Stan VanDerBeek, Movie Mural (1968), via Art Observed

If there’s one distinct argument coming out of the Whitney’s expansive exhibition Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, it’s a reinforcement of the expression “the story’s in the telling.”  Drawing on a wide range of artists and collectives practicing in the late 20th Century and early 21st, the exhibition takes a decidedly narrative bent on increasingly pervasive communication technologies, and the cultural effects that these forms have left both on human interaction at large, and the art world itself.

Hito Steyerl, Factory of the Sun (2015), via Art Observed

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Ken Price, McLean (2004), all photos via Hauser & Wirth

Spanning the range of Ken Price’s career and formal interests in equal measure, Hauser & Wirth London is currently dedicating an expansive show to the American artist, from his early work in California on through a series of cups, vases and abstracted forms that underscore his relentless formal invention.  Shown in conjunction with the artist’s famously comical, graphic watercolor works, the show is an impressively deep survey of Price’s work and process.

Ken Price, Untitled (1986)

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Sotheby’s will lead its London Contemporary sale with a photorealist work by Gerhard Richter, Eisberg, estimated at £8-£12 million.  The work comes from a period shortly after the artist’s divorce from his first wife Emma, and reflects his mindset during this dark period.“What Richter saw reflected in the painting… was his own state of mind…the photographs he took in Greenland were visual analogues for his own failed hopes,” Richter’s biographer, Dietmar Elger, says.  “He was exhausted by the struggle to find his own way as a husband and father, and felt that his dream domestic happiness had, as a consequence, been wrecked.” (more…)

Auctionata Paddle8 has filed for insolvency, with Paddle8 reportedly finding a buyer for its company in New York.  “Auctionata and Paddle8 have redefined the online auction market for art and luxury goods,” says Thomas Hesse, CEO of the joined company. “This procedure will enable both brands and companies to maximize their potential.”  (more…)

Ruba Katrib, curator of SculptureCenter, will join Frieze London as a curatorial advisor this year, working on the fair’s “Focus” section.  “I tend to begin my journey through Frieze London in the Focus section,” she said. “I’m eager to see who’s there and what they’ve brought, knowing that the galleries in Focus can be counted on to bring lesser-known artists, new work, and exciting ideas—they consistently work hard to convey a fresh approach.”  (more…)

The Trump administration has announced plans to cut the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, part of its plan to decrease government spending.  “The Trump Administration needs to reform and cut spending dramatically, and targeting waste like the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities would be a good first step in showing that the Trump Administration is serious about radically reforming the federal budget,” says Brian Darling a former staffer at the Heritage Foundation. (more…)

Philip Guston, Alone (1971), all images via Osman Can Yerebakan for Art Observed

On view at Hauser & Wirth’s temporary 22nd street location, Laughter in the Dark compiles one hundred and eighty pieces created by artist Philip Guston between 1971 and 1975.  Working feverishly at his Woodstock studio in response to the highly contentious, corruption-filled presidency of Richard Nixon, the artist’s work carries exceeding resonance in the post-election landscape of American politics.  Opening just days before Donald Trump took the presidency, the show traces several connections and common threads between Guston’s era and our own, and offers a glimpse at how art and humor may sustain a nation struggling once again with its sense of identity. (more…)

The Guardian spotlights the opening of the Barberini Museum in Potsdam this week, billionaire Hasso Plattner’s pet project including landmark works by Edvard Munch, Claude Monet, and Auguste Renoir, among others.  “I always wanted to make a museum. Berlin is blessed with state and private museums, and now Potsdam can make its presence felt with the Barberini,” Plattner says. (more…)

Brooke Lampley, head of the Impressionist and Modern department at Christie’s, is leaving her position to join Sotheby’s, the Art Market Monitor reports.  She will serve as Vice Chairman for the Fine Art Department next year.  (more…)

Jorge Daniel Veneciano, who took the helm of The Museum of Arts and Design only five months ago, is stepping down to focus on political advocacy.  “Current political events compel me to turn my attention to pressing needs in the cultural sector,” he said.  “I remain a great admirer of the museum of arts and design, and I am confident that it will be in good hands going forward.” (more…)

In an effort to boost tourism in Turkey, the Contemporary Istanbul art fair is moving to coincide with the city’s art biennial this September, the Art Newspaper reports.  “The government is beginning to realise that art and culture are important,” says Ali Güreli, the chairman of Contemporary Istanbul. “We are not asking the government for funding, we are asking for the path to be cleared so it is more accessible to buy and sell art in Istanbul.” (more…)

Charles Long, SendingLadyMotherFrame1 (2016), courtesy the Artist and Tanya Bonakdar

Filling the ground floor exhibition space at Tanya Bonakdar with a series of six small-scale sculptures, artist Charles Long returns to the Chelsea gallery for their eleventh exhibition together.  Drawing delicate exchanges of space and form through Long’s careful selection of elements, the show offers a playful, intuitive exploration of sculptural technique, and the conventions that place these objects on view to the public. (more…)

The new proposals for London’s ongoing Fourth Plinth project have been unveiled, with works including a bizarre arrangement of scaffolding by Damian Ortega, and a massive scoop of ice cream by Heather Phillipson, topped by a hovering drone.  “We love the way the project turns everyone into an art critic,” says Justine Simons, London’s deputy mayor for culture. (more…)

Heidi Weber, one of the earliest supporters and advocates for the work of Le Corbusier, is set to sell a series of the architect’s premier paintings, and is taking the works on a tour of Asia in an effort to court buyers.  Weber currently holds exclusive rights to much of the architects work, and is exploring potential expansions and copies of some of his designs in China as well.   (more…)

A piece in the Art Market Monitor analyzes Richard Prince’s recent disavowal of his Ivanka Trump portrait, noting the legal disputes and problems the action raises.  “The repercussions to the market if artists had the right to impugn the authenticity of their works after the fact would turn the art economy topsy-turvy, destabilizing what many already judge to be a thinly traded, tenuous ecosystem to begin with,” according to Kenny Schacter.   (more…)

Hank Willis Thomas and Eric Gottesman’s “For Freedoms” Super PAC will get a residency at MoMA PS1, continuing its exploration of political agency with a “Laboratory for Freedom.”  “We spent last year in the lead-up to the election developing this vehicle we didn’t know we would need,” Gottesman says. “We need it now more than we thought we might. The question is, what do we do with it. (more…)

The NYT profiles LACMA Director Michael Govan’s planned $600 million renovation at the museum, and the efforts he has undertaken to bring the plan to fruition.  “It’s a big project for L.A., and there’s been a little lack of confidence that the money will be raised,” he said. “But I think just getting close to the halfway point, I’ve sensed a change in my trustees and supporters. There’s this strong sense with them that this is likely to happen.” (more…)

Sotheby’s has filed a lawsuit against collector Lionel de Saint Donat-Pourrières, after a painting attributed to Parmigianino and commissioned for sale with the auction house was revealed as a likely forgery.  The collector was asked to send the painting for additional testing before selling, but later tests revealed samples of a pigment not used for centuries after the work’s completion.  “Each and every one of those samples (none of which were taken from areas of restoration) contained the modern synthetic pigment phthalocyanine green, which was first used in paints nearly four centuries after Parmigianino died,” the auction house said in its filing. (more…)

Igor DaCosta, managing director of Portfolio Advisors, has been elected as the chair of the Andy Warhol Foundation.  The board also added Paul Ha, Ruby Lerner, and Anne Pasternak, which “gives the board the strength of proven leadership in the foundation’s most important constituencies: artists and the nonprofit art institutions that support them,” Foundation president Joel Wachs said. (more…)

Marianne Boesky Gallery will open a new location in Aspen, called Boesky West.  Originally the cabin of late 1800s photographer James “Horsethief” Kelly, the new space will serve as an extension of the gallery’s Chelsea home, and will host a combination of shows by gallery artists and special projects.  “I have long been inspired by Aspen’s extreme landscape, and the creativity that it has fueled among artists, musicians, writers, and so many other individuals of diverse background and interests,” Boesky says.  “I see Boesky West as a space to present the work of our artists in a completely different context and environment than New York, expanding the experience of their work and introducing it to new audiences.” (more…)

Jean Tinguely, Ballet des pauvres (1961), all photos via Besiana Vathi for Art Observed

One of the pioneering artists in the concept of kinetics and movement in their works, Jean Tinguely is the subject of an expansive retrospective, Machine Spectacle, currently on view at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum, charting the artist’s creative trajectory and body of work, and highlighting his fascination with movement and formal progression as the focus, rather than the means of his practice.  Using movement and change as modes of critical inquiry, the works on view underscore Tinguely’s understanding of the modern condition, examining capitalist spectacle and modern culture in conjunction with his work’s internal series of aesthetic decisions.

Jean Tinguely, Le Cyclop РLa T̻te, collaboration with Niki de Saint Phalle (1986)

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The Whitney has announced today that it will open on January 20th on a “pay-what-you-wish” basis, turning the space into a site for dialogues on the current state of America and American politics through a speak-out organized by arts collective Occupy Museums, and open discussions.   (more…)

Michelle Grabner, Untitled (2016), via Art Observed

Artist Michelle Grabner has work on view at James Cohan Gallery in Chelsea this month, continuing the artist’s explorations of intersections between physical and social contexts for her chosen materials, and the resulting conversations between the contexts of fine art and the artist’s own life and practice. (more…)

Maria Balshaw’s appointment as Tate Director has been confirmed by the Prime Minister, putting her in a leadership position for the British art world.  “I am honored to be asked by the trustees of Tate to become the new director,” Balshaw said.  “Under Nicholas Serota’s leadership, Tate has changed forever how we all think about art and artists and has made visual art a central part of a vibrant cultural life in the UK. I am tremendously excited to be leading Tate in the next chapter of its life. I look forward to developing Tate’s reputation as the most artistically adventurous and culturally inclusive gallery in the world.” (more…)