Roxy Paine, Distillation, 2010. All images courtesy of James Cohan Gallery.

A  large scale installation evoking circulatory systems, arboreal forms, and industrial power-plants has taken over every room in James Cohan Gallery, even the offices. The new work by entitled Distillation, is by New York born artist Roxy Paine, and is part of his Dendroid series. Other works in the series are outdoor sculptures featuring steel tree-like sculptures, including the work Maelstrom, which was exhibited on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art last year. The sculpture begins in the first room, right near the receptionist’s desk, with what looks like an industrial steel tank, complete with valves and pressure gauges. The work extends from this main tank to evoke a variety of conflicting visual cues: internal organs, blood vessels, tree branches, weather vanes, computer mainframes, and of course, the material itself–industrial steel piping. No casting is used to make his works; instead, Paine uses a complex process of soldering and bending the material. Certain areas retain the marks of this process, such as serial numbers, soldering marks, and product names, while other areas are painted red or are highly polished. The sculpture extends throughout the gallery space, extending even into the back offices.

Roxy Paine, Distillation, 2010.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Big Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Vegetable Beef) (1962) by Andy Warhol, via Kunstmuseum

Currently on view at the Kunstmuseum Basel is “Andy Warhol – The Early Sixties: Paintings and Drawings 1961-1964,” an examination of the formative period of Warhol’s work as a painter and a graphic artist. Following a period of some success in advertising design and greeting-card illustration in the 1950s, Warhol began increasingly to explore the medium of painting in non-commissioned works. The seventy-some objects on view in this exhibition explore a transitional period in which the artist expanded and enhanced his methods of pictorial expression. It was during this time that he opened his studio to a synthesis of differing media and ideas, established the Factory, and began working in music and film.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Marcel Broodthaers, Les Portes, 1969. Vacuum-formed plastic, hand painted, 192 x 178 cm. All images courtesy of Michael Werner Gallery.

Currently on view at Michael Werner Gallery is Marcel Broodthaers “Major Works.” The exhibition marks the second this fall of Belgian conceptual artist Broodthaers, who began his career as a poet before turning to visual art at age 40. Stemming from his roots in poetry, Broodthaers’ visual practice involved playful, provocative juxtapositions of word and image, poetry and object, language and art. His work is varied, dabbling in appropriations, film, image and text combinations, and mixed media installations he called decors.

The artist found inspiration in the Surrealists and American Pop artists, citing influence from Oldenburg, Segal, Mallarmé, and Magritte. Unfortunately, the artist’s career was tragically cut short when, a mere twelve years later, he succumbed to liver disease on his 52nd birthday. However, he leaves behind an astounding number of works, many of which have had a profound impact on future artists, including Richard Prince, Rachel Harrison, Philippe Parreno and Tino Sehgal.

Marcel Broodthaers, Dites Partout Que Je L’Ai Dit (Say Everywhere That I Have Said It), 1974. Parrot under bell jar, audiotape, 2 framed works. Variable dimensions.

More text and images after the jump… (more…)

Robert Rauschenberg, Untitled (Runts), 2007 image courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.

Currently on view at Gagosian Gallery’s large Chelsea space on West 21st street is the first major retrospective of Robert Rauschenberg‘s work since his death in 2008. The artist was represented by Pace Gallery for fifteen years until this past June, when Gagosian gained exclusive commercial representation of the artist’s estate. This exhibition is presented by Gagosian in collaboration with the Estate of Robert Rauschenberg, and is accompanied by a beautifully-illustrated catalogue with essays by art historians James Lawrence and John Young.

Robert Rauschenberg, Aen Floga (Combine Painting), 1962 image courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

John Baldessari, The Overlap Series: Jogger (with Cosmic Event), 2000- 2001 Image © John BaldessariLos Angeles comes to New York with “Pure Beauty,” a survey of work by conceptual Californian artist John Baldessari. With a career spanning over five decades and a body of work composed of nearly every media, Baldessari pioneered many of the tropes associated with conceptual art today.  In “Pure Beauty,” established themes of language and seriality intersect with Baldessari’s interest in cinema, pedagogy and the culture of LA.

John Baldessari, God Nose, 1965 Image © John Baldessari (more…)

–>
Exit Art Founders Papo Colo and Jeanette Ingberman at Exit Art, 578 Broadway, Manhattan, 1986. Courtesy of Exit Art

Exit Art’s Alternative Histories attempts to assess the inception and development of “alternative” art spaces in New York since the 1960s. The show presents various forms of documentary and archival material drawn from more than 130 organizations and collective experiences which have, from this establishment’s perspective, shaped  the cultural topography of the city over the past 50 years, informing and inspiring generations of artists and practitioners.

–>
All installation views courtesy Exit Art

(more…)

–>
Marina Abramović, Portrait with white lamb. 2010. Courtesy the artist, Marco Anelli and Lisson Gallery.

Currently on view at Lisson Gallery London is an exhibition of new and retrospective works by Marina Abramović. The installation showcases videos, photographs, and sculpture, divided in two parts between galleries across the street from one another. In one, her seminal Rhythm series is mounted in its entirety for the first time; in the other, Abramović’s new series Back to Simplicity makes its debut.

Back to Simplicity reveals a somewhat softer side of Abramović: exhausted from her recent 90-day performance at the MoMA New York, the artist returned to nature to renew her energy. Shot in upstate New York, where Abramović intends to open an institute for the preservation of performance art, the recent images are a far cry from the challenging, violent, and provocative work for which Abramović is known. Instead of pills, guns, or other tools of violence, the artist’s new companion is the lamb. As a symbol of innocence, this creature carries with it a gentler, more vulnerable air.

–>
Marina Abramović. Video still from Confession. 2010. Image courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery.

More text, images, and link to the artist’s Twitter interview with Lisson Gallery after the jump… (more…)

Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (08), 2009. © Gregory Crewdson. All images of courtesy of Gagosian Gallery.

Sanctuary, the Gregory Crewdson exhibition currently on view at Gagosian Gallery’s Madison Avenue branch, further develops the artist’s on-going investigation into the realm of staged photography. With this new body of work, Crewdson addresses questions of format and color, presenting a series of black and white images that offer an intimate entry point into his visual journey through Italy.

Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (06), 2009. © Gregory Crewdson.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Roy Lichtenstein, Reflections: Sunday Morning, 1989. Image © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.

The Pop-art of Roy Lichtenstein has garnered a great deal of attention this fall, with three monographic shows currently taking place in New York City. Reflections represents one third of this trio, presented at Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery. As the title suggests, the twelve paintings featured are connected through themes of mirrors, reflection, and doubling. Also included are a number of preparatory drawings, which provide important insight into the development of these stylized, vivid depictions of fragmented figures and forms.

Roy Lichtenstein, Reflections: Nurse, 1988. Image © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

(more…)

–>
Two Tahitian Women (1889) by Paul Gauguin, via The Guardian

Currently on view at the Tate Modern is Gauguin: Maker of Myth, the first exhibition devoted exclusively to the work of Paul Gauguin in over half a century. Featuring more than 100 works from private and public collections worldwide, the exhibition examines the artist’s unique approach to storytelling in his compositional practice. The works displayed offer greater insight into the narrative process of one of the most prominent figures of the Post-Impressionist era.

–>

–>
The Ham (1889) by Paul Gauguin, via The Guardian

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Sky Mirror, Red (2009) by Anish Kapoor, via The Guardian

On view in London’s Kensington Gardens is a major exhibition of outdoor sculpture by London-based artist Anish Kapoor. Presented jointly by the Serpentine Gallery and the Royal Parks, the exhibition displays works not previously shown together in London. Dispersed throughout the gardens, Kapoor’s sculptures are made from highly-reflective stainless steel, which create large mirrored surfaces to distort the image the surrounding environment.

C-Curve (2007) by Anish Kapoor, via The Guardian

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Paul McCarthy, Ship of Fools, Ship Adrift, 2010. All images via L & M Arts.

L & M Arts is currently celebrating the inauguration of their Los Angeles branch with ‘Three Sculptures;’ an exhibition of new work by transgressive sculptor, filmmaker, and performance artist Paul McCarthy. Three large-scale pieces in differing mediums are installed throughout the gallery’s well-received new space, which consists of two adjacent buildings and an outdoor garden. The property was transformed from a disused power station and (literally) a pile of bricks, by local architect Kulapat Yantrasast, with gallery co-founder Robert Mnuchin personally designing the garden landscape. The works on view in this important exhibition reflect the artist’s continued exploration of certain themes and motifs which have pervaded his work for nearly twenty years.

Paul McCarthy, Ship of Fools, Ship Adrift, 2010.

(more…)

John McCracken, New Works in Bronze and Steel, image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner

David Zwirner is currently presenting a new body of work by Californian artist John McCracken. McCracken first gained international recognition with his monochromatic geometries placed between flat surfaces and three-dimensional objects. In the present exhibition, he addresses the gallery space as a whole, allowing its architecture and light to participate fully in the installation. In the first room, three bronze planks lean against the wall, in an apparent departure from the materiality of his previous works in fiberglass and resin, while continuing to work in his signature format – the narrow, rectangular, monochromatic panel. Their shiny, reflective surfaces introduce the exhibition’s key motifs, inserting them into a dialogue, both formally and conceptually, with the four free-standing stainless-steel sculptures in the adjacent room: Star, Infinite, Dimension and Electron.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

–>
Yoshitomo Nara, No Hopeless, 2007

The current retrospective of Japanese Neo-Pop artist Yoshitomo Nara at the Asia Society is his first in New York, showcasing over one hundred works in a variety of mediums–including paintings, sculptures, ceramics, installations, poems, and drawings–all with the artist’s signature kowa kawaii, or “creepy-cute” aesthetic. Before the visitor enters the exhibition, there is an outdoor installation of Nara’s sculpture White Ghost, on view at Park Avenue and 67th and 70th streets. The sculptures are identical, and face each other across three blocks, acting as komainu, or protective guardians of entrances. The sculptures display a combination of slightly-sinister features with the aesthetic of friendly cartoons, a strategy repeated throughout the many works in the exhibition. Watch the AO Onsite video of White Ghost below:

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Poetry, Dan Colen (2010) via Gagosian

Dan Colen gets past his own (painterly graffiti) writer’s block of a sculptural brick wall (akin to his old urban-artifact based work) and progresses with new strides into the hallowed halls of Gagosian, replete with Gagosian scale, funding, and grandiosity. The gum and grit gestalt gestures are still there but the subject matter has taken a new turn. Namely, Abstraction, and abstraction as abstraction, or “Poetry,” if you will.

The abstract painting at the end of the gallery’s western wall, speaks of a new turn from the artist’s earlier more prosaic if suburbanistic urban-fetish ‘artifactualizations.’ The fashionable bad-boy has entered the brand-building (edifice on 24th street) and even brings with him a painterly painting from the wrong side of the tracks, river, and art history.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Exposure (2010) by Antony Gormley, via Artdaily–>

One of Antony Gormley‘s most intricate sculptures to date, a massive, squatting human figure, now stands 25 meters high near the Dutch city of Lelystad. The work, entitled Exposure, is five meters higher than Gormley’s most famous sculpture, Angel of the North, and weighs approximately 60 tons. The figure is composed of 5,000 hand-cut metal rods, each of a different length, and fastened with 14,000 bolts. The artist spent more than five years planning and creating the gargantuan structure, which would stand 100 meters tall if fully-erect.

Exposure (2010) by Antony Gormley, via TheGuardian

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Rocket by James Franco. All images by Olivia Loving for Art Observed.

Currently on view at the Clocktower Gallery in New York is an exhibition by actor and aspiring visual artist James Franco. The show’s title, The Dangerous Book Four Boys, is a spin-off of the name of a recently released how-to book for boys.  Like the book, the exhibit revolves around the self-awareness and confusion that accompany adolescence.

More text and images after the jump… (more…)

Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin, Deep inside my heart, 2009-2010. All images courtesy of Carolina Nitsch Projects.

During the last two years of her life, feminist sculptor Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) collaborated with the self-revealing YBA artist Tracey Emin on a series of prints entitled DO NOT ABANDON ME, published in an edition of 18 by Carolina Nitsch. Emin spoke of her friendship with the 98 year old artist in an interview with Kisa Lala in early 2010, stating: “I asked if I could meet her, and she said yes. Now we’re doing a collaboration. Louise makes watercolor prints and I do drawings over the top.” The prints use a new technique that transfers the dye from Bourgeois’ original gouache drawings onto fabric, to which Emin added text and drawings in black ink.

Artists Bourgeois and Emin, 2010, by Brigitte Cornand.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

–>
Echolalia (2010) by Franz West, via Gagosian Gallery

I see my works as quite compatible with a l’art pour l’art philosophy. One may think that I try to take the art object out into the world since my works sometimes appear to have a practical function, but really it’s the other way around: things in the world can, under certain special circumstances, enter the realm of art.

-Franz West

Currently on view at Gagosian Gallery in Rome is Franz West’s “Roman Room,” an exhibition of new sculpture by the Austrian-born artist. In this body of work, West transforms basic shapes into irregular, large-scale structures. He incorporates visual elements derived from performance art, as well as classical art and sculpture.

(more…)

Tongari- Kun in the Salon de Hercule at the Chateau de Versailles, via Artinfo

Currently on view at the Château de Versailles are works by renowned Japanese Pop artist Takashi Murakami. The internationally celebrated contemporary artist exhibits 22 works throughout the Palace and the gardens, including 11 pieces created specifically for the exhibition. The show follows the international success of Jeff Koons, who exhibited at the Palace in 2008, and French Pop artist Xavier Veilhan, who created site-specific works at Versailles in 2009.

Kaikai & Kiki in the Salon de Venus at the Chateau de Versailles, via Artinfo

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Dan Flavin, untitled (to Barry, Mike, Chuck and Leonard), 1972-1975. All images by Art Observed.

The current exhibition of early works by Dan Flavin at Paula Cooper Gallery offers a concise exploration into the artist’s experiments with the effect of colored light on architectural space. A 1960s minimalist, Flavin’s works realize the infinite possibilities inherent in the simple gesture of a florescent light in a gallery, which, despite a limited vocabulary, create varied optical and experiential situations. Flavin’s works confound the way that art is viewed by testing the limitations of opticality while stressing color as a medium in its own right. Instead of the viewer looking at a two dimensional object with painted colors, Flavin brings the color to the viewer, aggressively inserting his color combinations into the viewer’s eyes. That is, instead of the art reflecting color, it is emitting the color as light. If the purpose of art is to look, to see, to contemplate a visual object, then Flavin’s art frustrates this standard notion by making it difficult to look directly at the art object itself. This difficulty of viewing the art object directly causes the viewer to notice the effect of light and color on objects, thereby implicating the architectural space within the work. The works thereby occupy every part of the room, using the unusable spaces of a gallery–the corners and the floors, spaces incapable of displaying artworks.

Dan Flavin, untitled (to Barry, Mike, Chuck and Leonard), 1972-1975.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

Gabriel Orozco, Black Kites Perspective (right), 1997, digital C-print, 41 x 51 cm. Courtesy of Marian Goodman.

Last weekend marked the opening of “Thrice Upon A Time” at Magasin 3 Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden. The exhibition, which runs through December 12, 2010, is the institution’s most comprehensive to date. Curated by Richard Julin, Elisabeth Millqvist, and Tessa Praun, the exhibition draws on Magasin 3’s rich collection of works by established international and emerging contemporary artists. The ambitious show features over 200 pieces of photography, drawing, painting, film and sculpture. Just a week away from the Swedish elections, the opening was filled with political hopefuls and those in the know in Stockholm’s growing art scene.

On the role call are recognizable international names such as Uta Barth, Walter De Maria, Gabriel Orozco, Chris Ofili, Tal R, Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, Fred Sandback, and Richard Tuttle. Many of the fresher faces are included in Moderna Museet’s fall show “The Moderna Exhibition 2010” opening October 2, 2010.

Sculptures by Danish artist Tal R, Hyacint, 2008, glazed ceramic, 107 x 28 x 34 and 105 x 36 x 49 cm. Photo by Christian Saltas.

More text and images after the jump… (more…)

–>
Hole (detail) (2009), Yoko Ono, via Haunch of Venison

I’d like to draw awareness to all the violence that is happening all over the world.

-Yoko Ono

Currently on view at Haunch of Venison in Berlin is “Das Gift,” an exhibition by Japanese-American artist Yoko Ono. The show features sculpture, sound, film, and new interactive installations guided by instructions. The exhibition’s focal point is “Hole,” a pane of glass pierced by a bullet paired with written instructions to “Go to the other side of the glass and see through the hole.” Spectators then have the opportunity to experience the perspective of both the aggressor and the victim.

More text and images after the jump…

(more…)

–>
Manolo Valdés, Butterflies, via Sothebys.com

From September 13 to October 31, 2010, Sotheby’s London will exhibit 24 works of sculpture at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire. Each of the pieces is offered for sale in the auction house’s fifth Selling Exhibition of Modern and Contemporary Sculpture, titled Beyond Limits. Among the artists featured are Lynn Chadwick, Yue Minjun, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, Subodh Gupta, Ju Ming, Eduardo Chillida, Germaine Richer and Barry Flanagan.

more photos, images and links after the jump…

(more…)