Pierre Huyghe at Centre Pompidou, via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

Referred to as “a major figure in the French and international art scene”, Pierre Huyghe, a poet of space and sculptor of time was exposed at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris from September 25th 2013 to January 6th 2014. The exhibition was of retrospective nature, presenting 50 projects spanning over 20 years of Huyghe’s career.

Pierre Huyghe at Centre Pompidou, via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed (more…)

Forbes has published its annual “30 Under 30” list for the worlds of Art and Design, featuring a number of promising young talents.  Among the list are artists Lucien Smith and Oscar Murillo, curator Alex Gartenfeld, and furniture designers Simon and Niki Haas. (more…)

A Long Island art thief, who was captured in a sting operation filmed for reality show Brooklyn DA, says that the reality show has evidence that would clear his name.  After his arrest for stealing a number of works, including a Picasso etching, Vega’s car was searched, where he claims evidence exonerating him was located, but the footage of the search is being withheld by CBS.  “Up until his arrest, Vega didn’t believe that there was anything wrong or illegal with this arrangement,” his lawyer Timothy Parlatore said. (more…)

The Museum of Contemporary Art, following an embattled 2013 that saw the departure of Jeffrey Deitch and a potential purchase of the museum by LACMA, has reportedly reached its $100 Million Endowment fundraising goal.  “This means we can take off the table any questions about MOCA’s future,” said board chair Maria Bell. “The remaining questions are exciting ones concerning our upcoming exhibitions.” (more…)

Sotheby’s London has announced a non-selling exhibition of works from the collection of Alexey Ananiev, the Russian billionaire whose collection of Soviet Era Russian art will look to challenge the often kitschy perception of much work from the the second half of the twentieth century in the USSR.  “The best artists of communist times did work that was a continuation of the Russian realist art from the early 19th century,” Ananiev says. “With a historical pause of 15 or 20 years, we can now see and appreciate their art in full measure.”  (more…)

NPR speaks with Robert Indiana, discussing the artist’s legacy as the creator of the iconic LOVE logo and sculpture, and his perceived neglect in the contemporary arts discourse.  While LOVE remains immediately recognizable, Indiana’s broad body of work is often overlooked.  The artist goes on to talk about his personal ties to his work, and his take on contemporary America.  “The American Dream, that’s our folly,” he says. “That’s our folly. Look where we’re ending up.” (more…)

René Magritte (Belgium, 1898-1967). La clairvoyance (Clairvoyance). 1936. Oil on canvas. 21 1/4 x 25 9/16″ (54 x 65 cm). Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Ross. © Charly Herscovici -– ADAGP – ARS, 2013

The work of René Magritte is nothing if not recognizable.  His subtle, often humorous subversions of painterly convention and semiotic understanding are foundational elements of the early 20th century avant-garde, from  to his classic piece of semantic self-destruction, The Treachery of Images to the dreamlike paintings of imagined worlds and pastiched approaches to conventional subjects.  It’s these iconic works that form the center of the artist’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, examining his early works as the foundations of both his own career, and the vital lifeline of Surrealism in the twentieth century.

René Magritte (Belgium, 1898-1967). La durée poignardée (Time Transfixed). 1938. Oil on canvas. 57 7/8 x 39″ (147 x 99 cm). The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Joseph Winterbotham Collection. © Charly Herscovici -– ADAGP – ARS, 2013 (more…)

A recent Forbes India interview with Christie’s Steven Murphy, following its successful first auction in Mumbai, has indicated the company’s approach to the growing international market.  “The fundamental fact is that the combination of the surge in interest in art, combined with the new connectivity available online, has opened the door to a vast population of new collectors globally. This surge in new buyers, which is continuing, far outstrips any modulation in sales that macro-economic trends would affect.” (more…)

The Tate Gallery is the subject of controversy, after including work by one of its trustees, the Turner Prize-winning artist Tomma Abts.  “This is all very wrong. There are tens of thousands of artists in this country who would give anything to have their work at the Tate. It seems blatant favouritism that works by their own trustees should be repeatedly selected,” said artist Charles Thompson.  “And it goes without saying that having a painting exhibited at a prestigious national gallery can only enhance the artist’s earning power.” (more…)

A selection of authentic works by Egon Schiele have been discovered  in Austria.  The portfolio of works were discovered in the attic of a recently deceased man’s home, when his son was cleaning.  “When I saw Schiele’s signature on one of the pics I thought it was probably a copy. I never dreamed it might be genuine,”  he told local news. (more…)

Filmmaker and Video Artist Steve McQueen is profiled in The Guardian this week, talking about his inspirations, his childhood dyslexia, and his personal reflections on the history of slavery.  “All I remember feeling was a real sense of shame and embarrassment about it,” he says. “We can deal with the second world war and the Holocaust and so forth and what not, but this side of history, maybe because it was so hideous, people just do not want to see. People do not want to engage.” (more…)

New research is indicating that most artists make their best, most valuable work at the age of 42.  Studying the work of 200 of the most prominent artists around the world, researchers found that the average age at which they produced their highest valued work at auction was usually made at two thirds into their life.  The number fits startlingly well with Fibonacci’s “golden ratio” of 0.6180, which has long been seen to guarantee proper proportions in the arts. (more…)

Peter Doig, I Think it’s Time (1982-83), via Michael Werner

Currently on view at Michael Werner Gallery in New York is an exhibition of works by Scottish artist Peter Doig, meant to be indicative of his formative years, including several works that have never been on public display before.  Displaying the artist’s signature, boundary-breaking approach, the show is a fitting complement for anyone interested in the painter.

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Elmgreen and Dragset, Tomorrow (Installation View) via Art Observed

Snaking through the hallways of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s London space is an immersive, illusory installation by Danish artists Elmgreen and Dragset, a multi-room piece realizing the home and studio of a fictional, disillusioned architect named Norman Swann.

Elmgreen and Dragset, Tomorrow (Installation View) Courtesy the Artists and Victoria Miro, London. © Elmgreen & Dragset. Photography: Anders Sune Berg (more…)

W Magazine profiles the sprawling rural estate of two anonymous New York City collectors in the Hudson Valley region, a site which formerly served as the working farm of the James Cagney estate.  Featuring works by Sol LeWitt, Monika Sosnowska, Franz West and Jeppe Hein, the site is a new adventure for the couple.  “We’d see people pack up their cars on a Friday night and laugh,” they say. “But we always considered ourselves sculpture collectors—and in a New York City apartment that’s a hard thing to do.” (more…)

A New York Times article analyzes the work of artist Pei-Shen Qian, the painter behind the multi-million dollar counterfeiting ring that included the Knoedler Gallery.  Mr. Pei-Shen is well-regarded as a painter in China, but moved to New York in the early 1980’s.  Analyzing the artist’s early work in comparison with his more recent fakes, the article goes on to examine the interplay of supply and demand in the contemporary market as a potential cause of the artist’s shift to fraudulent works. (more…)

An Alphabet City apartment building slated for demolition has become the site for a number of murals and installations.  The building will be torn down in late January, but the owner has, in the meantime, opened the space up for artists to create their own murals and sculptures inside the space.   (more…)

Michael Werner Gallery is currently embroiled in a $1.35 million lawsuit with South Korea’s Gwangju Biennale Foundation over damage to three sculptures by James Lee Byars.  The works were chipped on the return trip, and attempts to collect insurance through a South Korean insurance company have proved futile.  “Unfortunately, risks are inherent in any loan, and it is devastating and embarrassing when anything like this happens,” said Massimo Gioni, who curated the 2010 event and went on to curate this year’s Venice Biennale. (more…)

A number of deals and arrangements made this month have signaled that the centuries-old artistic bastion of Paris may have begun its rise to the highest levels of the international art market.  A classic Modigliani has sold for over €6.5 million, the highest price paid for a painting in France this year, and comes alongside news of a record €44 million tally for sales in France by Sotheby’s in 2013, while Christie’s showed similar success and a €56 million sales total for the year. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal reports on a lost painting by Magritte, which researchers claim was cut up into separate pieces and painted over.  While the practice is relatively common, the work in question, The Enchanted Pose, was exhibited on its own in 1927 before being reused.  Several parts of the piece have already been located, and museums around the world are searching for other missing pieces. (more…)

The Financial Times looks at the enormous final sale prices achieved this year at auction, and questions where the art market is headed in the future. Deep pockets and an increasingly deep market pool have led to growing sales, and a number of art fairs springing up to meet the demand. “In sheer defiance of other global economic trends, or perhaps because of such trends, there is an unprecedented flow of money into the art market. For some, this could represent a flight of capital from other conceivably more unstable harbours to comfortably park one’s wealth,” says dealer Edward Tyler Nahem.  (more…)

Hiroshi Sugimoto, Accelerated Buddha, exhibition view, all images courtesy Fondation Pierre Bergé

Currently on view at Fondation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent is an exhibition of work by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, exploring the historical/cultural emergence and relevance of Buddhism in Japanese culture. Entitled Accelerated Buddha, the exhibition is the gallery’s 20th exhibition, which opened on October 10th and will run through January 26th 2013.

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The New York Times has profiled Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the head of the Qatar Museums Authority in its year-end look at the art world, calling the young sheikha a “power player” on the global stage.  “It’s most important to allow young artists today to see what’s happening,” she says. “Seventy percent of our population is under the age of 30.” (more…)

The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, Photo: Joan Marcus Courtesy Park Ave Armory

As the story goes, when artist Marina Abramovic came to legendary stage director Robert Wilson about helping him to stage her funeral onstage, the director only replied, “only if I can stage your life as well.”  So begins the mythology behind The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, the nearly three-hour long performance that just completed its first run of U.S. dates at the Park Avenue Armory in New York.

The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, Photo: Joan Marcus Courtesy Park Ave Armory (more…)