Global contemporary art events and news observed from New York City. Suggestion? Email us.

London – Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy of Art Through December 13th, 2015

December 10th, 2015

Ai Weiwei, Free Speech Puzzle (2014), via Art Observed
Ai Weiwei, Free Speech Puzzle (2014), via Art Observed

It’s been a whirlwind year for Ai Weiwei, as the artist’s staunch opposition and fierce criticism to government censorship of his work and life brought both new challenges (the alleged bugging of his studio and the arrest of his lawyer and friend Pu Zhiqiang) and new victories, including relaxed limits on his ability to show in China, and ultimately, the return of his passport, allowing the artist to leave the country for the first time since his arrest in 2011.  This last event underscores the artist’s triumphant exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, where he has mounted an expanded version of his traveling solo exhibition, including a series of new works for the show. Read More »

AO Fair Recap – Miami Beach: Art Basel Miami Beach and Miami Art Week, December 2nd – 6th, 2015

December 8th, 2015

Camille Henrot at Johann Konig
Camille Henrot at Johann Konig, photos via Sophie Kitching, Andrea Nguyen and Rae Wang for Art Observed

The doors closed Sunday on the last hours of the Art Basel Miami Beach fair, bringing the season’s international calendar of fairs to a close after a long week of focused sales and openings in the sweltering, rain-soaked locales of Miami Beach.

Tracy Emin at Lehmann Maupin
Tracy Emin at Lehmann Maupin Read More »

AO On-Site – Miami Beach: Art Basel Public Sector at Collins Park, December 1st – 6th, 2015

December 8th, 2015

Tony Tasset, Deer (2015)
Tony Tasset, Deer (2015)

Positioned outside of the Bass Museum of Art on Collins Ave between 21st and 22nd Street, Collins Park’s wide sidewalks and meandering pathways make for the perfect centralized location for Art Basel Miami Beach’s annual sculpture park, positioning a selection of 24 works across the park grounds for interested viewers and visitors.  This year’s selection continued the event’s annual public outreach with a group of works that included scrolling video pieces (Rikrit Tiravanija’s confounding traffic notifications screen) and massive neons (courtesy of Sylvie Fleury), positioned against hyperrealist sculpture (Tony Tasset’s massive Deer) and other minimalist pieces.

AO was on site at the park, and captured this photoset from the install.

Athena Papadopoulos, Two Serious(ly) (young) Women,  (Hubba Hubba Trouba and Ouchy Waa Waa Mama) (2015)
Athena Papadopoulos, Two Serious(ly) (young) Women, (Hubba Hubba Trouba and Ouchy Waa Waa Mama) (2015) Read More »

Assemble Wins 2015 Turner Prize

December 7th, 2015

The Granby Four Estates, via Assemble
The Granby Four Estates, via Assemble

The 2015 Turner Prize has been announced, with the 18-member London-based architectural collective Assemble taking home the £25,000 prize for its ambitious redesign and assistance in socially re-engineering a series of derelict residences in the Liverpool neighborhood of Toxteth.  The award was presented this evening at the Tramway in Glasgow. Read More »

AO On-Site – Miami Beach: NADA Art Fair at the Fontainebleau, December 3rd – 5th, 2015

December 6th, 2015

Charles Harlan at JTT
Charles Harlan at JTT, photos via Sophie Kitching and Andrea Nguyen for Art Observed

Moving down the beach from the Deauville to the Fontainebleau Hotel this year, the 2015 edition of NADA seems to be making moves in every way to establish the fair brand beyond the more fraternal, relaxed atmosphere that came to define its previous years in Miami Beach.  Taking up space in the hotel’s “Sparkle Ballroom,” the fair offered expanded space for both exhibitors and browsers, but still held some of the Deauville’s retro charm, as pictures of Frank Sinatra dotted one entrance.

John McAllister at James Fuentes
John McAllister at James Fuentes

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AO On-Site – Miami Beach: Untitled Art Fair at 12th Street and Ocean Drive, December 2nd – 6th, 2015

December 6th, 2015

Julie Schenkelberg at SiTE:LAB
Julie Schenkelberg at SiTE:LAB

Positioned south of the Convention Center at 10th and Ocean Dr., the Untitled Art Fair returns to its prime beach real estate this year, bringing with it another year of tightly-curated booths, installations and special projects. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the bustle of ABMB, complemented by the fair’s signature tent design, which boasts wide aisles and spacious booth for exhibitors that gave the exhibition a distinctly relaxed air, while offering ample light to emphasize the works on view.

Dominique Petrin at Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran
Dominique Petrin at Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran

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AO On-Site: Art Basel Miami Beach 2015 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, December 3rd-6th, 2015

December 3rd, 2015


Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian Gallery
Roy Lichtenstein at Gagosian Gallery

The doors opened this morning on the 14th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, as the VIP Preview saw collectors, dealers and artists flocking to the Miami Beach Convention Center for another year. The fair, which this year boasts a sizable 267 exhibitors spread across the Convention Center’s sprawling floor plan, saw strong early attendance, and sightings of Eli Broad and Melissa Chiu wandering the fair in the early hours, while advisors and consultants sped past, locked in negotiations. Read More »

AO On-Site: Art Week Miami Opening Night, December 1st, 2015

December 2nd, 2015

Work by Pawel Althamer at Unrealism, via Rae Wang for Art Observed
Work by Pawel Althamer at Unrealism, via Rae Wang for Art Observed

With the Miami Beach Convention Center opening its doors this morning, the early arrivals to Art Basel Miami Beach decamped to Miami proper this past evening for a series of openings and exhibitions in the city’s thriving Design District. Spread across a several block radius, the neighborhood’s simultaneous hosting of the ICA Miami’s temporary installation space (which opened just one year ago during Miami Art Week 2014), the joint Larry Gagosian/Jeffrey Deitch exhibition, and a number of other projects made it a central location for the first major night of Art Week Events. Read More »

New York – “Greater New York” at MoMA PS1 Through March 7th, 2016

December 2nd, 2015

GreaterNewYork_PS1_sk18
Greater New York
at MoMA PS1, all photos via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

America is Hard to See
, the Whitney recently proclaimed, opening the doors on a space that made the city around it part of its exhibition program.  For the most recent iteration of MoMA PS1’s Greater New York exhibition, the museum and its curators attempt a similar program, turning to the artists living and working in and around New York to present a deep, nuanced exploration of life in the metropolis. Read More »

AO Events and Art Preview – Miami Beach: Art Basel Miami Beach 2016 and Miami Art Week, December 3rd – 6th, 2015

November 30th, 2015

Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 229 (2012), via Regen Projects
Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 229 (2012), via Regen Projects

As the month of December approaches for the art world, attention turns once again to Miami Beach, as the 14th American edition of Art Basel brings its only U.S. franchise back to the Miami Beach Convention Center, along with 267 galleries from around the globe, a strong selection of talks, events and projects, as well the numerous satellite fairs, one-off exhibitions, and of course, the parties up and down Collins Ave and the surrounding areas. Read More »