Art dealer Phyllis Kind, who supported a range of artists formative in the landscape of post-war contemporary art in Chicago, has passed away at the age of 85. “In the mid-’70s she was pretty much ‘the only game in town’ for the Chicago artists she represented,” says artist couple Lorri Gunn and Karl Wirsum. (more…)

Rachel Whiteread has an interview in The Guardian this week, as the artist opens her first permanent sculpture in the UK, and reflects on leaving her longtime home and studio in Shoreditch. “We couldn’t stand Shoreditch any longer,” she says. “It’s just a hellhole. I know we artists contributed to making it that way [gentrified, expensive, noisy], but it had become monstrous. Everybody I know has left: every good artist.” (more…)

Jeff Koons, Cracked Egg (Blue) (1994-2006), via Christie’s

With the opening of the doors for this year’s edition of Frieze London, the opening notes of the fall auction season can’t be far behind.  This week, the major auction houses will get their chance to make a mark on the fall calendar, launching a series of Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales that will see a number of marquee works trade hands, and offer a first perspective on just how the auction houses are responding to a particularly turbulent global political picture.  As London braces for an increasingly cloudy Brexit outlook, the market conditions in the capital could definitely be better, but tricky economics have been bucked by eager buyers in the past, and the series of works on hand this year could in fact do well to staunch the bleeding caused by a border between the UK and EU that seems to be getting harder by the minute.   (more…)

Danny Lyon, Wanderer (still) (2017), via Gavin Brown’s

In 1970, photographer and filmmaker Danny Lyon left his home in New York City, and moved out to the small village of Llanito, New Mexico, in the Rio Grande Valley, north of Albuquerque. Shortly after arriving, he began making photographs and films of his neighbors, their children, and the local labor force, all undocumented workers from Mexico. Years later, Lyon is still working in the regions of New Mexico and Arizona, exploring the tightly-knit communities of migrant laborers and their families from a directly engaged perspective.   (more…)

Antoine Catala, Puzzle Piece 1 (2017), via Marlborough Contemporary

Currently on at Marlborough Contemporary’s newest location in London, artist Antoine Catala’s new work  brings together both new and existing works to form a kinetic installation, exploring emojis and text messages and the effects of new communication technologies on society.  Catala, whose work is invested in the intriguing cultural effects and aesthetic possibilities of the new language and modes of meaning that have emerged from widespread digital communication technologies, here orchestrates an ever-evolving, uniquely arranged body of works that change and move in the same way that language itself seems to online.

Antoine Catala, I Am Here For You (Sock Orange) (2018), via Marlborough Contemporary

(more…)

A new Broadway musical will focus on the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, composed by Jon Batiste, the bandleader and musical director of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “Over the years, many people have approached us about telling our brother’s story on stage, but having discussed this project with the (producers Alan D. Marks and Barbara) Marks over many months, our interest was piqued once we understood that their approach to telling our brother’s story treats his life, his art and his legacy with respect and passion,” says Basquiat’s sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Basquiat in a statement. “With Jon Batiste and John Doyle leading the creative team, we are thrilled with the possibilities. We cannot wait to begin the developmental process. Broadway is a new world for us, and we looking forward to sharing our brother’s life and art.” (more…)

Manhattan dealer Ezra Chowaiki of Chowaiki & Co. Fine Art Ltd. on Park Avenue has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for fraud. “One factor that does loom in this case is the seemingly and largely unregulated nature of the art market,” says U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. “Here, we have something that by its very nature calls for expertise and can easily be the subject of fraud, yet seems to operate without any meaningful constraints. I think that weighs modestly in favor of a higher sentence.” (more…)

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair will move to a new home in New York’s West Village for its 2019 edition, Art News reports. “We flirted with the idea for a couple years,” says director Touria El Glaoui. “Pioneer Works have been amazing partners, and we’re really sad to leave there. But the galleries told us of their desire to move closer to their audience and their collectors. They felt that we were considered a fringe fair, being in Brooklyn.” (more…)

Nan Goldin has joined Marian Goodman, the gallery announced this week. “Goldin has revolutionized the art of photography through her frank and deeply personal portraiture,” the gallery said in a statement. (more…)

Catherine Marcus and Will Rose have donated $3 million to the Dallas Museum of Art, Art News reports. “Strong leadership is critical to the vigor and growth of our city’s Museum,” the pair said in a statement. “We are thrilled to support the Museum’s endowment and this crucial leadership position.”  (more…)

B. Wurtz, Octave (2018), via Metro Pictures

Over the past few decades, B. Wurtz’s work has mined a striking juxtaposition of materials and symbols, mixing together domestic objects, quotidian references and various spatial interruptions designed to work at the fabric of the object itself.  This month, the artist has returned to Metro Pictures for a show of new works, continuing this mode of practice on an engaging scale. (more…)

Dealer Max Hetzler will open a space in London, Art Newspaper reports. “By focusing more on historical exhibitions in London as well as two-person shows–without restricting ourselves to this–we are complementing the program of our spaces in Berlin and Paris,” he says. (more…)

Art News profiles the recent string of gallery space-sharing projects, exploring the benefits these programs have brought to the galleries engaging in them. “We knew we had to do something, be active and proactive, and not only participate in the system, but also create and engage in something new,” says dealer Simone Subal of the traveling Condo exhibition program. (more…)

The Art Newspaper has a piece on the average cost of a gallery booth, offering some perspective on the recent debates over booth pricing at a number of major art fairs. Pricing in the survey ranges from $10,000 for a booth at Independent New York, on to $100,000 for premier placement at the Armory Show. (more…)

Installation view. All images via Gagosian Gallery.

In Urs Fischer’s latest exhibition at Gagosian’s Davies street gallery in London, the artist has created a life-sized wax model of Russian collector Dasha Zhukova. This is the next installment in a series made by the artist in which art-world figures are converted into giant candles and then burned slowly, until they are reduced to wax drippings. Previously making works of artists Julian Schnabel and Rudolf Stingel, and dealer Bruno Bischofsberger. Though Zhukova requested she be the next art figure turned wax candle, Fischer hesitated because, up until this point, he has only portrayed men. Ultimately, however, on Monday, September 10^th, the wick at the top of the wax figure of Dasha Zhukova’s head was lit, and will continue to burn until the sculpture is reduced to a puddle of melted wax, coinciding with the show’s closing on November 3^rd. (more…)

The Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) has announced the participating galleries for the 2019 edition of its Art Show, set for February 28 through March 3 at the Park Avenue Armory.  First-time exhibitors at the show include Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Luxembourg & Dayan, and Jessica Silverman Gallery. (more…)

Christie’s November sale in New York will include one of the series of 14 Nymphéas works that were among Claude Monet’s last paintings, estimated at $30 to $35 million.   “By the turn of the 20th century, the pond became the almost-exclusive subject of Monet’s art, inspiring an outpouring of creativity that, for many, marks the summit of his career,” the auction house said in a statement. (more…)

Art Basel Miami Beach has announced its exhibitors list, set to run December 6 to 9 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The fair welcomes 268 galleries, including 29 new exhibitors.  (more…)

Deborah Marrow, the director of the Getty Foundation will retire, Art News reports. “She has provided inspiring leadership in almost every aspect of the Getty, in roles including as director of the Getty Foundation, acting director of the Getty Research Institute and as interim president of the Getty Trust,” says James Cuno, the president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. “She brought clarity and vision and selfless dedication to her work, and made loyal professional friends around the world.” (more…)

Isa Genzken has won the Nasher Sculpture Prize, a $100,000 award that recognizes excellence in sculpture. “We’d be hard pressed to name an artist with a more textured and dynamic sculptural practice than Isa Genzken,” says Jeremy Strick, the Nasher Sculpture Center’s director. (more…)

Cosima von Bonin is now represented by Gaga in Mexico City, Art News reports. The artist will launch her first solo show with the gallery (and her first in Mexico City) next year. (more…)

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum will provide free admission to CUNY students, thanks to a new grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. “We are grateful for this catalytic gift from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to activate a program that encourages students and staff members from participating CUNY schools to engage with the Guggenheim’s many offerings,” says director Richard Armstrong. “Expanding and diversifying our audience is a key priority for the museum, and we are delighted to present more opportunities for area college students.” (more…)

Tania Bruguera’s abstract Tate Turbine Hall Commission project is set to open this October, and gets a profile in The Guardian.  “It will need the audience to uncover the work, to reveal the work. It will only exist if there is a genuine collective effort to make the work happen,” she says of the work. “To make it you have to work with people you have never met.” (more…)

Artist Michael Phelan is launching a small art fair in Marfa, Texas, Art News reports. “I was really interested in seeing and viewing artists outside of the commercial context of New York and L.A.,” he said. “When you’re in Marfa, it’s really this kind of immersive experience where you have time to look at the works. What I wanted to create with the fair is a similar model.” (more…)