tillmans style; unframed works hanging either directly on the wall or by the use of his infamous binder clips.

(more…)

Martin Boyce, Do Words Have Voices, installation view (2011). All images courtesy of BALTIC Centre of Contemporary Art Gateshead.

The Turner Prize, began in 1984 to honor an outstanding British artist under the age of fifty, has announced the 2011 shortlisted artists: Karla Black, Martin Boyce, Hilary Lloyd, and George Shaw. Judged on work from the previous year, the four nominees also present an exhibition from October through January, this year at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art Gateshead— the first time outside a Tate venue. A program featuring the live announcement of the winner, decided by jury, will be broadcast on the British Channel 4 on December 5, 2011.

Karla Black, Doesn’t Care In Words, installation view (2011).

(more…)

‪‬Marina Abramović continues to develop her direction of the LA MoCA 2011 Gala, including controversial human centerpieces [AO Newslink]

(more…)

–>
Installation view of Tracey Emin, The Vanishing Lake (2011). All images by Stephen White courtesy of White Cube.

The Vanishing Lake, Tracey Emin’s White Cube-curated exhibition housed at 6 Fitzroy Square, is a meditation on personal metamorphosis. A new series of self portraits that were inspired by her novel of the same name provide the exhibition’s focal point while other works—including textual light installations and large-scale tapestries of her provocative paintings—help create an overwhelming sense of romantic melancholia.

More text and images after the jump… (more…)

‪‬Modigliani Portrait of Marevna in Pushkin Museum disputed as fake based on tests by Swiss Institute for Art Research [AO Newslink]

(more…)

Clyfford Still, 1949-A-No. 1, 1949 (est. $25-35 million, realized $61.6 million), via Sothebys.com

The evening sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s this week left little doubt about the appetite for, and willingness to spend on, Contemporary art, regardless of how the financial markets may be performing. Tuesday’s sale at Christie’s brought in $248 million for 82 of 91 lots sold, and Sotheby’s auction the following evening realized $316 million against a high estimate of $270 million. Several artists records were set over the two nights, including those for the painters of each sale’s top lot – Clyfford Still and Roy Lichtenstein.

(more…)

Diane Arbus, Lady at a Masked Ball with Two Roses on Her Dress, NYC (1967). Images via Jeu de Paume unless otherwise noted.

Diane Arbus’ (1923-1971) first retrospective in Paris is on now at Jue de Paume. Between the Arbus Estate and 41 private collections, 200 photographs are shown, a handful of which have never been seen before. Describing her work, Arbus once said, “I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don’t like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.” Her frank approach to portraiture confronts one with a sense of identity that is often hidden away; she exposed and celebrated the unique in all, her oeuvre showcasing an underlining sensitivity to the human condition.

(more…)

‪‬Damien Hirst teams up with Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a spin bass guitar [AO Newslink]

(more…)

Walton Ford, It makes me think of that awful day (2011). All images via Paul Kasmin Gallery.

Walton Ford has been likened to 19th century naturalist John James Audubon for his realistic old-master style watercolors, but while the nine works on view now at Paul Kasmin may resemble Audubon in style, they go much further in content. I Don’t Like to Look at Him, Jack. It Makes Me Think of That Awful Day on the Island, includes two series of paintings: the first consists of three large-scale (9 x 12 feet) portraits of King Kong, while the second features various monkeys in the process of decapitating exotic birds. While each piece maintains a close attention to detail that is characteristic of Ford, the work also evokes the complex, wild, and occasionally emotional nature of nature itself.

Walton Ford, Unnatural Composure (2011). (more…)

Stuart Watson, The hostess never lies (2011). All photos on site for Art Observed by Tara Sheena.

Agathe Snow’s monologue, The hostess never lies, was the finale event of the Vogt Gallery’s performance series of the same name. Curated by Snow’s sister, Anne Apparu, the series emphasized artists working in the medium of performance art and offered a platform for the presentation of works at all stages of their development. The original inspiration for the entire series, this was the first live performance of Snow’s monologue.

(more…)

–>
Cy Twombly, Untitled, 2006 (est. $8-12 million, realized $9 million), via Phillipsdepury.com

Phillips de Pury kicked off the week of Contemporary art sales on Monday night with two back-to-back auctions. First came a 22-lot benefit auction with all proceeds going to the Guggenheim Foundation, immediately followed by the 44-lot evening sale of Contemporary art. The Guggenheim sale was estimated to bring $1.5-2.2 million and realized $2.7 million (the buyer’s premium was eliminated for that sale), and the evening sale brought in $71 million against a high estimate of $97 million. The evening’s top lot was an untitled Cy Twombly canvas that fetched $9 million against estimates of $8-12 million.

(more…)

‪‬Christo’s 42-mile installation ‘Over the River’ approved after 2 years for Arkansas River, Bureau of Land Management assures “steps have been taken to mitigate the environmental effects of this one-of-a-kind project” [AO Newslink]

(more…)

Roy Lichtenstein, I Can See the Whole Room!…and There’s Nobody in it!, 1961 (est. $35-45 million), via Christies.com

The November sales continue this week as Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips de Pury offer over half a billion dollars worth of Contemporary art over the next few days. After uneven results during last week’s Impressionist and Modern sales, the performance of these auctions may be a truer indication of the state of the art market. Phillips inaugurates the week on Monday with their 45-lot evening sale, which is immediately preceded by a 22-lot benefit auction for the Guggenheim Foundation. Christie’s will also host two back-to-back sales on Tuesday evening. First are 26 lots from the Peter Norton Collection, which will be followed by the 65-lot evening sale. Sotheby’s wraps up on Wednesday with a 74-lot sale.

(more…)

Georges Braque, Woman at an Easel (Yellow Screen), (1936). All Georges Braque images courtesy of Acquavella Galleries

Acquavella Galleries‘ exhibition “Georges Braque: Pioneer of Modernism” is an homage to the other father of Cubism, most often associated with Picasso. Curated by Dieter Buchhart, the exhibition features more than forty paintings and papiers collés culled from various international collections. “Georges Braque: Pioneer of Modernism” is the first major retrospective of the artist’s work since the late 1980s, and is open through November 30^th.

More text and images after the jump…
(more…)

Photo on site for Art Observed by Tara Sheena.

In a production for the Performa 11 Biennial, co-commissioned by the Royal Danish Theater and the Bergen International Festival, the artist duo of Elmgreen & Dragset presented their satirical theatre work, Happy Days in the Art World. A
referential collage of Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days and Waiting for Godot, as well as Elmgreen & Dragset’s own play, Drama Queens, the work effectively combines a stream-of-consciousness humor with a bare bones set to reveal a contemporary commentary on the sociopolitical implications of the art world.

More text and images after the jump…
(more…)

Turner Prize winning British Artist Martin Creed announces ‘Work No. 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes’ to herald the start of the 2012 Olympic Games [AO Newslink]

(more…)

All photos on site for Art Observed by Samuel Sveen.

In 2007, Urs Fischer used a jackhammer to tear up the floor of Gavin Brown’s enterprise in Chelsea, leaving the room an enormous pit of dirt. With his return to the gallery for a joint show with Cassandra MacLeod, Fischer has sought to “build” on the past show both literally and theoretically. The press release refers to the “inverted pyramid of excavated earth,” the natural next step of invention being a flat surface above the earth—the table, with which Fischer has filled the three gallery spaces. Paintings by MacLeod cover the walls of the gallery, making for an intriguing dialogue between the two artists’ work. Stacks of tables, some three or four high, perhaps even offer a better view to the paintings mounted high above.

More text and images after the jump…
(more…)

Overzealous cleaning lady scrubs away part of $1.1 million Martin Kippenberger sculpture in Dortmund, Germany [AO Newslink]

(more…)

‪‬Ai Weiwei to show his multiple tons of porcelain sunflower seeds at Mary Boone gallery in January while prohibited to leave China [AO Newslink]

(more…)

‪‬London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic posters unveiled featuring 12 UK artists including Tracy Emin and Martin Creed, to be displayed at Tate Britain next year [AO Newslink]

(more…)

‪‬Christie’s unveils Louise Bourgeois 11-foot-tall Spider sculpture for November 8th auction with the theatrics of Spiderman [AO Newslink]

(more…)

‪‬Ai Weiwei has been offered the opportunity to rebuild his demolished Chinese studio on Belgian artist Wim Delvoye’s manor [AO Newslink]

(more…)

Mark Rothko, Light Red Over Black (1957). Artwork courtesy of the Tate.

Rothko in Britain commemorates the 50th anniversary of Rothko’s inaugural British exhibition. 41 years after his passing, the Whitechapel Gallery has meticulously compiled a retrospection of images, letters, and reviews, all paired with a single work—Light Red Over Black (1957), on loan from the Tate. Light Red Over Black towers over the viewer, a single, saturated painting. The large form and accompanying material, sparsely arranged, were placed in a manner in which to overwhelm the viewer, or, in Rothko’s words, to encourage the feeling of being “enveloped within.” Walls were constructed specifically to show the work in such isolation, in hopes to evoke such intensity. The ‘less is more’ approach is discussed in Whitechapel’s video about the show, explaining the concept of an exhibition about a long closed exhibition.

(more…)