After two decades working together, artist Tracey Emin and Lehmann Maupin have parted ways.  “[We] have mutually decided to part ways and end our working relationship,” gallery owner David Maupin says.  “Tracey is an important part of the gallery’s history and we will always cherish our friendship and collaboration.” (more…)

Art dealer Jack Tilton, who spent much of his career working to help develop young artists, has passed away, the Art News reports.  “More than anyone else he marched to the tune of his own drum,” says Janine Cirincione, a former director at his Upper East Side gallery. “And found humor in everything. And people loved him for that.” (more…)

The New York Times welcomes a series of photographs by Jack Shear, who lived with Ellsworth Kelly for over 30 years, and documented his studio shortly after the artist passed away in 2015.  “At the end, his studio became like where he was living,” Mr. Shear says. “He was not only painting, but he was actually living in the studio. I mean, Ellsworth considered Spencertown — and probably the studio in Spencertown — the center of the world, the center of the universe. This is where he finally, toward the end of his life, really wanted to be.” (more…)

Curator Christine Macel is interviewed in the New York Times this week, as she prepares to open this year’s Venice Biennale.  “To me, art is linked with all dimensions of life,” she says. “People think art will save the world.  I don’t think art will save the world, but it’s saved a lot of lives.” (more…)

The Venice Biennale

With the first weeks of May upon us, so too comes the opening days of the Venice Biennale, as the 57th edition of the over a century-old art exhibition returns to the Italian city for another summer and Art Observed is in Venice to report on a broad and intriguing opening week of presentation.  Curated this year by Christine Macel, the chief curator at the Centre Pompidou, the fair’s title Viva Art Viva, traces a turn back from the intense political engagement of Okwui Enwezor’s 2015 Biennale, yet promises a no-less thorough look at the world during a particularly challenging era in history. (more…)

The Met has taken another step towards mandatory admission fees, filing a proposal to charge out of town visitors while keeping the museum donation optional for residents of the city.  “We will review it carefully,” says commissioner of cultural affairs Tom Finkelpearl.  “The city is committed to working with the Met to ensure that its unrivaled collection and programming remain accessible to all New Yorkers.” (more…)

Jeppe Hein at 303 Gallery, via Art Observed

Following a solid four days of operation on Randall’s Island, Frieze New York closed this evening, bringing a conclusion to the first weeks of May’s busy art calendar, and setting the stage for major auctions coming shortly for the city.  The final hours today brought one last push of sales, as dealers rallied to wrap final talks with their clients, while other late guests walked the aisles looking for a hidden gem.   (more…)

Chéri Samba,”Complexe d’un enfant,” (2017), Magnin-A Gallery, Paris. Via Art Observed

Returning to New York City for its third edition, the 1:54 Art Fair touched down at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn’s Red Hook Neighborhood this weekend, bringing with it a wide range of works drawing from the fertile landscape of contemporary African art practice.  Founded by curator Touria El Glaoui several years ago as a companion fair to Frieze in London, the fair has since grown to encompass fairs on both sides of the Atlantic, serving as a vital mouthpiece for contemporary African art and artists from across the continent. (more…)

Julio Le Parc at Galeria Sur Puntada del Este, via Art Observed

Following the success of The European Fine Arts Fair’s (TEFAF) inaugural fair in October 2016, TEFAF New York debuts its sophomore fair dedicated to fine art, antiques, and design on May 4th at the Park Avenue Armory, with a particular focus on more contemporary pieces and artists. TEFAF New York Spring has its origins in Maastricht, Netherlands and was born out of exhibitors’ desire for the fair, which meticulously vets its artwork, to expand into the vibrant New York art world. Since 2016, TEFAF New York and Artvest have worked together in order to curate a fall and a spring show at the Park Avenue Armory. (more…)

The New York Times has an interview with New Museum director Lisa Phillips this week, labeling her “The Most Powerful Woman in the New York Art World.”  “The concept of soft power has become a bit of a cliché, I guess,” she says of her work shaping the Museum’s impact on the city’s art community.  “But it’s the way I’ve always thought about what I do, and I think it’s the way this museum has made a difference.” (more…)

An article in Bloomberg this week notes a distinct increase in value for artists showing in this year’s Whitney Biennial. “There’s no doubt that collectors troll these biennials at the openings and attempt to ferret out who will be the hotshot artist or artists, and they corner the gallerists to secure the ‘glittering trophies,’” says advisor Todd Levin. “The auctions that take place after the biennials are part and parcel of the same kind of market mechanism.” (more…)

An unidentified man slashed a Christopher Wool painting in the town of Aspen this weekend, leaving a several inch-long hole in the canvas.  “On it’s face, it’s extremely suspicious,” Aspen Police Detective Jeff Fain said. “There has to be a reason someone would want to destroy this painting.”  The work is valued at $3 million. (more…)

Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al-Thani of the Qatari Royal Family has opened the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art in New York, focused on representing and advocating for Muslim artists around the world.  “If we dig into how Arabs and Muslims are stereotyped, they go way back,” Al-Thani says. “It made sense to me there had to be an art and culture institute that represents the Arab and Islamic region, as there isn’t really one here in New York.” (more…)

The Tate Modern will name its new Switch House expansion after USSR-born billionaire oligarch Len Blavatnik.  “My family and I are honored to support Tate, and to be linked to this exceptional building,” Blavatnick said.  “Tate provides incomparable service to the arts, culture and education throughout the world.” (more…)

Olafur Eliasson at Tanya Bonakdar, via Art Observed

As the weather continues to heat up in New York City, galleries from around the globe have descended once again onto Randall’s Island in the northern reaches of the city, bringing scores of new works for the sixth edition of Frieze’s New York fair.  Marking the first week of an extremely busy month that sees dealers, collectors and the rest of the art world split between New York and Venice, the fair opened today as a first breath in a bustling series of events that nevertheless saw strong attendance and strong interest for the works on hand, with many dealers using the fair as an opportunity to capitalize on their artist’s presence at major exhibitions in the U.S., Italy, and elsewhere.

Thomas Kovachevich, Cool T (1981), via Callicoon Fine Arts

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Vanity Fair has a piece this week on the rapidly expanding market for Modigliani works, and the increasing frequency of controversies, lawsuits and threats following close behind, stemming from the disorganized and hectic nature of the artist’s catalogue.  “To say that the catalogue raisonné situation of works by Modigliani is a mess is an understatement,” says Kenneth Wayne, a foremost Modigliani scholar. (more…)

An article in Bloomberg examines the recently minted “.ART” domain, which current operator UK Creative Ideas Ltd. claims will help bring transparency and security to an unstable market.  “The art market lacks basic infrastructure and standards that exist in any other business,” says investor Ulvi Kasimov. “It’s hard to create cash flow.” (more…)

LA Weekly profiles  Jamillah James, who will head up curatorial duties at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.  “I love L.A.,” she says of her move from New York. “I was a very quick convert. I’m just like a little Benedict Arnold from the East Coast.” (more…)

John Currin is interviewed in Art News this week, offering a look at the artist’s process and the drawings that often serve as the initial structure for his ideas.  “They range from real doodles to pretty finished drawings, but the majority are quick things,” Currin says. “A lot of naked ladies, that kind of stuff.” (more…)

The Turner Prize has announced its shortlist for 2017, with a considerably older group of artists reflecting the prize’s decision to drop its upper age limit of 50 years.  Lubaina Himid, Rosalind Nashashibi, Hurvin Anderson and Andrea Büttner have earned a place in the Turner Prize exhibition, which will open later this year in Hull. (more…)

Massimiliano Gioni sits down with PS1 founder Alanna Heiss for a conversation this week in Art News, as the pair reflect on their early work, their work as curators, and their visions for the future of the field.  “A grown-up radical starts her or his own thing and sees it through, takes the criticism from other radicals and tries to solve problems instead of marching,” Heiss says.  “I had wings and a halo—everything I needed—so I decided to build an anti-museum. That’s what P.S. 1 was.” (more…)

Despite calls by President Trump to nix funding for the NEA, the budget expected to pass both houses in Congress has included a small increase in funding for the organization, the Art Newspaper reports.  The previous budget proposal had seen ample criticism on both sides of the aisle, leaving many Republican representatives and Senators willing to ignore Trump’s prompts.   (more…)

    
Ernesto Burgos, Mancha (2017), all images via Kate Werble Gallery

Artist Ernesto Burgos is presenting seven new pieces for his third solo show with Kate Werble Gallery up through May 6th.  For the past five years, Burgos has continued to make organic, sculptural forms from fiberglass, which he then paints over using a range of materials including spray paint, charcoal, oil stick and lacquer, embellishing his pieces with an additional layer of gestural mark-making.  Here, Burgos continues his investigation of form and material while experimenting with the size and presentation of his work.
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Laure de Beauvau-Craon, the former Sotheby’s head who broke a monopoly on the French auction market during, has passed away at the age of 74.  De Beauvau-Craon used her influence and connections as a princess of the duchy of Lorraine to win a battle against France’s “commissaires-priseurs” to enable Sotheby’s to do business in the country, fundamentally changing the European art market.  (more…)