American actor Willem Dafoe has been named to the role of Andy Warhol in the French film Saint Laurent, a biopic about the famous French designer.  The film is already in production for a May 14^th, 2014 release. (more…)

Artist Ai Weiwei, whose scale model recreations of his 2011 incarceration at this year’s Venice Biennale won him critical accolades, has spoken on his ordeal in a recent interview with Salon.  Recounting his experiences with his interrogators, Weiwei recounts conversations in which he began to teach his captors about conceptual art, Dadaism and protest.   “I explained art to them and then many times they said to me, ‘Weiwei, why whenever we talk about art and concepts do you get so excited that you keep talking? And why when we talk about facts, you say, ‘I don’t know’?’ But I say, ‘You know, I like to talk about art, and it makes me joyful and when I get to talk about art and explain I get very high spirits.’”  He says.

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Youssef Abdelke, a notable Syrian painter who has repeatedly spoken out against the Assad regime in his home country, has been released from a two month-long imprisonment by government authorities.  The 62 year old artist and former Syrian Communist Party Member had previously posted on his Facebook page that he “is healthy and in anticipation of leaving the palace of justice, free as [he] has always been.” (more…)

An all-night sculpture park has opened in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, filled with works from the collection of collector Christian Ringnes.  Overlooking the city, the newly appointed Ekeberg Park includes pieces from Marina Abramovic, James Turrell, Jenny Holzer and Louise Bourgeois, among others, and saw attendance at its opening event reach into the thousands.

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Josh Kline, Forever 27 (2013), Courtesy 47 Canal

Quality of Life is Josh Kline’s first solo exhibition since 2011, and directly follows his having organized this summer’s high-profile Pro-Bio group show at MoMA PS1. The exhibition acts as something of a statement of intent for the New York artist and deals with themes increasingly familiar within Kline’s growing body of work, looking at the commodification of identity and youth, alongside the forging of new, posthuman understandings of the body.

Josh Kline, Quality of Life (Installation View), via Sasha Patkin for Art Observed (more…)

Damien Hirst has unveiled his latest project, a children’s ABC’s book featuring a letter for letter survey of own work, and a different, corresponding font.  The artist spoke with The Guardian this week, discussing the book, his inspirations as a young artist, and his thoughts on “painting like a child.”  “The childlike quality of some of Picasso’s drawings is precisely what makes them so masterful and extraordinary; the ability to express complete visions, feelings and portraits through a continuous line.” (more…)

Frank Auerbach was recently interviewed in The Daily Telegraph, discussing his long career as a painter, the solitary life of painting, and his simple, unadorned opinions towards working on his canvases.  “People who turn out pictures and think, ‘How nice,’ and then go to the next picture seem terribly boring to me. You might as well work in a factory. The whole thing is about the struggle and the struggle makes it a fun activity.” (more…)

In an emailed press release today, the Saatchi Gallery in London has announced a broad collaborative partnership with the Tsukanova Family Foundation, a London-based charity organization.  The announcement comes after the highly successfully Breaking The Ice: Moscow Art 1960-80s exhibition at Saatchi earlier this year.  “We look forward to using the Gallery’s vast experience to further expand upon this through a series of shows over the course of the next 5 years,” says Igor Tsukanov, Co-Founder of TFF. (more…)

Elad Lassry, Untitled (Artwork) (2013), via 303 Gallery

“What is the philosophical location of a picture?” asks the press release for Elad Lassry’s current show at 303 Gallery.  It’s a question that Lassry has posed for several years now, using appropriated and self-made photographs, colored frames and sculptural materials to recreate the 2-Dimensional image in a broader dialogue with its surroundings.  Complicating the assemblage of the photograph, Lassry boils it down to its raw elements, placing the viewer in a new awareness of the photograph itself as a physical object.

Elad Lassry (Installation View), via 303 Gallery (more…)

Dealer Virginia Dwan, who earned a reputation for her ongoing support and collection of a number of pioneering “Land Art” works during the 1960’s and 70’s, has pledged the donation of 250 works from her collection to The National Gallery in Washington.  Among the works donated are Marcel Duchamp’s iconic recreation of the Mona Lisa with a mustache drawn on, and Michael Heizer’s Double Negative, a monumental piece in the Nevada desert.  “I want the collection to have the largest audience of people possible, not just art world types who have a to-do list.”  Dwan commented. (more…)

A pre-war bank building in Shanghai has become the home of Bank, an arts exhibition space owned by cultural promoters Mabsociety.  “In the past, we were curating for other institutions and doing some pop-up exhibitions,” founder Mathieu Borysevicz says. “We think of ourselves as ‘post-gallery’.” (more…)

Current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been named the next chairman of the Serpentine Gallery in London, assuming the post once his mayoral term ends this year.  Bloomberg previously served on the board for the London gallery, which is open to the public, and will assume the post at the start of 2014. (more…)

In an effort to lure new buyers to his oceanfront Miami property, developer Eduardo Costantini has purchased a pair of sculptures by Jeff Koons for $14 million.  Ballerina, and Pluto and Prosperina will be placed outside of the Oceana Bal Harbour condos, at opposite ends of a breezeway.  “Miami is becoming truly a metropolis, and Jeff Koons is a representation of that, with the visibility that he has, and the quality of his art,” Mr. Costantini says. “You have like, citizens of the world, who travel a lot, and have more than two residences, but they have the sensitivity to appreciate good things, good quality.” (more…)

As Christie’s concludes its first auction in mainland China, The Economist has released an article forecasting a rocky road ahead for foreign auction houses entering China’s already competitive market.  With 70 auction houses already operating inside the country, high taxes and rampant concerns over counterfeiting and rigged auctions, the way will not be easy for major international companies looking to cash in on China’s growing market. (more…)

Christie’s November 12th auction in New York will feature a classic Gerhard Richter, on sale from the collection of musician Eric Clapton.  Abstraktes Bild (809-1), which was painted in 1994, is estimated to sell between $20 and $25 million.  “Richter is certainly the greatest abstract painter working today, Abstraktes Bild (809-1) is remarkable for the illusion of space that develops, ironically, out of his incidental process: an accumulation of spontaneous, reactive gestures of adding, moving, and subtracting paint,” says Christie’s Post-War Chairman Brett Gorvy. (more…)

The Financial Times reports on the growing trend for artists seeking large live-work spaces in New York.  Profiling the live-in studios of Vik Muniz, Cai Guo-Qiang and Lawrence Weiner, the article traces the appeal of working from home, especially as Muniz notes: “no matter how you succeed in your career, you will always be nostalgic for the time when your working table and your bed were next to each other.” (more…)

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has released a series of specially designed skateboard decks for The Sk8room.  Featuring shots of some of the artist’s work (including his iconic sunflower seeds work), overlaid with text from the artist. The set of three decks follows in the wake of other Sk8room Collaborations with Damien Hirst and Banksy.   (more…)

Dealer Victoria Miro is profiled in the Financial Times this weekend, discussing the opening of her second gallery space in London, her impressive stable of artists including Chris Ofili, Grayson Perry, Peter Doig, Conrad Shawcross, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Yayoi Kusama, and the changing nature of the art market.  “It affects production: it doesn’t suit all artists.”  Miro says. “Work is probably not as precious as it was. We are in a quick world. The collector base is moving. There’s a time element – you can go to an art fair and see so much in a few hours. I really regret that people don’t spend the time to look at things.” (more…)

Robert Ryman, Untitled (2010), Photo: Bill Jacobson, Courtesy of the Pace Gallery

The work of American artist Robert Ryman (b. 1930, Nashville, Tennessee), is at once rigorous and experimental, playing with the possibilities of material, scale, brushstroke, and installation itself.  He is most commonly identified with the movements of monochrome painting, minimalism, and conceptual art, and frequently explores the classical distinctions between sculpture and painting, as well as concerns with themes of perception, context, and enforced limitations.  Since the 1950s, Ryman has focused on the conceptual nature of his work, exploring the varieties found in primarily white paint on square surfaces. Preferring to be known as a “realist” rather than a minimalist, his work presents compositions at face value, prompting an examination of the optical and material properties of the painting discipline. (more…)

Thomas Houseago, Sleeping Boy I (2012), courtesy Sasha Patkin for Art Observed

In the first ever large-scale presentation of the work of artist Thomas Houseago, Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York, presents “As I Went Out One Morning” – a unique exhibition combing both indoor and outdoor sculpture in several media, including bronze, aluminum, plaster, charcoal, and drawings. (more…)

Elmgreen and Dragset’s long-awaited installation, Tomorrow, which creates the fictional home of a disillusioned, homosexual architect, has opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Featuring works by the artists alongside objects from the museum and a nearby antiques market, the show will seek to alter the perception of the museum and its collection.  “There are lots of clever art shows at the moment where you go and look and it’s almost as [predictable as] mathematics,” Says Michael  Elmgreen.  “We do something where even we ask ourselves: ‘What is it about?'” (more…)

Christie’s completed its first auction mainland China yesterday, selling a variety of artworks, jewelry and collectibles for a total sale of $25 million.  One highlight was a painting by Pablo Picasso, which achieved a final price of over $1.5 million.  “I’m very happy with the results, with the right place, with the right people, with the right moment,” said Christie’s executive Steven Murphy.  (more…)

Rapper A$AP Rocky was spotted this week wearing a piece from Supreme’s Jean-Michel Basquiat Collection, which is set for release today both online, and in Supreme flagship stores nationwide.  Featuring photographs and graphics from Basquiat’s work, the line has been hotly anticipated by urban fashion enthusiasts and art lovers alike. (more…)

Part of the upcoming release of Lady Gaga’s newest release, ARTPOP, the singer has commissioned Jeff Koons to create a sculpture of herself for the cover of the album.  “I’m still trying to figure out if we drugged him and mind controlled him into doing this.”  Gaga joked. (more…)