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

AO On-Site – Los Angeles: Spring/Break LA at Skylight Culver City, February 16th – 20th, 2022

February 20th, 2022

You Find Yourself Alone in the Middle of a forest, curated by Nora Lucia Boyd and featuring Opal Mae Ong and Tyler Krasowski
You Find Yourself Alone in the Middle of a Forest, curated by Nora Lucia Boyd and featuring Opal Mae Ong and Tyler Krasowski

Continuing its own intriguing and honed perspective on booth its surroundings in Los Angeles and on the model of the art fair, SPRING/BREAK has once again made arrived in the California city, launching a supplementary event that offers an ample supply of artists and galleries presenting in a concept that stands as a stark contrast to the traditional fair model. Launching this year in a new location in Culver City that continues the fair’s collaboration with the Skylight group of properties, the new space continues the scrappy, raw atmosphere of past years in a location that places the fair in closer proximity to the goings-on at Frieze Los Angeles Read More »

RIP – Artist Dan Graham, Pioneering Voice of Conceptual Art, Has Passed Away at Age 79

February 20th, 2022


Dan Graham, Stage Set for Music no. 2 for Glenn (2018), via Lisson

Artist, writer and curator Dan Graham, a vital force and vision in the development of conceptual art who used the language and grammar of architecture as a way to explore culture, space and perception, has passed away at the age of 79. The artist, whose body of work consistently defied easy classifications, often used architectural pavilions, glass and mirrors to shape and define the experience of space, allowing viewers to move through and into his pieces to experience peculiar constructions and arrangements of spatial relations.  Read More »

AO On-Site – Los Angeles: Felix Art Fair at The Hollywood Roosevelt, February 17th – 20th, 2022

February 18th, 2022

Tony Matelli at The Ranch
Tony Matelli at The Ranch, all images by Art Observed

As Frieze opens up shop for the week on the West Coast, the bevy of satellite fairs and event openings are underway across the city, including the always hotly anticipated Felix LA Art Fair, the brainchild of collector Dean Valentine that spreads works across the halls and rooms of the iconic Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. The show allows a unique mixture of intimate exhibitions and adventurous concepts that felt well-suited to the well-heeled patrons of the contemporary art market, both looking for a good piece of work and a unique experience while buying it.

Cynthia Talmadge at 56 Henry
Cynthia Talmadge at 56 Henry

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AO On-Site – Los Angeles: Frieze Art Fair at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, February 17th – 20th, 2022

February 17th, 2022

Chris Burden at Gagosian
Chris Burden at Gagosian, all images via Art Observed

With the sun setting over the sprawling expanse of the Californian metropolis, the early hours of the third Frieze Los Angeles Art Fair are in the books, marking a much anticipated return after several years marked by logistical issues and the challenges of the pandemic. Opening this year at a new location on Wilshire Boulevard, the fair has doubled down on its vital engagement with the city, and with its thriving art scene, launching another strong event.   With strong sales reported and an energetic atmosphere across the fair, it would seem that the small-scale and focused approach of the fair had once again seen the fair brand making its case as an arbiter of thoughtful, curated approaches towards the market and its participants. Read More »

AO WEEK IN REVIEW – Mexico City: Zona Maco Art Fair at Centro Citibanamex, February 9th – 13th, 2022

February 15th, 2022

Pedro Coronal, Galeria de Arte Mexicano
Pedro Coronal, Galeria de Arte Mexicano, all images by Anfisa Vrubel for Art Observed

The post-pandemic edition of ZonaMACO, the largest art fair in Latin America, came back this year with a revitalized and vibrant energy. Its location, Mexico City, has become a focal point in the art world and a haven for artists looking for creative possibilities. The Art Week brought together a dynamic assortment of art world insiders—emerging galleries and established cultural institutions, young artists and designers, and the usual cool kids on the scene. Surrounding the fair, the satellite events were bursting with activity, from gallery and museum openings to performances and parties, and the classic lunches at Contramar. Read More »

RIP – Painter Carmen Herrera Has Died, Aged 106

February 14th, 2022

Carmen Herrera, Untitled (Orange and Black) (1956), final price $1,179,000, via Phillips
Carmen Herrera, Untitled (Orange and Black) (1956), final price $1,179,000, via Phillips

Carmen Herrera, the Cuban-born painter who found success late in her career, has passed away at the age of 106. A pioneer and longtime explorer of hard-edged graphical abstraction and minimalist compositions, Herrera was a quiet but consistent voice in the development of 20th Century art, and a formative voice in the language of the postwar avant-garde.  Read More »

AO Preview – Los Angeles Art Week and Frieze Los Angeles, February 17th – 20th, 2022

February 14th, 2022

Alvaro Barrington, Win or losechoose (2021), via Blum & Poe
Alvaro Barrington, Win or lose/choose (2021), via Blum & Poe

Following several years of uncertainty raised by the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Frieze Art Fair returns to the sprawl of Los Angeles for a third year under the sunny skies of the Golden State. Having capped a pair of sold out editions before the pandemic began, this year’s edition takes up a new location and renewed vigor, emphasizing its role as a major part of the early weeks of the annual fair calendar. Read More »

AO On-Site – Mexico City: Zona Maco Art Fair at Centro Citibanamex, February 9th – 13th, 2022

February 11th, 2022


Caroline Larsen at The Hole NYC, all images by Anfisa Vrubel for Art Observed

Taking over the Centro Citibanamex for another year of exhibitions, the Zona Maco art fair opened this week to packed crowds and enthusiastic response. The fair, which marks its 18th year this year, has continued to grow and evolve since its early years, and this year’s edition was no different, with a strong list of exhibitors that made the excitement of a full edition after several years of challenges posed by Covid-19 all the more palpable. Aisles were packed for much of the early hours of the fair, with gallerists and museum directors, collectors and advisors weaving through each booth.  Read More »

AO Preview – Zona Maco Art Fair and Mexico City Art Week, February 9th – 13th, 2022

February 8th, 2022

 

Zhivago Duncan, Shield of Thought  (2019 - 2020), via Zhivago Duncan

Zhivago Duncan, Shield of Thought (2019 – 2020), via Zhivago Duncan


Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (November) (2020), via Gagosian
Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (November) (2020), via Gagosian

As winter coasts into the early weeks of February, the art world returns once more to the sprawling Mexico City metropolis for another year of art week, centered around the proceedings at Zona Maco Art Fair, and the surrounding areas. With Mexico City’s stature growing each year as a central hub of the global arts community, the week once again promises a range of impressive shows and openings alongside the thriving sales events at the main fair. Read More »

New York – “Pavilions” at Lisson Gallery Through February 12th, 2022

February 4th, 2022

Pavilions (Installation View), via Lisson
Pavilions (Installation View), via Lisson

Marking a particularly unique investigation of modern sculptural and installation practice, Lisson Gallery is currently hosting Pavilions at its New York space, presenting a group of artists who engage with various forms and concepts surrounding the use of pavilions, ranging from physically-realized structures to designs conceived as ideas or sketches. Though the works in the exhibition vary in medium and scale, all are centered around the interaction with the viewer, together creating an environment that explores individual memory, identity and experience. Read More »