The New York Times takes an in-depth look at the ongoing court battle between Ronald Perelman and Larry Gagosian, noting the immense legal fees that the collector has racked up (over $3 million) in his ongoing battle over the sale of a Cy Twombly work he claims was fraudulently overpriced, and Gagosian’s subsequent lawsuits over his failure to pay.  “Ron Perelman’s disingenuous claims that he is a crusader are nothing more than a cover for the fact that he is a notorious bully with a well-known history of filing meritless litigations who once again won’t pay what’s owed,” says Gagosian’s lawyer, Matthew S. Dontzin. (more…)

Alexandrea Da Cunha at Thomas Dane, all photos via Andrea Nguyen for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

The last hours of Frieze London have come and gone, with a sizable portion of the $2.2 billion in works on sale changing hands over the course of the week, with a number of noteworthy sales, performances and events capping the fall art staple. (more…)

Gagosian Gallery has announced that it will represent the estate of artist Walter de Maria, continuing a relationship the artist had with the gallery during his life, showing there several times.  The gallery’s first step is assisting in establishing a Foundation to oversee his estate and work.  “Walter so wished to establish his own foundation, but sadly, he did not accomplish this during his lifetime,” says Elizabeth Childress, former director of the artist’s studio. “It is an important step to have as a protection and a promotion of his legacy.” (more…)

Continuing what could arguably be the most controversial series of Christmas-themed public artworks, Paul McCarthy this past week installed Tree, an enormous inflatable sculpture on Place Vendome in Paris that bears a striking resemblance to both a Christmas tree or a sex toy.  The work has already garnered considerable controversy, with one man slapping McCarthy as he viewed the work.  “Does this kind of thing happen often in France?” McCarthy reportedly asked shortly after being attacked.

Since being installed, the sculpture has been repeatedly attacked by vandals, and has ultimately been removed from Place Vendome.
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In an interview with Bloomberg, Christie’s chief executive officer Steven Murphy has commented on the ongoing growth of the contemporary auction market, noting that sales are only increasing, and that Christie’s is increasingly focused on digital auctions.  “We have 14 exhibition spaces around the world where we exhibit the art, and we’ve really grown our accessibility to clients through the online experience,” he says.  “What brings the most consignments is the number of buyers.” (more…)

Frank Gehry is reportedly in talks with Philip Vergne and the rest of the MOCA board regarding a potential renovation of the Geffen Contemporary branch in downtown Los Angeles.  “It is a priority and a necessity to make the Geffen a true public space and to use the plaza and the canopy as a civic, urban and spontaneous gathering place for our visitors and for the citizens of downtown. It should be a town square,” Vergne says. (more…)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (1981), via Sotheby’s

This past Friday, Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Sale concluded the week of auctions during Frieze Week in London, with a £28,203,200 final tally.  Following the results of the previous two evenings, the sales were relatively staid affairs, with few works exceeding their original estimates.

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Next month, Christie’s New York will place a landmark set of 21 “Film Stills” by Cindy Sherman on sale, a set of works from early in the artist’s career that carries an estimate of $6 million – $8 million.  The stills were originally collected by curator by Ydessa Hendeles, who sold them in turn to industrialist Mitchell P. Rales, who noted his intent to keep the works together as a set.  “We are deep into Cindy’s work and will continue to collect it,” he says. “Ydessa did a fabulous job putting it together, and it would be almost impossible to replicate it today.” (more…)

W Magazine takes a look at the remote art colony and sculpture park established by collectors Anita and Poju Zabludowicz in the Gulf of Finland.  “They really support artists before they break through,” says curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, codirector of London’s Serpentine Galleries. “It’s a form of patronage.” (more…)

In a special feature, The New York Times has invited 15 artists to create imaginative advertisements for themselves as they might run in the newspaper, with submissions from Jenny Holzer, Carol Bove, and Francesco Vezzoli, whose particularly bizarre ad offers a body double of himself as a sexual partner.  ‘‘I immediately felt that it would be hilarious to see a real/fake prostitute ad in the pages of the most respected newspaper in the world,” the artist writes. (more…)

Christie’s auction of works from the Essl Collection launched Frieze week last night in London, with the 44-lot sale attracting £46.9 million in sales, within the estimate for the evening.  The exhibition cover lot, Gerhard Richter’s Netz, failed to sell at auction, but ultimately sold privately after the auction for £5.5 million.  “Through the proceeds of this sale, the long-term future of the Essl Museum is now secured,” Karlheinz Essl said in a statement. (more…)

Joe Bradley, Untitled (2011), via Christie’s

Last evening, Christie’s auction house closed its first auctions of the fall season in London, a successful affair that saw only 5 of the 46 lots on sale go unsold, with a final sales tally of £40,344,500, settling firmly into the auction house’s estimated £32 million to £47 million sales range. (more…)

Gavin Brown is opening a new location on the Lower East Side at 291 Grand Street, a building which has also recently seen the addition of Margaret Lee’s 47 Canal.  The gallery will also maintain the same name has his original space.  “We couldn’t think of what else to call it!” the gallerist says. (more…)

Miami collector Gary Nader has announced plans for his new museum, focusing on Latin American art and featuring about 600 paintings, drawings and sculptures from his personal collection.  “The influence of Latin America in the U.S. is extremely prominent,” he says. “We want to tell the story.” (more…)

Gerhard Richter is interviewed in the Wall Street Journal this week, as the artist opens a new show of works at Marian Goodman in London.  “Abstract pictures do indeed show something, they just show things that don’t exist,” he says. “But they still follow the same requirements as figurative works: they need a setup, structure. You need to be able to look at it and say, ‘It’s almost something.’ But it’s actually representing nothing. It pulls feelings out of you, even as it’s showing you a scene that technically isn’t there.” (more…)

Helen Frankenthaler, Cool Summer (1962), © 2014 Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Photo by Rob McKeever

On view at Gagosian Gallery in New York is an exhibition of work by American abstract expressionist painter Helen Frankenthaler, focusing on a period of her career (1962-1963) in which the artist focused primarily on composing with color and tone rather than formal lines and shapes.  The display will remain on view through October 18th. (more…)

Phillips has opened its new exhibition and auction space at 30 Berkley Square in London, part of its increased efforts to compete at the highest end of the contemporary market.  The space is currently exhibiting a curated show in the space, titled A Very Short History of Contemporary Sculpture, and curated by Francesco Bonami.  “I thought about sculpture, as soon as I saw this space,” Mr. Bonami says. (more…)

Christopher Wool, Untitled (1990), via Phillips

Last night, Phillips wrapped its Contemporary Evening Sale in London, corresponding with the opening days of Frieze London, and setting the stage for the fall season of auctions in both the British capital and New York. Phillips kicked the week off with a moderate sale, featuring a few impressive achievers alongside a number of more subdued sales marks, achieving a final sales total of £14.9 million for the 47 lot sale. (more…)

Outside the Frieze Fair, via Art Observed

As Wednesday winds down, the 2014 edition of Frieze London is well underway, starting another fair off with strong sales and impressive attendance.  As the VIP preview opened, a number of prominent celebrities could be seen browsing the aisles.  Famed German footballer Michael Ballack was seen wandering the aisles, as was writer Salman Rushdie, joining MOCA’s new director Philip Vergne and his DIA successor Jessica Morgan.

Erwin Wurm, via Andrea Nguyen for Art (more…)

Hermann Nitsch,Kreuzwegstation (Station of the Cross) (1961) at Hauser and Wirth, via Art Observed

The Viennese Actionist movement was one of the more visceral post-war collectives that sprung up from the war-torn landscape of mid-20th Century Europe.  The group of Austrian artists (while claiming they were never affiliated officially), among them Otto Mühl, Günter Brus, and Rudolph Schwarzkogler, combined disturbing and often surreal imagery with a ritualistic approach to art making, creating elaborate pieces that often involved flayed animal carcasses, body parts, and bucket upon bucket of blood.

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A Picasso canvas that has never before been exhibited will go on view this week in London.  The 1901 self-portrait is being exhibited at Ordovas Gallery, alongside works by Jeff Koons, Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst. (more…)

Art Basel Miami Beach has announced its selections for the 2014 edition of its special section, Kabinett.  Focusing on special curated shows and group exhibitions, Kabinett this year will feature  a solo exhibition of work by Mickalene Thomas by Kavi Gupta, and an installation by James Turrell at Mexico’s Galería OMR, among others.  The fair will open on December 1st. (more…)

Christie’s has announced that it will be offering a series of three classic Magritte canvases at its New York Impressionist and Modern Art sale next month, including Mesdemoiselles de l’Isle Adam, 1942 (estimated at $5-$7m).  Magritte has been a strong seller in recent years, with a sizable percentage of his top sales occurring in the past five years. (more…)

The New York Times profiles the upcoming exhibition of Leonard Lauder’s Cubist collection (on view October 20th), a series of works collected over the years by the cosmetics tycoon who taught himself a great deal about the world of fine art as a child attending the Met.  “I didn’t discover Cubism then,” he said. “But just by looking, you learn what’s good.” (more…)