Jeremy Deller (curator), “Love is Enough” installation view (2014). via Modern Art Oxford

In Love is Enough at Modern Art Oxford, artist Jeremy Deller brings together the work of William Morris and Andy Warhol, two renowned artists from vastly disparate eras who served as something of artistic icons of their respective generations.  Drawing on a uniquely perceptive appreciation of both artists, Deller has created a seamless installation that shows a conversation across centuries over the accessibility of art and its purpose in countering the harshness of industrialism. (more…)

Ryder Ripps, Heater (2014), via Art Observed

If there’s one thing that can be said about Ryder Ripps, it’s that the artist loves context.  Over the past few years, the artist has produced a number of timely and often razor-sharp critiques on the notions of authorship and production in the digital sphere, including his “WhoDat.Biz” troll of Kanye West, and his recent, controversial Ace Hotel performance piece, in which the artist hired a group of “sensual masseuses” to draw pictures for him to protest what he saw as an inequitable payment situation. (more…)

Ryan McNamara, Performance Plaque (2014)

Ryan McNamara star has rapidly been on the rise in the past years, as his infamous performance commissions, among which are his breakthrough Performa 09 piece A Fag Could Do That and his McLaren Award-winning performance MEEM, which the artist brought to Miami Beach last December. Following the immense success of his recentresidency, McNamara is making his comeback to New York at Mary Boone Gallery’s Midtown location with an exhibition that delves into the tangible aspects of performance art, the remains of a performance (body parts, clothing, and materials), which are left behind following a piece. (more…)

Harmony Korine, Fex Chex (2014), all images Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Currently on view at Gagosian Beverly Hills is a group of new paintings by American film director, producer, screenwriter, author, and artist Harmony Korine. Although he is primarily working within the mediums of film and writing, Korine has recently begun publicly displaying his works, immense, swirling compositions composed in a variety of techniques and palettes.

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Mamma Andersson, Behind the Curtain (Installation View)

Currently on view at David Zwirner is Behind the Curtain, a new body of work by one of the most recognized contemporary artists from Sweden, Mamma Andersson. The Stockholm-based artist has gained international acclaim in recent years with her solo shows in Aspen Museum of Art, Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin and a mid-career survey that travelled to Finland and UK after its Swedish premiere several years ago. (more…)

Mark Bradford, Biting the Book (2013), via Phillips

Following a pair of major auctions the previous evenings, the Phillips Contemporary and Evening Sale in London has concluded the first Contemporary market week of the year, capping a 30-lot sale at the auction house’s new 30 Berkeley Square to the final result of £17.7 million, with only five of the works going unsold.

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Francis Bacon, Study for a Head (1955), via Christie’s

Another night of sales has come and gone in London, following the conclusion of Christie’s Contemporary Evening Sale, a somewhat textbook outing that saw the auction house forego a reliance on high-achieving works in favor of a series of strong selling works to reach a final tally of £117,142,500.   (more…)

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (1983), via Sotheby’s

The Contemporary Evening sale at Sotheby’s has concluded, following a sale of works that was fairly by the book in comparison with past auctions, with the exception of a massive new auction record for artist Gerhard Richter just one day after his 83rd birthday.  Despite a lack of exceptionally competitive bidding, the 77-lot sale still brought in impressive returns, finishing at a tally of £123,515,250. (more…)

Francis Bacon, Two Studies for Self-Portrait (1977), via Sotheby’s

Concluding a three week series of auctions, the Contemporary Evening Sales are set to take place in London in the coming evenings, offering a perspective on the strength of the market as 2015’s art season gets underway.

The auctions begin on Tuesday, February 10th, with Sotheby’s Evening sale.  The 77-lot sale is carrying a presale estimate of £89.7 million to £127.1 million, led by a large-scale Gerhard Richter Abstraktes Bild from 1986, which is estimated to sell for £14 million to £20 million.  Also topping the list is a rare Francis Bacon double self-portrait, executed in 1977 and carrying a £13 million to £18 million presale estimate.  The painting, executed  just weeks after the suicide of his partner George Dyer, is already commanding impressive buzz, and may turn out to be the night’s most coveted lot.  A Lucio Fontana “slit” work also sits at the top of the sale offerings, estimated at £5 million to £7 million.   (more…)

Kurimanzutto at Zona Maco, via Zona Maco

Just one week after the hectic schedule of Art Week in Los Angeles, the fair scene has headed south, setting up shop in Mexico City for a selection of fairs, exhibitions and special projects that have helped establish Mexico’s capital as a swiftly-growing arts hub for both Latin America and the international market. (more…)

Yael Bartana, Inferno (2013)

Yael Bartana’s new body of work, containing two video pieces, two photographs and a neon installation, is currently on view at Petzel Gallery. The Tel Aviv and Amsterdam-based artist has become one of the strongest artistic voices from her home in Israel, a territory Bartana, in her own words, aims to ‘treat as a social laboratory’. Living abroad gives the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design graduate the opportunity to maintain a neutral outside perspective towards her country that has always remained embedded in political, religious and social turmoil. (more…)

Pierre Huyghe, Zoodram 5 (2011)

Following a year of strong solo exhibitions and special projects in the United States and abroad, Pierre Huyghe has opened a the first major retrospective devoted to his work at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, pulling together a combination of his most ambitious videos, sculptures and installation environments, allowing a broad few of the artist’s continued interests in fluctuations of time, space and matter as expressed within the gallery environment.  Huyghe’s retrospective, which first opened in Paris, early last year, finally makes it to U.S. soil, bringing with it a group of 50 projects culled from the artist’s 20 year career. (more…)

Paul Cézanne, Vue Sur L’estaque Et Le Château D’if (circa 1881-1885), via Christie’s

The Christie’s Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist Sales have concluded in London, bringing to close the week of auctions.  In comparison with Sotheby’s record-setting auction last evening, the Christie’s sale seemed content to rely on a strong selection of curated works, putting together a 44 lot auction that ultimately brought in a final sales tally of £80,375,000.  There were few blockbuster lots in comparison with Sotheby’s and its selection of Monets, but a steady stream of sales in the auction house’s surrealism sale kept the auction houses in close competition, bringing in sales of £66,656,000 in its own right.

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Printed Matter at LA Art Book Fair, via Art Observed

Last weekend, capitalizing on the high-profile proceedings of the Art Los Angeles Contemporary Fair across town, Printed Matter presented the third edition of its quickly growing LA Art Book Fair.  Held near MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary space in Downtown Los Angeles, the event gathered an impressive crowd to its over 40,000 square feet of exhibition space to browse homemade zines, printed editions and other limited works from a wide range of artists, writers and creators, including over 100 booths from California-based publishers and artists. (more…)

Sturtevant, Duchamp Relâche (1967)

The Museum of Modern Art is hosting the first US exhibition focusing on the work of the late Sturtevant, one of the foremost artists to initiate conversations on commodification and appropriation of artworks, after the late artist was the subject of various solo shows in Europe. Born Elaine Horan in Ohio, Sturtevant always chose to remain discrete about her biography, so much that her year of birth is still a matter of discussion. (more…)

Berlinde de Bruyckere, 028 (2007), all images courtesy S.M.A.K and © Mirjam Devriendt

Currently on view at S.M.A.K. in Ghent, Belgium is the first mid-career presentation of the ouevre of Berlinde De Bruyckere (1964, Ghent) and the first solo exhibition of her work in Belgium since 2002. Entitled Sculptures & Drawings. 2000-2014, the exhibition is an interwoven series of associations of form and content, presented through the mediums of painting, drawing, and installation art.

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Claude Monet, Le Grand Canal (1908), via Sotheby’s

The Impressionist and Modern Auction week has begun in London, as Sotheby’s closes its doors on a strong set of evening sales.  It was the first sale since the auction house announced its increase in rates for 2015, but buyers seemed undeterred by the price increases, bring the final sales tally for the 54 lot sale to an impressive £170,274,000. (more…)

Rineke Dijkstra, Selected Works (Installation View), all images courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery Paris

On view at Marian Goodman’s Paris exhibition space is the third exhibition from Dutch photographer and filmmaker Rineke Dijkstra, composed of of two new videos filmed in Russia.  Dijkstra became internationally known for her beach portraits of teenagers on the beaches of South Carolina, Poland, and Ukraine during the 1990’s, but she has also been producing lesser-known video portraits since 1996. The videos on display here, focusing on young ballerinas, were commissioned by Manifesta (European Biennial of Contemporary Art) for its most recent edition in 2014.

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Paramount Ranch 2, via Art Observed

Tucked away in the mountain ranges outside of Santa Monica, the Paramount Ranch is a relic of the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system, a massive film set and town used to shoot Westerns.  It’s just this history that makes the landscape a fittingly Californian location to stage an art fair.  Now in its sophomore year, Paramount Ranch offers a unique take on the fair experience: galleries and artists are invited to participate, steering away from any formal application process, and the selection of works often leans towards the more imaginative and immediate.

Haciencda at Paramount Ranch 2, via Art Observed (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Grand Canal (1908), via Sotheby’s

Picking up where last week’s Old Masters auctions in New York City left off, the art market’s attention turns to London this week, as Christie’s and Sotheby’s prepare a set of Impressionist and Modern auctions.   (more…)

John Waters, Beverly Hills John (2012)

Marianne Boesky Gallery is hosting its third collaboration with John Waters, a pioneer of American camp and “trash culture” since the 1970’s, particularly through his feature breakthrough Pink Flamingos in 1972.  Throughout his career, Waters has constantly redefined the elements that constitute American culture, at a time when the nation was premature to notions such as homosexuality or kitsch, and used these often marginalized cultures within a studied cinematic and artistic framework.

John Waters, Still from Kiddie Flamingos (2014) (more…)

Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait Of A Young Man With A Book, Via Christie’s

Old Masters Week has concluded in New York, following a set of auctions over the past few days that saw mixed results at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s. (more…)

Polly Apfelbaum, HWP 10-20 (2014), via Art Observed

The White Columns Annual offers a particularly resonant opening note for New York’s art world each year.  Refusing an overly objective approach to the curation of a “year in review” style group show, the event encourages, and even emphasizes subjectivity, turning the keys over to one group or person each year.  This year, the all-female art collective Cleopatra’s has been handed the reigns for the Annual’s 9th Edition, with the end result being a colorful, expansive show that is at turns somber, wry and compelling. (more…)

Agnolo Bronzino, Portrait Of A Young Man With A Book, via Christie’s

The auction calendar kicks off with its first major sales of 2015 this week, as collectors of Renaissance and Classic works flock to New York City for Sotheby’s and Christie’s Old Masters week sales. With a group of sales lined up for each auction house in the coming days, and a number of impressive works available, the auctions should mark a strong start to the auction season. (more…)