Nate Lowman, This Is Your Brain On Drugs Again, via Art Observed

Nate Lowman’s current solo show is notable in its subtlety.  Once a maker of enormous reproductions of vinyl, consumer-grade bullet hole decals and canvases covered with smiley-faces, Lowman’s new work currently on view at Maccarone Gallery takes a different tack entirely.  Lightly painted, cut canvases and pixelated cut-outs dot the works, rendering soft, pastel forms that mark a notable break from the often harsh images of urban decay he so often selected as the subject of his past practice.

Nate Lowman, Rave the Painforest (Installation View), via Art Observed (more…)

Hammer Projects: Andra Ursuta (Installation View), all images courtesy Hammer Museum

On view currently at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles is an exhibition of the latest body of work from Andra Ursuta, inspired by the artist’s fear and obsession with death. The show is Ursuta’s first solo exhibition in a United States museum, and will remain on view through May 25th.

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Sturtevant, the appropriation artist who worked at making manual repetitions and recreations of iconic artists and young upstarts alike, has died.  Reports claim that the artist, who won the Golden Lion at the 54th annual Venice Biennale, was 84 years old, but as much information about the artist remains unknown, this is not certain.  Sturtevant will be the subject of an upcoming career retrospective this November at MoMA.  “Her various catalytic conversions prove that art can be (at its best?) an impetus for action—aesthetic, cerebral, insurrectionary ,” said writer Bruce Hainley. (more…)

Peggy Guggenheim’s descendants are suing the Guggenheim foundation, arguing that the foundation failed to honor Guggenheim’s last wishes that her art collection be maintained in its entirety in her Venetian palazzo by the Guggenheim foundation.

The foundation allegedly removed half of the works from her collection and replaced them with works donated by Rudolph and Hannelore Schulhof. The Schulhofs’ names are displayed next to Guggenheim’s on the museum’s entrance. The Guggenheim family is also accusing the foundation of desecrating her grave by throwing parties in the palazzo’s garden where her remains are interred. Betsy Ennis of the foundation counters that, “The foundation’s efforts have only honored, preserved and enhanced the memory and reputation of Peggy Guggenheim.” (more…)

Pablo Picasso, Le Sauvetage (1932), Via Sotheby’s

The Modern and Impressionist evening sales in New York have closed, following two nights of sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s that failed to achieve the same exceptional sales figures that have marked previous auctions, while still finding buyers for most of the works on sale. (more…)

Bill Viola, Tristan’s Ascension (The Sound of a Mountain Under a Waterfall) (2005) all images courtesy Grand Palais

On view at the Grand Palais in Paris is a group of works by celebrated American video artist Bill Viola, ranging in date from 1977 to the present day, making it  the largest retrospective the artist has ever shown during his long and productive career.

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Joel Kyack, Clever Formal Gestures ≠ Something to Say, via Francois Ghebaly

As the month of May begins in earnest, another edition of Frieze Art Fair’s New York edition prepares to open its doors on Randall’s Island this week, bringing its familiar bounty of events, talks, special programs, competing events and a number of high-profile auctions and openings across Manhattan.

Yayoi Kusama, INFINITY-NETS [AOQBZ], via David Zwirner (more…)

The Table Before Dinner, via Art Observed

The Domino Factory was aglow Tuesday evening, as Creative Time took over the space for its annual spring gala, this year held in honor of artist Kara Walker, who is preparing to open her site-specific work A Subtlety at the space later this week.  True to form, the gala prominently spotlighted Ms. Walker’s monumental white sculpture, which nearly took up its own place of honor at the end of the dining tables set up in the space.  Light streaming in from the long runs of windows on either side of the room gave the statue a pale, golden glow, and served to give a beautiful aura surrounding the guests. (more…)

Maria Lassnig, via Art Info

Austrian painter Maria Lassnig has passed away at the age of 94.

Born in 1919, Lassnig’s career spanned over 50 years, and her work traces a long and intricate relationship with the history of painting and abstraction, moving from her abstract experessionist works in the 1950’s to her pioneering style of vivid color and dramatic self-portraiture, often utilizing visceral body positions and frank, revealing depictions of herself.  “Her art meant everything to her and she sacrificed herself, family, relationships… she an extremely focused and extreme personality that way,” dealer Iwan Wirth told ArtInfo.  “She was very headstrong, very critical of photography, fighting photography her whole life and she had no mercy when it came other painters.”

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Cornelius Gurlitt passed away on Tuesday in his Munich apartment at the age of 81. Mr. Gurlitt made art news headlines last fall when German authorities revealed that the son of a Nazi-era Art Dealer had been hoarding roughly 1,300 works by European Modern Masters in his apartment as well as in storage. In his will Mr. Gurlitt named the Kunstmuseum Bern the sole heir to his collection. However, questions still remain concerning the fate of the artwork. Prior to his death Mr. Gurlitt reached a deal with German authorities that research into the provenance of his collection would continue after his death, leaving the works subject to restitution claims. According to Winfried Bausback, Bavaria’s justice minister, “The agreement Mr. Gurlitt reached with German authorities carries over to whoever inherits the collection, including the museum.” (more…)

Portrait of Dirck van Os, a 1658 painting long discredited as a Rembrandt copy, has been returned to public view at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha as an officially authenticated portrait by the Dutch master.  “People here sensed the underlying quality,” says Joslyn executive director, Jack Becker, “but you need the scholarly community to rehabilitate a picture like this.” (more…)

The 2014 Turner Prize shortlist has been announced, including the artists Duncan Campbell, Ciara Phillips, James Richards and Tris Vonna-Michell, all of whom are noted as working in “non-traditional media.”  “The four shortlisted artists share a strong international presence and an ability to adapt, restage and reinterpret their own and others’ works, very often working in a collaborative social contexts,” says Tate Britain director Penelope Curtis. (more…)

Oscar Murillo, A Mercantile Novel Candy Bars, via Art Observed

The art world has been good to Oscar Murillo over the past year.  Following a series of high auction sales and eager buyers, the 27-year old was quickly signed to David Zwirner, and has continued to command impressive press attention and plaudits for his paintings and installation work.

Oscar Murillo with the Colombina Employees, via Art Observed (more…)

The New York Times takes another look this week at new arrests in the Knoedler Gallery forgery case, and notes the number of participants, complicit or not, to perpetuate a major art fraud.  “If you asked me what the biggest factors were behind this thing succeeding so long,” says art historian Jack Flam, “first is that everybody was afraid to be sued. People give credibility to works unwittingly by keeping quiet.” (more…)

Following Daniel Loeb’s defeat in court last week, Sotheby’s and his company Third Point LLC  seem to have reached an agreement, with the auction house agreeing to add his three nominees to an expanded, 15-person board of directors, while allowing him a 15%  stake in the company.  “This agreement ensures that our focus is on the business and that we will benefit from five fresh voices and viewpoints,” says Sotheby’s head Bill Ruprecht. (more…)

The New York Times notes an increased in interest in the art market this season from investors and speculators, leading to committed buyers for nearly half the works up for sale at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s.  The article also notes an increasing trend in speculating on guaranteed sales, as collectors and investors promise the estimate in an attempt to either go home with the work or make sizable profits off fervent bidding.  “It’s a win-win situation,” says Abdallah Chatila, a collector who is guaranteeing two works at Christie’s next week. “I really want both works, and if they sell for more than the guarantee it can also be very lucrative.” (more…)

Nate Lowman is in the New York Times Magazine this week, taking part in a dialogue with musician Devon Welsh of the band Majical Cloudz, where the pair discuss the interaction of sound and visuals in their work.  “If you discover as a kid that being a musician, or being an artist is something that you like, everyone should hold onto that,” Lowman says. (more…)

Swoon, Submerged Motherlands (Installation View), via Art Observed

The Brooklyn Museum has just installed a site-specific piece by artist Swoon, entitled Submerged Motherlands. Comprised of a monumental tree and a constructed surrounding environment, the work addresses issues of destruction and renewal in the artist’s signature multimedia approach.

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Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1907), via Christie’s

As the art world turns its attention to New York this week during the hustle and bustle of Frieze Week, Sotheby’s and Christie’s will hold their annual spring auctions of Impressionist and Modern Art, boasting an impressive collection of works that speaks to the current strength of the auction market, and the enthusiasm of its buyers.  The competition between the two auction houses has remained fierce over the past year, even while Sotheby’s has fought off advances from Daniel Loeb and his Third Point team.  Now, with an agreement between the parties reached just this morning, the auction house will turn its full attention to its upcoming sales, and the feverish sales estimates some are predicting for the pair of auctions early this week.

Pablo Picasso, Portrait de femme (Dora Maar) (1942), via Christie’s

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The Financial Times looks at the “tightening screws” on smaller galleries in the current market, noting the vastly disparate growth rates of different gallery income brackets, and the increasing emphasis on brand-name galleries and artists.   “Today you can go to a super-gallery and for £3,000-£3,5000 get an artwork. And maybe for buyers what is important is the brand,” says dealer Paola Weiss. (more…)

Marc Quinn is interviewed in The Guardian this week, answering a quick round of questions on his fears, hopes and secret passions, including an interesting answer to the question of what era he would visit in time: “To the beginning of the 20th century with knowledge of all the artworks to come,” he says. “If I then made them all myself, would it have the same effect on culture?” (more…)

A Delaware judge has rejected Daniel Loeb’s lawsuit seeking to overturn Sotheby’s shareholder rights plan, which had prevented activist investors from owning more than 10% of the company.  “I find that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated that they have a reasonable probability of success on the merits of their claims,” Judge Donald Parsons wrote in his decision. “Therefore, I deny the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.” (more…)

Jeremy Deller has announced that he will be releasing a free, downloadable version of his work from the 2012 British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.  The adaptation of English Magic will be released on July 7th as part of a commission by Own Art, a nonprofit aimed at encouraging new contemporary art collectors to buy their first works. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal profiled Camille Henrot this past week, in the lead-up to the artist’s first U.S. solo museum exhibition at the New Museum, opening this upcoming Wednesday.  The show includes her work Grosse Fatigue, which earned her the Silver Lion at Venice last year for most promising young artist, and which features the image of the turtle heavily.  “She’s slow because she is carrying this massive round thing–it’s like a figure of Atlas,” Henrot says. (more…)