A group of cleaners protesting Sotheby’s low sick pay rates have been suspended from their posts, following their public demonstration during the auction house’s London sales last week.  “[A service rep] stopped them at the entrance and said ‘give me your passes, you’re no longer welcome at Sotheby’s – we’ve been instructed by Sotheby’s to not allow you on site’” says Petros Elia, the cleaner’s union general secretary. “Our argument is that Sotheby’s is massively, extremely wealthy company. Contractual sick-pay is not a crazy thing.” (more…)

Olaf Breuning, Brancusi (2015)

Olaf Breuning, the Swiss-born, New York-based artist who has received wide acclaim for his playful appropriations of the iconography of popular culture, has returned to Metro Pictures for a highly anticipated solo exhibition, titled The Life. Consisting of 25 MDF panels each reaching to 9 feet high, the artist’s lofty, circular panels and free-standing steel sculptures incorporate Breuning’s mix of the humorous, quotidian and idiosyncratic imagery of the contemporary social landscape: emojis, bean bags, beer bottles, human figures and other objects, omitting any hierarchal separation so that each element blends into a somewhat objective examination of reality. (more…)

Philippe Parreno, Danny La Rue,  H {N)Y P N(Y} OSIS

The Park Avenue Armory has opened its doors this summer to Paris-based artist Philippe Parreno’s largest U.S. installation to date, H {N)Y P N(Y} OSIS, a symphony of events unfolding in scripted and random sequences that constantly blend and transform in shape and context, tuning the entire space as a series of interlocking events.  Sharing authorship, Parreno avidly collaborates with performance artist Tino Sehgal, artist Pierre Hughye and pianist Mikhail Ruby, giving Parreno the role of both artist and director.  (more…)

The Tom Bradley terminal at LAX has launched a series of new arts commissions this week, including works by Mark Bradford, Pae White and Ball-Nogues Studio.  “We imagined this space as a kind of reprieve or garden where people could rest their minds as they moved through the building,” says Benjamin Ball of Ball-Nogues. “The project is meant to be seen from a variety of angles.” (more…)

John Waters is the subject of a profile in The Guardian this week, as the filmmaker-turned-artist prepares to open a show of his work in London, and discussing his aims towards his most recent body of work.  “I wanted to be the most despised person imaginable, like I was when I started.  I built a career out of it. I wasn’t hated by the people I wanted to like my work – I was hated by the people it was bait for,” he says.    (more…)

Josef Helfenstein, the Director of Houston’s Menil Collection for the past 12 years, is leaving his position to head the Kunstmuseum Basel, the New York Times reports.  “It’s a very hard decision for me to leave the Menil – I love this institution enormously,” Helfenstein says. “I think we have accomplished a lot, so it was kind of a natural moment.” (more…)

The London Underground has announced a year-long series of artist commissions in the newest iteration of its ongoing arts patronage, including video work from Liam Gillick, and new design commissions from Giles Round and Design Work.  “Gillick has taken his camera, picking out features of the Victoria Line in an unfolding narrative,” says Eleanor Pinfield, the head of Art on the Underground. (more…)

A series of six new public commissions spearheaded by Norman Rosenthal, former head of exhibitions at the Royal Academy, have been announced for Embassy Gardens, the site of the new U.S. Embassy in London.  “Each show is a germ of an idea that could become a museum exhibition,” Rosenthal says. “They are all shows I have dreamt of doing.” (more…)

The New York Times notes the increasing popularity of Athens as a destination for artists in the wake of the country’s financial hardships, noting the increased affordability of studios and opportunities to show work in the city while commenting on the complex financial exchanges the country is currently involved in.  “I realized it would be much more useful to have an artistic platform in a city like Athens than another European city,” says Greek curator Iliana Fokianaki. “The crisis kind of boosted our energy to do more things, rather than flee the country.” (more…)

Theaster Gates, White Sky, overcast (2014), All Images Courtesy White Cube Gallery

Now through July 5, the White Cube Gallery in Bermondsey presents an exhibition of new work by Theaster Gates, the installation artist and professor of visual art at the University of Chicago who draws from themes of individual and collective history, place and self, and empowerment in his work.  Freedom of Assembly continues and expands upon the artist’s approach to art as a vehicle for social-justice, communication, and critique.

Theaster Gates, Freedom of Assembly (Installation View)

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The Washington Post notes two American museums battling in court to prevent works claimed as Nazi-loot from returning to the families who claim them as rightfully theirs.  “I find it outrageous, and I’m embarrassed,” says Oklahoma state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, one of the museums refusing to return a work. “With this artwork, we have definitive proof that it was stolen. We have copies of the Nazi documents. As an Oklahoman, I think it’s a moral outrage.” (more…)

Andy Warhol, One Dollar Bill (1962), via Sotheby’s

The results are in for Sotheby’s Evening Sale tonight, drawing the first half of the 2015 market year to a close with a mixed sale that saw impressive strength in unexpected places and a number of major letdowns at the higher end of the sale, ultimately closing on a final tally of £130,376,500, well shy of the £203 million mark the auction house had trumpeted earlier this month, with 9 of the 58 lots going unsold. (more…)

Francis Bacon, Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer (1967), via Christie’s

Another auction come and gone for Christie’s tonight in London, and another set of strong results, as the auction house capped a 76 lot sale to the tune of £95,646,500, meeting expectations, and setting several records for non-blue chip artists along the way, with 10 lots going unsold, including a string of Gerhard Richter works that may signal a downturn in the artist’s market popularity. (more…)

Damien Hirst is the subject of a lengthy profile in The Guardian this week, exploring his often overlooked role in curating and presenting the work of the YBA’s in their early years, and his soon to open London gallery.  “I’ve always wanted a gallery like Saatchi, the original Boundary Road,” he says. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal looks at the life of Alma Mahler, the brash lover of some of Austria’s most noted artists during the turn of the twentieth century, who inspired both staunch admiration and loathing from the European art world.  Having married Walter Gropius,  Gustav Mahler, and writer Franz Werfel, she also counted a number of artists, including Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, among her many lovers. (more…)

Professional Gambler and Collector David Walsh is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, discussing his recently founded Mona Art Museum in Tasmania, and his vision for its collection and expansion.  “I’ve got four or five works by James Turrell which will go in the new wing along with a few Jean Tinguely pieces. I like kinetic stuff, I like weirdness,” he says. “The budget for the new extension is about $8m, the art will cost another $2m to $3m.” (more…)

An article in Barron’s this week notes the number of fake artworks in the marketplace today, and precautions collectors may take to prevent acquiring such works, including a set time frame for independent evaluation of a work before money changes hands.  “It’s an effective way to assess the good faith of the gallery or dealer,” says James Martin, a trusted researcher who worked for years researching and evaluating claims of faked art. “And if they won’t agree to that, you have to scratch your head and ask why.” (more…)

Doug Aitken has launched another iteration of his Station to Station project at London’s Barbican Center, bringing his vast multimedia project to bear on the British capital.  “It will be amazing to see Station to Station come to life in London in such a unique, multi-arts environment as the Barbican,” Aitken says.  “This is a living exhibition with artists of all mediums, creating unique works and unpredictable encounters every day.” (more…)

The Whitney has announced new officers for its Board of Trustees, appointing Neil G. Bluhm and Laurie M. Tisch as co-chairs, while Richard M. DeMartini will act as president.  “I am grateful for the immense contributions of these devoted individuals and thank them with all my heart for ushering the Whitney into a new era, particularly Bob Hurst who chaired the capital campaign, which made the new building possible,” says President Adam Weinberg. (more…)

Ai Weiwei, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads (2010), via Phillips

Sales have concluded at tonight’s Contemporary and Post-War Evening Sale at Phillips Auction House in London, capping a strong outing by the company that saw 10 of the 53 lots going unsold.  With somewhat sluggish proceedings and a few surprises, the auction seems to be something of a stumble in Phillips’ attempts to challenge the larger auction houses this week.

Sigmar Polke, Carnival (1979), via Phillips (more…)

The Financial Times charts the ambitious efforts and long time frame for bringing an artist’s Catalog Raisonné to fruition, the effects this effort can often have on an artist’s market, and the resulting disputes over authenticity of works that may occur as a result.  “The authentication of individual works clearly belongs in the purview of the individual author or foundation,” says Deborah Aaronson, Phaidon’s group publisher, who just published the final volume in Andy Warhol’s Catalog Raisonné. “Authentication is clearly a huge issue with Warhol, so it’s not our policy to get caught up with those things.” (more…)

The Independent Art Fair has announced its plans to move downtown, and will open the 2016 edition of the popular Armory Week art fair at Spring Studios in TriBeCa March 3rd.  “We’re excited about the Spring/Independent partnership, as it will allow us to take the fair to a new and exciting dimension by hosting it in an extraordinary environment that the art world has yet to experience,” says fair Co-Founder, Elizabeth Dee In our new home at Spring, Independent will be even more adventurous in support of galleries’ and artists’ projects with the flexibility the space allows.” (more…)

Doug Aitken is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, as he opens the newest edition of Station to Station at The Barbican in London.  “Culture is the language that will bring us into the future,” Aitken says.  “But at the same time it is being surrounded by this conservative, capitalist system, which makes it harder than ever for individuals who have voices to push them as far as they can go.” (more…)

Yves Klein, Peinture de feu couleur sans titre (FC 27) (1962), via Christie’s

Following strong but subdued outings last week during the London summer sales, attention turns to the Contemporary market in the UK, as a trio of sales this week will usher in the summer months.  The sales start tomorrow, spanning three nights in the British capital, and drawing the first half of the year’s major sales to a close.

Andy Warhol, One Dollar Bill (1962), via Sotheby’s (more…)