Image featured on gallery website, via Vera Munro

Currently showing at the Vera Munro Gallery in Hamburg, Germany through September 30^th, 2010, is an exhibition of works by various artists and chosen by Gerwald Rockenschaub.The full list of artists can be found on the gallery’s website, and includes established artists such as Ellsworth Kelly and Gerhard Richter, and younger artists like Tomma Abts and Katja Strunz.

Show assembled by Gerwald Rockenschaub, via My Contemporary

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Dara Friedman, Bim Bam, 1999, courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Currently on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art is the first part of a two-part exhibition titled “Off The Wall.” The exhibition at large brings together thirty works from 1946 to the present involving performative actions and seven iconic works by Trisha Brown. Part one, “Thirty Performative Actions,” was curated by Chrissie Iles, the Whitney’s Anne and Joel Ehrenkrnaz curator and is scheduled to be on display until September 19th. Part two, “Seven Works by Trisha Brown,” will run from September 30^th to October 30^th. This section features the return of the Trisha Brown Dance Company to the Whitney. Many of Brown’s dances were performed at the museum in 1971, so in addition to the performances taking place in the fall there will be video footage of Trisha Brown’s past work.

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“Off The Wall” Opening at The Whitney Museum of American Art on June 30^th, 2010, photograph courtesy of Taylor Derwin.

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Sip my Ocean (1996) by Pipilotti Rist, via Ars Magazine.

Currently on view at the Fundacio Joan Miro is “Friendly Game- Electronic Feelings” an exhibition by renowned Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist. The show is the largest exhibition of her colorful work in Spain and features 13 installations spanning the artist’s career. Ten installations are shown at the Fundacio Joan Miro and the other three are hosted at the Centre Cultural de Caixa Girona. Also shown are small video installations including Porque te vas? (Nass) (2003) and Grabstein fur RW (2004).

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Gordon Matta-Clark, Office Baroque (view of second floor & removed section), 1977, 10 x 8 inches, via Galerie Thomas Schulte.

Currently on view at Galerie Thomas Schulte (in partnership with Florent Bex), is a rare collection of works documenting one of Gordon Matta-Clark’s last building interventions, Office Baroque (1977).  The Antwerp office structure was legally secured for Matta-Clark’s building cuts, which—in contrast with pieces like Bingo (Bin.go.ne) (1974) bulldozed by authorities immediately upon completion, or Day’s End (Pier 52) (1975), for which the artist repeatedly evaded police arrest—allowed for ample opportunity to record the alterations Matta-Clark executed.  Three rooms reveal photography, photo collage and film, on loan from public and private collections, much of which has never before been published.

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Liebespaar II (1965) Sigmar Polke, via Thomas Ammann Gallery

Currently on view at Thomas Ammann Gallery is a selection of important works made by one of the masters of contemporary painting and photography, German artist Sigmar Polke (1941-2010). Renowned for his pictorial jest and vibrant layering of found images, the exhibition features some of the artist’s masterworks many of which probe the ghosts of Germany’s postwar years.

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Artist’s Model Posing For ‘The Old Bugler, Among the Fallen, Battle of Beaune-Roland, 1870’ In The Studio Of An Unknown Military Painter, Paris, 1885 by Rodney Graham, via Hauserwirth

Currently showing at the Lisson Gallery in London, England until July 31, 2010, is a solo exhibition of works by Canadian artist Rodney Graham. Graham is well-known for his schooling in the field of conceptual art, which places the idea of a work of art above the importance of its execution. Graham often creates art out of art; one title alludes to a British horror film by the same name. As a whole, Painter, Poet, Lighthouse Keeper is a versatile and creative exhibit: it contains light boxes, paintings, and short films by Graham. The Lisson Gallery is working with MACBA, Barcelona and Hamburger Kunsthalle to host the exhibit.

Lighthouse Keeper with Lighthouse Model (1955 2010) by Rodney Graham, via Lisson Gallery

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Red Curve in Relief (2009) by Ellsworth Kelly, via Villa Medici.

Currently on view at the French Academy in Rome the Villa Medici is an exhibition featuring the work of two great artists: Twentieth-century American artist Ellsworth Kelly (b.1923) and French Neoclassical master Jean-August-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) who was once the director of the Villa Medici. The show will explore the relationship between the two artists despite the many centuries which separate them.

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Preliminary Study (1989) by Rosemarie Trockel, via Kunstmuseum Basel

Currently showing at Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland through September 5^th, 2010, is an exhibition of works by German artist Rosemarie Trockel. Trockel is an artist of contrasts. Her early “knitting pictures” are an example of such; they consist of logo-stamped wool stretched thin across a series of frames. The logos belong to large corporations or countries. For example, one logo uses the symbol of the Soviet Union superimposed on the colors of the United States’ flag. Besides the obvious intimations of a power struggle through the use of symbols, another contradiction can be noted. Knitting is traditionally a woman’s job, but the frames and the logos recall industrial production and manufacturing, or traditional male jobs. While these “knitting pictures” are not on display at the Kuntsmuseum, other equally suggestive works are. The Kunstmuseum in Basel is working with the Kunstmuseum in Bonn, Germany, to coordinate the exhibit.

Untitled (2000) by Rosemarie Trockel, via Kunstmuseum Basel

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Hymn (1999) by Damien Hirst, via Oceano.org

Ragnar Kjartansson, The End – Venice, June 2009, Performance shot, Commissioned by the Center for Icelandic Art. Image by Dave Yoder for The New York Times/Redux, courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York and i8 Galleri, Reykjavik.

Currently on view at Luhring Augustine through August 13, 2010 is the gallery’s first solo show of Icelandic-born artist Ragnar Kjartansson. The exhibition offers a video and a room full to the brim with canvases Kjartansson painted during the Venice Biennale 2009. Born in 1976, the artist is the youngest to ever show at the Biennale. Multidisciplinary in his approach, Kjartansson creates with drawing, painting, sculpture, video, and theater. His work taps into not only his own cultural history and the Nordic notions of tragedy, but also the nostalgic history of bygone eras of theater, television, music, and art.

Installation shot. Image by Art Observed.

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Sophie Calle, Photograph by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, courtesy the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Currently on view, through October 24th, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark is a new exhibition from Sophie Calle. One of France’s most well known contemporary artists, Calle has most recently made her imprint on New York with her 2009 exhibition at the Paula Cooper Gallery with “Take Care of Yourself,” a body of work created for the French Pavilion of the 2007 Venice Biennale.

Organized by Whitechapel Gallery, London in collaboration with the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art in Tilburg, Holland, Louisiana Contemporary: Sophie Calle presents a number of playful works from 1979-2009, which blur the line between art and reality. Dabbling in adult affairs with the demeanor of an innocent, playing child, Calle often takes on the role of an undercover detective. Her conceptual works entice viewers with undertones of voyeurism, humour and subtlety.

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Installation shot, courtesy The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

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Ernesto Neto, posing on a landing in the interior of “The Edges of the World,” 2010, courtesy of the Independent.

Internationally renowned Brazilian artist, Ernesto Neto, launched Festival Brazil with his exhibition “The Edges of the World” at the Hayward Gallery in the Southbank Centre. The show, which Neto has been planning for over a year, is said to be the artist’s most ambitious exhibition to date. “The Edges of the World” consists of a series of interconnected site-specific installations in the Hayward’s two main galleries and on its three sculpture terraces. The Independent called Neto’s exhibition a “dazzling playground for adults.” A visit to the show is indeed an interactive experience as viewers are encouraged to engage with their surroundings and each other.

Ernesto Neto, the interior of “The Edges of the World,” 2010, courtesy of Fad.

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Pablo Picasso, Personnage, 1971, courtesy of Jan Krugier Gallery.

Currently on display at Jan Krugier is a presentation of roughly thirty Pablo Picasso works, which, when seen together, showcase the development of the artist’s style throughout his career. The works in the show are either a part of the Jan Krugier inventory or the Mariana Picasso Collection. Second only to the Musée Picasso in Paris, the Marina Picasso Collection is the largest grouping of works from Picasso’s estate. Jan Krugier has been the exclusive agent of the collection for the last forty years. Many of the works featured in “A Century of Picasso” have never before been shown in the United States.

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Paul McCarthy, Dreaming, 2005, Painted silicone, t-shirt, artificial hair, plastic, styrofoam, garden chair, 180 x 62 x 71 cm. All images via Fondazione Nicola Trussardi.

Fondazione Nicola Trussardi has invited artist Paul McCarthy to exhibit in Palazzo Citterio, an extraordinary space that has been closed to the public for over 25 years. The building was originally conceived to house the extension of the Pinacoteca di Brera, and is the property of the Italian government. This show presents viewers with an opportunity to view McCarthy’s work in a unique architectural setting, and also marks the premier of Pig Island, a piece which McCarthy has been working on since 2003. Over a long and distinguished career, McCarthy has created his own satirical language of fairy tales and nightmares that challenge social conventions, and test the emotional limits of the viewer. As the press release tactfully explains, “McCarthy’s videos, performances, installations and sculptures transport visitors to a universe that combines Hollywood glamour with the dark side of the American dream.”

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Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Oxidation Painting (in 12 parts), 1978. Acrylic and urine in linen, 48 x 49 in. (121.9 x 124.5 cm) All images courtesy of: © 2010 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum is ‘Andy Warhol: The Last Decade’, a survey of the artist’s works from the late 1970s until his death in 1987. The exhibition was organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum and its tour schedule includes the Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Although Warhol is best known for his works from the 60s – soup cans, Marilyn Monroe portraits, and other iconic images that have become symbols of pop culture as a whole – but Warhol’s final decade was his most prolific. The 50 some works included in this show give a broad overview of the variety and scope of these late years. By the end of his career  the art community perceived Warhol as an overly eccentric washed-up artist. Over 20 years later, and with the benefit of hindsight, ‘The Last Decade’ proves that these final years gave rise to works worthy of both appreciation and admiration.

Andy Warhol Self-Portrait (Strangulation), 1978. Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, ten parts, 16 x 13 in. (40.6 x 33 cm) each.

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Tanguy/ Calder: Between Surrealism and Abstraction, Installation view. Image via L & M Arts.

In 1942, Peggy Guggenheim wore one earring by Yves Tanguy and one by Alexander Calder to the opening of Art of This Century; a year later, Pierre Matisse presented the artists in adjacent rooms of his gallery.  In the 1940s, critics began to notice the aesthetic likeness of the artists’ work, including mutual biomorphic designs in paintings and sculptures.  The colloquy and stimulus inspired by the pair’s mutual Connecticut community is explored in this extensive, two-floor exhibition.  Tanguy/ Calder: Between Surrealism and Abstraction at L & M Arts celebrates the creative relationship between these two artists, presenting their works from the 1930s-1950s alongside photographs and previously unpublished documents that testify to the collaborative aspect of their rapport and seamlessly harmonizing abstraction and Surrealism.
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Being, George Condo (2008). All images via Galerie Andrea Caratsch.

On view through July 30th at Galerie Andrea Caratsch in Zurich is an exhibition of sculptures and silkscreen paintings by New York artist George Condo. ‘The Lost Civilization’ refers to the group of nine sculptures cast in bronze and finished with a white patina, giving the works the appearance of ancient sculptures recently recovered from the ground. Included in the show is series The Birth, The Triumph and The Death of Insanity, along with six busts and five paintings which further exemplify Condo’s unique vision.

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Alice Neel, photographed by Sam Brody courtesy of Victoria Miro Gallery

“In The Company of Alice” is currently on view at Victoria Miro Gallery. This is a group exhibition of paintings honoring the life and work of Alice Neel. Each of the painters participating in the show drew inspiration from their admiration for Neel’s work. Some of the artists in the show often create portraits–but for others this is a new endeavor, and their very first portraits are being shown in this exhibition. “In the Company of Alice” coincides with a retrospective of Neel’s work at Whitechapel Gallery, opening on July 8^th. Studying Alice Neel’s work as a point of departure for modern and contemporary portraiture, “In the Company of Alice” aims to broaden the viewer’s perspective of figuration and portraiture. The exhibition also brings forth the importance of  these modes of practice in relation to contemporary art.

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Alice Neel, Richard, 1973, courtesy of Victoria Miro Gallery

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Drawing Restraint 15 (2007) by Matthew Barney, Photo: Neville Wakefield, via Schaulager

Currently on view at Schaulager in Basel is “Drawing Restraint” presenting sixteen performances by American artist Matthew Barney. In each enactment the artist leaves traces in an atmosphere of self-inflicted psychological and physical restraints. The result of such performances are sculptures, vitrines, drawings and videos all of which are juxtaposed against North Renaissance art.

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Untitled (Throat) (1991) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, via Fondation Beyeler

Currently on view at the Fondation Beyeler is “Specific Objects without Specific Form,” part of a traveling retrospective featuring principal works by influential Cuban-American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996). Among the principal works on display are the artist’s piles of candy and paper stacks. Viewers are allowed to enact with such works by taking away a small part. Also exhibited are a group of lesser known paintings, sculptures, photographic works and public sculptures.

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Liam Gillick, Bundeskunsthalle installation view, 2010. All images via Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn.

Currently on view at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, Germany, are works by British artist Liam Gillick, in a show enigmatically entitled “One Long Walk… Two Short Piers.”  The exhibit includes works produced by Gillick over the last two decades, and presents itself as a comprehensive survey exhibition of Gillick’s work.  Gillick’s work has often been the subject of such retrospectives: this exhibit is very much in the same vein (albeit on a smaller scale) as Gillick’s mid-career retrospective entitled, “Three Perspectives and a Short Scenario,” which traveled internationally to the Kunsthalle Zurich, the Witt de Withe Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, the Kunstverein Munchen, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, from spring 2008 to fall 2009.  The amount of attention paid to the entirety of Gillick’s oeuvre points to his status as one of the leading conceptual artist working today.

Liam Gillick, Bundeskunsthalle installation view, 2010

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Ugo Rondinone with two of his works in lower Manhattan, 2007, photo by Charlie Samuels via artnet

Currently on view at Aargauer Kunsthaus, in conjunction with the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y Léon and Galerie Eva Presenhuber, is “The Night of Lead”, the first comprehensive exhibition of Udo Rondinone’s oevre in his Swiss homeland in eleven years.  New and recent works of painting, small and environmental sculpture, video and sound installation cover two floors of the gallery with a surrealist sensibility that speaks more to a tone of poetic metaphor than to a grope toward the unconscious.

Ugo Rondinone, The twenty-third hour of the poem, 2010, wax cast, pigments, 55 x 32 x 32 inches, © Ugo Rondinone via Aargauer Kunsthaus

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Robert Morris, Untitled, 2010. Felt with steel brackets. All images courtesy of Sonnabend Gallery.

Currently on display at Sonnabend Gallery are works by Robert Morris.  These include for the most part reiterations of works he has explored at various points in his career, such as the Felt Pieces, which he began making in 1967, and the Blind Time drawings, which he executes blindfolded following certain self-imposed rules, and which he began making in 1973.  Two films, Neo-Classic and Slow Motion, made in 1971 and 1969 respectively, are also on display.  Morris played an important role in defining the principles of Minimalism, a practical field which he also endued with a new softness and sensuousness, most notably with these works in felt.

Robert Morris, Sonnabend Gallery installation view.

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Damien Hirst and Michael Joo, 2010 © Damien Hirst/Hirst Holdings Limited and Michael Joo 2010 via Other Criteria, photo by Johnny Shand Kydd.

On view at Haunch of Venison, Berlin, “Have You Ever Really Looked at the Sun?” is the first joint exhibition of Damien Hirst and Michael Joo, two artists whose often-controversial mediums (animals, a diamond-encrusted, platinum skull, urine) have offered convenient comparisons since the late 1980s.  This exhibition displays both new and canonical works in a manner that allows the works’ conceptual interests to flourish, despite—and in conversation with—their formal similarities.

Michael Joo, Improved Rack (Elk #18), 2010, antler, stainless steel, 72 x 115 x 37 inches © Michael Joo, via Haunch of Venison

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