The Financial Times has published a profile on gallerist Daniella Luxembourg of Luxembourg and Dayan, highlighting her early life in Israel, and her new approaches to exhibition outside of her two successful gallery spaces in New York and London.  Luxembourg’s pop-up gallery, titled Oko, has been gaining attention lately, with a recent show of work by Julian Schnabel, and an upcoming show of work by Dan Colen this week.  “It’s a different intellectual dialogue, another way of engaging people,” Luxembourg said. “When I was working in the auction business, so much money was spent on dinners, marketing, publicity and entertaining … this is another way of working.” (more…)

Outside the NADA Art Fair

The NADA Art Fair opened yesterday for its second annual New York event, bringing over 70 galleries and exhibitors to downtown Manhattan’s Basketball City for a diverse exhibition of new works by artists around the globe.

Alex Da Corte at Joe Sheftel (more…)

Artist James Turrell will open three shows in the next month, bringing his light works to viewers nation wide.  The artist has major retrospectives scheduled to open at the Guggenheim, LACMA, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  The ambitious series exhibitions has called for challenging constructions at the museums, recreating spaces from Turrell’s exacting specifications.  “We have trained our dry-wallers that they are working with art, not drywall,” says Bradley Johnson, chief architect for the construction project at LACMA.  (more…)

In the wake of Cooper Union’s contentious decision to begin charging admission, The New York Times has published an in-depth study of the school’s finances, particularly its ownership of the land under the Chrysler Building.  While the land earns a rent of $9 Million a year, it would be difficult to sell in an emergency, yet comprises 84% of the school’s assets.  Combined with the debts accrued for the construction of the school’s new campus building, the article paints a bleak picture of the storied institution’s finances.  “There was never any sense of giving back. Cooper never asked. We always thought Cooper didn’t need the money because it had the Chrysler Building. Forty years ago, I would have stressed to students that someone had to make it possible for you to come here for free.”  Says trustee Thomas Driscoll. (more…)

Artist Eric Fischl spoke with the Wall Street Journal this week about his upcoming book, Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas, as well as his career and work.  “I thought I was opening up a pretty wide door. I thought that I was offering something I wish had taken a greater hold than it did. Which is that you turn to art to connect to other people, and you connect through common experience and emotional experience and life experience. It’s something that gives form to all the more difficult aspects of our lives.”  He says. (more…)

The Knoedler Gallery, which shut its doors almost two years ago, is being sued again over the sale of a false artwork.  This time, the gallery is in court over the sale of a forged Clyfford Still work, sold for $4.3 Million to collector Nicholas F. Taubman.  The Gallery has responded, claiming it has never knowingly sold a false work.  “The Taubman complaint relies on the same unproven and baseless claims contained in the prior lawsuits.” Said Knoedler lawyer Charles D. Schmerler. (more…)

Marcel Dzama, The Chessmen (2010), courtesy David Zwirner London

Currently on view at David Zwirner gallery in London is a solo exhibition of new work by Marcel Dzama, spanning a diverse range of media that centers on the aesthetic and thematic elements of Chess. The exhibition, entitled Puppets, Pawns, and Prophets opened on April 5th and will continue through May 11th, 2013.

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Takashi Murakami, Fate (2013), via Blum and Poe

In conjunction with the world premiere of his first full-length film, Jellyfish Eyes, on April 8th in Los Angeles, Japanese artist Takashi Murakami is presenting a selection of new paintings and sculpture at Blum and Poe Gallery.  Showcasing new techniques and styles that the artist has developed since his major exhibition of new work, Ego, which was on view in Doha, Qatar.

Takashi Murakami, Arhat (Installation View), 2013 Blum & Poe, Los Angeles ©2013 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Image courtesy of the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles (more…)

The Museum of Modern Art has announced that it will partner with architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro to reevaluate the expansion plan that threatens to destroy the former home of the American Folk Art Museum.  In a statement, released yesterday, MoMA said: “The principals of Diller Scofidio + Renfro have asked that they be given the time and latitude to carefully consider the entirety of the site, including the former American Folk Art Museum building, in devising an architectural solution to the inherent challenges of the project. We readily agreed to consider a range of options, and look forward to seeing their results.” (more…)

Paul McCarthy, Balloon Dog (2013) at Frieze New York. All photos by Hannah Palmer Egan.

Art Observed was on-site yesterday to document the opening preview of Frieze New York’s second-annual art fair on Randall’s Island.  Despite noteworthy absences from several important blue-chip galleries at its sophomore showing, the fair still offered a healthy mix of art from across the contemporary spectrum, from larger-than-life to the predictably banal, and occasionally both at the same time. Perhaps the perfect example, visitors arriving by ferry are immediately confronted by Paul McCarthy’sBalloon Dog. It’s 80 feet tall and fire-engine red.  Continuing on inside, over 180 galleries compete for attendees’ attention.

Martha Friedman, Amygdalas (2013).

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Tracey Emin’s Roman Standard, a single bronze bird mounted atop a 13 foot pole, has been unveiled in New York’s Petrosino Square.  A collaboration between the Art Production Fund, White Cube and Lehmann Maupin, the piece is intended as a point of contemplation.  “Most public sculptures are a symbol of power which I find oppressive and dark,” said Emin. “I wanted something that had a magic and an alchemy, something which would appear and disappear and not dominate.”  (more…)

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 €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…)