Cy Twombly, Paesaggio (1986), via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

Undeniably one the greatest artists of 20th century, Cy Twombly‘s work is currently on display at the Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery in Venice, offering an in-depth look at the American artist, and his long residence in Italy.  Combining work from Twombly’s last series produced in 2011, an early painting on wood from 1951, and sculptural work from late in his career, this show delivers on its promise of a look at the artist’s career, while avoiding the demands of an exhaustive survey of his practice.  (more…)

Ibrahim Mahama, Out of Bounds (2015), via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

The first open hours have come and gone in the City of Bridges today, and the 56th edition of the Venice Biennale, All the World’s Futures is now open.  Welcoming 89 different countries to exhibit in the city, with 29 in the Arsenale, 31 in the Central Pavilion, and an additional 29 spread across in the City itself, the exhibition is a monumental affair, with a number of auxiliary events, openings and parties.

(more…)

Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1905), via Art Observed

The first night of the bustling spring auction week is underway, as Sotheby’s concluded a somewhat unsteady sale last night of Impressionist and Modernist masterpieces that achieved a final of $368,344,000, well over the auction house estimate of $270,000,000.  The final tally saw 14 of the 64 lots go unsold over the course of the evening, which will be the last major Impressionist and Modern sale of the first half of the year on U.S. soil. (more…)

William Pope L., Trinket (Installation View), via MOCA

Inside the MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary building in Downtown Los Angeles, an immensely oversized American flag endlessly flutters in a synthetic breeze, held aloft by a series of industrial grade cooling fans.  The breeze is intense, and the force exerted on the delicate stitching holding the iconic stars and stripes together is gradually tearing apart, a powerful metaphor in a time when the nation is riddled by high levels of police brutality, harsh military involvement overseas and increasingly vitriolic partisanship. (more…)

Claude Monet, Nymphéas (1905), via Sotheby’s

As the art world prepares to jet en masse to Italy this week for the opening of the Biennale Previews, the auction houses are also preparing for their biggest stage of the spring season, with two weeks of major evening sales in both the Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary categories set to take place in New York. (more…)

Isa Genzken, Geldbild I (2014)

Referred to as “one of the most important and influential female artists of the past 30 years” by MoMA on the occasion of her retrospective at the museum in 2013, Isa Genzken‘s new work is the subject of Hauser &Wirth’s current solo exhibition in London. Less known in the States compared to her artistic influence and recognition in Europe, Genzken has pursued a notably progressive career in the recent decade, building new bodies of work and showing in various international venues. (more…)

Robert Irwin, South South West (2014-2015), via Pace Gallery

Currently on view at Pace Gallery’s W. 25th Street location is a set of new, “site-conditioned” works by Light and Space pioneer Robert Irwin, continuing the artist’s ongoing experimentation with the perceptual capacities of fluorescent lighting, and the complementary reactions of color, shadow and spacing. (more…)

Tomás Saraceno, Avior 9 (2013)

Currently on view at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery is Hybrid solidarity… semi-social quintet… on cosmic webs…, Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno’s new body of work in his fifth collaboration with the gallery. Before studying fine arts in Buenos Aires and Frankfurt, the Berlin-based artist completed a degree in architecture, a field that has profoundly influenced his artistic technique, in which various practices related to biology, geometry and space studies gently merge with his sociological and cultural observations, all the while bearing an alternatively-focused aesthetic. (more…)

Charline Von Heyl Untitled (1995)

Petzel Gallery is currently inaugurating its new uptown location with early works from contemporary abstract painter Charline Von Heyl. Considered one of the leading female contemporary abstract painters, the New York based artist, known for an eclectic style which admires both the natural and the constructed.  Serving as a window into the painter’s early work and artistic roots, Düsseldorf: Paintings from the early 90’s is a collection of paintings never before shown in the U.S. Shown in Cologne and Munich during 1991 and 1995, these paintings posses a bold approach to abstraction, with their provocative aesthetic strength and impressive historical awareness.  In light of a past show with Petzel in September of 2013, this exhibition provides insight into some of the deeply rooted artistic practices that are still present in Von Heyl’s current works, combining heavy use of illustration and abstraction to powerful effect. (more…)

Outside the New Whitney Museum, via Art Observed

When the Whitney’s migration downtown was first announced, the anxiety and anticipation over its move away from the Breuer building on 75th and Madison was palpable, to say the least.  But as the initial reviews of the space begin to trickle in, the move downtown seems to have made all of the difference for one of the bastions of American fine arts.  Sure enough, the museum, which opens its Renzo Piano-designed doors to the public on May 1st, has created the conditions for something truly incredible in the Meatpacking District, an effortless, flowing viewing experience that manages to tie the museum’s impressive holdings together with the skylines and scenic views of its iconic hometown.

John Storr, via Art Observed (more…)

David Wojnarowicz, Cal (Factory Face), 1984

The group show is an undeniable part of the New York art world’s summer repertoire, dabbling in different styles and scenes while blending together the works of artists ranging from the young to the historical, emerging to the iconic. Among the early entries into the spring group show calendar is Debris currently on view at James Fuentes Gallery in the Lower East Side. This show is packed with familiar, utilitarian, and recognizable objects, many of which can be easily found in the vibrantly fluid New York urban landscape. (more…)

Marlene Dumas, The Image as Burden (1993) © Marlene Dumas

Currently on view at Tate Modern is Image as Burden, a retrospective looking at the career of the prolific South African painter Marlene Dumas. Adopting its title from an oil on canvas painting in which a male figure is depicted carrying a female figure, the retrospective, considered the most expansive survey of Dumas’ work in Europe so far, sheds a light on the exceptionally subliminal oeuvre of Dumas, who has, for the most part of her career, maintained a humble profile despite the scholarly and commercial recognition her work has achieved globally. (more…)

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Cain and Abel (2013)

Currently on view at David Zwirner is East of Eden, Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s latest photographic investigation on contemporary humanity and its position within a complexly interwoven cultural setting.  This series reflects diCorcia’s interpretation of a search for equilibrium after the deep impacts of the Financial Crisis in 2007, both during and after the Bush administration. (more…)

Alfred Taubman, via Detroit Free Press

Alfred Taubman, the shopping mall developer and business mastermind who turned Sotheby’s from a private auction house to the publicly traded art market power it is today, has passed away at the age of 91.

Taubman earned his fortune during the years following World War II, re-engineering the American retail experience through his design and development of the modern shopping mall, and used his earnings to purchase Sotheby Parke Bernet for $130 million in 1983.  Within five years, Taubman had retooled its customer experience and sales strategies before taking the company public in 1988.   (more…)

Lee Ufan, Dialogue-Silence (2013)

Lisson Gallery is currently presenting a new body of work by Lee Ufan, the influential artist who first gained recognition within the avant-garde art movement Mono-ha (School of Things) during the 1960’s. Considerably less known and understood in the West, Mono-ha emerged in Japan as a response to Eurocentric notions of representational and descriptive art making, focusing instead on the dialogue between nature and material.  Ufan, who started his career as a professor and art critic, stands out as an influential figure from the movement with his visually serene yet intellectually intriguing works, often harmonizing sculpture with works on canvas. (more…)

Glenn Ligon, Come Out #5 (2014)

Regen Projects is presenting its fourth exhibition with Glenn Ligon, the prominent New York-based artist who has established himself as one of the strongest voices in American contemporary art.  Well, it’s bye-bye/If you call that gone, featuring three bodies of work, adopts its title from the lyrics of the blues song “What’s the Matter Now”, projecting Ligon’s interest in text as a mode of expression and an agent of collective identity. (more…)

Taryn Simon, An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (2007), all images courtesy Jeu de Paume

On view at Jeu de Paume in Paris is a body of conceptual artwork by artist Taryn Simon, combining photography, text, and graphic design to address issues related to the production and circulation of knowledge, as well as the politics of representation.  The works on view, all produced after 2000, include The Innocents, a piece documenting cases of wrongful convictions in the United States, and underlining photography’s role and function as a both a credible witness and an oppositional agent that blurs truth and fiction.

(more…)

John Baldessari, Pictures & Scripts: A glass of water sweetheart (2015), all images courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery

On view at both Marian Goodman Gallery, London and Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris are two simultaneous exhibitions by John Baldessari: Pictures & Scripts and Early Work. The London gallery’s Pictures & Scripts show focuses on a series of new works, while the Paris gallery will show a selection of the artist’s important early catalog.

(more…)

Alex Da Corte, Die Hexe (Installation View), via Art Observed

For the past month and a half, the 77th Street location of Luxembourg and Dayan’s townhouse location has served as a bizarre cross between retro kitsch and haunted house, part of artist Alex Da Corte’s solo exhibition at the space. (more…)

Nathaniel Axel, Snakes and Ladders (2015), via Art Observed

Currently on view at Anton Kern Gallery in Chelsea is a scattershot, yet ultimately compelling series of paintings, sculptures and hybridized formats curated by New York-based critic Bob Nickas, united under the formidable Baudelaire epithet, The Painter of Modern Life.   (more…)

Hito Steyerl at Artist’s Space (Installation View), via Art Observed

Currently on view at both the Artist’s Space galleries and its bookstore at 55 Walker Street, Hito Steyerl is presenting a retrospective of recent work documenting the artist’s plotted political and economic topographies, video and sculptural works that make much of their gradual unveiling of socio-economic situations and environments. (more…)

Ed Ruscha, Cold Beer Beautiful Girls (2009), © Ed Ruscha. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Robert McKeever

On view at Gagosian Gallery’s Paris exhibition space are two exhibitions entitled “Prints and Photographs” and “Books & Co.,” organized by Gagosian director Bob Monk to explore the innovation and legacy of Ed Ruscha across a range of printed media.

(more…)

Kehinde Wiley, Arms of Hugo von Hohenlanderberg as Bishop of Constance with Angel Supporters (2014)

The Brooklyn Museum is hosting a mid-career retrospective of Kehinde Wiley, the L.A.-born and New York-based artist known for his juxtapositions of contemporary youth through the lens of a classical notion of aesthetic. Wiley’s mostly street-cast models, sporting untouched urban attires, replace the highly familiar figures of classic European paintings that generally exclude people of color.  Wiley consequently redeems what is missing from the canon of Western art in his intricately detailed oils on canvas, yet pays homage to Old Masters such as Velásquez or Ingres. Maintaining some distinct elements such as outfits and posture, his models, mostly young males of African descent, do not simply recreate what was already done centuries ago, but also reclaim a collectively missing part of their history. (more…)

Ryder Ripps, Alone Together (Installation View), via Art Observed

The New York-based artist and designer Ryder Ripps capped his first solo gallery show with Postmasters earlier this year, and has spent the past two months in residency at the Red Bull Studios, where his current show, Alone Together, has turned the space into a self-reflexive digital laboratory, complete with test subjects, flickering hardware, and its own, occasionally fractured ideologies. (more…)