London’s National Gallery has bought Bernardo Bellotto’s The Fortress of Königstein from the North (1756-58) for £11,670,000 following the deferment of an export bar on the work, the Art Newspaper reports. The piece “shows Bellotto as one of the greatest view painters of his time,” according to director Gabriele Finaldi. (more…)
The Exhibitor List for NADA Miami Beach 2017 has been announced, with booths from 108 galleries from 16 different countries, including 23 galleries that have never shown at NADA before. “NADA was founded to fill a void in the art world by providing a community where lesser-known international galleries, emerging artists, artist-run spaces, and both young and established galleries can co-exist,” says NADA director, Heather Hubbs. (more…)
Carsten Höller, Double Mushroom Vitrine (Threefold), 2015. All images via Gagosian Gallery.
On view through September 1st, the Gagosian Gallery in New York presents REASON, an exhibition of recent work by Carsten Höller. In this show, the artist’s first in New York since 2011, Höller unites scientific exactitude, play, and art through work that transforms the gallery into a laboratory for exploring and disproving the conceptual act and understanding of reason. Revolving doors, rotating mirrors, giant mushrooms, and huge dice create a world of discovery and whimsy, in which viewers are invited to explore the fascinating and beautiful logic behind the natural world.
Divisions Square (Senegal-yellow Surface), 2017
Trained in the natural sciences, Höller’s work has revolved around interrogating the methods through which humans seek to understand the world. Towards this end, he imposes standardized systems of logic on the behaviors and appearances of humans, fungi, insects, and animals, then lets go and observes what happens. As the artist states, “I start with a formula to get a process going, then the formula takes over and continues into infinity on its own. It is not about creative decisions anymore; there is no choice, only reason.” The effect of this process is the sense that Höller’s work seeks to invite viewers into the satisfying and inspiring process of discovery and experimentation. By eliminating subjectivity, the subjects are treated as independent, organic material acting and reacting independently. This places both the viewer and the artist in the position of an objective observer, passively admiring the results of some predetermined formula. Both formally and conceptually captivating, Höller’s topics work to involve the viewer and inspire reflection and wonder. In this exhibition, the overall scheme for the two galleries is that of binary, diametric opposition and division. Following a pattern of diminishing halves, this takes place through color gradations, light intensity, and the positioning of the work itself.
Installation View.
In Revolving Doors, constructed according to the concept of triadic division, the viewer is engulfed in a sea of changing, shifting, turning reflections. The Divisions series of paintings, as well as two murals that cover the gallery walls, instead follow a binary logic. A biological equivalent to this geometric pattern is explored in Divisions (Rose-grain Aphid and Surface), which shows the parthenogenesis of a female rose aphid against a red background. The Giant Triple Mushroom sculptures are composed of enlarged cross-sections of three different fungal species, while Muscimol 3. Versuch, sees the artist exploring the hallucinogenic effects produced by the fly agaric mushroom when ingested. Another mushroom work, Flying Mushrooms is a giant stabile with moving parts, involving the rotation of seven fly agaric mushroom replicas slowly through the air like a propeller.
Installation View.
As in his other investigations, Höller seeks to eliminate subjectivity in order to apply and allow divisional formulae to determine the composition of each work. Setting objects free in a loose network of objects and interpretations, his pieces push the viewer into an extended space of indeterminacy and playful construction of meaning. The standardized systems of logic applied here produce a captivating and hyperreal resulting piece. The artist’s fascination with the formulaic rationality that rules the natural world comes through in REASON, and invites the viewer into an experience of wonder and play, predicated on the foundation of objective precision. In turn, the exhibition takes on the role of homage to the exquisite symmetry of the natural world.
Revolving Doors, 2014/16
— A. Corrigan
Related Links:
Exhibition Page [Gagosian Gallery]
Maurizio Cattelan’s golden toilet work, titled America, will conclude its popular installation run at the Guggenheim Museum on September, exactly one year after it was installed. “When the sculpture comes off view on September 15, [Donald] Trump will have been in office for 238 days, a term marked by scandal and defined by the deliberate rollback of countless civil liberties, in addition to climate-change denial that puts our planet in peril,” curator Nancy Spector says of the piece. (more…)
Donald and Melania Trump will skip this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, the New York Times reports. “In choosing not to participate in this year’s Honors activities,” Kennedy Center leadership, David M. Rubenstein and Deborah F. Rutter, wrote, “the administration has graciously signaled its respect for the Kennedy Center and ensures the Honors gala remains a deservingly special moment for the honorees.” (more…)
The New York Times takes a tour of artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s Chester, N.J home this week, designed by Frank Gehry. ‘‘An artist is like a cook,’’ Cai says, ‘‘who needs not only the dining area but also the kitchen.’’ (more…)
Thomas Ruff, PRESS++32.54 (2016), via Art Observed
Process is product for Thomas Ruff. The German photographer has explored a wide ranging body of work over the course of his thirty-plus years of his practice, frequently using the act of creating a photographic image as the generative locus for his work. Embarking on a new body of work in past years, the artist’s press++ series makes its debut this month at Sprüth Magers in Berlin, a fascinating investigation of the act of image production and consumption. (more…)
Former Scotland Yard detectives have called on London’s Metropolitan Police to maintain its art crimes investigation, following the reappointment of the division’s detectives to investigating the Grenfell Tower fire. “There’s a point when you have to ask when they’re going to come back,” says Vernon Rapley, former head of the art squad at Scotland Yard. “Temporary can become permanent. They are one of the very few international teams that are able to deal with what are incredibly complex and difficult cases that could not easily be dealt with using normal detectives or officers.” (more…)
Njideka Akunyili Crosby is profiled in W Magazine this month, with a profile tracing the artist’s work and her response to her recent successes. “People expect me to be happy, but it put a spotlight on me in a way I don’t like at all,” she says. “I like operating quietly, on my own, in the background.” (more…)
Julien Ceccaldi, Pompeii Bathhouse (2017), via Art Observed
Lomex Gallery, housed in Eva Hesse’s former studio, continues a hot streak of quality programming with their current exhibition of new works by artist Julien Ceccaldi. The show, bluntly titled Gay, is a gathering of Ceccaldi’s paintings on various materials, combining a range of unique, well-orchestrated surfaces. (more…)
London collector David Roberts has plans to close his gallery, and open a 20-acre sculpture park in Somerset, west England, Art Newspaper reports.“We’ll still continue to do things in London,” he says. “The sale of the venue, which is funded mainly by me, means we can take on more projects.” (more…)
Artist Yayoi Kusama is opening her own museum in Tokyo, the New York Times reports. The five-story structure has been under construction for some time, but its purpose was just recently confirmed by David Zwirner Gallery. The museum will be directed by Tensei Tatebata, and will feature exhibitions centered around Kusama’s work. (more…)
The Museum of Modern Art will stay open until 9PM on Fridays and Saturdays for the rest of the year, effectively extending its hours of free Friday admission as well. The museum’s late hours will offer extended opportunities for visitors to browse the collection through December 30th. (more…)
A set of drawings found in a London antique shop are believed to be lost works by Alberto Giacometti, The Guardian reports. The works were found while archiving the holdings of antiques dealer Eila Grahame, whose estate records showed some indication that the works might exist, but gave little detail of their contents. “At the time we didn’t know if it was two pieces of paper, two large sketches, whether they were done on the back of a cigarette packet or whether they were done on large canvases,” says Martin Millard, a director at Cheffins auction house, which is in charge of sorting through Grahame’s estate. “We didn’t know what we were looking for.” (more…)
A group of artists have been evicted from their homes and studios in the Caochangdi art district of northeastern Beijing by the Chinese government, Artforum reports. The homes had been slotted for demolition, causing protest and resistance from their residents. (more…)
The Met Museum has a blog post this week on its continued Open Access initiative, noting impressive gains in traffic and engagement with the museum’s collection, which has been uploaded in full to its website. “Overall traffic to the online collection has increased by 17%, image downloads have increased by 64%, and we’re seeing that users who download an image have a significantly stronger engagement with the collection: they spend five times longer on the site, and visit five times more pages,” Digital Officer Loic Tallon writes in the piece. (more…)
Mexico City-based dealer Brett Schultz has embarked on a new project in the Glendale area of Los Angeles County, opening a collaborative exhibition space run by a group of five Latin American art galleries. Members are GalerÃa Agustina Ferreyra (San Juan), Lodos (Mexico City), Proyectos Ultravioleta (Guatemala City), Carne (Bogotá), and Schultz’s BWSMX, formerly Yautepec (Mexico City). (more…)
A Willem de Kooning painting stolen from the University of Arizona Museum of Art over 30 years ago has been found in a New Mexico antiques shop. “For us, it was the equivalent of finding a lost wallet and returning it,” says David Van Auker, who found the piece. “It was a no-brainer.” (more…)
Following the clashes between white supremacists and counter-protestors in Charlottesville, VA this weekend, Louisville’s mayor Greg Fischer has directed the Louisville Commission on Public Art to begin a review of all publicly held art to determine if any of its pieces could be interpreted as honoring bigotry, racism or hatred. “I recognize that some people say all these monuments should be left alone, because they are part of our history,” Fischer said in a statement. “But we need to discuss and interpret our history from multiple perspectives and from different viewpoints. That’s why a community conversation is crucial.” (more…)
Installation View. All images via Pace Gallery.
Pace Gallery and Pace/MacGill Gallery present Border Cantos, a collaborative multimedia exhibition by artists Richard Misrach and Guillermo Galindo. Misrach, an American photographer, and Galindo, a Mexican-American experimental composer, have been working together since 2011, blending musical scores and photography, instrumentation and sculpture, to discuss and represent the increasingly militarized 1,969-mile border wall between the United States and Mexico. The work in Border Cantos spans photography, sculpture, and sound, integrated seamlessly to create an impression of the presence of tragedy and tenuousness. (more…)
Robert Grosvenor, Untitled (2014-2017), via Art Observed
Three cars parked side by side make up Robert Grosvenor’s Untitled (2014-17), a single work presented as the artist’s second solo exhibition at Karma’s downtown exhibition space. We can’t be certain that the term “parked” accurately describes these objects, however, as it implies movement that was halted, and a close assessment of the vehicles does not yield a consensus on their past or present mobility. Our fascination with Grosvenor’s sculptures runs parallel to our suspension in this perpetual state of uncertainty, in which the work of art becomes the site of an investigation into the identity of an object.
Robert Grosvenor, Untitled (detail) (2014-2017), via Art Observed
A piece in the Art Newspaper traces the initially contentious history of Pablo Picasso’s now iconic public sculpture in downtown Chicago, which earned considerable derision and criticism when it was first unveiled in 1967. “The tone, and I remember it so vividly, was that we had been had, this alien beast or whatever it is with no name arrived and some poseur artist has played a joke on the city,” says Mark Kelly, Chicago’s current cultural commissioner of its first showing. “I would like to believe that I became a little more open and curious to my urban surroundings and to what was considered art.” (more…)
PBS has a piece on the recent controversy over the Berkshires Museum’s decision to deaccession a collection of 40 paintings from its collection, including pieces by Alexander Calder, and the protests raised in response. The museum has claimed the works it wants to sell were “deemed no longer essential to the the Museum’s new interdisciplinary programs,” but is facing criticism over its treatment of the pieces as a rote financial asset. (more…)
The New York Times profiles Dupont Underground, a former subway station in Washington D.C. that has been converted into an arts space. “It’s one of those spaces in the city that becomes mythical because it just hasn’t been open to the public for so long,” said Brianne Nadeau, a member of the City Council. (more…)