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

New York – Julia Scher: “American Promises” at Ortuzar Projects Through July 26th, 2019

June 27th, 2019

Julia Scher, Glückshaube (2006), via Ortuzar Projects
Julia Scher, Glückshaube (2006), via Ortuzar Projects

For over three decades, artist Julia Scher has explored the relationship between surveillance, authority, and exhibitionism, orchestrating complex and intimate explorations of the way human and non-human parts of the modern technological apparatus function, both in the creation of and the limitations of personal expression and individual freedom in the modern world. Delving into how technology creates new and divergent relationships to the existing structures of power, Scher investigates just how these relationships bound and inform our place in the world. Read More »

AO Auction Results – London: Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale, June 26th, 2019

June 26th, 2019

Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait (1975), via Sotheby's
Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait (1975), Final Price: £16,542,650 via Sotheby’s

Following up on a steady, reliable auction last night at Christie’s, Sotheby’s came out swinging this evening, marking a £69,720,050 sale in London that showcased a relatively strong market and ample interest for works at the highest levels of the blue-chip market.  The evening’s sale, which saw 4 of the 43 lots on offer go unsold, marked a strong closing for the first half of the year at Sotheby’s, and brings the season one step closer to conclusion. Read More »

New York – Joan Mitchell: “I carry my landscapes around with me”

June 26th, 2019

Joan Mitchell, La Seine (1967), via David Zwirner
Joan Mitchell, La Seine (1967), via David Zwirner

Currently on view at David Zwirner’s 537 West 20th Street location in New York, the gallery is presenting  a selection of multi-paneled paintings by American master Joan Mitchell, the first exhibition to look specifically at Mitchell’s work in this format, and the possibilities for her work brought forth through the use of expansive amounts of space. Read More »

AO Auction Results – London: Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, June 25th, 2019

June 25th, 2019

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night) (1984), via Christie's
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night) (1984), via Christie’s

Marking the first of the week’s trio of Contemporary and Post-War Auctions in London this week, Christie’s has capped a 35-lot offering to a final of $45,346,950, a strong figure that saw only three works go unsold with ample interest from buyers to keep the evening moving quickly and relatively smoothly.  The sale marks something of a snap back into form for the auction house following a dire struggle last week during its Impressionist/Modern offering, and seemed to signal emerging blue-chip markets for several younger artists. Read More »

Berlin – Adam Pendleton: ‘Who We Are’ at Galerie Max Hetzler Through June 29th, 2019

June 24th, 2019

Adam Pendleton, Ishmael in the Garden A Portrait of Ishmael Houston-Jones (2018), via Max Hetzler
Adam Pendleton, Ishmael in the Garden: A Portrait of Ishmael Houston-Jones (still) (2018), via Max Hetzler

On view at Berlin’s Galerie Max Hetzler, artist Adam Pendleton is presenting a body of new works under the title Who We Are, spread between both locations in the German capital: Bleibtreustraße 45 and Goethestraße 2/3, and marking Pendleton’s first show with the gallery.  The show, drawing on a range of cultural and aesthetic touchstones, presents itself as a sort multi-layered cultural history, intersecting music and film, dance and personal narrative through a series of video and wall-mounted works. Read More »

New York – Yuji Agematsu: ‘1995 & 2003’ at Miguel Abreu Through June 21st, 2019

June 21st, 2019

Yuji Agematsu, Zip 10.01.03 ... 10.31.03 (2003), via Miguel Abreu
Yuji Agematsu, zip: 10.01.03 … 10.31.03 (2003), via Miguel Abreu

Currently on view at Miguel Abreu, Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based artist Yuji Agematsu has brought forth a diverse and expressive body of works to the galleries’ 88 Eldridge space, a selection of works delving into notions of urban space and the dense material fusions that it is capable of producing. Connecting the various processes and movements of the New York City streets into a productive engine of its own, the Agematsu’s work chains together disparate spaces and perceptions of reality. Read More »

RIP – Artist Robert Therrien Has Passed Away at 71

June 19th, 2019

Robert Therrien (Installation View), via Art Observed
Robert Therrien (Installation View), via Art Observed

Robert Therrien, an artist whose impressively-scaled sculptures of banal objects and everyday scenes was capable of twisting a viewer’s sense of time and space, has passed away at the age of 71 .  The news was broken by Gagosian, which represents him.   Read More »

AO Auction Recap – London: Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale, June 19th, 2019

June 19th, 2019

Amedeo Modigliani, Jeune homme assis, les mains croisées sur les geno (1918), via Sotheby's
Amedeo Modigliani, Jeune homme assis, les mains croisées sur les geno (1918), Final Price: £18,422,000 via Sotheby’s

The first batch of Summer auctions are in the books in London tonight, as Sotheby’s capped off its Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale with results that seemed to emphasize a steadied ship following the announcement of the auction house’s sale to Patrick Drahi earlier this week.  The auction house, capitalizing on a strong offering of works, moved methodically through the evening, selling 23 of the 25 works on offer for a final tally of £98,875,924. Read More »

New York – Tarek Atoui: “Organ Within” at kurimanzutto Through June 25th, 2019

June 19th, 2019

Tarek Atoui, Organ Within (Installation View), via kurimanzutto
Tarek Atoui, Organ Within (Installation View), via kurimanzutto

Walking into Kurimanzutto’s cabinet space on New York’s Upper East Side, one is greeted with a slow, droning sonic atmosphere, a series of prickly overtones and delicate aural structures that emanate from a series of plastic tubes, fabric resonators and other materials spread across the floor in a seemingly haphazard fashion. This is artist Tarek Atoui’s ‘Organ Within,’ an installation of the artist’s “open sound laboratory” project. Read More »

AO Auction Recap – London: Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale, June 18th, 2019

June 18th, 2019

Pablo Picasso, Homme et femme nus (1968), via Christie's
Pablo Picasso, Homme et femme nus (1968), final price: £12,464,250, via Christie’s

With several strong auctions behind them in the past months, the last Impressionist/Modern Evening Sale of the first half of 2019 looked to be a victory lap for Christie’s, a last shot at European collectors after a bustling spring season capped off by Basel and the Biennale. But a last burst of buyer interest wasn’t in the cards this evening, as the London auction house struggled royally over the course of a 34 lot sale that saw 10 of the works go unsold, including several major trophies that drove the sale to an anemic final of £36,413,750. Read More »