Larry Gagosian has sold his Upper East Side Carriage House to SculptureCenter chair Sascha Bauer for $18 million, the NY Daily News reports.  Gagosian bought the property in 1988 from Schlumberger heiress Christophe de Menil. (more…)

A work by Lutz Bacher in MoMA PS1’s Greater New York exhibition is drawing attention after Daniel Arsham pointed out the work’s similarity to a set piece from his film Future Relic.  Arsham however, doesn’t seem bothered by the comparison.  “If they are indeed the same materials, there would have been no way for them to know it was my work unless they follow my Instagram and had seen the set design then,” he says.  “If they are indeed the same exact objects, then all I can say is that the artist has a very good eye!” (more…)

Cornelia Parker has been invited to design the next Met rooftop commission for the summer of 2016, the New York Times reports.   “In her large-scale installations, Cornelia opens our eyes to the special qualities – and sometimes darker significance – of familiar places and things we tend to overlook,” says Met chair of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sheena Wagstaff. (more…)

The Hirshhorn Museum has commissioned Mark Bradford to create a 360-degree fresco for the artist’s November 2016 solo show.  “I want it to feel as if it can’t make up its mind on whether it’s deconstructing itself or constructing itself,” Bradford says. (more…)

Artist Abraham Cruzvillegas has opened his new commission at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, featuring an intermeshed series of planters filled with dirt from different parts of the city. The work allows visitors to spread seeds or see what is growing unplanned from the soil.  “I hope that something can happen in the worst of conditions. In our society, all these migrations, all these conflicts … how can we ask questions?” the artist says. (more…)

Following its merger with Art in America, led by Peter Brant, ArtNews Magazine is moving over to a quarterly format, continuing the transition process that began this summer, and which will see a focused move to digital.   “We are committed to staying in that world,” Brant said. “These are art publications—they’re visual. You can go overboard on the digital side.” (more…)

The River, a new arts center has opened at Grace Farms in New Canaan, CT, boasting a flowing design by SANAA Architects.  “We invite people to shape their own personal experiences at Grace Farms,” said Sharon Prince, president of Grace Farms Foundation. “The possibilities are as open as the landscape itself.” (more…)

Oscar Murillo is the subject of a profile piece in the Evening Standard this week, as the artist prepares to open his exhibition at David Zwirner London, and reflects back on his years working as a cleaner to support his work.  “Art to me has never been about paying the bills — it’s ironic to say that now, but it really wasn’t,” he says. (more…)

A New York judge has ruled that the lawsuits against Knoedler Gallery’s Ann Freedman will come to court this coming January, denying a motion by the former gallery director’s president to dismiss the case.  “Plaintiffs have offered ample circumstantial evidence demonstrating that Freedman acted with fraudulent intent and understood that the Rosales Paintings were not authentic,” Judge Paul G. Gardephe of United States District Court in Manhattan wrote. (more…)

Despite challenging market conditions around the globe, the Financial Times reports that art buyers seem unfazed. “Even if there is less money for luxury spending, there’s commonly a substitution effect when times are tough: people buy fewer designer bags and instead buy things they think have a tangible value,” says economist Clare McAndrew. (more…)

The Spanish government’s seizure of a Picasso painting from billionaire banker Jaime Botín’s yacht in the Mediterranean earlier this year has led to a fierce battle over ownership of the work, and raised important questions of what a government may do to preserve national treasures.  “The Picasso case raises the question of whether a state can deny an export at no cost,” says lawyer Guiseppe Calabi, who is currently involved in a similar case in Italy. “To declare a work an item of cultural interest destroys the market value.” (more…)

As the Tate Britain closes its show of Barbara Hepworth sculpture, the Guardian looks back on the career of departing curator and director Penelope Curtis, publishing an open letter from a group of prominent British intellectuals.  “Curtis, and the curators with whom she worked within and outside Tate Britain, re-introduced us to the British collections – often showing us works long hidden, invariably in fresh contexts,” the letter reads. (more…)

Art Basel Miami Beach has announced its plans for the 2015 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, featuring works by Glenn Kaino, Chris Ofili, and more across the 27 curated exhibitions in the section.  “These wide-ranging projects encompass both emerging and established artists, and offer unique moments of discovery with precise exhibitions embedded throughout the halls,” says Art Basel Americas director Noah Horowitz. (more…)

Bill Koch is selling a pair of works this November in New York, boasting a combined estimate of over $110 million. The works are Picasso’s La Gommeuse, which is estimated at $60 million, and Claude Monet’s Nympheas.  The sale of these works may see Koch making up to 11 times what he paid for the works.  “Monet is as desirable in China, Singapore, Taiwan as he is in Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S.,”co-head of Sotheby’s worldwide Impressionist and modern art department Simon Shaw said. “He is an accessible, modern brand.” (more…)

Twelve works from the collection Miles and Shirley Fiterman will hit the auction block at Christie’s this November in New York, including works by Roy Lichtenstein and Pablo Picasso.  “They have artists in great depth,” says Laura Paulson, Christie’s chairwoman of postwar and contemporary art. “Miles and Shirley were incredibly passionate — it really can’t be overstated — they were actively involved as a couple in collecting. They had deep relationships with their dealers and with the artists they collected.” (more…)

Both the Whitney Museum and Centre Pompidou will open exhibitions devoted to transformative gifts from collectors and art advisors Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner.   “Thea and Ethan are among the most astute collectors of late twentieth century and early twenty-first-century art and their gift adds enormous strength to the Whitney’s collection. We are deeply grateful to them and are pleased to be collaborating with our friends at the Pompidou,” says Whitney President Adam Weinberg. (more…)

Damien Hirst is planning on opening a new edition of his famed restaurant “Pharmacy” at his Newport Street Gallery next year, the Evening Standard reports.  The new space inherits Hirst’s penchant for controversy from the original, which was ultimately barred by the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain over its confusing name. (more…)

David Zwirner has announced that it is now representing the estate of painter Sigmar Polke.  “Growing up in Cologne, I had the great fortune of meeting Sigmar and witnessing firsthand the enormous influence he exerted on his generation and the ones that followed,” Zwirner himself says.  “His creativity and curiosity knew no bounds, and his ability to innovate across different media is unparalleled.” (more…)

Sotheby’s has announced another flagship work in its New York Impressionist and Modern auctions this coming November, Picasso’s La Gommeuse, which features a hidden portrait on the back side of the canvas.  “With her dreamy gaze and frank sensuality, the cabaret dancer in La Gommeuse ushers in a new visual idiom for the 20th century,” says Simon Shaw, co-head of Sotheby’s worldwide impressionist and modern art department. (more…)

Santiago Rumney Guggenheim, great-grandson of the collector Peggy Guggenheim and son of gallerist Sandro Rumney, is opening a new project space in the former Williamsburg Savings Bank at 834 Driggs.  “Here, in this project, I try to carry on the legacy of my family by bringing new faces to the art world,” Rumney Guggenheim says. “But I am making a strong point to my family that I am trying to build this on my own.” (more…)

Damien Hirst’s £25m, 37,000 sq ft Newport Street Gallery has opened, drawing rave reviews from The Guardian.  “I’ve felt guilt owning work that’s stored away in boxes where no one can see it. Having a space where I can put on shows from the collection is a dream come true,” Hirst says. (more…)

Carlyle and Banque Pictet have announced plans for an art market venture that will provide funding for collectors in exchange for up to 50 per cent of the value of the art.  “We will drive the institutionalization of this huge market. By introducing more liquidity to the market, we think the cost of capital for these assets will go down and the value will go up,” said Oliver Sarkozy, of Carlyle’s Global Financial Services Fund, and who is investing in the project. “Leverage generally means asset prices inflate.” (more…)

MoMA PS1 has announced that it will offer free admission to New Yorker’s for the next year, thanks to a gift by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.  “It is important to give back to New York City, a city with so many artists,” says Marina Kellen French, the vice president of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.  “MoMA PS1 in Queens has many exhibitions that should be seen by everybody from all five boroughs. I hope the gift will help MoMA PS1 efforts to lower the barriers to enter the museum and reach out to an even wider audience.” (more…)

LACMA has a post on its Unframed blog this week, following the life Human the dog from Pierre Huyghe’s work recently installed in the museum, and her owner, artist Marlon Middeke, as he opens a show in Kassel.  “Marlon takes back mastery of himself after years of being, quite literally, just a piece of Huyghe’s art,” writes author Brian Sonia-Wallace. (more…)