Takashi Murakami, Oval Buddha Silver (2008), all images via Palazzo Reale

After more than a decade, Takashi Murakami has returned to Italy for an exhibition of his Arhat Cycle. The father of the Superflat movement, Murakami’s most recent work blends his signature style, in which he usually combines traditional elements of Japanese culture with consumeristic pop-culture imagery, into a series of paintings and sculptures depicting the artist alongside a dizzying cast of surreal characters.

Takashi Murakami, Arhat Cycle (Installation View) (more…)

After much discussion, Pablo Picasso’s famed Le Tricorne will leave its place in the lobby of the Four Seasons New York this Sunday, traveling to a new home at the New York Historical Society.  In the meantime, the Hotel is encouraging visitors to come and see the work one final time.  “We’ll enjoy it and give it the standing ovation it deserves after nearly six decades as the backdrop of wild parties and quiet moments when families celebrate life’s milestones,” says Four Seasons co-owner Julian Niccolini.  “Everyone is welcome to stop in and see it before it leaves.” (more…)

This month’s cover of Garage Magazine has been unveiled, with a pair of Jeff Koons artworks gracing the cover, and a virtual artwork that allows viewers to view it from all angles using a mobile device.  The piece, Lady Bug, is Koons first venture into virtual art, and must be unlocked by scanning various parts of the magazine with a smartphone application.  “Garage has always aspired to push the physical limits of a magazine,” says owner Dhasha Zhukova. “We are inspired by the infinite possibilities of the digital realm and look forward to exploring new media in this issue and beyond. We are excited to have collaborated with Jeff Koons on his first virtual sculpture.” (more…)

Brooklyn artists and Creative Time favorites  Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw have released a snarky parody of Jordan Wolfson’s notorious dancing robot sculpture, which commanded massive media attention earlier this year at David Zwirner.  Called a “Mini Sexy Robot Doll for Your Desk,” the work features a wind-up, gyrating toy with the same gruesome face, the work is part of a traveling souvenir stand the artists will be running in the coming weeks to celebrate the opening of the fall art season. (more…)

Gerhard Richter, Wald (Forest), (2005), all images courtesy Fondation Beyeler

On view at Fondation Beyeler is the largest exhibition ever devoted to German painter Gerhard Richter, with an express focus on the artist’s reoccurring interests in series, cycles, and interior spaces, while also offering some of his most singularly iconic works. (more…)

Former auction house leader Simon de Pury is returning to the art world this month, with his first gallery show since leaving Phillips de Pury & Company (now Phillips) in 2012.  The exhibition, at Venus Over Manhattan, is titled Fire!, and features primarily ceramic and glass sculpture.  “It’s interesting to note that in the middle of a technological revolution, there is this strong resurgence of ceramics and glass, but also textiles,” de Pury says. (more…)

A new article by curator Sam Smiles in The Guardian this week studies the perceptions of late-life creativity in famous painters and artists, particularly in contrasts of value between the 19th and 20th century, and cites a number of critics who have noted most master artist’s work comes after their 50th year.  The article comes with concurrent run of three exhibitions exploring late work by Matisse, Turner and Rembrandt in London. (more…)

The city of São Paulo is preparing for its 31st Bienal (Biennial) this month in Ibirapuera Park, and hopes for the event are high.  The event boasts an international curator team, fronted by Charles Esche, director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and former curator for biennials in Gwangju (2002), Istanbul (2005), Riwaq, Palestine (2007 and 2009) and Ljubljana (2010), as well as an $11 million budget, marking a considerable step forward for the event.  “I don’t think we need to once again announce that we’re going to reinvent the idea of the Bienal,” says Esche.  “We need to make a really good Bienal. We need to make an event, an exhibition, an experience that touches people.” (more…)

Artist Grayson Perry’s newest book, Playing to the Gallery, is out this month, tracing the artist’s early development and insights into the practice, inspiration and politics behind his unique work.  “I firmly believe,” Perry says early in the book, “that anyone is eligible to enjoy art or become an artist – any oik, any prole, any citizen who has a vision they want to share.” (more…)

The Detroit Bankruptcy hearings begin this week, and while some alarmists wring their hands over the fate of the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection, the Art Market Monitor notes a series of indications that the museum collection will likely not find itself on the auction block.  Citing a New York Times article, the site notes the “scorched earth” approach taken by debt holders Syncora, and the chances that it may only alienate the courts in attempts to collect whatever it can on the final rulings. (more…)

BBC Two has commissioned a feature-length documentary on the life and work of David Hockney, focusing on the life and work of the iconic British painter.  HOCKNEY, as it has been titled, will air next year, and will be made by the same filmmaking team behind the popular Lucian Freud: Painted Life.  “David Hockney stands as one of Britain’s seminal and most important artists, and I’m delighted to be showing this major film on him on BBC Two,”  says BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw:  Arts on BBC Two is all about bringing the biggest and best documentaries to the broadest of audiences, and I know this film will be a riveting and inspiring watch.” (more…)

This November 17th, HBO will premiere a documentary focusing on Banksy’s monthlog “residency” in New York City, titled Banksy Does New York.  Taking footage uploaded by viewers experiencing the artist’s work firsthand, director Chris Moukarbel has cut together a full-length film, which he calls “a city holding a mirror back up to the artist.” (more…)

Lee Ufan, Relatum – The Arch of Versailles (2014), all images Courtesy the artist ; kamel mennour, Paris and Pace, New York © Tadzio

Lee Ufan‘s work takes its strength from its silence.  Utilizing simple materials placed into careful interactions with the space around them, the Korean artist has pioneered his particular brand of minimalism over the past half century.  Tight, angular lines converge with natural materials in carefully measured configurations, often utilizing the passage of shadow and light through the work to create a nuanced dialogue with its surroundings.

Lee Ufan, Relatum – The Shadow of the Stars (2014) (more…)

Artist Yayoi Kusama is interviewed in The Telegraph this week, in the run-up to the artist’s show of new work at Victoria Miro next month.  In the article, the artist discusses her life between Japan and New York, and her reasons for moving to New York in the late 1950’s.  “Japan was a very feudalistic society and I felt I wanted to live more freely,” Kusama notes. “So I decided to go to America. I thought lots of people were making beautiful images in America… It was a very interesting society to me, especially the younger generation. Everyone seemed to try really hard to find their own way.” (more…)

French artist Bernar Venet has launched a new non-profit organization, The Venet Foundation will exhibit a collection of works the artist collected from close friends like Donald Judd, Yves Klein and Sol LeWitt under conditions that Vernet felt were ideal for exhibiting their works, including a subjective element to the foundation that fits quite well alongside the artist’s conceptual practice. (more…)

Artist David Hockney is the subject of a new biography by author Christopher Simon Sykes, who has chronicled some of the artist’s least known and most peculiar stories in a new book,  A Pilgrim’s Progress.  The book includes a number of Hockney’s famous feuds with artists and actors like Dennis Hopper and Rudolph Nureyev, whom Hopper once fired from a collaborative project.  “Well, Rudi, it’s obvious that we are not going to be able to work together, so I’m afraid it’s all finished,” Hockney reportedly said. (more…)

The country of Portugal will ultimately sell its collection of 85 Joan Miró works, after a national court overturned the ruling banning their sale.  With over $110 billion in debt, the European nation will seek to alleviate its financial burden by selling the series of works originally in the Banco Português de Negócios collection. (more…)

A considerable proportion of the over 7,000 works from the Essl Collection will go to the auction block this October in London, worth an estimated €160 million ($211 million) in total.  The works, which will sell at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s, include iconic pieces by Gerhard Richter, Martin Kippenberger, and Georg Baselitz, among others.   (more…)