Alex Katz, Sunset 2, (2008) via Museum Haus Konstruktiv

The Swiss museum Haus Konstruktiv is currently presenting Landscapes, a solo exhibition of work by American Painter, Alex Katz, focusing mainly on the artist’s landscapes and natural scenes, spanning from 1948 until today.  The exhibition marks the first comprehensive display of Katz’s work by a Swiss Institution, despite his international acclaim and presence in several important private Swiss collections. Of particular note are a number of included works that have previously never been displayed. (more…)

Artist Gavin Turk spoke with The Guardian this week in advance of his upcoming show this summer at Ben Brown Fine Arts, covering his practice, failing his MA Thesis show, and his views on the tag “conceptual art.”  “People often don’t want to do any work with art – they just want to see something and enjoy it. I can’t see art in those terms. To me, art is always about ideas. Really, it’s all conceptual.”  He says. (more…)

A leaked letter from Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, to the then director of the Louvre, Henri Loyrette has revealed frustrations between the Middle Eastern state and the French museum, which is currently planning for its new museum in the Gulf state.  Written last year, the letter takes the Louvre to task for failing to spend a â‚¬25 Million gift from the country, and criticizes the Louvre for not minimizing the role of the Emeratis in the acquisition of works for the new museum.   (more…)

The National Portrait Gallery in London has purchased a postcard-sized portrait of Queen Elizabeth I for the price of  £329,000.  Thought to be by renowned miniature painter Isaac Oliver, the piece will be part of a show of portraits depicting the Queen and her courtiers, opening this October.   (more…)

Chaim Soutine, Le petit pâtissier (1927)

Last night, Christie’s held their Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale with sales totaling $158 million – the strongest since 2006 and a 35% increase over last spring’s auction. Of the 47 lots offered, 40 lots sold, a 94% sell through rate and a 90% sold by value. According to Brooke Lampley, the Head of the Department, the sale reflected high quality across all price points, and resembled last May’s results, but with a stronger sell through rate.

The top lot of the evening belonged to Chaim Soutine’s Le petit pâtissier, which sold for $18 million – within it’s expected $16 – 22 million. This set a new world record for the artist at auction, the previous record was for $17 million at Sotheby’s in 2007. It was purchased by an anonymous buyer.

Marc Chagall’s Les trois acrobats displayed in the salesroom at Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale.

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Tobias Meyer auctioning Paul Cézanne’s Les Pommes (1889-90) Photo via Art Observed

Last night, Sotheby’s held its Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale yielding solid results – it sold $230 million worth of art against itsexpected estimate of $162 – 235 million. Of the 71 lots offered 60 sold, a sell through rate of nearly 85%, Sotheby’s experienced a sold by value of 95%.  Sotheby’s New York Head of the Department, Simon Shaw, stated that it was an “extraordinary group of work,” and that last spring’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale, where Munch’s The Scream brought in $120 million, was a “tough act to follow.” Overall, most of the sale was largely from the collection of Alex and Elisabeth Lewyt – a group of work dubbed a “time capsule collection” by David C. Norman, the Co-Chairman of the Impressionist and Modern Department at Sotheby’s.

Paul Cézanne Les Pommes (1889-90)

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Installation view, Joseph Jagos & Chris Puidokas, Placement and Arrangement of What I Have, (2013)at School Nite (Wish Meme), all photos by Hannah Palmer Egan.

On Saturday May 4, curatorial duo Ambre Kelly and Andrew Gori, otherwise known as “The They Company,” presented School Nite, a lively evening of art and performance. The night doubled as an opening reception for Wish Meme, a new show featuring over 60 artists and curators, timed to coincide with Frieze art week. The show builds on the curators’ success with Spring Break, one of the many alternative art fairs recently cropping up alongside the Armory show. (more…)

Paul Cézanne, Les Pommes (1889-90)

Tonight, Sotheby’s opens it’s doors to the many collectors in town for New York’s spring auction season as well as the art fairs happening simultaneously. After the last two record breaking seasons in both New York houses, it will be worth watching to see if the art market continues to rise. While there are many noteworthy items on the block over the next couple days, there does not seem to be a single blockbuster, such as last spring’s The Scream by Edvard Munch, which sold for a staggering $120 million.

Amedeo Modigliani, L’Amazone (1909)

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James Rosenquist, “Orange Field”, 1964, all images courtesy Acquavella Galleries

On view from April 10th through May 24th, 2013 at Acquavella Galleries is the exhibition “The Pop Object: The Still Life Tradition in Pop Art,” providing an overview of the Pop art movement as it developed in the United States, and focusing particularly on the role of the still life as a mode of illustrating themes surrounding post-war consumerism.

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New York Magazine has published an in-depth interview with Jeff Koons, in advance of the artist’s two shows opening this week at galleries Gagosian and David Zwirner.  Examining Koons’s successful career, the interview charts his creative history, and his often complex relation with the upper echelons of the art world, noting that he has never had a retrospective in New York City.  “I really think that the journey that art takes you on as an artist is that you first learn self-acceptance.”   He says. (more…)

Donald Judd’s five-story residence in downtown New York is nearing its scheduled opening date this June, restored through the efforts of the Judd Foundation.  With the opening date approaching, the Financial Times has published a spotlight on the artist and his practice, noting his challenging take on the art market.  Says his daughter, Rainer Judd: “He was in utter disbelief that you could make money from art. When he began his art practice, he had no concept of it being a moneymaking endeavor. He would try to make as much money as possible to buy Swedish furniture and buy Scotch and make great meals.” (more…)

This month’s upcoming arts auctions are projected to see over $1 Billion in art change hands in the next few weeks, with a number of major works by Gerhard Richter, Barnett Newman and Fernand Léger all expected to command impressive auction prices.  Analysts are pointing to new focuses on artist’s early work, and aggressive price setting by the auction houses as evidence that the market is ripe for sale, which could lead to a number of record-setting transactions. (more…)

In the wake of the Museum of Modern Art’s decision to demolish the former home of the American Museum of Folk Arts, The New York Times has published an exhaustive survey of MoMA’s expansion over its 100-plus year history.  As the article shows, the museum has a long reputation of demolishing surrounding buildings, including the destruction of a former Rockefeller home, and the George Blumenthal mansion, both of which would be considered landmarks by today’s standard. (more…)

Capitalizing on the growing market of private art sales, Sotheby’s Auction House will open a private sales gallery in London, Bloomberg reports.  The move follows the increasing trend of discreet art purchases for blue chip works, avoiding the high-profile spotlight of the auction room.  “It’s very smart. I would do the same,” said the New York-based dealer Christophe van de Weghe. “Sotheby’s will have the same clientele for both their auctions and their gallery sales.” (more…)

The Royal Academy of the Arts is preparing for a major exhibition of works from the Australian continent, opening in September.  Featuring some of the country’s most iconic works, the show is already generating a great deal of interest in both the UK and Australia.  “I think it’s true to say that there has never been an exhibition like this before,” said Kathleen Soriano, the show’s curator. “This survey is long, long overdue. We should know more of these important figures as part of our broader art historical canon, not least because so much of it relates directly back to this country but even more so because there are some tremendous artists we really should be aware of and should be able to enjoy.” (more…)

One of the most anticipated art events of the year, Creative Time’s annual gala took place Tuesday night at the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, honoring painter, artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel.  Celebrating the artist’s career and creative output, the event lived up to expectations, hosting nearly 600 guests inside the Sugar Factory’s remarkably maintained space.  Featuring a menu prepared by renowned chef Mario Batali, as well as a performance by Laurie Anderson and a tribute to Schnabel by Dick Cavett, the event once again showcased Creative Time’s reputation as a driver in the New York art world.

May Andersen, Julian Schnabel and Anne Pasternak

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Rachel Whiteread, Detached (Installation View) © Rachel Whiteread. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Photo Mike Bruce

Gagosian London is currently exhibiting Detached, a self-reflexive exhibition by Rachel Whiteread that calls to attention the artistic process itself, abstracting and casting everyday objects into large scale sculptures meant to symbolize the detachment from reality that an artist experiences during his or her process.

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A pair of statues from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Southeast Asian collection will be sent back to Cambodia, officials announced this week.  The “Kneeling Attendants” were smuggled out of the country during the violent Cambodian civil war of the 1970’s, and were donated to the museum in the late 1980’s.  “This is a case in which additional information regarding the Kneeling Attendants has led the museum to consider facts that were not known at the time of the acquisition and to take the action we are announcing today,” said Met director Thomas P. Campbell. (more…)

Richard Jackson, Bad Dog, 2013 via Orange County Museum of Art

The Orange County Museum of Art is currently presenting the first retrospective of Los Angeles-based artist Richard Jackson. Known for his radical expansion of painting’s practice and definition over the past 40 years, Jackson’s personal take on “action” painting invigorated its performative potential, and brought it into the sculptural dimension, while extending his practice into everyday life. Jackson’s pioneer approach to making paintings most likely has roots in his homestead upbringing. Sacramento born and raised, he spent most of his free time on a 2,000 acre ranch as a child before going on to study art and engineering at Sacramento State College.

Richard Jackson, Deer Beer, 2013 via Orange County Museum of Art

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Skateboard and fashion brand Supreme is currently embroiled in a lawsuit over its iconic logo, suing another designer for using their name and logo in a series of shirts.  The legal action has prompted artist Barbara Kruger, whose color scheme and typography appears to have inspired the Supreme brand design, to respond, calling them: “Totally uncool jokers.”  She continued,  “I make my work about this kind of sadly foolish farce.  I’m waiting for all of them to sue me for copyright infringement.” (more…)

Following the departure of Frank Gehry, and an installation project currently running behind schedule, MOCA Guest Curator Christopher Mount has speculated that the museum may have to cancel its planned exhibition for the Getty Museum’s Pacific Standard Time show on Modern Architecture.  Titled A New Sculpturalism, the exhibition ran into delays when architects (including Gehry) began expressing concern over how Mount was choosing to display and explain their work.  “I didn’t feel comfortable in it,” Gehry said. “It didn’t seem to be a scholarly, well-organized show.” (more…)

Sterling Ruby, THE POT IS HOT (2013), via Hauser and Wirth

Los Angeles-based Sterling Ruby is currently exhibiting a selection of new works in London, on view at Hauser and Wirth’s Savile Row location.  Investigating a creative process that incorporates studio detritus and recycled elements of previous work into his assemblages and collages, Ruby welcomes a new perspective on the fixed artwork. (more…)

Art mogul Larry Gagosian has announced plans to open his 3rd London gallery in the city’s Mayfair neighborhood, and his 13th gallery worldwide.  The new space is set to open this fall.  “We’ve been looking for a bigger place in Mayfair, one that would resemble a Chelsea gallery,” Gagosian says. “And this has great space with over 15-foot-high ceilings.” (more…)

Lisa Spellman’s 303 Gallery is set to open its new location tonight on 24th Street in Chelsea.  The move is the latest in a series of migrations from the space’s original location on Park Ave, and will also serve as the opening for a show of new work by Rodney Graham.   Spellman’s gallery has a long reputation for cultivating major talents; “I try to work with artists I feel a connection to,” she says, “since that helps determine the quality and longevity of the relationship.” (more…)