May 18th, 2016
Robert Longo, Bullet Hole in Window (Detail), All Images courtesy Galerie Thaddeus Ropac
Now through May 22nd, 2016, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris is hosting Luminous Discontent, an exhibition of new work by American artist Robert Longo. Spanning three floors of the gallery’s Marais exhibition space, Longo is presenting a series of large-scale charcoal drawings and sculpture, constructed by the artist specifically for this space. This new work follows from Longo’s production of large-scale monochromatic, photorealist compositions, engaging with historical and political themes in new ways. Read More »
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May 17th, 2016
Elmgreen & Dragset, Van Gogh’s Ear (2016), Courtesy of the artists and K11 Art Foundation, Galerie Perrotin, Galleria Massimo de Carlo and Victoria Miro Gallery Photo: Jason Wyche, Courtesy Public Art Fund, NY
This month, the Public Art Fund unveiled Van Gogh’s Ear, the organization’s ambitious collaboration with artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset. Presented to the public on a fittingly drizzly wet April morning (considering the sculpture’s subject matter), the completely drained pool recalls those of 1950’s Los Angeles. The impressive 354-inch high sculpture, designed and crafted by the duo in the form of an ear, makes explicit reference to Van Gogh, whose dismembered ear has been the subject of various speculations in art history, stands on the hectic corner of 5th avenue, showing off its intricately detailed aqua blue interior, stainless steel ladder, glowing lights and accompanying diving board. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York — Elmgreen & Dragset Interview on “Van Gogh’s Ear” at Rockefeller Center Through June 3rd, 2016 | |
May 16th, 2016
Tom Sachs, Waiting Arbor (2014), via Art Observed
For the first time in the museum’s history, an artist other than Isamu Noguchi will present work for the Noguchi Museum, as Tom Sachs brings his Tea Ceremony installation to the museum for its 30th Anniversary. Sachs, who previously worked on other sprawling, conceptually-unified installation projects like Space Program 2.0: MARS, and Hello Kitty Nativity, here turns his interests towards chanoyu, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Complete with a tea house, tools, and a garden, the exhibit features all the pieces necessary for the ceremony, each time realized through Sachs’s unique formal perspective. Among the items incorporated within the installation include a bronze bonsai tree made by wielding together over 3,600 individual parts, a full koi pond complete with living orange and gray fish, wooden and metal gates, a full tea house, and many other structures made of everyday objects.
Tom Sachs, Pond Berm (2016), via Art Observed
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May 15th, 2016
David Hammons, Untitled (2014), via Art Observed
When it was announced that Mnuchin Gallery would host an exhibition of artist David Hammons’s work this year, anticipation was understandably high. The reclusive artist’s work is rarely given this expansive stage for historical examination and the contextual impact of his work. Spread out across the gallery’s two-floor townhouse exhibition space, Five Decades examines just that, Hammons’s expansive and formally elusive career working at a unique juncture of the avant-garde. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – David Hammons: “Five Decades” at Mnuchin Gallery Through May 27th, 2016 | |
May 14th, 2016
Jessi Reaves, Muscle Chair (Laying down to talk) (2016), via Art Observed
Artist Jessi Reaves takes Bridget Donahue Gallery into the summer months with her show of new work, transposing the styles and forms of high design into the framework of fine art, and examining the interplay of languages that results. Having opened in early April, the exhibition, comprised of vividly executed furniture, shelving and cabinets, “suitable for use,” as the press release states, sees Reaves pushing her chosen forms towards new territories, substituting hard angles and flat planes for loping, curving lines, or inverting the often concealed material elements of each form. Read More »
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May 13th, 2016
The Modigliani Sells, via Art Observed
After a long week of sales that has seen both ups and downs for the two main auction houses, Christie’s has concluded its week with a consistently solid Impressionist and Modern sale, with 7 of the 54 lots at auction going unsold for a final tally of $141,532,000. The auction house saw its momentary stumbles over the course of the sale, with several pieces falling well below estimate, and a few high-profile lots going unsold. Even so, Christie’s managed to keep the bids moving, and keep works selling, a point that surely is not lost on those watching Sotheby’s occasionally disheartening sale earlier this week. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Recap – New York: Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale, May 12th, 2016 | |
May 13th, 2016
Mike Cooter, MacGuffin: some archetypes towards a definition (2016)
Swiss Institute’s Fade In: Int. Art Gallery-Day is a group exhibition featuring an ambitious array of contemporary artists, including Cindy Sherman, Allan McCollum, Christian Marclay, Dora Budor and Jamian Juliano-Villani, interpreting the ubiquitous relationship of moving images to the field of visual art. Comprised mostly of commissioned works, the exhibition transforms the gallery’s spacious interior into a vigorous stage, expanding outwards from the gallery entrance towards a deep corner of the storage room on the lower level. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – “Fade In: Int. Art Gallery-Day” at Swiss Institute Through May 19th, 2016 | |
May 12th, 2016
Francois Morellet, via Art Newspaper
François Morellet, the pioneering French artist who explored interrelations of optical phenomena, light, space and performance, has passed away at the age of 90. Read More »
| Comments Off on RIP РFran̤ois Morellet, Pioneer of Optical and Kinetic Art, at the Age of 90 | |
May 11th, 2016
A new world record set for Sam Francis tonight, via Art Observed
Another night of sales has come and gone at Sotheby’s, with an unexpectedly robust outing from the auction house that moved quickly through the 44-lot sale to a final total of $242,194,000. The sale was a short but impressive affair, as the auction house’s early lots consistently beat out estimates in the early lots, and ultimately saw only a small handful of lots go unsold. The sale makes for an impressive response to market alarmists and critics of the auction house, showing there seems to still be strong enthusiasm in the contemporary market. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Recap – New York: Sotheby’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, May 11th, 2016 | |
May 11th, 2016
Jussi Pylkkanen and Brett Gorvy in front of the Record-setting Basquait, via Art Observed
Christie’s has wrapped its Post-War and Contemporary auction last night in New York, continuing a strong performance that contrasted sharply with the lackluster sales last night at Sotheby’s, including an impressive new record for Jean-Michel Basquiat. All told, the sale saw 9 unsold lots out of a total 61 (counting a single withdrawn lot), and a final total of $318,388,000. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Recap – New York: Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, May 10th, 2016 | |
