Duane Hanson at Karma, all photos via Art Observed

Spanning two separate weekends this November, the Independent Projects fair is an interesting take on the the art fair as an exhibition opportunity.  Rather than rely on an initial rush of collectors, the fair is spread out over two separate weekends, allowing collectors an initial crack at the works offered before they go on public view the next week.  Combining this with a small selection of forty galleries and exhibitors, the Projects fair offers a considerable opportunity to expand the concept and execution of the fair environment.

Independent Projects (Installation View) (more…)

The New York Times covers the impact philanthropist and MoMA Board President Emeritus Agnes Gund has had on the cultural landscape of New York City, and her ongoing commitment to arts patronage, including selling works in her collection to cover her charitable giving.  “I get income, but I don’t have a big swath of money to invest in things,” she says” “I’ve had to sell a lot of art, which I’ve hated to do because I really love the art I have.” (more…)

John Stezaker, Shadow 5 (2014)

On view at Petzel Gallery is John Stezaker’s new series of screen prints, compiled from appropriated images of  1940’s and 50’s cinema.  Known for his ambitious collages of familiar and vague images from commercials, film posters and magazine pages, Stezaker has always been interested in the notion of silhouette as a tool for mysterious narratives and a metaphor for the representation of the subliminal. (more…)

The New York Times profiles the British-born, Los Angeles-based Thomas Houseago, whose work is notoriously unpredictable and has on occasion fallen apart in the midst of its construction.  “I believe in these broken sculptures,” he says. “I love that. Sculpture is a constant dance with gravity. In my case, anyway.” (more…)

Hollywood film and television producer Jerry Perenchio has announced a major gift of works to LACMA, including works by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger and René Magritte, that totals upwards of $500 million in value.  “We live in a modern city and modernism has shaped our everyday life, and to tell the story of late 19th century art and the birth of modernism is an incredible thing for LACMA,” says LACMA Director Michael Govan. (more…)

The New York Times profiles the development of Vantablack, a new surface material that uses carbon nanotubes to trap light more effectively than any previous material, and which is currently being tested by artist Anish Kapoor.  “When you look at Vantablack on some wrinkled aluminum foil, it looks like a black, flat, featureless void, even with your eyes right up to it,” says developer Ben Jensen. (more…)

Artist Kara Walker is interviewed in the Wall Street Journal this week, as she prepares a new exhibition in New York.  “I’ve always been a bit restless in the work,” she says. “I have to look this way and that way, just to see what my limitations are, or if they are limitations. Maybe they’re assets.” (more…)

The New York Times highlights the challenges faced by a growing online auction market, including a relative unwillingness by collectors to exceed certain prices when bidding for work, and concerns about work authenticity and provenance.  “They feel comfortable up to about $10,000,” said Ben Hartley, a managing director at Auctionata, an online auction company. “Beyond that, people are still needing levels of trust. Online purchases are going to take time reaching the upper limits.” (more…)

Edouard Manet, Le Printemps (1881), via Art Observed

Christie’s concluded its sale of Impressionist and Modernist works last evening, capping a short but successful 39 lot sale that only saw four works fail to find a buyer, and which achieved a final tally $165,635,000. (more…)

Artist E.V. Day’s Brooklyn home is the subject of a recent profile in New York Magazine this week, an open design which she shares with her husband, food writer Ted Lee.  “Everything we put in was very clean—new and crisply detailed, to contrast with the industrial materials,” says architect Elizabeth Roberts. “The best features of the existing space were the unpainted wood ceiling and columns.” (more…)

The Art Newspaper reviews the case of Pierre Le Guennec, a retired electrician accused of stealing and hiding a vast collection of works by his former employer Pablo Picasso before attempting to sell them in 2010.  Mr. Le Guennec has been ordered to appear in French court in February of next year on charges of receiving stolen goods.   (more…)

Alberto Giacometti, Chariot (1951-52), via Art Observed

Sotheby’s Evening Sale for Impressionist and Modern Art concluded last night, capping a successful if occasionally unpredictable auction that achieved $422.1 million in sales, the highest record of sale for the auction house in its history. (more…)

Ragnar Kjartansson, A Lot of Sorrow (2014), via Art Observed

Last year, Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson was invited to perform at MoMA PS1 for the museum’s ongoing Sunday performance series.  He answered with a six hour long performance piece in which Brooklyn rock act The National repeatedly played the same song, Sorrow, over and over again.  Fighting off exhaustion, boredom, and the occasional flubbed note, the piece ran throughout the day, with the band never pausing to take a break.  The result is a single-channel video work by the artist, currently on view at Luhring Augustine’s Bushwick location.

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A new project in Puerto Rico, executed by Allora and Calzadilla in conjunction with the Dia Foundation, is stirring debate for its use of a Dan Flavin sculpture in a manner some feel is inappropriate for the artist’s work.  Puerto Rican Light (Cueva Vientos) places a 1965 Flavin light sculpture in a remote limestone cave on the Southwest coast of the island, which has already drawn some criticism.  “My role at Dia is to bring validity to both the present and the past,” says curator Yasmil Raymond. “There are people who will undoubtedly see this as a provocation from the perspective of post-colonialism. But I think others will see it as a homage to Flavin and to his evocation of this island.” (more…)

Artist Gabriel Orozco will be honored this week with the Americas Society Cultural Achievement Award, a prize that acknowledges the artist’s ongoing commitment to the development and perpetuation of a global language for Latin American contemporary art.  “As we prepare to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our organizations in 2015, the creation of the first Americas Society Cultural Achievement Award reaffirms our commitment to highlight and support culture in the hemisphere,” says Americas Society and Council of the Americas President and CEO Susan Segal. “Gabriel Orozco is a truly worthy recipient of this very important recognition.”  (more…)

Nam June Paik, Reclining Buddha (1994), via Art Observed

Nam June Paik’s ongoing retrospective, Becoming Robot at the Asia Society is considerably minimal in execution.  The exhibition takes up only a few small rooms in the uptown museum, including a full room dedicated to his (color feedback work) and another dedicated to his continued collaborations with cellist Charlotte Moorman.  But the selection of works on view make up for their spare arrangement with their depth and multi-textual possibilities, not to mention their strong correlations to the tech-centered art of the present day. (more…)

Yoko Ono is profiled in the Wall Street Journal this week, as the artist reflects on her career, and offers advice for young artists following in her footsteps.  “Artists should adhere to what we are, instead of being sidetracked by other desires,” she says.  “We’re supposed to have that independence. But many artists today are, you know, going with this gallery, with that museum, and thinking too much about monetary success, which means they can’t be free. A life of not being challenged and only hearing what you want to hear is being dead.” (more…)

The Telegraph takes a special look inside the home of late painter Lucian Freud’s home in Kensington, where the artist spent the last twenty years of life.  “He was a good cook, very fond of game, but he never ate carbs,” says former assistant David Dawson. He knew he needed to be light on his feet.” (more…)

The Hirshhorn’s new director, Melissa Chiu, is profiled in the New York Times this week, highlighting her aims at expanding the Hirshhorn’s international and experimental art offerings, and her efforts at placing the museum in the spotlight as a major patron of experimental works and forms.  “The whole art world ecology has changed,” says Ms. Chiu. “The art world has become truly transnational.” (more…)

The New York Times profiles a new effort underway in the Netherlands to encourage public arts patronage through a subscription-based service.  The program, titled We Are Public, offers low-price access to a range of cultural events, while promising to contribute â‚¬18,000 to local arts institutions.  “There’s a tendency on all levels of society that people want to take more control over what’s going on, and people are collectively funding stuff they think is important,” says co-founder Bas Morsch. (more…)

Artist Ryan McNamara will bring his 2013 Performa Commission to Miami Beach this year for Art Basel’s U.S. fair.  The piece, MEÆŽM 4 Miami: A Story Ballet About the Internet, explores notions of information conveyance and data clutter.  “I saw Ryan’s stunning performance at the Performa Biennale in New York last November and was astounded by the way in which MEÆŽM redefines the audience experience,” says Director Marc Spiegler, “making physical the virtual experience of link-clicking, and simultaneously incorporating many decades and styles of dance.”  (more…)

Peter Brant has announced the focus of his newest exhibition at the Connecticut-based Brant Foundation Art Study Center, which will center around the works of Cady Noland, Larry Clark, Richard Prince and Christopher Wool.  Deliverance, as the show is titled, will open November 10th, and will feature work from 1970 through 1997.  “It’s when they were really exploring the same kind of themes, and when they each produced some of their best work,” Mr. Brant says. (more…)

Alberto Giacometti, Chariot (1951-52), via Sotheby’s

As temperatures begin to drop and the art world looks to begin winding down the Fall 2014 Season, the major auction houses are opening their doors for two consecutive weeks of major sales, beginning on Tuesday with Sotheby’s Evening Auction of Modern and Impressionist Masterpieces, and followed close behind with Christie’s sale of Impressionist and Modernist works the next night.  Initial estimates for the week’s sales are already promising major dividends for both auction houses, with several important works expected to break major auction sales records. (more…)

Steve McQueen, Ashes (2014), all images courtesy of the artist and Thomas Dane Gallery

On view currently at Thomas Dane Gallery are two new works from Steve McQueen, together making up an exhibition entitled Ashes. The first is an immersive projection with sound and the second is a new sculptural work entitled Broken Column, both produced in 2014.

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