The New York Times takes a look at the contemporary art market, and the purported bubble many dealers and analysts have pointed to over the sale of blockbuster works by Koons, Richter and Warhol, among others.  But the article also hears out dealers who maintain that the market has never been stronger.  “Things are different now,” says art advsor Allan Schwartzman. “There’s a momentum in the market that’s dictated by the top players. It’s trophy-driven. There are often six competitors for the major lots at auctions, which indicates to me there isn’t a bubble. Contemporary art has never been supported like this before.”   (more…)

Christian Jankowski, Heavy Weight History (Syrenka), (2013), all images courtesy Lisson Gallery

On view at Lisson Gallery in London is an installation composed of a 25-minute film and a series of photographs by German artist Christian Jankowski. Entitled “Heavy Weight History,” the images depict a group of Polish champion weightlifters trying to lift up public sculptures and memorials in Warsaw, Poland.

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ArtNews has published a profile on Michelle Grabner, the sculptor and curator tapped to curate this year’s Whitney Biennial.  “One of the interesting things about including an artist is that they really understand process from within, and I think that affects how Michelle approaches the works of art she selects and the exhibition itself,” says Whitney chief curator Donna De Salvo. “She has been a curator at a pioneering gallery, but also she is incredibly well published and has engagement with artists across the country. A mix of all those aspects were needed for participation in the Biennial.” (more…)

Damien Hirst’s Other Criteria is looking to expand.  The West End London shop is looking to sell its £435,000 lease and seek a larger space in the neighborhood.  Other Criteria is also reportedly planning to open a location in New York’s Soho neighborhood later this year.   (more…)

Matthew Barney, River of Fundament (still) (2014), Courtesy BAM credit: Hugo Glendinning

Matthew Barney’s newest film, River of Fundament, is a spectacle, to say the least.  Clocking in at just under 6-hours, the film is in turns a surreal voyage through the Egyptian afterlife, the American automotive industry, and the respective encounters of Barney and composer Jonathan Bepler’s with their various subjects, all turned inwards on the film’s own internal logic and unleashed in jarring blasts of viscera, atonal operatics and monumental, ritualistic performance happenings taking part in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York.

Matthew Barney, River of Fundament (still) (2014), Courtesy BAM credit: Hugo Glendinning (more…)

The New York Times has a published a preview piece on next week’s opening for the Whitney Biennial, which will open concurrently with Armory Week next Friday.  The 77th edition of the event will be the last in the Whitney’s current home before it moves to its new location in the Meatpacking District, and features the collaborative vision of three separate curators, each of which are occupying a single floor of the museum.  “It’s as if you’re on your laptop and have three windows open,” said Stuart Comer, one of the curators and the head of media and performance at MoMA. “It’s not a collaboration but a conversation, a dialogue.” (more…)

Daniel Loeb is pushing for three seats on the board at Sotheby’s, preparing for a proxy fight to wrest additional control of the company for his Third Point Hedge Fund.  “All shareholders will benefit from further depth of experience in Sotheby’s key business building block: luxury customer relationship development,” Third Point said in its regulatory filing this week. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the demanding logistics of moving Mike Kelley’s recently-closed show at MoMAPS1.  The show, which will open again next month in Los Angeles, required a multi-day deconstruction process, moving more than 200 individual works, and disassembling some of the show’s enormous sculptures.   “It’s one of the most complex exhibitions we’ve ever undertaken,” said PS1’s Peter Eleey, “It’s a very fine-toothed coordination.” (more…)

The New York Times profiles the work and career of Xu Zhen, this year’s artist-in-residence at The Armory Show in New York.  A conceptualist noted for his departure from previous generations of Chinese art and his playful skewering of retail economics (including one work where he constructed a fully functioning supermarket), Xu will show a number of works at the show, and is working on a public project with New York’s Citibike Public Bicycle Program. (more…)

Creative Time has announced the opening dates for Kara Walker’s installation at Williamsburg’s former Domino Sugar Factory.  A Subtlety will open on May 10th, and will be free and open to the public.  “Walker’s physically and conceptually expansive work will respond to both the building and its history, exploring a radical range of subject matter and marking a major departure from her practice to date,” the organization said in a release.  Creative Time will also focus it spring gala around the opening of the event, honoring Walker. (more…)

Eva Hesse, June 1959, all images courtesy Hamburger Kunsthalle

On view at Hamburger Kunsthalle is a solo exhibition of works by Jewish German-born Eva Hesse, one of the most prominent female artists of the 20th century. Entitled One More than One. the display is composed of art objects and sculptures made from polyester, fiberglass and latex, illustrating textural juxtapositions between hard and soft, fragility and sturdiness. The exhibition will continue through March 2, 2014.

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Vanessa Branson, the founder of the Marrakech Biennale and sister to Richard Branson, is interviewed in Financial Times this week, previewing the fifth edition of the event, and its continued mission of “building bridges between cultures.”  “I want to stress how the arts send a really positive message to the rest of the world and are an economic driver – innovation creates great business,” Branson says. (more…)

Eric Fischl, Corrida in Ronda #4, (2008), via Elene Damenia for Art Observed

The New York Academy of Art is currently presenting The Big Picture, a brief series of large-scale paintings by five artists who embrace the challenge of large-scale canvases and epic scenery.  Curated by Peter Drake, the show has selected works from Neo Rauch, Mark Tansey, Vincent Desiderio, Jenny Saville and Eric Fischl for the show, inviting a comparative look at the varying techniques and approaches to painting on a grand scale.

Vincent Desiderio, Quixote (2008), via Elene Damenia for Art Observed (more…)