Anthropologist, artist, independent curator and writer Giorgio de Finis has unveiled his vision for Rome’s Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma as an “arts asylum” following his appointment as its new artistic director. “There will be no exhibitions,” he says of his vision, “the daily activity of the museum itself will be on show.” (more…)
The LA Times interviews Mark Bradford this week, as the artist opens a show of new work at Hauser & Wirth in LA, pieces the draw heavily from the language and color palette of comic books.“I wanted to immerse myself in a vocabulary that was familiar to me,” Bradford says of his influences from comic book art. “I’d find myself sitting there for two hours reading. That got to be a problem. I had to say, ‘Stop, Mark. Stop.’” (more…)
Christie’s Guillaume Cerutti is interviewed in the WSJ this week, as he describes the resurgence of the art market in the past year. “People were cautious two years ago, but last year they saw that things were still selling well, and they felt better,” he says. “Everyone feels reassured by how global the market has become.” (more…)
The Economist takes a look at the recent expansion of Milan’s Prada Foundation, and its vision for its role in the development and support of Italian art in the coming years. The piece details its approach towards creative risks and innovative projects as it continues to re-evaluate its vision and practice. (more…)
A group of dealers, artists and curators have signed an open letter calling for reinstatement of Beatrix Ruff as head of the Stedelijk Museum. “Beatrix Ruf should be back at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam because of her artistic vision,” the letter reads. (more…)
Pierre Klossowski at Gladstone Gallery, Brussels (Installation View) all images Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels Photography by David Regen
Unlike his younger brother Balthus, Pierre Klossowski rarely enjoyed critical and popular acclaim in Europe as an artist during his lifetime, receiving even less attention from scholars and curators in the United States. However, his expansive oeuvre in drawing, in addition to his work in literature and translation offers an uncharted window to the cultural progressions of 20th century Western culture, complemented by his impressive painted oeuvre. Gladstone Gallery’s Brussels location is currently presenting a selection of works on paper by the artist, dated to the ‘80s, when the artist had finally focused his attention solely around art making. Before his late venture into art, Klossowski wore many different hats in his early years, translating works by Wittgenstein, Kafka, Nietzsche, and most importantly de Sade, whose notorious novel The 120 Days of Sodom was reprinted in the ‘60s under his helm, and led to the creation of one of Pasolini’s most notorious filmic adaptations. (more…)
Fabio Mauri, Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) (1985), via Art Observed
Over the course of five decades, artist Fabio Mauri, worked across a broad range of media and formats, always focused around the visual languages and vocabulary of 20th Century political spheres, specifically in Europe. Exploring the mechanics and visual exponents of varied ideological states and their attendant political movements, Mauri’s work was an often brutal condemnation of World War II, the rise of Fascism and the Holocaust, while simultaneously examining these events’ lingering echoes in the post-war landscape. Mauri’s work gets a fascinating second look at his current Hauser & Wirth retrospective in New York, spreading his pieces across the spacious 22nd Street flagship location in an attempt to understand both his own meandering aesthetics, and the political situations they address. (more…)
Sondra Perry at Bridget Donahue (Installation View), via Bridget Donahue
In Sondra Perry’s first solo exhibition at Bridget Donahue, the linked subjects of representation and ownership are taken to task. The gallery, with all walls painted “Rosco Chroma Key blue”, is sparsely inhabited by a few black metal structures and one projected video, a stark arrangement that focuses the viewer’s attention tightly on the few elements there. (more…)
Plans have been unveiled for the Grand Palais’s €466m, three-year renovation, Art Newspaper reports. “At the end of 2020, just over a century after its creation, the Grand Palais will turn a page in its history and begin a transformation that will allow it to finally enter the 21st century,” culture secretary Françoise Nyssen says. (more…)
Marina Abramovic is interviewed in The Guardian this month, as she prepares to exhibit a series of photos documenting her early performances. “I lived in cars and trucks, I’m amazed the negatives survived,” Abramović says. “To appreciate the present, we should really look to the past.” (more…)
The Art Institute of Chicago has unveiled its recent acquisition, a rare Duchamp Bottle Rack from the collection of Robert Rauschenberg. The artist’s foundation sold the piece to the museum in order to fund an endowment. “We always are making these kind of transformative acquisitions a priority,” says Art Institute president and director James Rondeau. “There are documents going back to the late ’80s and early ’90s expressing a desire for an object like this.” (more…)
Former Queens Musuem head Laura Raicovich has left the museum following a dispute over a privately hosted event at the museum, sponsored by the State of Israel. Raicovich’s opposition to the event led to fierce protest, and an investigation that ultimately saw her resign, as did her inclusion in a book supporting the B.D.S. (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement. (more…)
Catherine Opie, Sheats-Goldstein #3 (2016), via Art Observed
Currently on view at Regen Projects in Los Angeles, Catherine Opie returns to her home city for a show of new works that present the city in all of its fascinating, and occasionally frightening nuances. Continuing her photographic practice through a wide range of images and iconographies, the current show, The Modernist also features the artist’s debut filmic project.
Catherine Opie, The Modernist (Installation View), via Art Observed
A lost Gustav Klimt drawing of two reclining women has been found in a former secretary’s home in the Austrian city of Linz, after details in the woman’s will gave hints at the work’s location. “We were very surprised at this discovery,” said Julius Stieber, the director of culture and education for the City of Linz. “We’d received a letter, but no one expected the drawing to be returned.” (more…)
SculptureCenter has named Sohrab Mohebbi, the associate curator of REDCAT in Los Angeles, as its new curator. “I also really like the idea of having a mandate, looking at art through the lens of sculpture,” he says. “We’re experiencing this moment of complete dematerialization. Everything is going to the cloud. So it’s interesting to have an encounter with an object.” (more…)
Agnes Gund is interviewed in the Art Newspaper this week, as she reflects on the sale of a Roy Lichtenstein work from her collection to fund efforts towards prison reform. “I didn’t used to sell anything, but then I was interested in doing philanthropic things,” she says. (more…)
Bloomberg Philanthropies has initiated a 2018 Public Art Challenge for proposals of temporary projects that address civic issues and demonstrate an ability to “generate public-private collaborations, celebrate creativity and urban identity, and strengthen local economies,” according to a statement. “There’s a virtuous cycle that public art tends to trigger,” says Kate D. Levin, head of the arts program for Bloomberg Philanthropies. “It’s not always acknowledged, because people tend to focus on the art—which is appropriate—but part of the reason Michael Bloomberg is funding this initiative is because he wants to help catalyze a greater appreciation of the impact that art can have in cities and the ways in which projects, however different they may be, tend to spark beneficial cross-sector dialogue and work that wouldn’t happen in other ways.” (more…)
Investor Aaron Fleischman has endowed The Met with resources for a new Curatorship in Modern and Contemporary Art, which will be taken up by Ian Alteveer. “We are immensely grateful for the funding of this vital position in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art,” said Met President Daniel Weiss. “The endowment of curatorial positions is one of the Museum’s top priorities. With this gift, Mr. Fleischman will enable The Met to continue our momentum on presenting and studying art of the 20th and 21st centuries, and, importantly, he joins a group of donors who are ensuring the future of the institution through their thoughtful philanthropy.” (more…)
Former Interscope Records CEO and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine has donated a massive Mark Bradford painting, 150 Portrait Tone, to LACMA. The work features text sourced from the Facebook video depicting the police shooting of Philando Castile in 2016. “It’s Mark Bradford’s Guernica. I don’t think it’s crazy to compare it to a work like that,” Iovine says. “There’s a frustration and intensity about Guernica, which is about a war and an unfair bombing and you feel the screams of pain. In Mark’s painting, you also feel the screams of pain.” (more…)
Thomas Nozkowski, Untitled (7-10) (1992), via Art Observed
“I like paintings that balance contradictions. I like paintings that look clear and simple at first glance and then sort of crumble under your gaze,” says painter, Thomas Nozkowski, the American painter whose work over the past several decades has spanned a range of styles and techniques, approaches and modes of seeing throughout his career. “And it’s even better if further looking enables you to put it together again, understand it in a new way.” Such modes of seeing and making pictures is presented this month at Pace Gallery in New York, running throughout the artist’s 50+ year career as a striking, and refreshing survey of his practice. (more…)
NADA has added a group of 16 new galleries to its roster, including 56 Henry and Denny Gallery in New York, as well as Ghebaly and AA|LA Gallery in Los Angeles. (more…)
Frida Escobedo for the Serpentine, via Serpentine
As February rolls along, thoughts turn to spring, and to the annual string of special projects, installations and architectural projects across the globe. This week, art and architecture lovers got one peak at the year’s entries of projects, as the Serpentine Galleries announced it had tapped Mexican architect Frida Escobedo to design its annual pavilion project.
Frida Escobedo, via Serpentine
The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. has unveiled its commissioned paintings of Barack and Michelle Obama by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, respectively, Art News reports. (more…)