The New York Times publishes an in depth story on Kathy Grayson and  The Hole Gallery, which blends a forward thinking curatorial practice with a vibrant atmosphere. The gallery has charged into an art scene still bemoaning the loss of Jeffrey Deitch’s Deitch Projects space.  “There hasn’t been a gallery like this since Deitch,” said Mike Malbon, of Frank151 magazine. “It’s got a good buzz and a cool, creative vibe. Other art shows, to me, are just stuffy.” (more…)

The Luck You Collective, a group of young, born and bred New York artists aged 19 to 21, is currently making on impact on the downtown arts scene.  “To me they represent the heart and soul of the young New York creative scene,” says photographer David Mushegain. “They are the ones who grew up here and are continuing the conversation that started so long ago. They are seemingly the last stand in a downtown scene that is surely vanishing, and I love them for that.” (more…)

The Venice Biennale has released its final list of artists for this summer’s art exhibition, titled The Encyclopedic Palace.  The list includes a number of both prominent and young artists, including Ed Atkins, Uri Aran, and Miroslaw Balka.  “With the Encyclopedic Palace, Massimiliano Gioni (this year’s Biennale’s curator), much more than presenting us with a list of contemporary artists, wishes to reflect on their creative urges and seems to push the question even further: what is the artists’ world?”  says president Paolo Baratta. (more…)

The European Fine Art Fair, which opened its doors to VIP buyers today in the Netherlands, is offering over $5.2 billion in museum-quality artwork and antiques this year, including a “reasonable” $14 million painting by Velzaquez.  “Collectors, or more generally rich people, will continue to buy what the market considers are the best pieces,” says art adviser Henry Bounameaux. “At fairs like Tefaf, they feel secure.” (more…)

Wim Delvoye, Oeuvres Choisies (1988-2011) (Installation View), via Galerie Guy Bartschi

This month, Galerie Guy Bärtschi in Geneva, Switzerland presented a solo show of works by Belgian neo-conceptual artist Wim Delvoye, running through March 15th, 2013.  Exploring a broad selection of the artist’s work, from his bold reinterpretations of classical symbolism to more contemporary iconography and satire, the show illustrated Delvoye’s broad practice, as applied towards the analysis of meaning and value in contemporary and classical art.

Wim Delvoye, Viae Crucis – Station XIV. Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb (2006), via Galerie Guy Bartschi (more…)

More conflicts have come to light in the recent dispute between the board members of the Cy Twombly Foundation.  A lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Delaware state court, accuses director Thomas Saliba and lawyer Ralph Lerner of taking an unauthorized $300,000 in investment fees from the organization.  “Lerner and Saliba have refused to provide a copy of the trust or disclose their trustee commissions, which makes it impossible to confirm the extent of their wrongdoing, but the facts currently known raise very serious questions about Lerner’s and Saliba’s conduct,” the lawsuit said. (more…)

The National Gallery in Washington, DC has announced a renovation to its East Building that will add 12,260 square feet of exhibition space, as well as a rooftop sculpture garden.  The new spaces will host a selection of modern art from the Gallery’s collection, including a room potentially dedicated to Mark Rothko.  “This gift to the nation by these generous donors will enable us to exhibit more art from our ever-growing modern collection in spaces that will be at once spacious, airy and contemplative.”  said director Earl A. Powell. (more…)

The Opening for Doug Aitken, 100 YRS, Courtesy of 303 Gallery

Working across a broad body of media and techniques, including photography, sculpture, video, installation, sound art and architectural interventions, Los Angeles-based artist Doug Aitken’s work frequently explores concepts of rhythm, repetition and duration, exploring interrelations between time, memory and space and the subsequent fluctuations of meaning and understanding caused by their interactions.  His work has been ehxibited in a variety of institutions and contexts, including his enormous Song1 installation on the outside of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, as well as his upcoming video art installation at the Seattle Art Museum.

Doug Aitken, MORE (Shattered Pour) (2013), Courtesy of 303 Gallery

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In a new twist to the Museum of Contemporary Art’s current fiscal problems, MOCA is reportedly in talks for a partnership with the National Gallery, a development that casts doubts on that museum’s possible acquisition by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  The discussed plan between MOCA and the National Gallery would open the door to collaborations on exhibition and research, but would do little to alleviate MOCA’s financial woes.  “The goal at this point is stabilizing them and get them standing as an independent institution,” says National Gallery chair John Wilmerding. “We’d like to see them survive and thrive, and if we can help them, that’s all we’re doing.” (more…)

Rembrandt’s “Portrait of the Father” has been recovered in Serbia, seven years after its theft from a museum in Novi Sad.  The painting, which is currently valued at $4 million, was stolen in a masked robbery alongside works by Peter Paul Rubens, marking the second time the painting has been stolen in the space of ten years.  The theft underlines Serbia’s problems with art theft, which has struggled to provide adequate security for some of its masterworks. (more…)

2 Works by Mark Flood at Peres Projects, photo by Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

The Independent Art Fair returned to Chelsea this year, taking up three floors of Center548 with work from over 40 galleries around the world, offering a markedly fresh take on the busy sales rush of Armory Week in New York. 

Independent, New York, 2013 (Installation View) Courtesy Independent, New York

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At a time when some major artist committees are disbanding for fear of lawsuits over authentication practices, and increased reliance on studio practices has challenged the notion of the singular, “authentic” work of art, standard practices of authenticity in contemporary art are increasingly under fire.  Issues of market value, versions, and lack of knowledge challenge ideas of validity, and pose interesting questions into the value of the art object.

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Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei has announced plans to release an album of heavy metal, inspired by his 81 days in detention in 2011, and his political stance towards the Chinese government.  Called “Divina Commedia,” the title is a comic play on the nickname “Ai God”  that he has earned among his supporters.  “You know, I’m a person that’s furthest away from music, I never sing,” Ai said. “But you’ll be surprised. You’ll like it.” (more…)

Artist Catherine Opie recently spoke with ArtInfo about the potential merger of LACMA and MOCA, and her views on the institutions’ futures. Opie left MOCA’s board of directors last year amid criticism of the museum’s administrative direction.  “I know there’s a LACMA offer on the table and personally I think that would amazing,” Opie said. “LACMA has an amazing ability to raise money, Michael Govan has done an incredible job with that campus.  If he feels like he can take that on and turn things around it would be incredible.”  (more…)

The Guardian has posted a video interview with conceptual artist Simon Starling, showing the artist in the midst of production for Phantom Ride, an 8-minute video that explores the ongoing history of the Duveen Galleries of the Tate.  “The idea is to create a sort of historical collapse, so as to tell the story of the space in 8 minutes of film, to take artworks that have been shown here over a very long period of time, and to force them to coexist in the space.” (more…)

Ragnar Kjartansson, The Visitors (Installation View) via Luhring Augustine, New York

Luhring Augustine is currently exhibiting “The Visitors,” a nine-channel video installation by artist Ragnar Kjartansson, a musician and artist living and working in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik.  As a member of the group Trabant, Kjartansson pushes the boundaries between electronic rock and performance while working in multiple media formats, focusing primarily on various aspects of performance. (more…)

Pablo Picasso’s much-loved painting, Child with Dove (1901), is likely to leave the UK for good this year.  The work recently changed hands, and the anonymous new owner is free to take the work abroad once its current loan ends in May.  “With arts cuts the way they are, it’s going to be increasingly difficult. (The Picasso) is, of course, a catastrophic loss. (But) it’s about being realistic: work is going to leave.”  Said Alan Yentob, creative director at the BBC. (more…)

A painting found in the collection of the Bowes Museum in the U.K. city of Durham, has been confirmed as an original work of Sir Anthony Van Dyck.  The work, a portrait of Lady Olivia Boteler Porter, was thought to be a 19th century copy after Van Dyck until recent examinations proved it as an original.  “To find a portrait by Van Dyck is rare enough, but to find one of his ‘friendship’ portraits like this, of the wife of his best friend in England, is extraordinarily lucky. Although as part of our national heritage values are irrelevant, for insurance purposes it should now be valued at anything up to £1m.” Said Dr. Bendor Grosvenor, an art historian and presenter. (more…)

The Keith Haring Foundation is moving forward with a lawsuit over the exhibition of 165 works falsely attributed to Keith Haring.  While the organizers of the offending event, Haring Miami, agreed to remove all falsely attributed works, the organization said in a statement: “The Foundation plans to continue to pursue this lawsuit, carrying the message that it will enforce the Foundation’s rights and protect the artist’s legacy in every case of suspected fraud.” (more…)

Outside the Park Ave Armory for the ADAA Art Show

With another hectic Armory Week comes another edition of the Art Dealers Association of America’s Art Show, open at the Park Avenue Armory.  Now in its 25th edition, The Art Show is the nation’s longest continually running art fair, offering viewers a smaller, more scaled back experience in contrast with The Armory Show held out on New York’s Hell’s Kitchen Piers.  The show’s more focused collection of 72 leading dealers and galleries allow viewers a slightly less overwhelming experience moving from booth to booth, and also provide slightly more space for the work to breath.

Damien Hirst at Van de Weghe (more…)

MoMA PS1 has announced that it will host an exhibition focusing on the current state of the environment, alongside notions of political and social change.  Titled EXPO 1: New York, the exhibition will include a selection of video, art and photo installations at PS1, as well as a component at the new VW dome in the Rockaways.  EXPO 1 “focuses on some of the most pressing issues of the day set against a backdrop of economic and socio-political concerns that have made a dramatic impact on daily life.”  Says Director Klaus Biesenbach. (more…)

Dealer Larry Gagosian and collector Jan Cowles have reportedly settled their disagreement over the 1964 Roy Lichtenstein work Girl in Mirror.  The news was broken by Wall Street Journal reporter Kelly Crow on her Twitter account this morning.  A full report has yet to be released, so the details of the settlement has yet to be released. (more…)

Coming off Tracey Emin’s presentation with a CBE, the artist has designed a limited-edition cover for Harper’s Bazaar Magazine.  A tribute to David Bowie in celebration of his new album, the cover features one of her signature neon hearts with the lines “You Loved Me Like A Distant Star.”  The 200 copies of the magazine will be available in advance of Bowie’s retrospective show at the Victoria and Albert Museum. (more…)

Pablo Picasso’s never before exhibited collage Portrait of a Lady will be exhibited for the first time at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.  The work was acquired last December, and will go on view next month as part of the Birth of a Museum exhibition.  “Being a collage, it’s one of the key elements that Picasso used and it’s not something that is always seen in other museums. It’s a very distinct style that he developed at that time.”  Says Louvre project manager Hissa Al Dhaheri. (more…)