Image via New York Times.

Celebrated painter Cy Twombly died today at the age of 83.  Twombly passed away from cancer in Rome, where he has been living since 1957.  Known as somewhat of a recluse, Twombly usually did not write about his work or give interviews.  One of the exceptions to this was made in 2008 when Twombly spoke to Nick Serota, director of the Tate. “I had my freedom and that was nice,” he said.

Born Edwin Parker Twombly, Jr.  in 1928 in Lexington, Virginia, and nicknamed “Cy” by his father, the artist was known for his calligraphic style. Writer, critic and assistant professor at the San Francisco Art Institute Claire Daigle writes, “Twombly arrived in Manhattan in 1950 while the New York School painting of Pollock and de Kooning was in full swing. Upon Robert Rauschenberg’s encouragement, Twombly joined him for the 1951–1952 sessions at Black Mountain College near Asheville, North Carolina – a liberal refuge [staffed by] influential teachers present at this time [such as] Charles Olson, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell and John Cage.” In 2001, Twombly won the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale.

Cy Twombly, Untitled, (Peony Blossom Painting), 2007. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery.

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Taryn Simon, excerpt from A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters (2011), via The Guardian.

Young photography star Taryn Simon opened her solo exhibition, “A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters” at London’s Tate Modern on May 25th.  The exhibition is composed of portraits displayed in horizontal rows of family trees according to bloodlines, which Simon researched over a four-year period.  As the artists says, she’s “drawn to projects that end up being incredibly laborious” – though the photos themselves only took two months to complete.

Taryn Simon in front of an excerpt from A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters (2011), photo by Antonio Zazueta Olmos, via The Guardian.

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Gertrude Stein (1905-1906) by Pablo Picasso, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Currently on view at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art is “The Steins Collect” an exhibition devoted the collection of the Stein family, notable patrons of early modernism. The large show covers the entire fourth floor of the museum and contains a variety of pieces spanning the entire history of the family’s collections. The chronologically-arranged exhibition truly makes clear their influence and significance in the emerging world of Modern Art.

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Barbara Kruger (2011) All photos via L&M Arts (Installation Photography: Joshua White/JWPictures.com)

Over ten years  have passed since Barbara Kruger has had a solo exhibition in her hometown of Los Angeles. L&M Arts currently presents a long overdue show featuring the artist’s signature text “wrap” as well as a video installation. Kruger’s use of text dates back to the 1980’s when she coined such phrases as “I shop therefore I am” and “Your body is a battleground.” The L&M exhibition continues to spotlight themes of consumerism and desire, money and power.

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Installation view of Ryan Trecartin’s “Any Ever”. All images Ian Hassett for Art Observed.

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Georg Baselitz, Haderung (2011), all images via Jochen Littkemann and courtesy of White Cube

German artist, Georg Baselitz is now showing at the White Cube Mason’s Yard in London. In “Between Eagles and Pioneers” Baselitz continues his famous upside-down images while using three main motifs – eagles, dogs and double portraits. These paintings were first shown as images that appeared in the historic edition of the German newspaper ‘Die Welt’ to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of German unification in 2010.

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Installation view of John Chamberlain sculptures at the Gagosian, all images courtesy of the Gagosian Gallery

Gagosian‘s 24th Street location is currently exhibiting a selection of works by American sculptor John Chamberlain, in conjunction with their show in London, which closed recently. Chamberlain’s industrial-style sculptures are made up of used-car parts that he terms “art supplies,” here he continues a technique begun in the late 1950’s that results in beautiful objects that contrast with the mundane origin of their material. The two Gagosian shows are the artist’s first with the gallery following a rumored dispute over the use of a Belgian fabricator for his most recent pieces, the work was refused by former representation Pace but purchased by Gagosian for $20 million.

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John Chamberlain, AWESOMEMEATLOAF (2011)

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Sigmar Polke, Dschungel (Jungle), 1967 (est. $5-6.5 million, realized $9.2 million), via Sothebys.com

Sotheby’s evening sale of Contemporary art on Wednesday night brought this round of summer sales to a close and removed any lingering doubt about the art market’s recovery. Eighty-one of 88 lots offered brought in $174 million against a high estimate of $168.5 million and set a record for any auction the company has staged in London. The results were boosted by the inclusion of thirty-four works belonging to Count Christian Duerckheim, a German industrialist who collected German art religiously and often befriended artists he patronized. The Duerckheim lots, which had the benefit not just of quality and freshness but also storied provenance, were all sold during the first portion of the auction and fetched $97 million against a high estimate of $74 million. Leading the collection was Sigmar Polke‘s dotted Dschungel of 1967 which sold for $9.2 million and set the artist’s auction record.

Francis Bacon, Crouching Nude, 1961 (est.$11-14 million, realized $13.7 million), via Sothebys.com

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Rodney Graham, Coruscating Cinnamon Granules #6 (1996)

Patrick Painter, Inc. is currently hosting an exhibition featuring the Canadian artist, Rodney Graham.  As part of the Vancouver School of the 1970s and 1980s, Graham’s artistic practice is grounded in photoconceptualism and  although he works primarily within photography based tradition, Graham has explored a wide range of media including painting, silkscreening, and film. A diverse selection of his work is on display though July 2nd.

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Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait, 1953 (est. unpublished, realized $28.6 million), via Christies.com

Christie’s sale of Contemporary art on Tuesday night realized $127 million for 53 lots sold. The total, which fell just above the high estimate of $125 million once fees were added, is the highest for any sale at Christie’s in Europe since the boom of June 2008. The top lot was a Francis Bacon self portrait that shows a man sitting in a throne-like chair wearing a suit and glasses. The painting sold for $28.6 million against an unpublished estimate rumored to be about $17 million. A self portrait by the artist sold for $25 million at Christie’s spring sale in New York .

Andy Warhol, Mao, 1973 (est. $9.6-12.8 million, realized $11.1 million), via Christies.com

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‘Chinese Take Out’ exhibition at Art in General – – All photos by Art Observed

Chinese Take Out is non-profit Art in General‘s latest new commission, presented by artist Jason Bailer Losh.  Seven restaurants in New York City’s Chinatown were asked to loan an object or image that pays homage to mainland China as well as reflecting the immigrant experience of attempting to create a ‘home away from home’.  The collection of displaced artifacts are on display at Art in General’s gallery on Walker Street, while ten artist-produced site-specific installations are being displayed in the restaurants original objects were removed from.

Lucas Blalock, Figure Ground (2010) at Old Shanghai Deluxe Restaurant in Chinatown

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Beatriz Milhazes, O Moderno, 2002 (est. $1-1.3 million, realized $1.1 million), via Phillipsdepury.com

Phillips de Pury’s Contemporary art evening sale on Monday night at their new space in the Claridge’s Hotel, London realized $17 million for 27 of 31 lots sold. The sum (which includes fees) fell within presale estimates of $16.4-27.3 million despite the withdrawal of a high priced Cindy Sherman, reportedly because another version of the work sold at Art Basel earlier this month. The equivalent sale last year at Phillips realized just $6 million and nearly half the lots offered went unsold.

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Ryan McGinness, French Kiss Series 10 (2009) All images via Country Club

Ryan McGinness is currently showing at Country Club in Los Angeles, where over 50 of the McGinness’s works on paper, including woodblock monoprints, lithographs, silkscreens, and drawings in cyanotype, are on view. ‘Works on Paper’ is the most extensive assembly of McGinness’s work on paper to ever be exhibited, and will be open through July 2nd.

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All images by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

AO was on site for the second exhibition of Jules de Balincourt, “Worlds Together, Worlds Apart ” at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris.  The opening began with a private talk given by art critics Nicolas Bourriaud (best known for his seminal book “Relational Aesthetics”) and Judith Benhamou-Huet, and focused on de Balincourt’s influences and ways of processing. The New York based artist explained his recent work, which moves between abstraction and figuration, and compared it to a “big zapping.” Jules de Balincourt worked 6 months on the set of paintings, which were created specifically for this show.

Jules de Balincourt

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Jean-Michel Basquiat, Self-Portrait, 1985 (est. $3.2-4.8 million), via Phillipsdepury.com

The summer sales continue in London this week as the major auction houses host their Contemporary art auctions. Phillips will offer 32-lots on Monday evening, followed by Christie’s 67-lot sale on Tuesday and capped with an 88-lot sale at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. The Phillips sale will take place at the company’s new exhibition space at Claridge’s London. Like the auction house’s move uptown to 450 Park Ave in New York last year, the new London location is closer than their Howick Place headquarters to competitors Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The night’s 32 lots are expected to fetch $16-23 million and are headlined by a Basquiat self portrait that is estimated to bring as much as $4.8 million.

Damien Hirst, Confession, 2008 (est. $958,000-1.3 million), via Phillipsdepury.com

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Rickshaw-style pedicabs parked on Orchard street. All photos by L. Streeter for Art Observed

In his latest endeavor, maverick graffiti artist Kenny Scharf has launched a project entitled “The Gates Project” produced in part by Anonymous Gallery.  In the project Scharf will paint roughly 100 roll-down storefront gates focused in the burgeoning Lower East Side.  Boldy painting in the middle of daylight, Scharf has already completed murals at 2 Delancey street, 132 Orchard street and most recently, a massive mural stretching for blocks on the Bowery. Scharf is teaming up with Anonymous Gallery for the project, and getting permits for each of the spaces he paints on. Art Observed was lucky enough to have the chance to take a pedi-cab tour of the lower east side visiting each location of Scarf’s work, led by Anonymous director Joseph Ian Henrikson.

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Kenny Scharf and friend at his Cosmic Cavern a Go Go

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Arshile Gorky, Untitled (Study for Pastoral) 1947 via Gagosian

Arshile Gorky‘s ‘1947,’ currently on view at Gagosian‘s Madison Avenue location, operated around the recent discovery of a painting, Untitled (Pastoral), that was produced in this same year but has otherwise never before been exhibited. Hidden for sixty-four years, resting beneath Pastoral on the same stretcher, the work was only uncovered in 2010 during a reframing. Surrounding this new work, the exhibition also shows paintings and drawings drawn from the world’s collections of Gorky – most of which haven’t featured in New York shows for twenty years.

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Keith Haring, Red (1982-1984), all images courtesy of Gladstone Gallery

A solo show of Keith Haring’s work is currently on view at Gladstone’s 21st street Gallery in New York. Haring, a major influence on New York public art, produced in his short lifetime an impressive body of work.  Both drawings and paintings were executed with a boldness that distinctively blended figurative work with abstraction.  His signature cartoon-like figures are composed purely of out-lines and possess not only weight but a sense of movement and vibrancy.

Though Haring purposefully steered clear of a profession in graphic design, his work is innately graphic and he himself did not shy away from making his art accessible to the general public through . Known for his New York City murals, the large-scale works in this exhibition have the same pulsating quality, as if they too were created on a wall on Houston or FDR Drive. One such work in the show, Untitled 1982, which measures approximately 9 x 10 ½ feet, resonates with the sounds of Haring’s New York of the 80s even in the quiet atmosphere of the gallery.

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All images by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

“Manet, the Man Who Invented Modernity,” is currently on view at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.  This is Édouard Manet‘s first ever solo retrospective at the museum, and his first in France after almost 30 years. Since a 1983 show at the Grand Palais, which marked the 100^th anniversary of the artist’s death, appreciation of his biography and boundary-breaking impressionism has been reshaped.

Le Fifre (1866)

During his lifetime, Manet was a widely known and chronicled personality.  Poet Théodore de Banville described him as a “laughing blonde,” considered a charismatic Casanova who frequented cafes. Renowned impressionist painter Edgar Degas once fought with him so bitterly that Manet slashed a gifted work- the story goes that Degas forgave him for being so charming. Manet died of syphilis in 1883, following a prolific 20-year career.

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Kalup Linzy performs at the event (All photos by B. Pinell, Art Observed unless otherwise noted)

Monday night’s StandART Video Art Series Launch, curated by Anne Pasternak’s CreativeTime, showcased seven short films at the Standard Hotel, NYC. To date, CreativeTime has worked with over 2,000 artists to produce more than 335 at projects, the latest of which is bringing acclaimed contemporary works to each and every room within the Standard.

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Holland Festival and the Stedelijk Museum presents Your Name In Lights; a public installation on Amsterdam’s Museumplein by renown conceptualist and multimedia artist John Baldessari. A 30 meters long L.E.D. sign is set up 15 meters above the Museumplein from June 1st to 26nd, giving people the opportunity to briefly experience the sensation of being a celebrity.

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Mark Grotjahn, Untitled (Geo Abstract Reveal Face 41.61) (detail), (2011) All images Nicolas Linnert for Art Observed.

Pulling visual and technical elements of different past works into a single series, Mark Grotjahn has mounted his latest groupings of face paintings at Anton Kern Gallery. The exhibition comprises nine large-scale pieces that project highly stylized elements of the visage. Nine Faces is on view through June 25.

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Time is a Frame (2010) by David Salle, via Mary Boone Gallery