This July, the Sperone Westwater gallery presents Moving Spirits, an exhibition of the kinetic works of Francois Morellet (France) and Gerhard von Graevenitz (Germany). The longtime collaborators are featured here through works dated between 1960 and 1976, the period coinciding with the artists’ involvement with the Light-Kinetic Movement.
In a potential harbinger of a doomsday convergence between massive fast food chains and artwork held in museums such as the Tate Modern, Damien Hirst has donated one of his spin paintings to be displayed in Leicester Square’s newly remodeled Burger King in London. The work is titled: ‘Beautiful Psychedelic Gherkin Exploding Tomato Sauce All Over Your Face, Flame Grilled Painting 2003′
In an Op-ed, Eli Broad, founding chairman and trustee of the MOCA board, provides insight on the past and current changes at MOCA, including the departure of top curator, Paul Schimmel, on the museum’s behalf, concluding that: “MOCA will thrive and will avoid the problems that are plaguing other institutions while increasing attendance and membership, continuing to offer world-class exhibitions, and exhibiting its collection.”
The New York Times interviews Mark Flood on his influences, vision, and position in the art world. “I’ve known people who I call ‘sacred monsters,’ like famous art people and such, who are so uptight about always doing everything the same way. So I’m trying to do things differently,” says the Houston artist whose show, The Hateful Years, will open on July 18, 2012 at Luxembourg & Dayan.
Marina Abramović to teach The Abramović Method at MoMA PS1 Summer School this year. The renowned performance artist’s technique is designed to train students to achieve “a clear state of mind in order to develop ideas for their own work.”
Caro Niederer, Karen Blixen’s Garden (2006) All images courtesy Hauser & Wirth unless otherwise noted.
Until July 27, Hauser & Wirth Gallery hosts 18 paintings by the Swiss artist Caro Niederer. Consistent, engrossing movement synthesizes a wide variety of subject and scale. Niederer’s work since 1990 is presented in a ‘capsule survey’ in a skylit room towards the rear of the gallery. Sprinkled throughout this room are illustrations from the Kama Sutra in which a burgeoning fascination with narrative is apparent. These walls serve to acclimate the visitor to a stimulating use of color in Niederer’s larger-scale work.
Kelly Crow of the Wall Street Journal describes the career of Zhang Xiaogang, China’s most expensive living artist, as a story that relates to the contemporary art market of China itself.
A trove of 100 paintings and drawings possibly by Renaissance master Caravaggio is discovered in a castle in Milan. Worth a reported €700 million – the discovery is the subject of much contention as the authenticity of the collection remains uncertain.
A 2.5 ton bronze bull by sculptor Arturo Di Modica, similar to the Wall Street Bull by the same artist, has been positioned near the front of NYSE Euronext (NYX)’s Amsterdam “as an antidote to Europe’s debt crisis.” “Europe is in an economic crisis. Think positive! Together we will go up!” read leaflets that were handed out by a spokesman for Di Modica.
Antony Gormley, Proppers (Gallery View)
With a major exhibition of work at the Centro Cultural Banco de Brasil in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasilia, British sculptor Antony Gormley has made his first foray into the South American art world in grand fashion. To accompany this showing, the White Cube Gallery has sponsored its own show of new work by Gormley, in conjunction with his solo exhibition.
Five Dutch and Belgium museums, The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, MHKA in Antwerp, Gemeentemuseum The Hague, De Pont in Tilburg, and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, have collaborated to release an online video channel, ARTtube, featuring films about art and design and interviews with artists.
Mr. Brainwash to open his largest show to date in a 200,000 square feet space in The Old Sorting Office in London on July 31, 2012.
The Economist reviews art collector and businessman, Eli Broad‘s new book ‘The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking.’ “His personality comes through clearly enough, though one can quibble over whether his choice of ‘unreasonable’ to describe it is exactly right. Mr. Broad means it in the same way George Bernard Shaw did, when he said that the unreasonable man ‘persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.'”
The Art Newspaper reports that artists have increasingly been opting to bequest to institutions over setting up expensive private foundations. “Bequests to institutions offer an important alternative for the majority of artists concerned with the beneficial disposition of their life’s creative works.”
The Guardian speculates on the rise and evolution of performance art, placing current exhibitions in the context of past extremes. Looking to the upcoming live performances at the Tate Modern‘s Tanks, Adrian Searle comments that: “performance, in fact, is now where it’s at; it’s hard to think of much recent art that isn’t, at some level, performative.”
‘Gregory Crewdson: Beginnings,’ directed by Ben Shapiro, explores the origins and art of the inventive photographer and Yale professor. In an interview with Nowness, the artist states that: “it all starts with location, alone driving around in a car to the same spots again and again. It’s all about being on your own, and reacting to a place.”
On view currently at Blum and Poe Gallery in Los Angeles is a 20-year retrospective of the work of Chinese painter Zhu Jinshi, exhibiting the expressive, bold works in oil-based paints he has created since he began his career in the late 1960’s.
‬Judd Foundation to open Donald Judd‘s historic New York residence and studio for public view in June 2013. “Growing up in the building in the early ‘70s, it was always filled with artists discussing culture, history, and politics…We plan to open the building to the public next spring with that spirit in mind,” says daughter and foundation co-president, Rainer Judd.
John Constable’s “The Lock” (1824) which sold for £22.4 million, within its £20-25 million estimate
John Constable‘s “The Lock” broke the artist’s record sale at an auction today at at Christie’s in London. The British painting from the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection sold in its £20-25 million estimate at £22.4 million, earning a joint fourth place title on the list of most-expensive Old Masters.
The Telegraph explores the work and influence of the Art Production Fund, led by Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen. “The key ingredients the duo bring to all their work are infectious enthusiasm and an innate understanding of both art and fashion.”
The expected £25 million sale of John Constable‘s “The Lock” elicits protest in Spain, revealing a deep family rift and sparking criticism against the owner of the piece, the Baroness Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza.
Herzog & de Meuron‘s converted oil tanks, located underneath the Tate Modern, to open as new three exhibition spaces on July 18, 2012. In a review of The Tanks, the Guardian comments that: “they have the confident geometry of things made not for appearances but for a substantial practical use, and their concrete surfaces have a raw force.”
Hiroshi Sugimoto – Lightning Fields 167 (2009) – Pace Gallery Beijing
In the press release for his first solo show in China, multi-media artist Hiroshi Sugimoto states his motto as: “Warm the old to know the new,” referencing the outdated mode of Silver gellatin printing he used to create all of the works on view at Pace Gallery Beijing. Culling from a wide range of his work over the past several decades, the show allows visitors to view Sugimoto’s wide body of work, united by his dedication to the nuanced but admittedly outdated medium of Silver gellatin.
