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

De Wain Valentine: “Works from the 1960s and 1970s” at David Zwirner Through August 7th, 2015

August 7th, 2015

De Wain Valentine, Curved Wall Clear (1969), via Art Observed
De Wain Valentine, Curved Wall Clear (1969), via Art Observed

Set inside David Zwirner’s West 19th Street locations, a series of works from De Wain Valentine’s late 1960’s and 1970’s output is currently on view, culling a number of works by the Light and Space artist that illustrate his technical, material and spatial innovations during the early years of his career.

De Wain Valentine, Works from the 1960s and 1970s (Installation View), via Art Observed
De Wain Valentine, Works from the 1960s and 1970s (Installation View), via Art Observed

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London – Duane Hanson at The Serpentine Gallery Through September 13th, 2015

August 6th, 2015

Duane Hanson, Queenie II (1988)
Duane Hanson, Queenie II (1988), All images by Luke Hayes for Serpentine Gallery.

Currently on view at London’s Serpentine Gallery is a retrospective of Duane Hanson, the late American sculpture whose hyperrealistic sculptures of individuals pulled from daily life still manage to create a potent sense of awe are on view.  The show, his first survey in the British capital since 1997, strikes a chord against the backdrop of today’s high-tech art production methods and complex conceptual depictions.  Read More »

New York – Hanna Liden: “Everything” at Ruth Wittenberg Plaza and Hudson River Park Through October 20th, 2015

August 5th, 2015
Hanna Liden, Everthing, via Art Observed
Hanna Liden with Everthing (2015), via Art Observed

At both Ruth Wittenberg Plaza and Hudson River Park, clusters of massive bagels have touched down, part of artist Hanna Liden’s new commission for the Art Production Fund.  Amplifying her previous interests in the possibilities for discarded material and consumer objects as raw sculptural material, Liden turns the ringed breakfast staple into a sudden intrusion on the New York landscape. Read More »

New York – “Weird Science” at Marianne Boesky Uptown Through August 8th, 2015

August 4th, 2015

David Opdyke Exhibit A (2012), all photos via Josie Berman for Art Observed
David Opdyke Exhibit A (2012), all photos via Josie Berman for Art Observed

This summer, Marianne Boesky Gallery’s uptown location has put forth a new group exhibition, organized by Aniko Berman, entitled Weird Science, a playful show that dwells on common threads that explore art as a discipline that attempts to logically reveal the possibility of unperceived worlds outside or within our own metaphysical landscape. Through process or content, the artists chosen attempt to expose the fantastic lurking behind everyday occurrences. Read More »

Basel, Switzerland – Anicka Yi: “7,070,430K of Digital Spit” at Kunsthalle Basel Through August 16th, 2015

August 2nd, 2015

Anicka Yi, 7,070,430K of Digital Spit (Installation View), via Kunsthalle Basel
Anicka Yi, 7,070,430K of Digital Spit (Installation View), via Kunsthalle Basel

Following up on her widely praised commission at The Kitchen earlier this year, Anicka Yi is presenting a new body of work on view at the Kunsthalle Basel, under the title 7,070,430K of Digital Spit.  Continuing the artist’s interest in time-sensitive and formally unstable media, the exhibition includes a number of works in various states of destruction and decay, applied here to explore notions of forgetting and memory loss. Read More »

London – Thomas Hirschhorn: “In-Between” at South London Gallery Through September 13th, 2015

July 31st, 2015

Thomas Hirschhorn, In-Between (2015), Photo by Mark Blower Courtesy of South London Gallery
Thomas Hirschhorn, In-Between (2015), Photo by Mark Blower Courtesy of South London Gallery

Thomas Hirschhorn has returned to London for his first solo show in the British capital is some time, bringing a new, site-specific work that continues the artist’s interest in crisis, temporality and mediation as necessary components in the understanding and mitigation of trauma.  Borrowing from the aesthetic languages of installation and sculpture, the artist maps a fictitious moment of violence across the South London Gallery, bringing with it a state of suspended aftermath. Read More »

Water Mill, NY – Watermill Summer Benefit, July 25th, 2015

July 30th, 2015

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Watermill Center Summer Benefit and Auction, via Art Observed

The 22nd Edition of the Watermill Center’s Annual Summer Benefit took place this past weekend, honoring long-time Watermill supporter and philanthropist Inga Maren Otto. This year, the gala’s theme was “Circus of Stillness… power over wild beasts”. Hosted by Robert Wilson, it brought together works of art and performance from some 25 countries, with over one thousand attendees. The evening raised a total of over $1.9 million dollars towards Watermill Center’s Artist Residency Program, International Summer Program, and other educational events for its artists.

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London- Barbara Hepworth “Sculpture for a Modern World” at Tate Modern through October 25, 2015

July 30th, 2015

Pelagos 1946 by Dame Barbara Hepworth 1903-1975
Barbara Hepworth, Pelagos (1946). All Images courtesy Tate London

Now through October 25th, the Tate Modern in London is hosting an exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s sculptural work. The Yorkshire-born artist is known for her elegant abstract forms, and is considered among the most important British modernist sculptors of her time.  Hepworth has continued to produce consistently throughout her lifetime, creating a wide array of structures and employing a variety of materials evocative of natural landscapes and relationships, two of her main points of inquiry.

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Los Angeles – Olaf Breuning at Michael Benevento Through July 30th, 2015

July 29th, 2015

Olaf Breuning, Life III (2015), via Michael Benevento
Olaf Breuning, Life III (2015), via Michael Benevento

Compiling a body of work from the past several years of the artist’s practice, Michael Benevento  in Los Angeles is offering a broad look at the recent practice of Olaf Breuning, exploring the artist’s interest in vastly differing modes of production, and the thematic interests that unify his work.

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New York – FAILE : “Savage / Sacred Young Minds” at Brooklyn Museum Through October 4th, 2015

July 26th, 2015

FAILE, FAILE Temple (detail) (2015) via Brooklyn Museum
FAILE, FAILE Temple (detail) (2015) via Brooklyn Museum

FAILE, a Brooklyn-based collaboration between artists Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller, is currently presenting their exhibition Savage/Sacred Young Minds at the Brooklyn Museum, continuing the artists’ practice in obscuring the boundaries between fine art and street art through techniques of both traditional and rebellious creative processes within predominantly institutional settings. Read More »