The Guardian profiles painter Eric Fischl’s recent series of works documenting the peculiar, occasionally surreal landscapes and politics of the modern art fair circuit.  “The big collectors do this kind of speed-dating thing,” the artist tells The Guardian. “They try to get in and out before anyone buys what they are after and certainly before the hoi polloi gets to look. And then you’ve got people who are just there for the social scene. So you have people texting or not paying any attention at all. But when you stop the moment you can see this weird world that is taking place. They are being regarded and judged by the work itself in some ways.” (more…)

A group of researchers working at Geneva’s Fine Arts Experts Institute have made the claim that about half of all artworks in circulation today are fakes, an estimate “When you buy an apartment, you always get an appraisal first. But in the art world, until recently, you could buy works for 10 million euros without sufficient documentation,” says FAEI chief Yann Walther. (more…)

Collectors Karlheinz and Agnes Essl, heads of the renowned Essl Collection of contemporary art, are selling off a large portion of their works this week in London, a group of works that includes a number of lesser known German and Austrian artists due to Mr. Essl’s unorthodox collecting techniques.  “So many collectors buy only the ‘greatest hits’ of an artist, but I created a collection that reflected the diversity of artists’ careers and went deeper than just the trophies,” he says.  (more…)

The Louvre is reportedly loaning over 300 works to its new museum in Abu Dhabi, The Guardian reports, including works by Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh and Matisse.  “This will be the first time many of these works will travel to Abu Dhabi or even the Middle East, and are a rare opportunity to see important art from French museums,” said Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. (more…)

In the run-up to Frieze Art Week, Lisson Gallery has installed a series of posters on the walls of the London Tube station near Regent’s Park, featuring texts designed by artists Ryan Gander and Cory Arcangel.  The work is part of a broader series of projects by Arcangel, Gander and Joyce Pensato at the fair who “are intervening and disrupting the [Frieze] stand through installation, performance and collaboration—manipulating how the public interact with works and staff members, who will be sporting custom-made shoes, suits and other wearable works of art,” according to the gallery press release. (more…)

Carsten Höller, Dice (2014), via Gagosian

After a summer pause, the major art fair circuit will look to get back up and running this fall, as collectors, dealers and artists flock to Regent’s Park in London for the 2014 edition of the Frieze Art Fair. (more…)

Peter Doig, The Heart of Old San Juan (1999), via Christie’s

The fall auction season will get back underway this week, as the bustle of Frieze London will also play home to the first major evening sales since early this summer.  With major lots offered at Phillips, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, buyers in the British capital will compete over a number of classic works alongside their recent purchases at Regent’s Park.

Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait (1954), via Sotheby’s

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Andy Coolquitt, 2fer (king raashiid) (2011), via Art Observed

In a humorous blend of sculpture, installation and design, Andy Coolquitt complicates the essence of utilitarianism to examine the ritualistic and imposed purposes of objects. Approaching  everyday commodities as physical entities that extend beyond their limited fields of use, the Texas-born artist orchestrates alternate narratives out of materials such as wooden sticks, light bulbs or metal pipes, not just to provoke their aesthetic limitations, but to explore new social dialogues that ultimately encircle these arrangements. (more…)

Frieze co-founder Matthew Slotover has responded to characterizations of his wildly successful event as “Ikea for millionaires,” noting the impact the fair has on broader art institutions and critiquing the often vapid personifications of collectors. “Most don’t see art as purely a display of wealth. For many, there is a genuine engagement and they want to support the culture, and enrich their lives and engage in lifelong learning,” Slotover says. “They could go and buy planes or yachts or cars, which wouldn’t do any of those things. It’s a minority of the wealthy that decide to buy art. If you look through the Sunday Times Rich List, most are not art collectors.” (more…)

Ed Ruscha is featured on NOWNESS today, part of the publication’s Getting There series, in which artists take an interviewer on a drive through a certain area.  For this edition, Ruscha drove interviewer Matthew Donaldson through his home city of Los Angeles, charting the shifting landscapes and sounds of the California city.  “More than the changes of Los Angeles, I notice when things don’t change,” he says. (more…)

This November, Christie’s will be selling a rarely seen sculpture by Willem de Kooning, one of the few works the artist created in the medium.  “It is a depiction of the artist himself,” says Brett Gorvy, Christie’s worldwide chairman of postwar and contemporary art. “It is the closest de Kooning came to a self-portrait and was created specifically at a time when he was pushing the boundaries.” (more…)

A set of celebrity portraits by Andy Warhol on sale at Sotheby’s New York in the upcoming weeks may earn as much as $57 million, Bloomberg reports.  The works include images of Liz Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Jackie Onassis Kennedy and more.  “Warhol has international appeal,” says Suzanne Gyorgy, head of art advisory and finance at Citi Private Bank. “That kind of art is in a league of its own.” (more…)

Jules de Balincourt, Underneath the Trees They Listened…and Heard Silence (2014), Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris/Salzburg

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac‘s Marais gallery in Paris is currently presenting fifteen new paintings by Jules de Balincourt,  his third solo exhibition for the gallery.  Titled “Blue Hours,” the exhibition continues Balincourt’s exploration of broad expanses of bright colors that dominate many of his pieces, and bring the viewer into vivid worlds just beyond the bounds of reality. (more…)

A series of recently discovered cave paintings in Sulawesi, Indonesia have been dated as 35,000 years old, making them one of the oldest pieces of art ever found, and indicates that early art most likely originated on the African continent.  “Our discovery on Sulawesi shows that cave art was made at opposite ends of the Pleistocene Eurasian world at about the same time, suggesting these practices have deeper origins, perhaps in Africa before our species left this continent and spread across the globe,” said archaeologist Dr. Maxime Aubert. (more…)

Artist Mark Flood has opened his own gallery space in Chelsea on 22nd Street, directly adjacent to his dealer Zach Feuer, where none of the art is for sale, and where Flood is offering space for artists that he loves and supports.  “In New York, little things can have big repercussions,” he says. “I think it’s good to kind of help everybody out. I guess that’s what everyone in the art world is doing. It seems like kind of a sinister business, but it’s full of people who are obsessed with art. I’m another one of those. I don’t have to do anything but look at these great paintings.” (more…)

In anticipation of its new show focusing on the life and work of the Marquis de Sade, The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has reportedly commissioned a promotional video by David Freymond and Florent Michel in which models simulate an orgiastic gathering spelling out “SADE” on the floor of the space.   (more…)

A coalition of UK-based artists is leading a legal push against dealers who have refused to pay the resale royalties on artworks sold at auction since the British Government passed legislation mandating the payouts in 2006.“The honeymoon period is now over,” says artist Maggi Hambling, who is leading the charge against dealers. “The law changed in 2006 and there are people who are still trying to get away without paying. I’m not saying all dealers are crooks. But it’s high time that everyone was doing the right thing.” (more…)

Sean Kelly Gallery has announced a new participatory work by Marina Abramovic, titled Generator, which is set to open in New York later this month.  “She will transform the main gallery into a space of sensory deprivation, an opportunity for forced introspection,” the press release says.  “Dealing with both the meditative and the communal, Generator will be a unique environment for visitors to push the boundaries of their self-awareness and inner-consciousness, as they are confronted with nothing but themselves and the palpable energy in the room.” (more…)

Perrier-Jouët is releasing a new edition of its 2005 Cuvée Belle Epoque Rosé, packaged in a limited-edition bottle designed by celebrated Brazilian visual artist Vik Muniz.  “Much as Perrier-Jouët has long embraced Art Nouveau’s love of nature and enchantment, I took the idea of captivation in a natural setting as the inspiration for this motif,” Muniz says. (more…)

Upon a further budget review, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has added an additional $54 million to the $84.7 million earmarked for arts organizations in the Californian metropolis.  The money will allow for major renovations to a number of LA Arts organizations and institutions. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at a set of works by Cy Twombly and Martin Kippenberger on sale next month at Christie’s in New York, which are already commanding impressive estimates.  Twombly’s untitled 1970 canvas of white looping scrawls is estimated to potentially sell for up to $50 million, while Kippenberger’s self-portrait will look to achieve $15 million and $20 million. (more…)

Dealer Marian Goodman is profiled in The Guardian this week, as she prepares to open her new exhibition space in London.  In the interview, Goodman discusses first discovering the work of Gerhard Richter, and her work in bringing him to international prominence.  “He was a bit drowned out by all these loud, expressionist voices,” she says. “So I wrote him a letter just telling him how much I loved the work and maybe I could make a difference. Then I went to meet him in Düsseldorf in 1984 and everything started from there.”

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The Royal Academy of Art has announced plans for a landmark retrospective of the work of Ai Weiwei, planned for 2015.  “There are many artists and exhibitions I would like to put on but there’s something timely about Ai Weiwei,” says Programming Director Tim Marlow.  “He’s one of the most famous artists in the world but I don’t think his work is as well known as it should be.”
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The winners of the sixth annual ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan has been announced, with artist Anila Quayyum Agha taking home the $200,000 first prize for her piece Intersections.  The artist was also one of the selections for the Juried Prize, a a first for the event. (more…)