Martin Creed, Work No. 1219 (2011), all images via Johnen Galerie Berlin

Martin Creed’s solo exhibition ‘Paintings’ is approaching its final weekend at Johnen Galerie Berlin. Known primarily for his cheeky sculptural works, Creed’s Berlin show is made up of a sincere selection of paintings in which the artist uses his physical materials and certain formulas to dictate the resultant artworks.

Martin Creed, Work No. 1198 (2011)

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Gillian Wearing, Snapshot (detail) (2005). All images Nicolas Linnert for Art Observed.

Gillian Wearing’s expansive, multi-room exhibition enters its final week at Tanya Bonakdar gallery. For People, the Turner prize-winning artist has installed works in a variety of media including video, sound, sculpture and photographic prints. Much of Wearing’s artistic practice explores notions of identity and memory, and the performativity associated with both.

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Donald Judd, Untitled (Menziken 89-2) (1989). All images by Nicolas Linnert for Art Observed.

David Zwirner gallery, now exclusively representing the Judd Foundation, is currently showing a collection of works by Donald Judd originally part of a seminal 1989 exhibition. Including nine sculptures and three wall-mounted drawings, the grouping showcases pieces brought together from international public and private collections. On the last day of the show, the gallery will be holding free screenings of Marfa Voices (2010), a film by Rainer Judd about her father’s philosophy and work. Also shown will be The Artist’s Studio: Donald Judd (2010), a film by Michael Blackwood comprised of interviews with and footage of the artist. Screenings will be at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm on Saturday, June 25th.

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Artist Nir Hod, with a friend at the Opening of Genius

On May 19th Art Observed was on site for the opening of Israeli artist Nir Hod’s show “Genius” with depictions of  “precocious” children at Paul Kasmin Gallery. The series is rendered in classical portraiture style, and consists of paintings and sculptures of cartoon-like children partaking in adults-only behaviours: they smoke, are self-indulgent, and emote a specific type of narcissism that alludes not only to luxury and class, but perhaps also to the quickly-maturing teens of the current time.  After the jump is Stephanie Murg‘s interview with Nir about his work and the Paul Kasmin show.

Designer Marc Jacobs views the work at the opening

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Charles Tennant (1978) by Robert Mapplethorpe, via Sean Kelly Gallery

Currently on view at Sean Kelly Gallery is “50 Americans”, an exhibition presenting fifty works by the renowned American artist Robert Mapplethorpe (1946- 1989). Fifty Americans, each from a different state in the country and some of whom were not yet familiar with the artist’s work, were invited to choose an artwork by the legendary photographer out of a selection of 2,000 images. Each participant revealed why he or she found each work to be particularly meaningful in a text box accompanying the piece. “50 Americans” is an exhibition which offers a fresh view of Mapplethorpe’s work and his practice while also revealing the tastes of the everyday Americans who acted as the curators.

Nick Marden (1980) by Robert Mapplethorpe, via Sean Kelly Gallery

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Installation view at Luhring Augustine Gallery. All images Nicolas Linnert for Art Observed.

Luhring Augustine Gallery is currently showing I Had A Vision, a grouping of works by Martin Kippenberger. Together forming a kitschy carnival of mixed media installation and wall pieces, the works selected were earlier exhibited in various exhibitions dating to the early 1990s. The title of the exhibition is pulled from the catalogue accompanying Kippenberger’s 1991 show at SF MoMA. The “vision” in question is apparent in the gallery presentation, as Kippenberger consistently reappropriates objects and re-envisions their utilitarian intent.

Martin Kippenberger, Broken Kilometer (1990).

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Jim Lambie, Black Metal (2004) (left) and Lisa Beck, Slacker (1991) (right). All images Nicolas Linnert for Art Observed.

Closing this week is Martos Gallery’s group exhibition We Regret to Inform You There is Currently No Space or Place for Abstract Painting. With a title sounding like a submission response dating from earlier half of the 20^th century, the exhibition includes a significant amount of abstract painting. It also shows mixed media installation and slightly representational wall pieces.

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Jack Smith, Untitled (1981) Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery.

Gladstone Gallery is currently presenting “Thanks for Explaining Me,” a comprehensive exhibition of the works of Jack Smith, the seminal filmmaker and visual artist who is also credited as one of the earliest exponents of performance art. Curated by Neville Wakefield, this show, which is screening the formerly controversial film ‘Flaming Creatures,’ examines Smith’s imprint in a both documentary and anecdotical manner; hinting at the artist’s rigorous aesthetic and intellectual pursuits that may have appear to be veiled under the frenzied masquerades portrayed in his work. In addition, with the purpose of fostering a symbolic trans-generational dialogue, Wakefield included three collaborative pieces by contemporary artists Ryan McNamara, A. L. Steiner, and T. J. Wilcox, elaborating on the intricacies of Smith’s life and artistic endeavors.

Jack Smith, Untitled (Business card) (1978). Courtesy of Gladstone Gallery

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Francis Alÿs, Modern Procession (2002), via PS1

Initiated in collaboration with, and previously presented at, Tate Modern, London and WIELS Centre of Contemporary Art, Brussels, Francis Alÿs’s survey show entitled ‘Francis Alÿs: A Story of Deception’ is now on view through August 1 at both MoMA and MoMA PS1. Largely drawing upon MoMA’s collection of works from the Belgium-born artist and grouped around three recent acquisitions—Re-enactments (2001), When Faith Moves Mountains (2002), and Rehearsal I (Ensayo I) (1999–2001)—the New York iteration of ‘Franicis Alÿs: A Story of Deception’ brings together a sizeable amount of the artist’s works, which characteristically emphasize performance and repetition with results that range from absurd to stunning.

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Cory Arcangel, Various Self Playing Bowling Games (aka Beat the Champ) (2011), all images via The Whitney
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Currently showing at The Whitney is “Pro Tools,” the first major retrospective of Brooklyn-based Cory Arcangel. The show surveys a diverse set of works that display a focused obsession with both outdated technology and pop culture.  The exhibition’s title refers to a software that is used in sound mixing, and becomes a synecdoche for the way in which tools and trends allow culture to move forward, but in doing so render themselves obsolete.

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Cory Arcangel, Various Self Playing Bowling Games (aka Beat the Champ) (2011) (detail)

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Jim Shaw, Cake (Jim Head Clutch) (2010), via Patrick Painter

Patrick Painter, Inc presents a new exhibition of works by Jim Shaw, surrealist multimedia artist at their Santa Monica location. Currently included in this new exhibition entitled “CAKES, MEN IN PAIN, WHITE RECTANGLES, DEVIL IN THE DETAILS” are several large-scale works that include dual canvases and a multitude of working art media.  This new show serves to take a personal and experiential view of two dimensional artwork. Like many of his other exhibitions,  this show features many works that rely on unique and personal material from Shaw’s own intimate history and subconscious.

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Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, 2011, via Sprueth Magers

One hundred of Philip Lorca DiCorcia‘s Polaroid photos have been elegantly installed at Sprueth Magers gallery in London.  The 100 Polaroids, all resting comfortably on a single silver lip trailing the white walls, have been assumed from DiCorcias’s Thousand series (2007), itself selected from 4,000 Polaroids, spanning 30 years of work.  Having been pulled from previous and current projects, both professional and private, this exhibition is deliberately disparate as an entity.

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Lawrence Weiner, At a Distance to the Foreground (1999). All images Nicolas Linnert for Art Observed.

Closing this week is Paula Cooper Gallery’s group exhibition Locations, a showcase of work by fifteen artists involving mapping and locality. At a moment when art and its surrounding socioeconomic structure have moved steadily to occupy a global, deterritorialized sphere, this arrangement of works is distinctive in its look back to a mid-century Modernist practice regarding spatial surroundings.

Installation view at Paula Cooper Gallery.

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I, Impostor. All images by Cristiano Corte, courtesy of the British Council, unless otherwise noted.

Mike Nelson, who has twice been short-listed for the Turner Prize, is the first installation artist to be invited by the British Council to create a new work in the UK’s Pavilion in the 2011 Venice Biennale. Nelson is known for site-specific large scale installations with enigmatic titles: The Deliverance and the Patience (2001), Triple Bluff Canyon (2004), To the Memory of HP Lovecraft (2008), and so on. Curated by Richard Riley, with Andrea Rose as Commissioner, this transformative pavilion is one of the most talked about at this year’s biennale.

British Pavilion. Photograph by John Riddy, courtesy of Matt’s Gallery London, Franco Noero Turin, and 303 Gallery New York.

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Central “International” Pavilion, which partially houses the 54th International Art Exhibition. All images by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

Curated by Bice Curiger, The 54th International Art Exhibition opened today to the public. Displayed are works from newcomers and established artists including Maurizio Cattelan, Martin Creed, Trisha Donnelly, Urs Fischer, Fischli & Weiss, Klara Lidén, Christian Marclay, Philippe Parreno, Sigmar Polke, Pipilotti Rist, Cindy Sherman, and James Turrell. The exhibition’s title, and this year’s theme, is ILLUMInations, inspired in part by 16th century Venetian painter Tintoretto, whose works Curiger boldly included in the exhibition.

Earlier today, Biennale Director Paolo Baratta announced the winners of three official prizes decided on by the International Jury of the 54th International Art Exhibition.

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Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, the site of Anish Kapoor’s “Ascension.” All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

Anish Kapoor‘s new project at the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice is “Ascension.” Backed by Galleria Continua (in collaboration with Fondazione Giorgio Cini and illycaffe), the project is curated by Lorenzo Fiaschi. In the site-specific installation, a column of white smoke rises from a circular base at the intersection between the transept and the nave of the basilica, making the immaterial tangible.

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Jonathan Meese, Wir, Erzkinder lernen Macht (Süsses Dorf der Verdammtin) = Die Gören (2007) via Tim Van Laere Gallery

On view at the Tim Van Laere Gallery in Antwerp until June 25th, is Jonathan Meese’s 2007 sculpture, Wir, Erzkinder lernen Macht (Süsses Dorf der Verdammtin) = Die Gören. The show, which opened on May 12th, is part of the gallery’s ongoing focus on significant sculptural work in their outdoor exhibition space.

Artist Jonathan Meese (far left) at exhibition opening via Tim Van Laere Gallery

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All photos by Caroline Claisse.

Andrea Thal and Thomas Hirschhorn represent Switzerland in the 2011 Venice Biennale.  Previous representatives have included Silvia Bächli and Fabrice Gygi (2009), Ugo Rondinone (2007), and Pipilotti Rist (2005) whose work is visible in the Arsenale.

Hirschhorn is a Bern-born, Paris-based artist best known for large-scale “DIY” style installations using duct tape and tinfoil.  Thal’s practice is based in music and performance; she runs an artist-run gallery space in Zurich, Les Complices.* Hirschhorn has also created a special website for the project, which provides insight into his working process: Crystals of Resistance.

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Installation view of Miroslaw Balka’s Nonetheless (2011), via Nordenhake.

In a show titled “Nonetheless”, Polish artist MirosÅ‚aw BaÅ‚ka presents four recent pieces at Berlin’s Galerie Nordenhake. The works are composed of wood, nails, steel, plastic, concrete, glass, and light, and have titles referencing the pieces’ dimensions.   “Nonetheless” hints at an ability do more than expected, which be said of the exhibition itself.

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All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed.

One of the biggest official collateral events of the 54th Venice Biennale is “Venice in Venice.” The exhibition’s fill title is “Venice in Venice: Glow & Reflection – Venice California Art from 1960 to the Present,” organized by Foundation 20 21 and taking place June 1st – July 31st at Palazzo Contarini Dagli Scrigni. Curated by Tim Nye and Jaqueline Miro, the exhibition include works by seminal Southern California artists Peter Alexander, John Altoon, Charles Arnoldi, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, Tony Berlant, Wallace Berman, Vija Celmins, Bruce Conner, Ron Cooper, Mary Corse, Laddie John Dill, Joe Goode, Robert Graham, George Herms, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, John McCracken, Ed Moses,Kenneth Price, Ed Ruscha, and James Turrell.

Curator Jacqueline Miro, Director of the Getty Image Research Institute Andrew Perchuk, and artists exhibiting in the Venice in Venice show.

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German pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale 2011. All images by Caroline Claisse.

The German pavilion is represented this year by the late artist Christoph Schlingensief. The pavilion is a lively homage to the artist, whose also worked as a director of film, theater, and opera. Schlingensief passed away last year from cancer during the planning phase of his contribution to the Biennale. Due to the difficulty of realizing a project without the artist’s presence, the pavilion’s organizers decided not to exhibit his latest project, “which existed in developmental, sketch-like form.” Less wunderkammer than spatial experience, the exhibition features existing works covering Schlingensief’s endeavors in film, theater, video, and Africa.

To complement the exhibition, the pavilion’s curator, Susanne Gaensheimer, has organized a publication and a virtual “scavenger hunt” on the pavilion’s web site. The artist is represented by Hauser & Wirth. Among the pavilion’s past representatives are Liam Gillick (2009), Isa Genzken (2007), Thomas Scheibitz and Tino Seghal (2005), Martin Kippenberger and Candida Höfer (2003). In 1993, German representatives Hans Haacke and Nam June Paik won the Golden Lion for Best Pavilion.

Inside the pavilion.

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All photos by Caroline Claisse unless otherwise noted.

Representing the United States in the Venice Biennale 2011 is artist duo Allora & Calzadilla. Based in Puerto Rico, the real-life couple Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla‘s work is deeply political, though they would have you think otherwise.

The exhibition, entitled “Gloria,” features six newly commissioned works. It is curated by Lisa Freiman, chair of the contemporary art department at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the institution the U.S. State Department entrusted with the selection. The organizing committee is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. Previous representatives of the U.S. are Bruce Nauman (2009) who won the Golden Lion for his country, Felix Gonzalez-Torres (2007), Ed Ruscha (2005), and Fred Wilson (2003).

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All photos by Caroline Claisse.

“Chance” is French artist Christian Boltanski‘s installation at the French Pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2011. Born in Paris in 1944, Boltanski is known for his sprawling, existential projects. The exhibition is curated by Jean-Hubert Martin, former director of the Centre Pompidou.

The artist sat down with Art Observed to talk about life, death, optimism, and Venetian cuisine.

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Jaume Plensa, Echo (2011) – All photos by Art Observed

Jaume Plensa’s latest site-specific installation titled ‘Echo’ marks his long anticipated debut for New York City and is both the largest and costliest project to date for the Madison Square Park Conservancy.  At 44 feet tall, the  portrait of a nine-year old girl from Plensa’s hometown Barcelona entrances spectators with its monumental scale, distorted facial features, and the white polyester resin and marble dust veneer that creates the illusion of an otherworldly apparition or hologram sprouting from the Oval Lawn.

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