Dealer and gallerist Nicole Klagsbrun has announced that she will close her gallery after 30 years of operation, and will focus on smaller shows and artist representation.“I’m not sick and I’m not broke. I just don’t want the gallery system anymore,” Klagsbrun said. “The old school way was to be close to the artists and to the studios. Nowadays, it’s run like a corporation. After 30 years, this is not what I aspire to do. It is uninteresting.” (more…)

Mat Collishaw, This is Not an Exit(Installation View), Courtesy of the Artist and Blain|Southern Photographer: Matthew Hollow, 2012

British artist Mat Collishaw places his work in systems of fluctuation, layering meanings and interpretations until the weight of the work’s collected implications collapses in on itself.  In his most recent show at London’s Blain|Southern, the artist has continued in this tradition, offering a collection of large-scale oil paints that negotiate between hedonistic excess, abstract figuration and cultural subterfuge. (more…)

Gert and Uwe Tobias, Untitled ’13 (Installation View), via Team Gallery

Continuing in their uniquely distinctive practice that weaves printmaking, installation, sculpture and typography, twin brothers Gert and Uwe Tobias are currently exhibiting a selection of new work at Team Gallery in New York City.

Gert and Uwe Tobias, Untitled (GUT 2055) (2012), via Team Gallery (more…)

Miroslaw Balka, The Order of Things (2013), via Gladstone Gallery

Polish sculptor and conceptual artist Miroslaw Balka is currently exhibiting a new sculptural work, titled The Order of Things, at Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea.  Consisting of a towering set of containers and a length of hose, the work creates a continuous flow of water, pumping pitch-black water from one container through the piping, up over the rafters above the tanks, and out into the other tank.  (more…)

Charles Atlas, Glacier (2013), courtesy of Vilma Gold, London.

The American-born Charles Atlas has been a pioneer in the fields of dance, theater, and performance on video. In his career he has worked with world renowned artists such as Marina Abramovic, Leigh Bowery, Michael Clark, Merce Cunnigham, Diamanda Galas, Antony and the Johnsons, and Yvonne Rainer.  In a current collaboration with South London Gallery and Bloomberg SPACE, Atlas presents Glacier, a 360-degree multi channel video installation consisting of original, found and manipulated images. (more…)

Dirk Skreber, pain(t)ology and other trials (Installation View), via Petzel Gallery

German Dirk Skreber paints works at the intersection of cultural subsets, depicting moments of intense violence and figures abstracted from the pages of science-fiction. Revisiting the immediacy of violence and collision of forces.  Currently, the artist is exhibiting a selection of new works at Petzel Gallery in Chelsea, titled pain(t)ology and other trials. (more…)

William Ruprecht, the Chief Executive for Sotheby’s, saw a 10 percent decrease in pay last year, taking home $6.3 million, after the auction house saw a 37% drop in profits.  Sotheby’s took home a final profit of $108.3 million in 2012, while auction sales dropped 10% to $3.8 billion and its stock price rose 17% in 2012. (more…)

The Cardsharps, a hotly debated work purchased by art historian and collector Denis Mahon, is set to go on view in April at the Museum of the Order of St John in London.  The piece, whose attribution to a follower of Caravaggio allowed Mahon to purchase what may or may not be an original work by the 17th century master for £50,000, is currently the subject of fierce debate over its origin, as well as a lawsuit over its attribution between Sotheby’s and its previous owner. (more…)

Despite public protest, work crews have begun dismantling several sections of the Berlin Wall decorated with large-scale murals, known as the East Side Gallery, making way for a new luxury apartment development.  The wall was removed early in the morning, clearing about 20 feet of art-covered cement from the longest section of the wall still standing..  “If you take these parts of the Wall away, you take away the soul of the city,” said resident Ivan McClostney. “This way, you make it like every other city. It’s so sad.” (more…)

Sotheby’s is currently facing a lawsuit from a past customer, who discovered that a work he had purchased through the auction house was reportedly once owned by Herman Goering, the Nazi leader recognized as the founder of the Gestapo.  The piece, an 18th century painting by Louis-Michel van Loo, was sold in 2004, but was unable to be resold when questions arose about how Goering acquired the piece.  The plaintiff, Steven Brooks, claims that Sotheby’s sold the work fraudulently, knowing about its questionable origins, as well as knowing that the work would be difficult to resell. (more…)

Catherine Opie, Julie & Pigpen (2012), via Regen Projects

The photographic work of artist Catherine Opie has long been interested with context, how the architecture of the frame, staging, and positioning of the subjects opens the door to new readings, implications and relationships within the work itself.  Blending historical references with cultural signifiers and assiduous attention to the color and detail, Opie’s work initiates striking dialogues on identity and meaning in American culture.

Catherine Opie (Installation View), via Regen Projects

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Adel Abdemessed, Le Vase Abominable (Installation View), via David Zwirner

Upon entering the ground floor of David Zwirner’s gallery space in London, visitors are immediately greeted by the surreal image on a massive explosive device, upon which rests an equally enormous gold vase.  This is Le Vase Abominable, the sculpture by French-based, Algerian born artist Adel Abdemessed that serves as the title piece for the artist’s current show, exploring dichotomies of violence and creation through poignantly composed sculptural, video, and drawn works.

Adel Abdemessed, Le Vase Abominable (2012-2013), via David Zwirner (more…)

Alexis Adler, a former girlfriend of Jean-Michel Basquiat, has released news of a massive collection of the late artist’s drawings, photographs, and paintings, some scrawled on the walls and appliances of the East Village apartment that the two shared in the late 1970’s.  Given the artist’s current popularity, the collection is of particular note for its thorough documentation of much of Basquiat’s early development as an artist.  Adler is currently planning a book documenting the collection, as well as an auction of the work.  “The thing that’s most interesting is the material she has to support the actual artwork,” said former Gracie Mansion director Sur Rodney Sur. “A lot of the signage he used in his work over and over again, this was when he was developing it. The idea that it’s all together in one place makes it even more important.” (more…)

Following several weeks of turbulence for Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the institution announced that it has been promised donations that will raise its endowment past $60 million, the highest levels in its 34-year history.  The news comes after several weeks in which the museum was forced to consider a potential merger with LACMA to keep its doors open.  “The financial support we have already raised demonstrates the commitment of the board to ensuring that MOCA remains a world-class independent contemporary art museum, and we call on others to join in this campaign,” says MOCA Board President Jeffrey Soros. (more…)

Calling itself the first online-only art biennale, BiennaleOnline has announced that it will launch its exhibition on April 26th.  Featuring a high-profile curatorial team, including Hans Ulrich Obrist and Daniel Birnbaum, and a strong roster of artists including Ed Atkins, Tony Chakar and Ragnar Kjartansson, the online exhibition will have a total roster of 180 artists, and will charge $10 for admission to the site.  BiennaleOnline will also feature a separate exhibition curated by Jan Hoet. “Great contemporary art is the sum of reflection and imagination,” said Hoet. “The artist adds his or her personal vision to history and the memory of history. I hope this combination of factors will be present in every single work in this biennale. In this way we’ll come to a new world and new art.” (more…)

New York Magazine is currently featuring the city of Miami in its Travel section, highlighting the city’s growing arts scene, as well as some of its most notable museums.  The magazine makes express mention of Emerson Dorsch, The Marguiles Collection, and The Wolfsonian-FIU, among others.  The magazine also offers advice on shopping and transportation in the vibrant urban hub. (more…)

Rita Ackerman, Fire by Days XXI (2012), Courtesy the artists and Vito Schnabel

Assembled by the young curator Vito Schnabel (son of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel), White Collar Crimes, at Acquavella Galleries, brings together a collection of new abstract and conceptual works from emerging and internationally recognized artists, exploring the themes of concealment of crime by wealth, high level education and social status. Connecting concepts such as identity, historical erosion, commercialization, and political satire, the show opens the door to complexly interconnected readings of the subjects and artists on view, while directly addressing the context and location of the event itself. According to Schnabel, the exhibition  “proposes an interplay between obscure ciphers and spectacular discoveries.”

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The Cuming Museum, located in South London, faced a major fire inside the building yesterday, threatening its collection of Roman London, Chinese and African artworks and artifacts.  120 firefighters and 20 engines were needed to stop the blaze inside the centuries-old building. (more…)

The passing of Merton J. Simpson, a notable artist and prominent dealer of African art, has set his inheritance into a state of uncertainty, with familial infighting leaving his estate without the money to bury his body, and the future of his impressive collection of works up in the air.  “I knew that when he passed, it was going to get really ugly,” said Luna Devin Crystal, a friend and employee of Mr. Simpson’s. (more…)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been handed a class-action lawsuit, alleging that it has deceived patrons into believing that the admission price for the museum is $25.  While the museum is legally required to offer free admission to the public, it posts a “recommended” admission fee at the front entrance.  “The museum was designed to be open to everyone, without regard to their financial circumstances,” says Arnold Weiss, one of the attorneys in the case.   “But instead, the museum has been converted into an elite tourist attraction.” (more…)

Pablo Picasso, Le Rêve (1932)

Hedge fund manager and notable collector Steven A. Cohen, who has just settled two insider-trading lawsuits with the government, has just purchased Picasso’s Le Rêve for $155 Million.  The exchange, between Cohen and Las Vegas Hotel Mogul Steve Wynn, is estimated to be the largest price ever paid for a work of art by an American collector. The sale of Le Rêve, Picasso’s 1932 portrait of a sleeping woman, had previously been discussed between Wynn and Cohen, particularly in 2006, when the sale was canceled after Wynn accidentally thrust his elbow through the piece, causing a 6-inch tear.  “Steve has wanted that painting for a long time. The timing of the sale is just a coincidence.”  Said an unnamed source.

Steven A Cohen, via Patrick McMullan

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Artist and musician Nick Cave’s Heard•NY opened at Grand Central Terminal in New York yesterday, filling the terminal with actors dressed in surreally designed horse costumes.  Bloomberg spoke with the artist about his practice, and his goals for the installation, which will remain open all this week.  “I’m looking at the station as a platform to get people back to that place where we dream. We’re in a world where we’re trying to do what we can to exist and hold on to our jobs. So I’d like to transmit this dream-state feeling, to get us out of our day-to-day routine for a moment.”  Cave says. (more…)

The Wooster Collective is currently celebrating its tenth anniversary, and has welcomed a number of artists the site showcased in its early years to offer advice and lessons learned over the past decade.  The most recent contribution comes from the Los Angeles-based Skullphone, who offers: “If you are too pure you will never fly, drive, or physically go anywhere.” (more…)

Nick van Woert, Microscope (2013), (Nick van Woert in Ted Kaczynski’s clothes), courtesy of the artist and OHWOW

Since his first solo exhibition at Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam in 2010, Brooklyn-based artist Nick van Woert has quickly risen through the ranks of the contemporary arts scene, creating a prolific and experimental body of work informed by his unique interests in history, architecture, environment, and philosophy.  From ancient Rome to the Unabomber, van Woert casts an eye on the past as a means of understanding the present and inquiring into the future. His work blends an emphasis on sculptural craft and process with the use of found objects and readymades, resting between aesthetic value and conceptual statement. While preparing for the opening of No Man’s Land, his first exhibition at OHWOW in Los Angeles, (open through April 6, 2013), the artist sat down to answer some questions for Art Observed.

Nick van Woert, No Man’s Land (2013), Courtesy of the artist and OHWOW

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