On Kawara, July 16th, 1969 (1969), via Art Observed

Taking On Kawara’s work at face value, one could imagine that the artist had been preparing for years for a career retrospective.  His near-endless stream of date paintings, accounting records for every book he read or person he met, and his series of postcards and maps are a record of the artist’s daily experience as he lived it, leaving behind a steady stream of locations, times and movements from each day of his life. Read More »

Jésus Rafael Soto, Ambivalencia en el espacio color no. 12 (1981) all photos via Galerie Perrotin

On view at Galerie Perrotin, both in Paris and in New York is a double exhibition dedicated to Venezuelen artist Jesús Rafael Soto, who lived from 1923-2005. Curated by Matthieu Poirer, the exhibition is comprised of around sixty works created between 1957 and 2003, drawn from the estate and from various institutions.  The title of the exhibition, Chronochrome, is meant to describe “the kinetic exploration of the monochrome,” a reference to the filmic production process that underscores the artist’s interest in multiple layers of carefully executed optics, creating a subtly shifting and alternating space within works for the viewer to discover. The eye’s movement back and forth, often between the two layers, the artist hoped, would produce a sense of visual vibration and a new perception of color.

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The New York Times profiles Edward Dolman, current head of Phillips, and his mission to turn the smaller auction house into a perennial competitor with Sotheby’s and Christie’s in the field of Contemporary Art.  “The trouble is the old business model services all collecting categories, and that puts stress on the cost base of these companies,” Dolman says.  “Christie’s and Sotheby’s are almost like institutions that are struggling to provide a broad range of services across tastes, age groups and art forms. This is difficult to sustain.” Read More »

Brendan Lynch, Not Quite Spring (2015), via Art Observed

The Still House Group has always presented something of the enigmatic in their works and performances, lifting objects and materials directly from the quotidian landscapes of modernity and refashioning them as something of a compositional element, or a compositional subject in their own right.  Take Brendan Lynch for example, the young painter whose work has embraced slurs and gobs of paint, concrete, and plastic water bottles as elements for surreal installations.  A certain commodity element dominates Lynch’s work, blended in with a certain material fascination with surfaces and textures. Read More »

Christian Marclay, Actions: Smak Squish Splsh (No 2) (2013), all images via White Cube

In his most recent  solo exhibition at the White Cube Bermondsey space, Christian Marclay presents a number of new works exploring the connection between image and sound, performance and artifact. From static onomatopoeias screen printed on canvas, to words racing around a video projection, to live performances within the gallery, Marclay explores the role of sound in art from numerous perspectives and forms, particularly in how they translate from one medium to the next. Read More »

Jeremy Deller (curator), “Love is Enough” installation view (2014). via Modern Art Oxford

In Love is Enough at Modern Art Oxford, artist Jeremy Deller brings together the work of William Morris and Andy Warhol, two renowned artists from vastly disparate eras who served as something of artistic icons of their respective generations.  Drawing on a uniquely perceptive appreciation of both artists, Deller has created a seamless installation that shows a conversation across centuries over the accessibility of art and its purpose in countering the harshness of industrialism. Read More »

Ryder Ripps, Heater (2014), via Art Observed

If there’s one thing that can be said about Ryder Ripps, it’s that the artist loves context.  Over the past few years, the artist has produced a number of timely and often razor-sharp critiques on the notions of authorship and production in the digital sphere, including his “WhoDat.Biz” troll of Kanye West, and his recent, controversial Ace Hotel performance piece, in which the artist hired a group of “sensual masseuses” to draw pictures for him to protest what he saw as an inequitable payment situation. Read More »

Ryan McNamara, Performance Plaque (2014)

Ryan McNamara star has rapidly been on the rise in the past years, as his infamous performance commissions, among which are his breakthrough Performa 09 piece A Fag Could Do That and his McLaren Award-winning performance MEEM, which the artist brought to Miami Beach last December. Following the immense success of his recentresidency, McNamara is making his comeback to New York at Mary Boone Gallery’s Midtown location with an exhibition that delves into the tangible aspects of performance art, the remains of a performance (body parts, clothing, and materials), which are left behind following a piece. Read More »

Harmony Korine, Fex Chex (2014), all images Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Currently on view at Gagosian Beverly Hills is a group of new paintings by American film director, producer, screenwriter, author, and artist Harmony Korine. Although he is primarily working within the mediums of film and writing, Korine has recently begun publicly displaying his works, immense, swirling compositions composed in a variety of techniques and palettes.

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Mamma Andersson, Behind the Curtain (Installation View)

Currently on view at David Zwirner is Behind the Curtain, a new body of work by one of the most recognized contemporary artists from Sweden, Mamma Andersson. The Stockholm-based artist has gained international acclaim in recent years with her solo shows in Aspen Museum of Art, Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin and a mid-career survey that travelled to Finland and UK after its Swedish premiere several years ago. Read More »