In another example of celebrities attempting the conceptual in a gallery setting, actor Shia Labouf has installed himself at Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles, welcoming attendees to sit across from him as he cries.  The piece bears resemblance to Marina Abramovic’s The Artist is Present, but centers around LaBouf’s ongoing apologies and accusations of plagiarism. (more…)

Former Harper’s Bazaar and V Magazine Editor Derek Blasberg has reportedly joined on with Gagosian Gallery in an unspecified position.  “Derek brings a new perspective to the gallery, and as one of the leading media voices in fashion and the creative arts, I think he will make a valuable contribution,” Larry Gagosian said in a statement. “Our aim is to create a diverse program, to inspire our audience and promote our artists. I look forward to working with Derek to broaden our reach.” (more…)

Francis Bacon, Portrait of George Dyer Talking (1966), via Christie’s

Another week of contemporary art auctions have come and gone, with a number of high-profile works changing hands in London this week, and a number of new records being for artists across the board.  All auction houses boasted strong sales results, with Christie’s once again taking the lead.

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild 776-1 (1992), via Phillips (more…)

Looking Back / The 8th White Columns Annual (Installation View)

The White Columns Annual is open again this year, presenting a series of works centered around the title Looking Back.  This year, curator Pati Hertling has been invited to select works based on her “personal experience of looking at art in New York” over the past year.

Lucy Dodd and Sergei Tcherepnin at The White Columns Annual, All Images via White Columns

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Vasily Kandinsky, Circles within a Circle (1923), Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950
Photo Credit: The Philadelphia Museum of Art / Art Resource, NY © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Compiling one of the more ambitious exhibitions of work recently shown on the Russian avant-garde, the recently closed exhibition on the work of Vasily Kandinsky offered perhaps one of the best perspectives on the developing voice of one of the 20th century’s most vital painters.  Charting his move from early impressionist works to the conceptually rigorous formalism that he developed as a consequence of his broader exposure to the European art world after his move to Germany, From Blaue Reiter to the Bauhaus, 1910-1925 is a fitting origins story for this influential artist.

Vasily Kandinsky (Installation View), via Art Observed (more…)

In partnership with Creative Time Reports, Trevor Paglen and The Intercept have embarked on a project to illustrate and visualize the various surveillance structures and institutions currently active in the United States.  Providing images of the headquarters for the largest organizations in the U.S. surveillance network, Paglen is seeking to provide a tangible visual signature for these often abstracted institutions.  “I hope these images first of all will be helpful for people to wrap their heads around what some of these agencies are, to point to them and acknowledge that they exist, that they’re doing work,” Paglen says.  “Beyond that I hope that they can contribute to a wider cultural vocabulary that we can use to try and see these institutions, to understand them and the effect they have on the society around them.” (more…)

A cache of 60 artworks have been removed from the Salzburg home of Cornelius Gurlitt, the elderly son of a Nazi-era dealer whose trove of over 1,000 works was seized late last year from his Munich flat.  The new set of works features paintings by Renoir and Picasso, among many others.  “Cornelius Gurlitt has ordered experts to examine these works on suspicion of having been looted,” says spokesman, Stephan Holzinger. (more…)

A new venture by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is looking to launch a new examination of conservation in technology, part of a Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded project called The Artist’s Initative.  Examining technological leaps in design, tech and the work of various artists that drive these media forward, the project will embrace a broad series of concerns facing the modern museum.  (more…)

Andisheh Avini, Untitled (2013), Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York © Andisheh Avini, photo credit: Jason Wyche

For his first solo exhibition at Marianne Boesky Gallery since joining in 2012, artist Andisheh Avini presents a refined selection of recent works, informed by the artist’s own personal experience of his Iranian heritage, a subjective approach that he ultimately uses to explore broader and more collective notions regarding the relevance of both memory and imagery.

Andisheh Avini (Installation View), Courtesy of Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York © Andisheh Avini, photo credit: Jason Wyche (more…)

German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans is reportedly breaking ties with Andrea Rosen Gallery, confirmed by the gallerist this morning.  “Not only do I respect an artist’s right to make choices, but I also deeply respect Wolfgang’s work,” Rosen wrote in an email. “Wolfgang and I continue to have a meaningful and personal dialogue, and in the spirit of our twenty year relationship, it will continue both professionally and personally.”  Sources indicate that Tillmans will be signing on with David Zwirner. (more…)

A new historical study is providing evidence that Michelangelo’s abilities as an artist may have been paralleled by equally exceptional skills as an art forger.  Historian Thierry Lenain of the Institut Français in London has just published a book tracing the history of forgeries in art, and notes the Italian master’s reputation as a skilled forger, often exposing paintings to smoke or dirt to make them look considerably aged.  “He admired these originals for the excellence of their art and sought to surpass them,”  Lenain says. (more…)

The opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics last week prominently featured the touchstones of the Russian avant-garde, The Art Newspaper notes.  References and tributes to Malevich, Tatlin and Rodchenko could be seen throughout the ceremony, but some critics noted that the inclusion of these artists was a bid by Vladimir Putin to culturally tie the country closer to Europe.   “He needs to feel that attempts to become European are immediately appreciated and not rejected,” says Marat Guelman, the curator and former museum director forced from his post at the Perm Museum over political critiques. “Otherwise if he sees that whatever he does he is trashed, he’ll spit on it all and start building an Orthodox Iran.”  (more…)

The Museum of Modern Art has hired Fiona Romeo as the head of the museum’s Digital Content and Strategy, a new position that will place her at the head of the museum’s digital media department.  “Fiona’s appointment builds upon the Museum’s pioneering work in the digital realm, and is a reflection of the dynamic and vital role that digital content plays in the way people can participate in the life of the Museum,” said MoMA director Glenn Lowry in a release. (more…)

The New York Times Magazine publishes an interview with Matthew Barney, leading up to the premiere of the artist’s River of Fundament at BAM this week, discussing the artist’s inspiration, and his time with writer Norman Mailer, on whose death much of the film is based.  “When Mailer said to me that I should really read “Ancient Evenings,” I thought, Wow, this is so much like the beginning of “Cremaster 3.” I’ve already done this.” (more…)

The New York Times writes on the efforts of Crystal Bridges Museum to establish itself as a leading contemporary arts institution, and the planning underway for a show of young and underestimated artists from around the United States.  “There have been times over the past few months,” said Don Bacigalupi, an employee of the museum currently leading the hunt. “When I wake up and literally have no idea what city I’m in.” (more…)

A pair of George Condo shows on view in London showcase recent work by the artist both before and after a bout with Legionnaire’s disease, showcasing a wildly divergent pair of styles influenced by the artist’s inability to paint during his illness.  The works are on view at both Simon Lee Gallery and Skarstedt, opening concurrently with London’s contemporary auctions this week. (more…)

Piper Marshall, the curator of the Swiss Institute, has resigned from her position after six years to pursue freelance projects.  “I am extremely grateful to the SI Board, former director Gianni Jetzer, and the SI team for nurturing my growth and challenging and refining my role as a curator of historically significant art and immensely talented artists,” Marshall says. (more…)

The Art Basel fair has announced the list of exhibitors for its 2014 edition, to be held this June, with 285 Galleries from around the world.  A number of small galleries, like New York’s Ramiken Crucible and London’s The Approach will appear this year alongside the annual players.  (more…)

An article in Bloomberg this week traces the current speculation over young artists and the art market, detailing the increasingly seen practice of flipping young artists quickly after purchasing them.  Of particular note are the works of artists Lucien Smith and Oscar Murillo, whose works have seen increase of more than 3,000% in two years. (more…)

A new project to reimagine the city flag for New York has drawn submissions from John Baldessari, Francesco Clemente, Tom Sachs and more, to be auctioned at Sotheby’s later this month to benefit the Fund for the City of New York.  “The idea is, in an increasingly virtual world in the 21st century flags are one of the remaining symbols of shared virtues and beliefs,” Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, chairwoman of the alliance and of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center said. (more…)

The winner of the 2014 young architects program at MoMA PS1 has been announced, a striking cylindrical design made of corn stalk and living root structures, designed by New York-based practice The Living.  The structure will be installed this summer as part of PS1’s annual “Warm-Up Series.”  “This year’s yap winning project bears no small feat. it is the first sizable structure to claim near-zero carbon emissions in its construction process and, beyond recycling, it presents itself as being 100% compostable,’ said Pedro Gadanho, curator of MoMA‘s department of architecture and design. (more…)

A New York judge has ruled that the lawsuit filed by collector Ron Perelman against dealer Larry Gagosian can proceed, following Gagosian’s request that the suit be thrown out.  While rejecting several of the claims regarding breach of contract and other complaints, the court ruled that Perelman’s fraud lawsuit will be able to move forward. (more…)

The historic Franklin School building in Downtown Washington, D.C. will be converted into a modern art museum, called The Institute for Contemporary Expression.  The building will house exhibitions, performances and sculpture, and was pushed forward by collector Dani Levinas.  “With the completion of this selection process we are now a step closer to revitalizing Franklin School and giving it a new life,”  said deputy mayor for planning and economic development Victor Hoskins. (more…)

Gregory Edwards, Steady Work (Installation View), via ArtObserved

Gregory Edwards’ approach to abstraction is oddly figurative. For his latest solo show at 47 Canal, entitled Steady Work—the Brooklyn artist’s first since his solo debut in 2011—Edwards riffs on the inspirational sloganeering of the self-help genre. Featuring single words or short phrases painted amidst garishly colored, textured backgrounds, the show’s six works perhaps most strongly recall the increasingly vintage aesthetic of MS PowerPoint slideshows and WordArt.

Gregory Edwards, Steady Work (2013), via 47 Canal (more…)