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.
| Comments Off on AO On-Site – Venice: “All the World’s Futures” – The 56th Venice Biennale at The Arsenale Through November 22nd, 2015 | | 
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Recap – New York: Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale, May 5th, 2015 | |
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on Los Angeles – William Pope L.: “Trinket” at MOCA Through June 28th, 2015 | |
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Preview – New York: Impressionist/Modern and Post-War/Contemporary Auctions, May 5th-14th, 2015 | |
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on London – Isa Genzken: “Geldbilder” at Hauser & Wirth Through May 16th, 2015 | |
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – Robert Irwin: “Cacophonous” at Pace Gallery Through May 9th, 2015 | |
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – Tomás Saraceno: “Hybrid solidarity… semi-social quintet… on cosmic webs…” at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery Through May 2nd, 2015 | |
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. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York: Charline Von Heyl: “Dusseldorf: Paintings From The Early 90’s” at Petzel Gallery Through May 2nd, 2015 | |
Gabriel Orozco, Fleurs Fantômes (2014-2015), all photos by S. Kitching for Art Observed
Gabriel Orozco‘s ‘Fleurs Fantômes’ (‘Phantom Flowers’) is a long-term large-scale monographic exhibition (2014-2016) in the Château-de-Chaumont. Entrusted with the third special commission by Centre-Val de Loire Region for the Domaine of Chaumont-sur Loire, Gabriel Orozco created a new body of work inspired by the wallpapers adorning the once occupied private apartments of the Château.
| Comments Off on Chaumont-sur-Loire – Gabriel Orozco: ‘Fleurs Fantômes’ At Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre D’arts Et De Nature Through December 31st, 2016 | |
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 Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – “America is Hard to See” the Debut Exhibition at the Newly Completed Whitney Museum, Through September 27th. 2015 | |