The Grand Palais will close for an ambitious two-year renovation project, the Art Newspaper reports, which will cost upwards of â‚¬393 million, and which will also enable the institution to more effectively manage multiple exhibitions and projects at the same time.  “Today, to use a gallery, you must choose a time when the nave is not taken up with an event. Most of the increase in turnover will come from the management of separate spaces, optimizing the occupancy rate,” says former Grand Palais head Jean-Paul Cluzel. (more…)

Despite what many are calling a “reassuring” sale last evening, the Art Market Monitor notes a 13% drop in stock price for Sotheby’s this morning, a point that notes increased pessimism from investors.  “It showed the contemporary market is in rude health in spite of the economy,” the article quotes from advisor Rory Howard. (more…)

Cindy Sherman is featured in an expansive profile in Harper’s Bazaar this month, featuring a selection of new works by the artist in which she takes on the persona of a street style fashionista, and reflects on her career and focus on the future.  “I want to continue to be happy with what I’m working on because that’s the biggest challenge. I’m hard on myself, but everyone is always waiting for someone to fall. That’s a common problem for artists,” she says.  “They fall into a mold of their greatest hits and just repeat it. When I feel that I’m repeating myself, or about to, it’s time to move.” (more…)

Former Museum Director Michael Shapiro has published a book of interviews with top ranking museum professionals in the U.S., with advice for many interested in the field of museum work, curatorial work, or preservation.  “The quest is to become a great art historian, and if you have the right temperament [and] skill set, maybe you get drawn into museum work, you get drawn into institutional leadership, but I would never recommend beginning by thinking you want to be a museum director,” says MoMA’s Glenn Lowry. (more…)

Lisson Gallery has announced its plans to open a gallery in New York this May, presenting a body of paintings by Cuban-born painter Carmen Herrera.  The gallery will bring its roster of artists, primarily those without prior U.S. reputation, to show in New York.  “This offers an opportunity for audiences here to become better acquainted with our international artists and bring their work into an American curatorial dialogue,” the gallery told Art Observed.  The space will be located at 504 West 24th Street. (more…)

One of the few surviving Merzbau by Kurt Schwitters is set for installation at The Romsdal Museum in Molde, Norway.  The work was transferred from its location in a barn in Hjerteoya, several miles south of the city.  “It was a very complicated process,” says art historian Karin Hellandsjo. “Only one photograph from Schwitters’s time exists, depicting a corner of the barn.” (more…)

Art critic and television host Waldemar Januszczak has taken the BBC to task for making fine art seem like “homework,” as he prepares a new miniseries on the Renaissance for the station.  “If everybody made art films like me there wouldn’t be a problem,” the critic says. “How can it not be fascinating – this endless, bottomless pit of great visual excitement out there?” (more…)

The LA Times takes a tour of the soon to open Hauser Wirth and Schimmel Gallery in the former downtown Los Angeles Pillsbury flour mill complex.  “I would say that the model is in some way the Kunsthalle — the noncollecting art museum,” says partner Paul Schimmel. “But also foundations, who are really at the boundaries of what they do: commissioning works, creating group shows, doing education work.” (more…)

Maya Widmaier Picasso has spoken out on the dispute over the sale of a bust created by her father, Pablo Picasso, saying she sold the work herself to Larry Gagosian and dismissing other claims to the piece as “baseless.”  The dispute seems to stem from a disagreement between Widmaier Picasso’s daughter and son, who respectively sought to sell the work to Gagosian and the Qatari Royal Family.  Widmaier Picasso says she decided to side with her daughter, who she said  “cannot be faulted for reminding her mother of the sculpture’s true value.” (more…)

–>The Miami Herald takes a look at the last several years at The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, which has seen a turbulent past few years, and which is currently trying to chart its path in the city’s changing art scene.  “We’ve been through hell with it and we recognize the important role the museum plays in the community,” says North Miami council member Scott Galvin. “From a reputation standpoint and an economic standpoint, MoCA is what North Miami is known for.” (more…)

An exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris this year will reunite a collection of Modernist masterpieces compiled by Sergei Shchukin.  The collection includes landmark works by Matisse and Picasso, and were split by the Soviet regime between various museums.  The works will travel to Paris this fall in a joint effort by the State Hermitage Museum and the Pushkin Museum, which hold the works in their respective collections.  “We are planning everything together and taking a number of steps together, and this is understandable, because we can’t live without the Hermitage, without its collection and our common historical past connected with this collection,” Marina Loshak, the director of the Pushkin says. “There are many projects that we are planning to do together outside of our museums.” (more…)

Ann Freedman has reached a settlement in her $8.4 million case over the sale of a forged Mark Rothko.  Freedman will still testify as part of the case against the Knoedler Gallery.  “From the very beginning of these cases, Ann never wanted to keep a penny of the profits she made” says Lawyer Luke Nikas.  (more…)

The New York Times reports on renewed efforts to restore the prominence of painter Karel Appel, a member of CoBrA and a pioneer of a unique style of figurative abstraction that was well-received in its time by has long sat outside the historical spotlight of post-war painting.  “I’m a little bit surprised by all this, because for a while nothing happened to Appel,” the artist’s widow, Harriet Appel, says.  “I see that many people are getting interested in Appel again, and there’s new research about Appel, there are younger artists now looking at Appel, and all these things shed a new light on that oeuvre.” (more…)

Michigan-based dealer Eric Spoutz has been arrested on federal charges for the sale of forged masterworks claimed to be by de Kooning, Joan Mitchell, and more.  Authorities allege he wove a web of lies and deceit over his collection of works and high connections in the art world.  “The only real thing in this situation seems to be the financial losses the victims have incurred for purchasing what they thought were true works of art, whether for investment purposes or personal enjoyment,” says FBI New York assistant director Diego Rodriguez. (more…)

Christie’s Brooklyn will not have to pay $11.5 million in damages caused by flooding after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, following a New York state court decision this past month.  The lawsuits were filed by several insurance companies to recoup the costs paid out to their clients. (more…)

, the massive Dutch fair of fine art, antiques and design, is expanding to New York this October, taking up most of the Park Avenue Armory for the first edition of Tefaf New York.  “On numerous occasions, our exhibitors in Maastricht have expressed the need and desire for a Tefaf platform in the U.S., as have many private and institutional collectors,” says Patrick van Maris, chief executive of Tefaf. “Among the different possibilities Tefaf has explored over the past couple of years, this partnership with Artvest in the Park Avenue Armory New York really stood out. As the world’s most buoyant art market, New York is a perfect match.” (more…)

Takashi Murakami has a brief comment in the New York Times this week, discussing his collecting habits and aesthetic interests. The artist is opening a show of his personal collection of art and ephemera at the Yokohama Museum of Art in Japan.  “For me, what is important is to hold works of art in my possession, to make the actual purchase,” he writes.  “This is a hands-on way for me to experiment and learn about the personal value that pieces hold to collectors, their value as works of art and the traits by which they can be evaluated.” (more…)

Continuing his advocacy on Lesbos, Ai Weiwei is creating a work of art from over 14,000 life jackets, in an attempt to bring attention to the crimes committed by people smugglers in the Aegean.  “This work aims to mobilize the global community regarding the crime carried out daily in the Aegean by ruthless people smugglers,” a statement reads. (more…)

The New York Times has a profile on Peter Fischli, one half of duo Fischli/Weiss, on the opening their career retrospective at the Guggenheim this week.  “There’s a phrase in German — schiefe Ebene — which you kind of use to mean things going downhill,” he says at one point, gazing down the museum’s curved walkway. “And I think about this image of 30 years of art rolling down the hill. And I think, in this case, maybe it’s a good thing!” (more…)

Coverage of the lawsuit between the De Sole Family and Ann Freedman continues in Art News this week, with Mark Rothko’s son taking the chair Monday, and noting that he does not authenticate any of his father’s work.  “I believe I described it as ‘beautiful,’” Rothko said of the work. “I believe it was descriptive, but I didn’t want to go further than that.”   (more…)

The College Board is changing the structure of its AP art history program, seeking to rewrite cultural bias that has long been a contentious part of its focus.  “It’s just isn’t acceptable anymore,” says Ronda Kasl, the Met’s first curator of Colonial Latin American art . “But it takes a while to remedy.” (more…)

Artist Philippe Parreno has been selected by Tate Modern and Hyundai Motor as the newest commission for the museum’s Turbine Hall, set to open later this year.  This is the second commission sponsored by Hyundai, after Abraham Cruzvillegas’s installation last year.   (more…)

The Art Newspaper profiles a Starbucks location in Chelsea that is currently selling work from young artists, with proceeds benefitting Free Arts NYC.  “The space we’ve dedicated to art within our store enables emerging artists to gain exposure for their work in Chelsea,” says Lara Behnert, head of the chain’s global art program. (more…)

Paul Chan’s publishing house Badlands Unlimited has opened a brick and mortar location on the Lower East Side, titled Y.oung P.ublisher 99¢ & Up.  The space is run in conjunction with local business owners Mr. and Mrs. Yu, and will feature the company’s books alongside daily necessities and household items.  “Badlands publishes books that are as essential as toiletries,” says Micaela Durand, director of Badlands. (more…)