Art Basel Miami Beach has announced the contents of this year’s “Public” section in Collins Park, under the title Social Animals.  Including work by artists Olaf Breuning, Jeppe Hein, Thomas Houseago, Alicja Kwade, Richard Long, and many more, this year’s edition of the show explores the concept of art objects themselves as a community.   (more…)

In response to heated demands by Jewish political groups and advocates, the German government has disclosed information on the collection of over 600 works found in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt.  At least 590 of the works may have been looted during World War II, the government announced.  At least 25 have already been listed in the Lost Art Internet Database.  “We can well understand that especially Jewish organisations are asking many questions. They represent older people who were treated very badly,” said spokesman, Steffen Seibert. (more…)

The Banksy painting donated to benefit Housing Works several weeks ago has caused a small storm of disagreements and controversy over its sale.  The winning bid, which took the painting for $615,000, has already defaulted on his payment, and a number of top bidders are complaining over the way the sale was handled.  Even so, the painting has found a buyer.  “We were happy with the sale,” says Matthew Bernardo, chief operating officer of Housing Works, “we were happy with the process which we closed with, and it’s at a very good home.” (more…)

Manhattan dealer Helly Nahmad has plead guilty to operating an illegal gambling ring, the Daily News reports.  Arrested earlier this year in a massive sting operation that nabbed 33 suspects, Nahmad’s plea deal is anticipated to include a fine of around $6.4 million, as well as a potential 12 to 18 months behind bars.  “It started as a hobby,” he said in court. “Unfortunately, it became a business. But it was never my main business.” (more…)

Andy Warhol‘s Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) Installed in Sotheby’s Salesroom, Image by Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed

Last night, Sotheby’s hosted their Contemporary Art Evening Sale, on the heels of Christie’s historic sale held the previous evening. It was a record breaking evening for Sotheby’s, with their overall sales totaling over $380 million, the highest ever for the house. It beat out their previous record of $375 million from a year ago.  They experienced a solid sell through rate of 88.5% by lot and nearly 95% by value.  This was their 11th consecutive Evening Sale of Contemporary Art at the New York location with a sell through rate over 80%, according to Head of Contemporary Art Alexander Rotter.

View of Warhol’s Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) in Sotheby’s Salesroom, Image by Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed

(more…)

Lynette & Janette (2013). All images courtesy the Gagosian Gallery.

John Currin’s work is currently on view at the Gagosian Gallery in Paris through December 21^st. Currin is known for his seductive and, to some, lewd appropriations of sixteenth and seventeenth century European painting. His paintings pair explicit sexual representations with the extremely polished and delicate details of this classical style. The result is a fascinating, touching and often hilarious interpretation of the politics of visual representation and sexual provocation.  (more…)

Julian Schnabel with May Andersen and Peter Brant, via Art Observed Staff

Painter, sculptor, filmmaker, Julian Schnabel is larger than life, and so are his artworks, some towering to two to three times the height of an average person.  The artist’s monumental works are currently being shown at The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, on view through March.  The exhibition captures the diversity of Schnabel’s work, from the many facets of his “plate paintings” to the table he designed for Francisco Clemente. By bringing Schnabel’s emblematic works together, the Brant Foundation offers a comprehensive look at how Schnabel has impacted the art world in a way that has not been attempted since the Whitney Museum’s retrospective show 26 years ago.

Julian Schnabel, The Walk Home (1985), via Art Observed Staff (more…)

Christie’s Salesroom with Francis Bacon‘s Three Studies of Lucian Freud, Image by Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed

Art Observed was on site at Christie’s auction house in New York for the Post War and Contemporary art evening sale.  As the hammer struck down close to 7:30PM last night, in a packed salesroom, auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen stated “it promises to be an exciting evening, indeed.” Nearly a half hour after the Post War and Contemporary Art Sale is generally slated to start, there was an atmosphere akin to a rock concert – a very crowded and well attended one that applauded the very start of the show. Exciting, indeed, with Christie’s achieving the highest total ever for an auction – a staggering $692 million. Of the 69 lots offered in the over two hour sale, 63 sold, which proved 91%  sold by lot, and 98% sold by value. Auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen said in post-sale press conference that he “never expected to come to New York and sell $700 million worth of art,” and that it was a great “privilege to sell great works of art from great dates” while “seeing a curated sale received so fantastically.”

Jeff Koons‘s Balloon Dog(Orange) Installed Outside of Christie’s Rockefeller Center Location, Image by Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed

(more…)

The proceedings at Phillips with Alexander Gilkes at the rostrum, via Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed

Last night, Phillips auction house held their Contemporary Art Evening Sale art, in a packed salesroom. The sale exhibited a strong lead into the week of Contemporary art auctions, with 84% of lots selling by value, and 88% selling by lot. The 40 lots sold for a combined total of $68 million, including premiums, against an estimate of $65 – 97 million.

Kazuo Shiraga, Keishizoku (1961), via Ben Richards for Art Observed (more…)

Artist Marina Abramovic will be the subject of a 3-D portrait by artist Matthu Placek, set to be unveiled next month at the Art Basel Miami Beach fair.  Featuring Abramovic, standing in the center of her currently under-construction arts center in the Hudson, the work will screen at the”Jewel Box” pavilion in Wynwood, and will screen for free, every fifteen minutes from 6PM to late in the evening.  “I originally wanted it to be from dusk until dawn,” Placek says, “but we’ll probably have to shut it down a little earlier — maybe 3am.” (more…)

In what may be a response to internal pressures, Sotheby’s Auction House has announced a dividend for the Fourth Quarter of 2013 of $.10 per share, payable on December 16th to shareholders of record.  The auction house announced the dividend early this week. (more…)

Painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal’s “20 Odd Questions” section, including the answer to why the artist so often paints “Bez,” the name of the Happy Mondays musician across many of his canvases.  “Why not?”  He asks.  He goes on to discuss more of his life and art, including his influences and inspirations.  “One thing that I admire about Picasso was how he changed the way he worked so many times. So did Matisse, Magritte, de Chirico. They were looking for another version of themselves in other forms,”  he says. (more…)

Gaga performs, via Paper

New Yorkers flocked to the Brooklyn Navy Yards on Sunday night for the long-rumored artRAVE party, celebrating the release of musician Lady Gaga’s newest album, ARTPOP, with a number of high-profile art pieces by Jeff Koons, Inez and Vinoodh, Marina Abramovic and Robert Wilson, among others, as well as a multimedia set by the pop star herself.   (more…)

Francis Bacon, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969), Image via Christie’s

Tonight, the week of Post War & Contemporary Art Evening Sales commence with Phillips kicking off the week long auctions. After last week’s mixed results in sales, with Christie’s and Sotheby’s hosting their respective Impressionist & Modern Art Sales, the contemporary art offerings will provide a more definitive litmus test of the international art market’s power and predilections. A great deal of press and attention has been drawn to the forthcoming sales, both nationally and internationally, attributed to exceptional offerings in all three houses, and a multitude of enormous price tags to accompany the museum-quality works.

Andy Warhol, Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) (1963), Image via Sotheby’s (more…)

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room – The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

One may recall the final room of The Whitney’s sprawling retrospective of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama last year, stacked floor to ceiling with bold, brightly colored canvases.  Flourishing tentacles, patterns of eyes and teeth, cartoonish faces and swirling animalistic forms dominated the work, all delivered with a wide-eyed enthusiasm that made them hard to ignore.

Yayoi Kusama, My Heart (2013), via David Zwirner (more…)

Yayoi Kusama, INFINITY NETS [FBB] (2013), via Victoria Miro

Victoria Miro Gallery is currently opening its new Mayfair gallery with an exhibition of works by Yayoi Kusama‘s newest series of White Infinity Nets, intricate canvases covered almost entirely with white paint over a wash of black and grey.

(more…)

Korean artist Do Ho Suh has been named Wall Street Journal’s Art Innovator of 2013, recognized for his challenging explorations of space and material.  The artist is interviewed in the magazine this week, talking about his recent work with graphite rubbings.  “Rubbing is a different interpretation of space. It’s quite sensuous—very physical and quite sexual,” says Suh. “You have to very carefully caress the surface and try to understand what’s there.” (more…)

The founders of the Dia Art Foundation have filed a lawsuit against the organization, as well as auction house Sotheby’s, in order to keep the arts organization from selling parts of its collection this month.  The sales, set to take place this week in New York, include works by Barnett Newman, Cy Twombly and John Chamberlain, and are contested by the founders’s claims that the works were intended to remain publicly accessible.  “Dia’s proposed auction of the subject works would remove the works from public access and viewing in direct contravention of Dia’s entire intent and purpose and of plaintiffs’ arrangements and understandings with Dia,” founders Fariha and Heiner Friedrichs say in the complaint. (more…)

Artists Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson have launched their collaborative Moon project, an online platform where users are allowed to browse a rotating orb, gradually covering it with their own art drawings.  “By connecting in spaces for imagination – by determining what to share and how to share it – we can create a greater outcome,”  the site reads.   (more…)

Cornell University in Ithaca has announced that it will return a vast collection of cuneiform tablets to the country of Iraq, in what is already being called one of the largest antiquities returns by an American University ever.  The tablets are suspected to have been looted during the 1991 Gulf War.  “We’re not accusing anyone of a crime, but we believe they should be returned,” says Assistant U.S. Atty. Miro Lovric. (more…)

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Mr. Briggs (2008), via David Zwirner

“People thought they could have anything.  And then it just blew up in their faces.”  So says photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia in the press release for his show of works from the East of Eden series at David Zwirner, an ongoing series of photographs documenting what the artist calls the “collapse of everything.”

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, East of Eden (Installation View), via David Zwirner (more…)

The hotly contested painting Red, Black, and Silver has been authenticated as the final painting from artist Jackson Pollock, given to his mistress shortly before his death in 1956.  The painting had long believed to have been a Pollock, but was blocked from authentication by Pollock’s wife, Lee Krasner, who held a personal vendetta against his mistress, Ruth Kligman.  That changes today, now that authorities have found strands of Pollock’s hair in the canvas, as well as sand unique to the beaches around his East Hamptons home.  “The world was flat. Now it is round. It’s Galileo. Science can now be used to authenticate the art.  We are [tracing] the painting back to where it was executed. It’s very CSI.”  Says artist and Kligman estate trustee Jonathan Cramer.      (more…)

The story behind the collection of Nazi-looted artworks discovered in a Munich flat this week has taken a new twist, with the discovery that the works had toured the U.S. after World War II, the Wall Street Journal reports.  Part of the collection of Nazi propaganda director Hildebrand Gurlitt traveled to the United States as part of a larger show in 1956, reports illustrate, showing the increasingly difficult challenges of locating the artworks’ original owners. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on MoMA’s efforts to move beyond a brick and mortar museum space, detailing its hiring of Paola Antonelli for the newly created position of Director of Research and Development, a post focused on revolutionizing the museum space through technological advances.  Antonelli’s work is seeing its first fruits with the launch of Design and Violence an online exhibition intended to spark discussion and discourse on various art objects and projects.  “This is truly the new aspect, the fact that it’s a two-way conversation,” Antonelli says. “It’s a departure point.” (more…)