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

Egon Schiele Exhibition Extended at Neue Galerie

Friday, January 16th, 2015

The popular Egon Schiele exhibition at the Neue Galerie has been extended through April 20th, the museum announced today, continuing the record breaking exhibition for an additional four months. (more…)

Judge Rules for Sotheby’s in Caravaggio Lawsuit

Friday, January 16th, 2015

The lawsuit between Sotheby’s and collector Lancelot William Thwaytes has been decided in favor of the auction house. Sotheby’s sold a work for Thwaytes, attributed to a follower of Caravaggio, for £42,000 in 2006, only to have the work authenticated as a true Caravaggio weeks later.  Mrs Justice Rose ruled there had been no negligence in the case, stating that Sotheby’s is “entitled to rely on the connoisseurship and expertise of their specialists.” (more…)

Inside the Competitive Field for Museum Funds

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

The Wall Street Journal looks at the current state of museum fundraising, with a number of museums competing for donations and gifts in what some call a crowded market.  “These big capital campaigns for the gold-plated arts and cultural institutions probably put the most pressure on the people who are on that party circuit,” says Michael Hamill Remaley, senior vice president for public policy and communications at Philanthropy New York. “But the 1% is not hurting.” (more…)

Abby Bangser Named Frieze Artistic Director for Asia and Americas

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Frieze Art Fair has announced that Abby Bangser will take the newly formed Artistic Director position for the Americas and Asia, working to support the organization’s director, Victoria Siddall.  “Abby brings fantastic gallery, institutional and collector relationships to this new role,” Siddall said in a statement, “and I am thrilled she is joining our team. She has shown her passion for and commitment to Frieze and her insight as an American will be invaluable to us, ensuring that the fairs continue to deliver at the highest levels.” (more…)

Museum of Fine Arts Houston Announces $450 Million Expansion

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston is embarking on an ambitious $450 million expansion project that will seek to place it as one of the city’s cultural hubs.  “It’s all about shaping space,” says , architect Steven Holl. “The collection of buildings there is already outstanding. It’s very delicate, not a site that calls for over-exuberance.” (more…)

Gagosian Gallery to Recreate Henry Moore’s Studio For Exhibition Next Month

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Gagosian Gallery in London will reportedly recreate the studio of sculptor Henry Moore for an exhibition next month.  The exhibition will be curated by Richard Calvocoressi, director of the Henry Moore Foundation. (more…)

Berlin – Louise Lawler: “No Drones” at Sprüth Magers Through January 17th, 2015

Thursday, January 15th, 2015

Louise Lawler, Dots and Slices (Traced) (2006 2013), via Sprüth Magers
Louise Lawler, Dots and Slices (Traced) (2006/2013), via Sprüth Magers

In 2013, Louise Lawler performed a series of “tracings” at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, taking previously executed photographs from Lawler’s broad body of work, and converting the image down to a simple vector graphic in partnership with artist and children’s book illustrator Jon Buller.  These tracings are currently the subject of the artist’s most recent solo exhibition at Sprüth Magers Berlin, as Levine returns to her particularly subtle brand of institutional critique. (more…)

MoMA to Deaccession Claude Monet Work at Sotheby’s London

Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

Sotheby’s February 3rd auction of Impressionist works in London will include a Claude Monet deaccessioned from the collection of MoMA, the New York Times reports.  The work, Les Peupliers à Giverny is anticipated to bring $13.8 million to $18.4 million. (more…)

Sebastien Errazuriz is Times Square’s Newest Midnight Moment Commission

Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

Artist Sebastien Errazuriz has created a new project for Time Square’s ongoing “Midnight Moment” arts series, a digital video showing the artist yawning on the area’s countless digital video displays in an attempt to trigger yawns among viewers.  “I intuitively trust that at times it is the importance of leaving a pause or a blank space that allows us to highlight and be aware of everything else that is in that space.,” Errazuriz says.  “At times the simplest projects are the hardest to do. You cannot hide behind a simple project, the truth is exposed, distilled and present.” (more…)

Kehinde Wiley to Receive State Department Medal of the Arts

Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

Secretary of State John Kerry will award painter Kehinde Wiley with the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts next week, during a ceremony on January 21st.  The medal awards substantive commitment to the U.S. State Department’s cultural diplomacy outreach through the visual arts,” according to a release. (more…)

Theaster Gates Interviewed in BOMB

Wednesday, January 14th, 2015

Artist Theaster Gates is interviewed in the most recent edition of BOMB Magazine, talking about his influences, his work at the University of Chicago, as well as its surrounding communities.  “One of the advantages that I have, being embedded in this Washington Park community and as an administrator at the University of Chicago, is that I come with a certain amount of cultural, intellectual, and political empathy,” Gates says. “This empathy allows me to feel more like an insider, and to experience a win for this community as a win for me too. It’s not just a political win, it’s also a “way-of-living” win.” (more…)

Clara M. Kim to Curate Frieze Masters London’s Spotlight Section

Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

Frieze London has announced that curator Clara M. Kim will take the helm for Spotlight, the special section of London’s Frieze Masters this fall.  Adriano Pedrosa, who led Spotlight since 2012, will still organize the section at Frieze New York in May. (more…)

Vito Acconci Proposes Intricate Bridge Structure for Tasmanian Capital

Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

Artist Vito Acconci has contributed a new architectural design proposal to the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, a twisting, maze-like bridge linking two of the city’s main memorial sites.  “All the surfaces of the maze are riddled with holes, from tiny to less or more than tiny; each of the many multiple mazes surrounds an empty open space,” says a spokesman from the artist’s studio. “You retrace your steps back and forth, and find your way from one maze to another, up and down and up again.”   (more…)

North Carolina Museum of Art Gifted with Major Collection of Works

Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

The North Carolina Museum of Art has received a major donation of modern and contemporary art from the collection of Jim and Mary Patton this week, including works by Richard Diebenkorn, Helen Frankenthaler, Ellsworth Kelly and Robert Motherwell, among others.  “This transformative gift significantly expands the breadth and scope of the Museum’s permanent collection and will allow our visitors to have an even more engaging and exciting experience in our modern and contemporary galleries,” says NCMA Director Lawrence J. Wheeler. (more…)

Dasha Zhukova and Rem Koolhaas Partner to Create New Home for the Garage Center

Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

The Wall Street Journal profiles the ongoing collaboration between Rem Koolhaas and Dasha Zhukova to create the new home for Zhukova’s Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow’s Gorky Park.  “The building is basically a found object,” Koolhaas says. “We are embracing it as it is.” (more…)

Marina Abramovic Brings New Performance to Art of Elysium Benefit

Monday, January 12th, 2015

Marina Abramovic brought her performance work in collaboration with Costume National to the Art of Elysium Benefit Gala last night in Los Angeles, inviting guests to enjoy dinner in individually numbered beds.  “Usually these parties are always boring, always the same,”Abramović said.  “There are so many ways of entertaining, [but] I am proposing in my way as an artist the possibility of entertaining that’s never been used before.” (more…)

Marlene Dumas Interviewed in The Guardian

Sunday, January 11th, 2015

Marlene Dumas is interviewed in The Guardian this week, in the run-up to her Tate Modern Retrospective, opening early next month.  “When I start work on a painting, it’s total kitsch!” Dumas jokes during the interview. “When I painted myself pregnant, I couldn’t do the legs, and the blond hair made it look like a bad Klimt!” (more…)

Wealthy Collectors Earn Major Tax Benefits from Founding Non-Profit Museums

Sunday, January 11th, 2015

The New York Times notes the attractive benefits for wealthy collectors founding their own private, tax-exempt museums to house their art collections, allowing the collectors to deduct full market value for their donations even when the museum may be housed on the same property as their home.  “I’m not against it being done, but it’s got to be done well,” says Robert Storr, dean of the Yale School of Art. “If there’s to be a public forgiveness for taxes there should be a clear public benefit, and it should not be entirely at the discretion of the person running the museum or foundation.” (more…)

Los Angeles – Andy Warhol: “Shadows” on view at MOCA Through February 15th, 2015

Sunday, January 11th, 2015

Andy Warhol, Shadows (Installation View), Photo) by Brian Forrest. © 2014 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), NewYork.
Andy Warhol, Shadows (Installation View), Photo by Brian Forrest. © 2014 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), NewYork.

In the late 1970’s, Andy Warhol embarked on a new printing project, replicating a single photographic image of the artist’s studio bathed in shadow, a single “cap” of light hovering just to the left of center.  Reproducing the image over one hundred times in a series of color pairings, shades and contrasts, the work created a haunting, surreal environment, currently on view at MOCA in LA for a landmark exhibition of the piece on the West Coast. (more…)

New York – Mario Schifano: “The ‘60s” at Luxembourg & Dayan Through January 10th, 2015

Saturday, January 10th, 2015

Mario Schifano, Propaganda (1965)
Mario Schifano, Propaganda (1965), *All artwork images Courtesy of Artist Rights Society and Luxembourg & Dayan, installation shots Courtesy of Luxembourg & Dayan

Luxembourg & Dayan is presenting the New York leg of the gallery’s acclaimed London show from this past summer, Mario Schifano: 1960-67, which celebrated the seminal post-war Italian artist’s impressive career. Titled The ‘60s, the selection for thisshow delivers an ambitious look at a crucial period in the late artist’s life and career. Less known compared to his fellow counterparts, such as Pistoletto or Manzoni, Schifano had his breakthrough in the New York art scene with the infamous New Realists show at Sidney Janis Gallery in 1962.  (more…)

Whitney Museum Drastically Expands Online Database

Friday, January 9th, 2015

The Whitney Museum has embarked on an ambitious expansion of its online database, dramatically growing its selection of images from 700 to 21,000 works.  A sizable portion of the museum’s collection, which has long been out of public view, will occupy a 60,000 square-foot section of the Whitney’s new Meatpacking District space. (more…)

Vito Schnabel to Take Over St. Moritz Gallery Space of Bruno Bischofberger

Friday, January 9th, 2015

Vito Schnabel will reportedly take over the St. Moritz gallery space formerly occupied by Bruno Bischofberger when the dealer vacates at the end of this season.  Bischofberger is reportedly moving his main space in Zürich into a 250,000-square-foot complex, and will be operating without a physical location in the meantime. (more…)

Dustin Yellin to Collaborate with New York City Ballet

Friday, January 9th, 2015

The New York City Ballet has announced its newest artist collaboration, this year partnering with Dustin Yellin to create a large-scale installation featuring a set of “3,000-pound glass sculptures.”  “I was moved thinking about these young, 25-year-old dancers [who are] full of life,” Yellin says, “and that they’re on their toes for all these hours.” (more…)

New York – David Hockney: “Some New Painting (and Photography)” at Pace Gallery Through January 10th, 2015

Friday, January 9th, 2015

David Hockney, The Dancers IV. 14 August - 5 September 2014 (2014), via Art Observed
David Hockney, The Dancers IV. 14 August – 5 September 2014 (2014), via Art Observed

David Hockney’s new exhibition of paintings at Pace Gallery, his first full-size canvases since 2009, are a fitting continuation of the artist’s current interests, combining vaguely abstract environments and poses with a subtly loaded series of juxtapositions. The exhibition, which closes this Saturday, sees Hockney returning from several years focused on landscape studies and experimentations in digital video and photography to portraiture and human subjects. (more…)