Rita Ackermann, “Negative Muscle,” 2010, Negative Muscle, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth Gallery, New York

Hauser and Wirth is currently showing new work by Hungarian-born Rita Ackermann at its uptown location in New York City, featuring an exploration of new forms as well as a striking new set of entries in the artist’s Fire By Days series. (more…)

A range of new real estate projects worldwide are embracing the intersections of luxury living and artistic communities, using local artistic cultures to bolster the property offerings of new developments.  Tying creative culture closely with high-value properties, developers and real estate agents are using the creative spirit of their property locations to lure interested buyers. “(These developments) encourage buyers to truly invest in an area and not buy and sell simply to make money.”  Said Argentinian developer Alan Faena.
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Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson has joined the board of trustees at The New Museum, mirroring the increasing number of international members on Museum boards across the U.S.  “As art is thriving in so many centers, it is imperative to have an active group of supporters with diverse perspectives and deep connections to these communities.”  Said New Museum director Lisa Phillips. (more…)

Arts critic Jerry Saltz comments on the diminishing role of the gallery show in the contemporary arts environment, noting the effects of increased focus on international fairs, auctions and biennials, and questioning the effects of this shift on the arts community of New York City.  “Fewer ideas are being exchanged, fewer aesthetic arguments initiated. I can’t turn to the woman next to me and ask what she thinks, because there’s nobody there.”  He says. (more…)

Trance, the newest film by British director Danny Boyle features a selection of three recreations of Goya’s Witches in the Air, done by British artist Charlie Cobb.  The replicas were used to emphasize the densely textured surface of the work, as digital replicas or prints can often appear distorted or unconvincing on film.  The work involved the acquiring of rare paints, as well as hours of study viewing the work.  “Just to stand in front of it, you get a real feel for the painting.” says Cobb.
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Nick Cave, Heard•NY (2013)

Artist Nick Cave was in New York on Monday, presenting his new performance piece, HEARD•NY, at Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall.  Co-presented by Creative Time and MTA Arts for Transit, Cave’s ambitious project involves sixty dancers from The Ailey School suited in 30 life-size horse costumes. In choreographed gestures, the horses move around as a colorful herd, bobbing their heads and kicking their feet, intermittently grazing and foraging like real equines. (more…)

The Art Newspaper has published its annual survey of museum attendance for 2012, highlighting the best attended shows and museums of the past year.  While the top names on the list stayed relatively unchanged from past years (The Louvre still remains the world’s best attended museum, with The Met close behind), the recently opened Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas surged onto the list, and MOCA in Los Angeles also noted a dip in the face of board defections and budgetary concerns.  Also of note is the top exhibition of last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum’s Old Masters show, which drew more than 10,000 visitors a day to see Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. (more…)

A New York State Court Judge has dismissed a lawsuit against photographer William Eggleston, which would have had restraining effects on an artist’s ability to reproduce work.  The lawsuit, filed by collector Jonathan Sobel, stated that Eggleston’s new, digitized editions of prints from his work in the 1970’s devalued the works that Sobel had purchased.  Judge Deborah Batts dismissed this claim, stating that: “although both the Limited Edition works and the Subsequent Edition works were produced from the same images, they are markedly different.” (more…)

A group of artists, led by Chuck Close, have filed an appeal to overturn a federal ruling that the California Resale Royalty Act is unconstitutional.  The act, which required all resales of a California artist’s work to pay a 5% royalty back the artist, was struck down last year in a case that saw artists pitted against auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s.  “We believe that the district court’s decision dismissing the complaint was correct, and we believe that it will be affirmed on appeal.”  Said a Sotheby’s representative. (more…)

Dealer and gallerist Nicole Klagsbrun has announced that she will close her gallery after 30 years of operation, and will focus on smaller shows and artist representation.“I’m not sick and I’m not broke. I just don’t want the gallery system anymore,” Klagsbrun said. “The old school way was to be close to the artists and to the studios. Nowadays, it’s run like a corporation. After 30 years, this is not what I aspire to do. It is uninteresting.” (more…)

Mat Collishaw, This is Not an Exit(Installation View), Courtesy of the Artist and Blain|Southern Photographer: Matthew Hollow, 2012

British artist Mat Collishaw places his work in systems of fluctuation, layering meanings and interpretations until the weight of the work’s collected implications collapses in on itself.  In his most recent show at London’s Blain|Southern, the artist has continued in this tradition, offering a collection of large-scale oil paints that negotiate between hedonistic excess, abstract figuration and cultural subterfuge. (more…)

Gert and Uwe Tobias, Untitled ’13 (Installation View), via Team Gallery

Continuing in their uniquely distinctive practice that weaves printmaking, installation, sculpture and typography, twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias are currently exhibiting a selection of new work at Team Gallery in New York City.

Gert and Uwe Tobias, Untitled (GUT 2055) (2012), via Team Gallery (more…)

Miroslaw Balka, The Order of Things (2013), via Gladstone Gallery

Polish sculptor and conceptual artist Miroslaw Balka is currently exhibiting a new sculptural work, titled The Order of Things, at Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea.  Consisting of a towering set of containers and a length of hose, the work creates a continuous flow of water, pumping pitch-black water from one container through the piping, up over the rafters above the tanks, and out into the other tank.  (more…)

Charles Atlas, Glacier (2013), courtesy of Vilma Gold, London.

The American-born Charles Atlas has been a pioneer in the fields of dance, theater, and performance on video. In his career he has worked with world renowned artists such as Marina Abramovic, Leigh Bowery, Michael Clark, Merce Cunnigham, Diamanda Galas, Antony and the Johnsons, and Yvonne Rainer.  In a current collaboration with South London Gallery and Bloomberg SPACE, Atlas presents Glacier, a 360-degree multi channel video installation consisting of original, found and manipulated images. (more…)

Dirk Skreber, pain(t)ology and other trials (Installation View), via Petzel Gallery

German Dirk Skreber paints works at the intersection of cultural subsets, depicting moments of intense violence and figures abstracted from the pages of science-fiction. Revisiting the immediacy of violence and collision of forces.  Currently, the artist is exhibiting a selection of new works at Petzel Gallery in Chelsea, titled pain(t)ology and other trials. (more…)

William Ruprecht, the Chief Executive for Sotheby’s, saw a 10 percent decrease in pay last year, taking home $6.3 million, after the auction house saw a 37% drop in profits.  Sotheby’s took home a final profit of $108.3 million in 2012, while auction sales dropped 10% to $3.8 billion and its stock price rose 17% in 2012. (more…)

The Cardsharps, a hotly debated work purchased by art historian and collector Denis Mahon, is set to go on view in April at the Museum of the Order of St John in London.  The piece, whose attribution to a follower of Caravaggio allowed Mahon to purchase what may or may not be an original work by the 17th century master for £50,000, is currently the subject of fierce debate over its origin, as well as a lawsuit over its attribution between Sotheby’s and its previous owner. (more…)

Despite public protest, work crews have begun dismantling several sections of the Berlin Wall decorated with large-scale murals, known as the East Side Gallery, making way for a new luxury apartment development.  The wall was removed early in the morning, clearing about 20 feet of art-covered cement from the longest section of the wall still standing..  “If you take these parts of the Wall away, you take away the soul of the city,” said resident Ivan McClostney. “This way, you make it like every other city. It’s so sad.” (more…)

Sotheby’s is currently facing a lawsuit from a past customer, who discovered that a work he had purchased through the auction house was reportedly once owned by Herman Goering, the Nazi leader recognized as the founder of the Gestapo.  The piece, an 18th century painting by Louis-Michel van Loo, was sold in 2004, but was unable to be resold when questions arose about how Goering acquired the piece.  The plaintiff, Steven Brooks, claims that Sotheby’s sold the work fraudulently, knowing about its questionable origins, as well as knowing that the work would be difficult to resell. (more…)

Catherine Opie, Julie & Pigpen (2012), via Regen Projects

The photographic work of artist Catherine Opie has long been interested with context, how the architecture of the frame, staging, and positioning of the subjects opens the door to new readings, implications and relationships within the work itself.  Blending historical references with cultural signifiers and assiduous attention to the color and detail, Opie’s work initiates striking dialogues on identity and meaning in American culture.

Catherine Opie (Installation View), via Regen Projects

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Adel Abdemessed, Le Vase Abominable (Installation View), via David Zwirner

Upon entering the ground floor of David Zwirner’s gallery space in London, visitors are immediately greeted by the surreal image on a massive explosive device, upon which rests an equally enormous gold vase.  This is Le Vase Abominable, the sculpture by French-based, Algerian born artist Adel Abdemessed that serves as the title piece for the artist’s current show, exploring dichotomies of violence and creation through poignantly composed sculptural, video, and drawn works.

Adel Abdemessed, Le Vase Abominable (2012-2013), via David Zwirner (more…)

Alexis Adler, a former girlfriend of Jean-Michel Basquiat, has released news of a massive collection of the late artist’s drawings, photographs, and paintings, some scrawled on the walls and appliances of the East Village apartment that the two shared in the late 1970’s.  Given the artist’s current popularity, the collection is of particular note for its thorough documentation of much of Basquiat’s early development as an artist.  Adler is currently planning a book documenting the collection, as well as an auction of the work.  “The thing that’s most interesting is the material she has to support the actual artwork,” said former Gracie Mansion director Sur Rodney Sur. “A lot of the signage he used in his work over and over again, this was when he was developing it. The idea that it’s all together in one place makes it even more important.” (more…)

Following several weeks of turbulence for Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the institution announced that it has been promised donations that will raise its endowment past $60 million, the highest levels in its 34-year history.  The news comes after several weeks in which the museum was forced to consider a potential merger with LACMA to keep its doors open.  “The financial support we have already raised demonstrates the commitment of the board to ensuring that MOCA remains a world-class independent contemporary art museum, and we call on others to join in this campaign,” says MOCA Board President Jeffrey Soros. (more…)

Calling itself the first online-only art biennale, BiennaleOnline has announced that it will launch its exhibition on April 26th.  Featuring a high-profile curatorial team, including Hans Ulrich Obrist and Daniel Birnbaum, and a strong roster of artists including Ed Atkins, Tony Chakar and Ragnar Kjartansson, the online exhibition will have a total roster of 180 artists, and will charge $10 for admission to the site.  BiennaleOnline will also feature a separate exhibition curated by Jan Hoet. “Great contemporary art is the sum of reflection and imagination,” said Hoet. “The artist adds his or her personal vision to history and the memory of history. I hope this combination of factors will be present in every single work in this biennale. In this way we’ll come to a new world and new art.” (more…)