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

New York – Darren Bader: “The American Express Holiday Show” at Harkawik Through January 6th, 2022

January 4th, 2022
Darren Bader, AES-PoPRS5 (2021), via Harkawik

On view this month in New York, the ever-enigmatic Darren Bader has put on a new show of work at Harkawik, continuing his playful repositions and deconstructions of his materials and their cultural assumptions. Continuing his plundering and extraction of the meanings and understandings of the objects he selects and suspends in a constellation of signs and symbols, the show offers a new set of works by the artist.

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New York – Keith Mayerson: “My American Dream: This Land is Your Land” at Karma Through January 8th, 2022

December 30th, 2021
Keith Mayerson, Dr. Martin Luther King and Family (2021), via Karma

On view this month at Karma in New York, painter Keith Mayerson introduces his most recent entry in his ongoing series This Land is Your Land, a body of work that sees the artist reflecting on American history and culture as a way to look for new horizons and possibilities.

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RIP – Painter Wayne Thiebaud Has Passed Away at the Age of 101

December 28th, 2021

Wayne Thiebaud, Hot Dog with Mustard (1964), via Acquavella
Wayne Thiebaud, Hot Dog with Mustard (1964), via Acquavella

Painter Wayne Thiebaud, for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his landscapes and figure paintings–all of which served as early salvos in the development of modern pop art, has passed away at the age of 101.   Read More »

London — Anicka Yi: “In Love With the World” at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall Through January 16, 2022

December 27th, 2021

Anicka Yi-Turbine Hall-Tate Modern
Anicka Yi, In Love With the World (2021) All images by Aidan Chisholm for Art Observed.

Setting forth her floating biomorphic machines, artist Anicka Yi has reinvigorated Turbine Hall as visitors return to the iconic London site after a two-year pandemic-induced pause. The latest Tate Modern Hyundai Commission, In Love With the World explores the nexus between nature and technology, integrating the biological and the algorithmic. Read More »

New York – Robert Janitz: “Library of a Dream” at Canada Through January 22nd, 2022

December 21st, 2021

Robert Janitz, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 2 (2021), via Canada
Robert Janitz, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 2 (2021), via Canada

Currently on at Canada Gallery in New York, artist Robert Janitz returns to his particular style of abstraction, utilizing unique tools and techniques to create geometrically-inspired, colorful compositions. The artist, who has long used loping, gestural forms in his work, here draws new inspiration from the confines of the canvas as a defining element in the production of the pieces. Read More »

London – David Shrigley: ”Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange” at Stephen Friedman through January 8th, 2022

December 20th, 2021

David Shrigley, Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange (Installation View), via Stephen Friedman
David Shrigley, Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange (Installation View), via Stephen Friedman

Approaching Stephen Friedman’s Mayfair gallery, one is greeted with a large glowing green neon reading “Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange.” Just beyond the glass, row upon row of gentle green orbs peer back at the viewer, making up artist David Shrigley’s newest exhibition at the gallery. The show, which shares the title with that neon work, makes for a fascinating look at relational work and simple, comical iterations, long a hallmark of the artist’s work. Read More »

New York – Alex Katz at Gladstone Through December 18th, 2021

December 16th, 2021

Alex Katz, Yellow House (2020), via Gladstone
Alex Katz, Yellow House (2020), via Gladstone

At the age of 94, Alex Katz is still painting, creating more works in his signature style of elevated coolness. The artist, who continues to paint between Pennsylvania, Maine and New York, marks his first exhibition this month with Gladstone Gallery, where he opens a show of 7 new landscapes that underscore his continued exploration and misery of light, space and balance. Read More »

New York – Caitlin Keogh: “Waxing Year” at Bortolami Through December 18th, 2021

December 14th, 2021

Caitlin Keogh, Waxing Year 2 (2020), via Bortolami
Caitlin Keogh, Waxing Year 2 (2020), via Bortolami

Currently on at Bortolami’s Tribeca exhibition space, Caitlin Keogh marks her third exhibition with the gallery with ‘The Waxing Year,’ a continuation of the artist’s investigations of space, materiality and time. Rendered through a series of intricate acrylics on canvas, the works speak to her ability to fuse imagined states and historical epochs with a deft sense of lyrical dialogue. Read More »

Paris – Claire Tabouret: “Paysages d’Intérieurs” at Perrotin Through December 18th, 2021

December 13th, 2021

Claire Tabouret, Offrande (pink and brown) (2021), via Perrotin
Claire Tabouret, Offrande (pink and brown) (2021), via Perrotin

This month in Paris, Galerie Perrotin presents a series of new landscape paintings and interiors by the artist Claire Tabouret, continuing a practice of careful historical study and taut, expressive compositions. Painted on colored synthetic fur, the show sees Tabouret continue a practice rooted in dialogue between historical modes and a distinct line of conceptual practice that challenges and reframes the act of painting. Read More »

New York – Pop-Up Exhibition at Bungalow Through December 19th, 2021

December 9th, 2021

Luke O'Halloran, Ace of Clubs (2021), via Art Observed
Luke O’Halloran, Ace of Clubs (2021), via Art Observed

Bungalow’s inaugural pop-up space on Orchard Street presents a show of young artists that is equal bits fest and flesh. As you enter the gallery, a re-CAPTCHA inspired work by Mira Dayal cryptically sets the tone. Imbibe, it reads, as if a catechism for absorbing the bounty that awaits. A vertiginous work nearby, presented by Thomas Blair (2021) seems to wink at you with its illusory moiré hatchings. Adjusting your eyes beyond the painting’s edge reveals a beguiling charade of subversion and submission. This is nowhere more apparent than in an untitled work of Justine Neuberger’s where blushing pastels attempt to soften the taut brawn of a BDSM tussle. The deftness in draughtsmanship is something to marvel at, as equally are the brawling scenes of domination on display. Shards of pink and yellow by Kiyoshi Kaneshiro (2021) resound with unexpected harmony as the porcelain shrapnel inheres a composition that is at once fragile and fraught.  Read More »