Art F City’s weekly STUFF column took an interesting twist this week, as artist John Baldessari was invited to contribute a list of his ten most prized possessions.  Rather following his cue, the artist submitted a list of 10 incredibly wealthy individuals, including photographs of each billionaire’s personal yacht.  True to form, Baldessari’s witty subversion offers a pointed commentary on the fetishization of material objects. (more…)

Taking a cue from its country’s robust banking operations, the Swiss art market is luring more foreign buyers to the country for the purchase of Swiss works.  “A lot of collectors see that Swiss art has a very high standard in comparison with international movements, and our most important artists, like Hodler, Cuno Amiet and the Giacometti family, were not only Swiss but European avant-gardists.” Urs Lanter, head of Sotheby’s Switzerland unit says. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on the popularity of mirrored works on sale at the recently-concluded 2013 edition of Art Basel in Switzerland.  Reflective works by Anish Kapoor, Doug Aitken, Virginia Overton and others sold well this year, continuing the recent trends toward glass and mirrored works that seem to be appearing across the contemporary landscape.  When pressed for comment, dealer Eva Scherr noted: “narcissism often plays a role.”  (more…)

Giuseppe Penone, Le Corps D’Un Jardin (Installation View), via Marian Goodman

Leading up to a major installation of sculptures at the Chateau de Versailles in Paris, Giuseppe Penone and Marian Goodman Gallery are presenting a selection of past works by the artist, exhibiting a selection of works playing on themes of nature, flux, space and texture.  Consisting of large sculptures and wall-mounted works, Penone explores the interplay of  gesture and movement within the relatively static forms of the artistic practice, and the elegant exchange between nature and man’s depictions of it.

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Artist Christopher Wool, and his gallery, Luhring Augustine, are being sued by print studio Brand X Editions, over accusations that Wool violated an agreement over a monoprinting technique allegedly “created, developed and perfected” by the studio’s master printer, Robert Blanton.  No comment has been issued on the case as of yet. (more…)

Claude Monet, Le Palais Contarini (1908), via Sotheby’s

With the conclusion of the 6-week long series of art fairs and events this spring, including Frieze New York, the first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, and the 44^th edition of Art Basel in Switzerland, the final major series of auctions before the summer lull begin today in London. With impressive records set last month for a number of works on the auction block, this week’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sales will look to continue these trends.

Pablo Picasso, Le Peintre (1967), via Sotheby’s (more…)

Yoshitomo Nara, Pace Gallery at Art Basel 2013, Courtesy Pace Gallery

Last evening, the conclusion of Art Basel marked the finish line of a 6-week art world marathon, including Frieze New York, the first edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, and finally the Switzerland-based Art Basel, alongside the opening of the Venice Biennale, and record auction sales in New York. While the time period was most certainly overflowing with events and attractions, the so-called “fair-fatigue” did not kick in at Basel, with record numbers of visitors at Art Basel (86,000 in total), and strong sales across the board.  Interestingly, as the number of viewers has grown, the gallery booths have evolved, showing a more focused curatorial approach, often planned months in advance.

Donald Judd, David Zwirner at Art Basel 2013, Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London (more…)

Dieter Roth, Snow, (1964-69) courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Focusing on the period between the late 1950s into the early 1970s, when artist Dieter Roth produced his most innovative works, MoMA is currently presenting wait, later this will be nothing, a show documenting the artist’s unique book works. The show is titled after a phrase Roth used in Snow (1964-1969), an early book project that represented a turning point in Roth’s style, and which was highly influenced by James Joyce’s  The Dead.

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A 40-foot high neon light sculpture of the iconic Playboy Bunny logo has been erected in Marfa, Texas, creating discussion and debate over its presence.  The piece was created by writer and artist Neville Wakefield, who is reportedly Playboy’s creative director of special projects, and who has curated a show this past year at Ballroom Marfa. (more…)

The New York Times has published an extensive profile on artist James Turrell in advance of his three museum retrospective opening this summer at the Guggenheim Museum, LACMA, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, occupying 92,000 square feet in total, with some of Turrell’s most striking visual illusions and light works.  Profiling the artist’s career and body of work, the article covers the full range of Turrell’s discipline, including his massive project at Roden Crater.  “It has become, even unfinished, as important as any artwork ever made,” LACMA director Michael Govan said. “I know I’m going out on a limb here a little bit, but I think it’s one of the most ambitious artworks ever attempted by a single human being.” (more…)

Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Cuilapán Niche) (1973), via Galerie Lelong

The current exhibition at Galerie Lelong contains a wide range of Ana Mendieta’s work, spanning from photography (Mendieta was known for her documented performances), sculpture, and works on paper. Mendieta’s diverse approach often brings to question the artist’s practice and style: was she an earth artist, a conceptual artist, a performance artist, a filmmaker, a photographer, or a sculptor?  Featured prominently in this show, the artist’s earth sculptures in particular provide viewers a unique opportunity to examine the transformation of Mendieta’s work during the last years of her life. Presenting ephemeral works the artist executed in natural environs, as well as her three-dimensional pieces, made from natural elements such as earth, wood and sand, these pieces show the artist’s continued imagery of the female body.

Ana Mendieta, Alma Silueta en Fuego (Silueta de Cenizas), (1975), via Galerie Lelong (more…)

As Sotheby’s and Christie’s prepare for the upcoming sales in London this week, the Financial Times has published a profile on the two houses, tracing their competitive rivalry for market dominance, and their divergent tactics regarding private sales, online auctions, and increasing buyers premiums.  Says Sotheby’s President Bill Ruprecht: “We are betting our future on the fact that wealth will continue to be created and there will continue to be an economic elite, and that works of art will be relevant to them all over the world.” (more…)

Riding the current wave of interest in the art and life of Jean-Michel Basquiat, production a Broadway musical focusing on the artist is currently underway.  Basquiat the Musical will have its first reading on Monday, June 24th, and stars Eric LaJuan Summers as the young artist. (more…)

Tracey Emin, I Followed you to The Sun (2013) via Lehman Maupin

Tracey Emin, a central member of the Young British Artists (YBA) group, is on-view at the Lehmann Maupin gallery through June 22. The gallery is hosting a multi-location show of Emin’s work, exhibiting in both its Chrystie Street and Chelsea locations, as well as promoting her project Roman Standard, installed in Petrosino Square through September 8. Roman Standard, open for public viewing in the square features a single bronze bird perched on a thirteen-foot pole and welcomes quiet contemplation, something of a departure from Emin’s more well-known, confrontational work.

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A German investigation into a multi-million dollar art forgery ring has led to the arrest of two suspects, and the seizure of over 1,000 objects.  The illegal operation specialized in avant-garde Russian works of the 20th century, including forged pieces by Wassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich and Natalia Goncharova.  “It’s well known that avant-garde works are particularly subject to forgery purely on stylistic grounds,” says auctioneer William MacDougal. “It’s not that difficult to paint a convincing black square. It’s much more difficult to forge a Rembrandt, for instance.” (more…)

Michigan’s Attorney General Bill Schuette has spoken out on the proposed plan to auction off parts of the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection to pay off some of the city’s considerable debts.  Speaking on Thursday, Schuette emphasized the public nature of the collection, and its role as part of a public trust.  “The art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts is held by the city of Detroit in charitable trust for the people of Michigan, and no piece in the collection can thus be sold, conveyed or transferred to satisfy City debts or obligations.”  He said. (more…)

The Museum of Modern Art has announced that Stuart Corner, former Curator of Film at the Tate Modern, London since 2004, will take over as the Chief Curator of Media and Performance Art at the Museum.  Mr. Corner is also a co-curator for the 2014 Whitney Biennal.  “Artists working across time-based media—from performance to the moving image and all of the many permutations in between—continue to push and reshape artistic practice in fundamentally challenging and exciting ways,” say Mr. Comer. “I look forward to exploring this dynamic field and its rich history by continuing the development and exhibition of MoMA’s distinguished collection.” (more…)

Sculptor Anish Kapoor has been inducted as a knight of the British Empire this week, part of Queen Elizabeth II’s 2013 Birthday Honors.  The 59-year old Turner Prize winner joins a list of 24 other Indian-born honorees, and also became the first living British artist of Indian origin to take over the Royal Academy in 2009. (more…)

With growing confidence among Chinese contemporary art buyers, Sotheby’s will heavily feature work from the Asian state in its June 26th and 27th contemporary sales in London.  Works by Zhang Xiaogang, Shi Xinning, Yue Minjun, and Zhang Huan will feature prominently in the sales, with a series of works expected to sell anywhere between £120,000 and £450,000. (more…)

Jean Dupuy, Performances/Bouffe Théâtre d’en face (1979) (detail), via Galerie Louevenbruck

Galerie Louevenbruck Paris is currently exhibiting Jean Dupuy: the collective years (1973-1983),  a first time retrospective of the artist’s “collective” period during the late 20th century. This period of work was developed after Dupuy left Paris for New York in 1967. Having begun his art career as a painter, he infamously threw his old works into the Seine before heading off to America, where a year later his Cone Pyramid (Heart Beats Dust) sculpture became his introduction to the notions of the collective.  Shortly after its creation the piece had already been exhibited at both the Museum of Modern Art and the Brookyln Museum, and its success launched the artist into his 40 year study of “techno-sensual” techniques and collective art practice.

Jean Dupuy, The Collective Years (Installation View), via Galerie Louevenbruck

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Takashi Murakami is featured this week in a video interview with Nowness Magazine, discussing his recently opened shows in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, his film Jellyfish Eyes, and his attempts to make work in the aftermath of the earthquake and fallout from the Fukushima power plant disaster. “Those natural disasters birthed in me a desire to understand spirituality,” he says. “When I consider what art means to humanity, capitalism and the money game can longer be the main themes of my work.  As an artist, I can heal people.  Now, I feel art is just about healing.” (more…)

Starting its campaign to create a “neighborhood of art” around its Houston campus, the Menil Collection has hired landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh to redesign and expand the environment around its 6 buildings.    “It’s always a challenge to take a landscape that has evolved incrementally and a landscape that has a subtle and modest character and to somehow succeed in improving it,” Mr. Van Valkenburgh says. “It’s not something that needs to be reinvented.” (more…)

Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel has announced the opening of an exhibition space on the ground floor of his West Village home in New York.  Titled Casa del Popolo, the space’s first show will feature six new works by British painter Nick Mead.  “This is the first installment of a program to show the work of other artists and an opportunity to collaborate with people who present unique perspectives on art that I believe in. I wanted to open part of my house to the public so they could have an art experience ‘far from the maddening crowd’.”  Says Schnabel. (more…)

Monkeytown, the unique film and performance event presented by Brooklyn artist Montgomery Knott, will stage its first iteration in Manhattan this summer, at Chelsea’s Eyebeam Art and Technology Center.  The event will run for 60 days, beginning tonight, and features a selection of works by Theo Angell, Shana Moulton, Eve Sussman, and more, alongside a dinner and beer or wine pairing.  “It’s strange to be a restaurateur, as I think of this as an art installation. But I’m very aware of service.”  Knott says. (more…)