The UK is looking into ways of limiting the number of students signing up for education in the arts, a report in the Guardian notes, with an intent on reducing the number of students taking on large loans for historically lower-paying jobs. “They would like to control numbers in specific subjects. The Treasury is particularly obsessed with negative return in creative arts subjects,” says one source. (more…)
Alicja Kwade, Day Density (Installation View), via kamel mennour
On view this month, and just in time for the proceedings of FIAC, kamel mennour gallery opens a show of new work by artist Alicja Kwade, underscoring the artist’s continued exploration of time, space, chemistry, geology and biology. Through a range of sculptures, hanging works and floor installations, the artist explores the materials of physical reality, oftentimes seeking to use each one as a way to look beyond the whole. (more…)
Robert Mangold, Pace Gallery, all images by Aidan Chisholm for Art Observed
Having concluded opening hours yesterday at the Grand Palais Éphémère, a temporary installation erected at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, FIAC opened its doors to the public today, beginning a run of days at the site that once more bring contemporary and modern art to the French capital. The first outing of the fair since it shuttered last year during Covid-19, and the first since Brexit was fully implemented, this year’s edition saw the Parisian event taking on a new role at the forefront of the European art market.
Gary Simmons, Hauser and Wirth
A group of artists including Henry Taylor and Peter Doig speak to the New York Times this week about the work of painter Bob Thompson. “I loved Bob’s work right away,” Taylor says. “I think I stumbled on him in a bookstore. I was like, ‘Damn, how come they didn’t tell me?’ It was like a jewel. I was ecstatic. He just hit hard right away.” (more…)
Mark Grotjahn, Untitled (Backcountry Capri 54.37) (2021), via Blum & Poe
Mark Grotjahn brings a body of new work to bear at Blum & Poe this month, continuing the artist’s expressive exploration of the potentials for abstraction and gesture. Bringing a series of paintings unified under the title Backcountry, the artist’s work continues to explore a range of geometric iterations and variations on canvas. (more…)
Paula Cooper Gallery now represents the estate of artist, musician and filmmaker Terry Adkins. “It is my profound pleasure to continue collaborating with the Estate of Terry Adkins and to bring the artist’s complex and groundbreaking work to a wider audience,” says partner Alexis Johnson. (more…)
Emma Enderby, currently the Chief Curator at The Shed has been named the new Chief Curator at Haus der Kunst. “After over 6 years in New York City, I am thrilled to be returning to Europe to take on this position at such a salient global center for art,” she says. “I look forward to working with Andrea Lissoni and the team to continue to push the space for interdisciplinary practices at Haus der Kunst, as well as the inventive, open, and prescient program that this institution is renowned for.” (more…)
Harold Ancart, Untitled (2021), via David Zwirner
Marking the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the artist’s sculptural work, David Zwirner is presenting a selection of new sculpture by artist Harold Ancart at the gallery’s Paris exhibition space, a show that also marks the artist’s first solo exhibition in the French capital. The show, which compiles a set of new sculptures from a series begun in 2017, the exhibition focuses in particular on swimming pools, cast in concrete, and painted with rich layers of color that recall art-historical, architectural, and everyday influences.
Harold Ancart, Untitled (2021), via David Zwirner
Artist Lili Reynaud-Dewar has won this year’s Prix Marcel Duchamp, the most prestigious prize in French art. (more…)
Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie has restituted, and then repurchased a Camille Pissarro piece that its original owners were forced to sell at auction in 1942, the Art Newspaper reports. “This Pissarro painting is an important work for our collection because it marks a significant step towards Impressionist art, which is one of the core holdings of the Alte Nationalgalerie,” says Director Ralph Gleis. “I thank Armand Dorville’s heirs for the trust in this institution shown by this acquisition.” (more…)
Rob Pruitt, Studio Calendar 2020 (2020), via 303 Gallery
Marking his first solo exhibition with 303 Gallery, Rob Pruitt returns to New York with a body of new works assembled under the title These Are the Days of Our Lives. Serving as a fitting reflection on the passage of time, social memory and the tumultuous, unforeseen changes of the past two years as they have unfolded across political and public realms, the show makes for a unique and insightful look into Pruitt’s studio practice and ongoing body of work. (more…)
A piece in the NYT this week looks at the ongoing impacts the Covid-19 pandemic has had on British Museums, and forecasts how these setbacks will impact its institutions in the future. “We’re still seeing the impact of the pandemic play out,” says Sharon Heal, the director of the Museums Association, a trade body. “It’s not back to normal at all.” (more…)
A Van Gogh landscape sold under duress before WWII will go to auction this year as part of a restitution settlement by the heirs of its original owner Max Meirowsky. “It is especially moving that Christie’s Restitution has been so deeply involved with this collection,” says Marc Porter, Christie’s Americas chairman. “We have made WW2 period provenance research a hallmark of our expertise, inextricably a part of the art historical framework.” (more…)
Glenn Ligon gets the profile treatment in the NYT this week, as the newspaper visits his Brooklyn studio and talks to the artist about his early life, work, and his early experiments with text and printing. You can’t plan those things,” he says. “The mistake was the fact that the text was getting all smeary until I realized, ‘Oh, smeary text is the thing.’” (more…)
Margo Leavin, a central fixture of LA’s art scene since the 1970’s, has passed away at the age of 85. Leavin was a central figure in the career of many LA artists including John Baldessari, Alexis Smith, and Allen Ruppersberg. (more…)
Nairy Baghramian, Side Leaps (Installation View), via Marian Goodman
Presenting a series of new works at Marian Goodman’s London Projects exhibition space, Nairy Baghramian’s Side Leaps brings a new series of enigmatic sculptural interpretations to the British capital. This is the first time that this body of work has been exhibited in the UK, with several drawings never having been seen previously, and showcases Baghramian’s use of sculpture and form as a starting point for conversations on space and perception. (more…)
The Art News Top 200 Collectors list is out for 2021, featuring a range of collectors that includes actor Cheech Marin, Jeff Bezos and Roman Abramovich. (more…)
Artist Julie Mehretu will join the Whitney board, just the third artist in the museum’s history to do so. “The Whitney’s founder, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, believed that artists were essential to defining, challenging and expanding culture and that the museum should be a site where artists and audiences engaged openly with untested ideas,” says director Adam D. Weinberg. “Today, more than 90 years later, this history informs who we are and how we serve our public, and our trustees, along with our staff, help to ensure that we redouble our commitment to American art and artists.” (more…)
Simone Leigh at Hauser & Wirth, via Art Observed
After a long hiatus and the challenges posed in the wake of months of crippling pandemic lockdowns, the Frieze Art Fair has returned to Regent’s Park in London for its annual run, bringing with it over 160 international galleries and a range of projects and talks that underscore its continued vitality in the world of contemporary art. The full first edition back in the British capital since the fair was forced to cancel its 2020 edition due to Covid-19, this year’s opening was a return to form, filling its exhibition halls with a range of diverse works and artists from around the globe. (more…)
Ibrahim Mahama, (2019-2021), via White Cube
Marking his third show with White Cube, artist Ibrahim Mahama brings together a body of new works addressing the passage of time, the notion of obsolescence and the potential for regeneration. The Ghanian artist, whose work often incorporates materials from the everyday landscape of his home in Tamale, touches down at the gallery’s Bermondsey exhibition space for Lazarus, a show that draws reference from the biblical story of a miracle resurrection and one of Mahama’s works on view, a group of suspended sculptures formed from armatures made of metal rebar and draped with tarpaulin, which together take on the form of cloaked figures or large bats. Haunting and ethereal, the work challenges framings of economic and cultural history in his home country and abroad. (more…)
Anish Kapoor, Blackness From Her Womb (2021), via Lisson
On view now at Lisson Gallery in London, Anish Kapoor presents a new series of paintings, an element of his practice that has rarely been seen, exploring the intimate and ritualistic nature of his work. Created over the past year, the show provides a poetic view of the artist’s recent preoccupations, while delving into his more expressive and visceral modes of practice. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the artist’s show at Modern Art Oxford. (more…)
Issy Wood, What if you showed up (detail) (2021), via Carlos Ishikawa
Marking the latest entry in a body of work that has long evaded easy classification, painter Issy Wood has opened a show of new works this month at Carlos/Ishikawa, continuing her exploration of the painted canvas as a site for the juxtaposition of realities, memories and figments of the imagination. (more…)
Ron Nagle, Pink Flamenco (2021), via Matthew Marks
Ron Nagle is known for his intimately scaled sculptures made of ceramic elements that are slip-cast, fired, and embellished with epoxy and other synthetic materials that allow him to expand his forms beyond the limits of clay. Evoking otherworldly landscapes or surreal architectural arrangements, Nagle’s inventive works elicit a vast range of associations. A new exhibition of the artist’s work is now on at Matthew Marks in New York. (more…)
