With counterfeit dealer Glafira Rosales cooperating with federal authorities, the investigation into the sale of a number of counterfeit artworks has shifted towards Rosales’s partner Jose Carlos Bergantiños Diaz, the Spanish dealer who may have served as a key figure in the creation of the counterfeit art ring around the Knoedler Gallery.  Diaz, who has not been reached in several months, has yet to be charged. (more…)

Google has opened the doors to its Google Cultural Institute in Paris this month, welcoming a first look at the virtual umbrella space for a number of the company’s art-focused ventures.  The space will feature artist residencies and exhibitions, as well as talks and panel discussions. (more…)

Cyprien Gaillard, Today Diggers, Tomorrow Dickens (Installation View), via Art Observed

Coming off his impeccable retrospective at MoMA PS1 earlier this year, Cyprien Gaillard returns to New York with two series of works that continue his fascination with the complexly layered experience of history, and the forces that keep this process constantly in flux.  Moving towards a more active exploration of these phenomena, Gaillard’s show feels as if the artist is taking a more active role in his creative inquiries.

Cyprien Gaillard, Today Diggers, Tomorrow Dickens (Installation View), via Gladstone Gallery (more…)

Philanthropist and longtime Los Angeles arts supporter Eli Broad is currently developing his contemporary art museum, The Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles, and has offered a first look at the space.  Costing over $130 million, the 120,000-square-foot museum is set to open late next year. (more…)

The Exhibitors List has been announced for the 2014 edition of the Frieze New York art fair, which will return to Randall’s Island from May 9-12 with 190 galleries in tow.  “We want the fair to make a positive contribution to New York and the response from New York galleries this year, from the smallest to the most established, has been better than ever,” reads the statement from directors Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal notes the increasing popularity of posting photographs from art shows and openings on social media platforms like Instagram.  The article comes after a number of major immersive installations that encourage first-rate photo opportunities, like Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room at David Zwirner and The Whitney, or MoMA’s popular Rain Room installation.  “When you have an experience like that—especially after any wait—it lends itself to an assumption of accomplishment,” says David Graver, a 29-year-old who writes for Coolhunting.com. (more…)

The long-disputed valuation of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ collection has finally been completed, with a final valuation that falls somewhere between $454 million to $867 million.  This valuation factors in a Van Gogh self-portrait valued at $150 million on its own, as well as a Bruegel the Elder painting that could sell for anywhere between $100 and $200 million.  (more…)

Roni Horn, Untitled (“My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the…)(detail) (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed

The glass globules dotting the floor of Roni Horn’s current exhibition at Hauser and Wirth give off a remarkable sense of tension: frosted exteriors play off against the the crystal-clear center of the pieces, giving off an illusion of liquid depth, ready to overflow its container.  Rather than staring at a solid object, one struggles to remember that these are not, in fact, vessels in the traditional sense, but enormous glass molds, poured and cooled over the course of several years.  If they are vessels, the fluid material of it holds is that of light, flowing with the passage of the sun, and the gradual progression of time that it implies.

Roni Horn, Untitled (“A dream dreamt in a dreaming world is not really a dream…but a dream not dreamt is.”) (2013), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed (more…)

A court ruling by the New York State Supreme Court has maintained a seller’s ability to remain anonymous during the proceedings of an art auction, The New York Times reports.  The ruling preserves the current state of auction dealings, and was a unanimous decision. (more…)

A recent article by the Telegraph examines the theft of iconic artworks, and their fate on the black market.  Often, journalist Alaistair Sooke notes, the works have a black market value of about 3% to 10% of their real market value, and are often used as collateral in dangerous illegal activities like drug trading and/or gun-running. (more…)

A U.S. contestant has won an online raffle for a $1.26 million piece by Pablo Picasso, walking away with the work after buying a ticket for the price of $137.  The 1914 piece was auctioned off to benefit the efforts to save the ancient city of Tyre, and was won by Pennsylvania resident Jeffrey Gonano.  “I’m still in shock. I’ve never won anything like this before. Obviously,” he said. (more…)

A lawsuit over the ownership of an Andy Warhol portrait of the late actress Farrah Fawcett has been settled in favor of her husband, actor Ryan O’Neil.  The lawsuit settles a dispute between O’Neal and the University of Texas in Austin, which had received the work from Fawcett’s estate, even though O’Neal maintained the work had been given to him as a gift from Warhol. (more…)

The New Museum has announced its 2014 schedule of exhibitions, prominently featuring a show by Polish artist Pawel Althamer, which will include a highly public, participatory aspect.  Alongside the artist’s immediately recognizable sculptural works, the show will also welcome visitors to paint the walls of the museum’s spacious lobby.  The show opens on February 12th. (more…)

Thomas Schütte, United Enemies (2011), courtesy Fondation Beyeler

At Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland through February 2nd is an exhibition displaying sculptural works of human figure, created by German artist Thomas Schütte. Made from a wide variety of materials, including steel and aluminum, bronze, modeling clay, ceramic, wood, and glass, and are placed throughout the museum as well as outside in the gardens surrounding the institution.

Thomas Schütte, Walser’s Wife (2011), courtesy Fondation Beyeler (more…)

Philippe Parreno, “ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE OUT OF THE WORLD” (Installation View) Courtesy Palais de Tokyo

Responding to a carte blanche invitation from Paris’s prestigious Palais de Tokyo, Algerian-born Philippe Parreno has transformed its gallery space with an exhibition meant to establish a dialogue between architecture and the concept of the show as a medium in and of itself.

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Willem de Kooning, [no title] (1984), © 2013 The Willem de Kooning Foundation:Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Tim Nighswander: IMAGING4ART

The late works of Willem de Kooning represent a striking departure for the artist’s work.  Condensing his colorful, flowing style into a tightly controlled, minimalist series of patterns and movements, de Kooning’s paintings in the late years of his life, from the mid-1980’s onwards signal a new interest in negative space and light.  The collisions and grating proximity of forms of his definitive work during the 50’s and 60’s seems to dissolve into a mellow, effortless form, well-balanced and refined.

Willem de Kooning, Ten Paintings (Installation View), Courtesy Gagosian Gallery (more…)

Honoré Daumier, The Sideshow (Parade de Saltimbanques) (1865-66) Courtesy Royal Academy of Arts

On view at the Royal Academy of Arts is an exhibition of 130 works by 19th century artist Honoré Daumier, composed primarily of paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures, that strengthen the artist’s history as both a perceptive and nuanced painter, as well as a truly comic satirist.

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Martin Creed performs at The Kitchen, via Art Observed

Martin Creed took the stage last week at the Kitchen last night for the first of three consecutive, part of his ongoing series of exhibitions in New York City that show the former Turner Prize winner at the top of his game, continuing his series of reductive, simplistic works with Work #1020, a performance piece that combine repeated gesture and dance, crass video and his own brand of buoyant, bizarre rock and roll. (more…)

Kevin Francis Gray, 12 Chambers (2013) Courtesy Pace London

On view at Pace London through mid January is an exhibition highlighting new sculptures by Irish artist Kevin Francis Gray. These realistic, detailed works were crafted from bronze and marble in a traditional manner uncommonly seen in the contemporary art world. Included in the display are five double life-size bronze heads, a group of twelve life-size nude figures cast in bronze, and a life-size sculpture of two white marble figures alluding to the tradition of covering of dead bodies in Judeo-Christian cultures.

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Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665), Courtesy of The Frick Collection

On view at The Frick Collection in New York is a traveling exhibition of beloved Dutch paintings selected from the collection of the Royal Picture Gallery Maurithuis in The Hague, the Netherlands. The paintings will remain on view to the public through January 19, 2014.

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Drawing on a long history of interplay between contemporary art and comedy, MOCA’s online television station, MOCA.Tv has announced Ambiance Man, a new comedy series that will air on the channel, featuring appearances by Fred Armisen, Jack Black, and Jibz Cameron.  “Ambiance Man is a series about a super hero who fixes what we really need fixed in our day-to-day lives. While most super heroes are focused on preventing the end of the world, Ambiance Man is focused on transforming the moments that feel like the end of the world.”  Says creator Alix Lambert. (more…)

Artist Grayson Perry has unveiled a newly designed handbag tote, molded into the shape of a human scrotum. A collaboration with leather craftsman Andy Bates, the artist has only had one made, and has used it frequently in appearances as his drag alter-ego, Clare.  “I received enormous interest in the “Scrotal Sac” from around the world but have mysteriously declined to make a second,” said Bates. (more…)

Family Business Gallery, the collaborative exhibition space by Massimo Gioni and Maurizio Cattelan, has moved from its Chelsea home, and is preparing to take up residence in a new home in Paris.  “Palais de Tokyo had expressed an interest to Family Business practice and generously invited us to experiment within an open dialogue format, amidst an exciting and multifaceted art environment,” says curator  Nadja Argyropoulou. (more…)

Continuing its run of appointments and in-house changes, Sotheby’s has appointed Domenico De Sole as Lead Independent Director.  The co-founder and Chairman of Tom Ford International, former President and CEO of Gucci Group, De Sole turned around Gucci while he was there, taking it from nearly bankrupt to a multi-billion dollar conglomerate.  “We’re very excited that Domenico has joined the Board and has also agreed to serve as Lead Independent Director. He brings blue chip experience in the high-end luxury space, in Board leadership, and in strategic executive roles envisioning the future of elite brands,” said Sotheby’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer William F. Ruprecht.  (more…)