Part of the fanfare surrounding Jeff Koons’s retrospective at the Whitney, H&M will turn its 5th Avenue shop into a miniature Jeff Koons exhibition, featuring a special purse branded with the artist’s signature Balloon Dog.  “The partnership with H&M was really exciting for me,” Koons says, “and the chance to showcase one of my most popular works to a new generation of people was inspiring.”  (more…)

Newly released documents in a civil court case against Ann Freedman have shown that one of the forged Jackson Pollock paintings purchased by the former Knoedler Gallery director herself had misspelled that name of the artist as “Pollok.”  “Freedman, Knoedler and their so-called ‘experts’ claim not to have seen forgeries even when it was literally (mis)spelled out for them,” lawyer John Cahill quipped in an email to the New York Times. (more…)

Over the past several days, Ai Weiwei has been posting and reposting images to his Instagram of both himself and supporters around the world, holding their legs up to mimic the aiming of a rifle.    The phenomenon has viewers puzzled, comparing it to a classic Chinese communist ballet, and other classic photo memes like “planking” in equal parts. (more…)

Richard Prince, Cheese & Crackers (2008), via Art Observed

Showing for the first time since Richard Prince settled his lawsuit with photographer Patrick Cariou over several of the source photographs, Gagosian’s uptown location is currently presenting Canal Zone, the series of photo and paint collages that sat at the center of the legal dispute for the first time since 2008. (more…)

The Guggenheim’s currently under construction space in Abu Dhabi is hosting a preview exhibition of its collection, showing 16 works in the exhibition  “Seeing Through Light: Selections From the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection” at Manarat later this year.  “It is small in nature because the space, a temporary exhibition gallery used to foster audience engagement for the three museums, is only about 15,000 square feet,” says Curator Susan Davidson. (more…)

MOCA is drawing criticism this week, following the loan of a Frank Stella painting to a Culver City art gallery, which many have called a conflict of interest.  The work Ctesiphon I, was loaned to Honor Fraser Gallery with approval of  the Acquisition and Collection Committee.  “MOCA is committed to loan artworks to encourage public enjoyment of objects,” MOCA said in an official statement. “MOCA lends to commercial art galleries only on a case-by-case basis.” (more…)

Iwan Wirth is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, discussing his gallery’s newest project space in Somerset, England, and his penchant for unique gallery environments.  “I like art that is less decorative and I like spaces that have some spikes,” he says. (more…)

David Shrigely is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, as he prepares to open his specially commissioned installation at Sketch Restaurant in London.  In the interview, Shrigley discusses his choices for the restaurant, and his education as an environmental artist in Glasgow.  “I really enjoyed art school but I didn’t do very well,” he says. “They all thought I wasn’t taking it seriously, but I was. They just didn’t think I was a very talented artist.” (more…)

The New York Times profiles Gertrude, a recently organized project that holds salons for the viewing and discussion of art.  Taking famed art its and Paris social lynchpin Gertrude Stein as its inspiration, the organization allows interested groups to gather for the appreciation and examination of art.  “If you do a high-level description of what the art world is, you have the commercial side of the art world, which is about selling art work, and then you have institutions on the other end of the spectrum, with education as the main goal,” said founder Kenneth Schlenker.  “What we want to offer is something in the middle that’s an educational experience and a social one.” (more…)

An Henri Matisse painting from the collection of Cornelius Gurlitt has been confirmed as Nazi loot, the Art Newspaper reports.  A task-force has uncovered that the 1921 work Femme Assise was taken from the collection of the Paris-based dealer Paul Rosenberg.  “Even though it could not be documented with absolute certainty how the work came into [Cornelius Gurlitt’s father] Hildebrand Gurlitt’s possession, the task force has concluded that the work is Nazi loot and was taken from its rightful owner Paul Rosenberg,” says researcher Ingeborg Berggreen Merkel. (more…)

Frieze London has announced its “Projects” section for the 2014 edition of the fair in Regent’s Park.  Curated by Nicola Lees, the seven projects located both on-site and around London will include a “living stage” by Nick Mauss, where ballets will be performed each day, and a secret map of the fair routes by Sophia Al Maria, underlining conspiracies hidden throughout.  The presentations will also feature a reconstructed musical performance from the career of conceptual comedian Andy Kaufman, enacted by Jonathan Berger. (more…)

Darren Bader at Andrew Kreps (Installation View), all images courtesy Andrew Kreps Gallery

Working at the intersection of installation, sculpture, and writing, Darren Bader’s newest exhibition at the Andrew Kreps Gallery forces viewers to question authorship as well as the relationships between creator, viewer, and object. The gallery describes the exhibition as being made up of three shows, distinct but occupying the same space: a show on the walls, Photographs I Like; a show on the floor, To Have and to Hold; and a show on a piece of paper at the front desk.

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Over £50 million worth of works by Cy Twombly have been donated to the Tate by the Cy Twombly foundation, ranking as one of the most valuable gifts the museum has ever received.  “It ranks alongside Rothko’s gift of the Seagram mural paintings in 1970 and together with Twombly’s cycle of paintings The Four Seasons 1993-5, acquired in 2002,” Tate Director Sir Nicholas Serota said of the acquisition. “His gives an enduring place in London to the work of one of the great painters of the second half of the 20th century.” (more…)

RoseLee Goldberg, the curator and art historian founded who founded Performa is in the New York Times this week, reliving some of her favorite moments from the ten-year history of the festival, including performances by Jesper Just, Mike Kelley and Francesco Vezzoli.     (more…)

The New York Times has published a profile on Jeff Koons, in the run-up to the artist’s landmark retrospective at the Whitney, particularly noting the difficulties that the artist’s monumental works are posing for the museum’s limited space.  “It’s the perfect storm of difficulties,” said Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s associate director of programs. “There are the sheer physical demands of the objects themselves, their high values and the fragile materials, to say nothing of the cliffhanger of waiting for works that have been in production for years.” (more…)

Following the harsh dispute between investor Daniel Loeb and Sotheby’s, the election of Loeb’s team seems to have signaled a truce between his Third Point company and the embattled auction house.  Loeb and his fellow newly elected board members have announced that they stand behind current management at Sotheby’s, particularly CEO William Ruprecht, whose removal Loeb had called for several times earlier this year.  “As of today we see ourselves not as the Third Point nominees but as Sotheby’s directors, and we expect to work collaboratively with our fellow board members to enhance long-term value on behalf of all shareholders,” Loeb said in a statement. (more…)

Artist Jim Dine has donated his collection of fine art prints to Washington State University’s Museum of Art, consisting of more than 200 works prints valued at nearly $2 million.  “This is a complete career overview in printmaking by one of the most significant artists of our time, all from the artist himself,” says Chris Bruce, director for the Museum of Art/WSU. “It is unprecedented for our museum and we are breathless over the scope of this gift.” (more…)

Blackstone Group LP vice chairman James Tomilson Hill has been acknowledged as a billionaire this week by Forbes Magazine, after his stake in Blackstone rose to $585 million yesterday, complementing the avid art collector’s broad selection of works by artists like Peter Paul Rubens, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol.  “I don’t like to talk about the financial aspect of art,” he said in a recent interview. “Collecting art is a highly personal endeavor.” (more…)

Martin Kippenberger, ab in die Ecke und Schäm Dich (Martin, Into the Corner, You Should be Ashamed of Yourself) (1989) via Osman Can Yerebakan

Paris was where the artists that planted the roots of Modernism in late 19th century. New York on the other hand emerged in the middle of 20th century as the destination for a large group of international artists as well as those from all around the United States who expanded notions of material and practice as the 20th century waned. Today, cities like Berlin, Tokyo and Sao Paulo are some of the top centers for artists to create and be a part of a community.  No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, a group show currently on view at David Zwirner, is presenting a transatlantic approach to the 80’s art scene through the works of twenty-two artists from Germany and the United States.  Underlying the dense creative vibrance of Cologne on one side of the Atlantic and New York on the other side, the exhibition presents a concentrated look at the productive interaction between the two cities, bringing together notable names that shaped the artistic nature of the era. (more…)

Marina Abramovic’s new performance 512 Hours opened yesterday at the Serpentine, with the artist granted free reign to enocunter visitors in the empty gallery space and do as she wishes.  “The idea is that the public are my material, and I am theirs,” she says. “I will open the gallery myself in the morning and close it at 6 p.m. with my key. I want to understand how I can be in the present moment, be with the public.” (more…)

Yves Klein, Painting of fire (1961), via Art Observed

Skarstedt Gallery has joined the crowd in Chelsea this month, opening its  new W. 21st Street space with a selection of unorthodox paintings by Yves Klein and Andy Warhol, created using human urine, oxidized metallic paints, water and fire.  Spread among the high-ceilinged rooms of the new space, the show welcomes an intuitive look into the pair’s interests not only in non-art materials and processes, but particularly those closest to the human condition.

Andy Warhol, Oxidation Painting (diptych) (1978), via Skarstedt (more…)

Art Basel has announced its list of talks and salon discussions for next week’s fair in Switzerland.  The offering of talks will include  Wolfgang Tillmans reviewing his career output and a talk with Baer Faxt publisher Josh Baer, who will review the current state of the art market.   (more…)

The Frick Collection has announced an ambitious expansion plan that will add a new six-story wing to the Upper East Side space.  The new wing will include a a new rooftop garden, and 60,000 square feet of new exhibition space, totaling 50 percent more room for short-term exhibitions and 24 percent more for a permanent art collection. (more…)

Google has launched a new project, an online street art gallery of images provided by cultural organizations and Google’s Street View camera.  But with the company’s entry into the conversation on the documentation  of street art playing out against the criticisms Google has seen regarding privacy and surveillance, the move should offer interesting discussion points for open access to art online and in the streets.  “I’ve always used my street art to democratize art, so it would be philosophically inconsistent for me to protest art democratization through Google,” says Shepard Fairey. (more…)