Allora & Calzadilla, Raptor’s Rapture (2012) all images courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art

On view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is an exhibition of recent work by Puerto Rico-based artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla. Entitled Intervals, the projects on display allude to the notion of the interval: “the time between events, the measure between two points in space, or the range between musical notes.”

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The Guardian has published an article examining the comic sensibilities of René Magritte, and his deliberately succinct style of painting that some liken to its own brand of a visual punchline.  “Magritte always claimed he was against interpretation,” says Professor Elsa Adamowicz. “His images suggest narratives or meaning, but that meaning is suspended, as in our dreams.” (more…)

A group of heirs to a Jewish art dealer have sued the German government over a collection of Renaissance-era artworks valued at $226 million.  The works were reportedly sold under duress during the Nazi rise to power, although hard details about the sale are somewhat murky.   “Any transaction in 1935, where the sellers on the one side were Jews and the buyer on the other side was the Nazi state itself is by definition a void transaction,” says Nicholas O’Donnell, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the case. (more…)

The Guardian traces the controversy surrounding Constantin Brancusi’s The Wisdom of the Earth, a sculpture that has long sat at the forefront of the Romanian consciousness as a national treasure, but which is currently being put up for sale by its owners.  “The truth is that it is an iconic sculpture for Romanians; it’s an iconic image that is present in all the books about our national identity. The state used it a lot in its cultural propaganda and transformed it into an icon of the Romanian soul,” says Alexandru Baldea, managing partner of auction house Artmark, which is selling the piece.   (more…)

Despite improved relations between the United States and Cuba, the Art Newspaper notes that the island’s government still refuses to return art seized by the government from exiles during the 1960’s.  “In most of the articles you read about missing art in Cuba, the question is—where is the piece? That’s not my issue. I know where it is, I just can’t get to it. There’s no method of my claimed ownership being adjudicated,” says Javier Garcia-Bengochea, who claims Francesco Guardi’s View of the Lagoon between the Fondamenta Nuove and Murano was seized from a family member’s home.  The painting now sits in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, with no success in getting the Cuban government to return it. (more…)

Allora & Calzadilla, The Bell, The Digger, and the Tropical Pharmacy (2013), all images courtesy Lisson Gallery

Cross Section of a Revolution, on view at Lisson Gallery in London, brings together seven artists and pairs of artists whose work explores questions of trade, contested territory and trauma in a global context. These substantial themes are approached through a variety of mediums that speak to both individual and collective experiences in Central Asia, Pakistan, Kenya, Europe and the United States,opening lines of inquiry into aspects of cultural and political fragmentation, and reveals strategies for art and aesthetics in relation to cultural, geographic and religious division. This group exhibition does not shy away from inspiring or explicitly asking large questions about the nature of globalization and aesthetics. For instance: how is a modern understanding of culture, politics, and religion shaped or impacted by a continual flow of visual information?  (more…)

Rothschild heiress Bettina Burr and her family, holders of a sizable collection of artworks once looted by the Nazi’s during WWII,  have donated a sizable portion of her works to the MFA Boston.  “I always felt in the back of mind that the thing I would love the most would be if these pieces came here,” says Burr, currently vice president of the museum board of trustees. “I think my mother felt that it would be a homecoming for these pieces.” (more…)

Hedge Fund CEO Ken Griffin has gifted $10 million to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, a donation that will help construct the museum’s new gallery wing which will now bear his name.  “Ken has been a consistent and generous supporter of the arts in our community,” says Director Madeleine Grynsztejn.  “We are extremely grateful for this important gift, as it will support our Vision Campaign and bring exciting, innovative exhibitions to diverse audiences in Chicago and beyond.” (more…)

Subodh Gupta, This is not a fountain (2011), via Ross Maddux for Art Observed

Subodh Gupta’s most recent show at Hauser and Wirth is an exercise in the personal.  Long known for works combining the intensely personal with broader social constructs and ritualistic approaches to the art object, his current exhibition places an even more central focus on the intensely personal, communal relations life in India, and his emphasis on the unifying, material structures over which daily life proceeds. (more…)

Call and Response (Installation View)

Since its establishment at its Broome street location in 1994, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise has stood as one of the stables in the New York gallery scene, maintaining a distinct profile partially due to its non-Chelsea location and partially by its founder’s ubiquitous presence in the art world. Brown himself emerged in the 90’s as one of the young dealers in the then-booming market, and built himself into one of the world’s leading dealers, proven by his inclusion into The Guardian’s 2014 list of ‘the most powerful people in the art world’. (more…)

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. (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.” (more…)

The New York Times reports that Hauser and Wirth is building a new, multi-story exhibition space on 22nd Street between 10th and 11th Ave, which the gallery will move to following the expiration of its 18th Street lease in 2017.  The building, designed by Annabelle Selldorf, will open in 2018. (more…)

The Los Angeles Times notes that an increasing number of Southern California arts orgs are targeting Chinese-American patrons in their fundraising and outreach campaigns.  “Within a decade from now, there’s no question in my mind there will be major donations to museums and other groups,” says Dominic Ng, chairman and chief executive of East West Bank.  “As Chinese Americans continue to prosper, they will naturally expand their involvement in the community,” he said. (more…)

James Turrell is reportedly holding a fundraiser event at his remote Roden Crater land art project in Arizona, a private opportunity to tour the crater before it is complete that will cost $5,000 to $6,500 per ticket.   (more…)

The New York Times profiles gallerist Bridget Donahue’s new space at 99 Bowery, founded by the former Gavin Brown’s Enterprise director and focusing on a broad selection of artists, including “older, under-the-radar, and anti-establishment” artists.   (more…)

Sotheby’s Investor Mark McGuire, who holds 9.5% of the company, has reportedly demanded that the auction house issue a $500 million stock buyback, appoint a new CFO, and further, accuses them of willful neglect and misguided policies.  McGuire’s letter to the company comes after Sotheby’s placed its new capital plan on hold until a new CEO was found, and places him in opposition to new investor Dan Loeb. (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. (more…)

Following the death of Cornelius Gurlitt, the works he had willed to the Kunstmuseum Bern in Switzerland have hung in limbo, the subject of a dispute filed by his cousin Uta Werner, which questions the authenticity and authority of his will.  “The Board of Trustees regrets this delay, in particular because it will impede the settlement of restitution cases that have already been clarified and endorsed by the Kunstmuseum Bern, but the circumstances are beyond its control,” the museum said in a statement. (more…)

Norway’s Edvard Munch Museum is set to return its annual Edvard Munch prize, following a partnership with partnership with oil and gas corp Statoil.  The award carries a $66,000 purse, and an exhibition at the museum.  “It is very important not to focus too much on Europe and the US when looking for candidates,” says director Stein Olav Henrichsen, who is focusing internationally for both his panel of judges and potential recipients. (more…)

The Armory Show has announced the artists for its Special Projects section at the 2015 edition of the New York Fair, which opens in two weeks.  Projects include a limited edition series of potato chip packets by commissioned artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan, unobtrusive fencing installations by Abbas Akhavan, and more.   (more…)

The 2015 edition of the Kurt Schwitters Award, which comes with a $28,000 prize an an exhibition in the Sprengel Museum Hannover, has been awarded to Pierre Huyghe.   (more…)

The Wall Street Journal evaluates the trend towards galleries moving into Manhattan’s flower district, as many dealers tire of the rapidly increasing rents and steady stream of towering condos.  “The spirit of the neighborhood is dramatically changing,” says Casey Kaplan. “A lot of the conversations I’ve had with artists have been about wanting to break out of the art mall and have a different experience.” (more…)