John Knight, Work, in situ, Galerie NEU:MD72:Gladstone Gallery (2013)

One of Berlin’s most notable galleries, Galerie Neu, is Gladstone Gallery’s guest for this summer, presenting a reflection from the German capital’s vibrant contemporary art scene. Known for its avant-garde art spaces and affordable living conditions for emerging artists, Berlin has been one of the most influential cities for the European art scene, and the selection at Gladstone Gallery, mainly focusing on the notion of place and displacement, gives the opportunity to catch up with the city’s recent art trends. (more…)

A Machinery for Living at the Petzel Gallery, installation view, via Art Observed

On view at Petzel Gallery is a group exhibition organized by Walead Beshty entitled “A Machinery for Living.” Composed of over 100 photographs, drawings, paintings, sculptural and installation works, the exhibition approaches a concept of embracing the subversive within everyday life.

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Carl Andre at The Paula Cooper Gallery, via Art Observed

On view at The Paula Cooper Gallery in New York is an exhibition of major sculptures by Carl Andre from a period ranging over thirty years. The exhibition coincides with the artist’s retrospective at Dia:Beacon, which is the first survey of Carl Andre’s entire body of work by a museum in North America since 1980.

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Walton Ford, Windsor, May 1829 (2014), via Art Observed

On view at Paul Kasmin Gallery in New York is a series of watercolors by Walton Ford, exploring the iconography of traditional natural history painting, while focusing on encounters between human culture and the natural world, and featuring for the first time words written in the margins from Ford’s imagined perspective of the animal subjects.

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Glenn Brown, Cactus Land (2012), via Osman Can Yerebakan

In his first solo show in New York in seven years, Glenn Brown delivers a large scale body of work, focusing on sculptural works besides his widely recognized paintings. Palatially spread across Gagosian Gallery’s twenty-first street location with an array of exuberant colors, Brown’s selection of artistic references in this exhibition include nods to Rococo, Baroque and Mannerist techniques, alongside the likes of Frank Auerbach and Pieter Bruegel. (more…)

Martin Kippenberger, ab in die Ecke und Schäm Dich (Martin, Into the Corner, You Should be Ashamed of Yourself) (1989) via Osman Can Yerebakan

Paris was where the artists that planted the roots of Modernism in late 19th century. New York on the other hand emerged in the middle of 20th century as the destination for a large group of international artists as well as those from all around the United States who expanded notions of material and practice as the 20th century waned. Today, cities like Berlin, Tokyo and Sao Paulo are some of the top centers for artists to create and be a part of a community.  No Problem: Cologne/New York 1984-1989, a group show currently on view at David Zwirner, is presenting a transatlantic approach to the 80’s art scene through the works of twenty-two artists from Germany and the United States.  Underlying the dense creative vibrance of Cologne on one side of the Atlantic and New York on the other side, the exhibition presents a concentrated look at the productive interaction between the two cities, bringing together notable names that shaped the artistic nature of the era. (more…)

Mika Rottenberg, Bowls Balls Souls Holes (Bingo) (Installation View), via Osman Can Yerebakan

Mika Rottenberg’s artistic practice has long focused on the production methods and social schemes of contemporary work, orchestrating structurally perfect and visually playful videos in which actresses specifically cast for their physical looks twist the notion of productivity. Using meticulously planned and often vague plots, Rottenberg contemplates on the “nature” of making things in her videos, usually installed along with the pieces used in the production of the video.

Mika Rottenberg, Tsss Tsss Tsss (2014), via Osman Can Yerebakan (more…)

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Ludwig II (M.2062) (2013), via Art Observed

Currently on view at 303 Gallery is French born artist Dominique Gonzales-Foerster’s exhibition, euqinimod & costumes. Being the artist’s first collaboration with the Chelsea gallery, the exhibition stands out as Gonzales-Foerster’s autobiographical investigation using clothes from her own wardrobe.

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Euqinimod & Costumes (Installation View), via Art Observed (more…)

Ross Bleckner, via Art Observed

Painter Ross Bleckner has returned to New York this spring, with an exhibition of new paintings at Mary Boone Gallery, featuring several continuations of past series of works, while branching off in new directions.  It’s been some time since the last solo exhibition of works by Ross Bleckner in New York, nearly four years to be exact, and the artist seems to have been biding his time, putting together a strong selection of works.

Ross Bleckner, ALP30 (2013), via Mary Boone (more…)

Skarstedt Gallery will open its new Chelsea space on May 8th, the gallery reports.  Designed by Selldorf Architects, the exhibition space will take over the previous home of Haunch of Venison on 21st Street.  “We have an ongoing commitment to mounting key historical exhibitions,” founder Per Skarstedt said in a statement. “I’m delighted to open this new gallery space in Chelsea with an exhibition of incredible works by these quintessential modern masters. This approach suits the collaborative way we have always worked with artists and their estates.” (more…)

The New York Times delves into the work and life of Oscar Murillo, charting the artist’s meteoric rise over the past two years, and his current popularity on the market.  “I came to this by simply working,” Murillo says. “It’s the market, and that has nothing to do with me. I’m just trying to keep things normal. I’ve had to live below my means for so long that I’m keeping it that way.” (more…)

Ed Ruscha will be featured as part of the High Line Art program’s ongoing commission series this summer, installing his 1977 piece that reads “Honey, I Twisted Through More Damn Traffic Today,” at 10th and West 22nd.  “It has an intimate quality and is a piece you can experience by just walking by it,” said Cecilia Alemani, director of High Line Art.  The piece will go on view May 6th, and is Ruscha’s first ever public art installation in New York.  (more…)

The Independent Art Fair (Installation View), all photos via Elene Damenia Art Observed

The Independent Art Fair opened its doors last evening for its vernissage, welcoming collectors and press to the increasingly popular fair at Chelsea’s Center 548 on 22nd Street.  With a markedly looser atmosphere, and a closely selected group of 50 galleries and non-profits, the Independent has moved into a desirable niche position between the bigger fairs uptown, and the list of exhibitors made this more than apparent.  Big names dotted the floors of the space, with Gavin Brown’s Enterprise returning to the fair, alongside Untitled, Balice Hertling and Michael Werner, all of which brought first-class works to the sale.

Andra Ursuta at Ramiken Crucible, via Art Observed (more…)

Aki Sasamoto, Sunny in the Furnace, via Aki Sasamoto

Late this week, amid the hustle and bustle of Armory Week in New York, The Kitchen will open artist Aki Sasamoto’s newest performance, Sunny in the Furnace, running from March 6th to the 8th in the organization’s theatre space.  Incorporating Sasamoto’s playful, intricate series of object-oriented encounters and reflections, the work will see her expand her practice onto a larger scale, incorporating the work of fellow artists Sam Ekwurtzel, Jessica Weinstein, Pau Atela, and Madeline Best, as well as live music by percussionist John Bollinger. taking Sasamoto’s recurring focus on memory and material to new levels of complexity.

Aki spoke with Art Observed this past week to preview her show, and talk a bit about her personal creative process. (more…)

Ann S. Moore, former CEO and Chairwoman for Time Magazine, has announced plans to open a gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.  The Curator Gallery, located on 23rd, close to the High Line, will open on March 7th.  “At my age,” Moore says “you can either put your money away, or you can spend it and have fun and that’s what I’m doing. Maybe I’m crazy, but I’ve decided to see what I can do.” (more…)

Dia Fall Gala, atmosphere (during Matmos commission). All images courtesy Dia Art Foundation.

Last Monday’s Dia Art Foundation Fall Gala was a striking affair. Video projections, sound, light-play, chatter, and music gave the cavernous venue its mystical feel, all accompanied by a commission by experimental electronic music duo Matmos, whose performance was reminiscent of a spiritual journey. Even so, the full series of events and installations fell in line with the framework of minimal and progressive art that the Dia Art Foundation specializes in bringing to the public through an array of different channels.

Dinner, atmosphere. (more…)

96 Cheyne Walk, the former East End London home of painter James Whistler, has been placed up for sale, with an asking price of £30 million.  The artist lived there for just over 10 years, from 1867 to 1878m during which time he created his most iconic work, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, affectionately referred to as Whistler’s Mother.  Other residents of the Chelsea street have included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, George Eliot, Henry James, former British prime minister David Lloyd-George, Laurence Olivier and the musician Mick Jagger. (more…)

The Skarstedt Gallery is expanding in New York, opening a new gallery space in the former headquarters of Christie’s Haunch of Venison Gallery at 550 West 21^st Street.  Haunch of Venison had closed its doors in March of 2013. (more…)

Elad Lassry, Untitled (Artwork) (2013), via 303 Gallery

“What is the philosophical location of a picture?” asks the press release for Elad Lassry’s current show at 303 Gallery.  It’s a question that Lassry has posed for several years now, using appropriated and self-made photographs, colored frames and sculptural materials to recreate the 2-Dimensional image in a broader dialogue with its surroundings.  Complicating the assemblage of the photograph, Lassry boils it down to its raw elements, placing the viewer in a new awareness of the photograph itself as a physical object.

Elad Lassry (Installation View), via 303 Gallery (more…)

Charline von Heyl, Carlotta (2013), via Petzel Gallery

On view at the Friedrich Petzel Gallery is an exhibition of new works by German abstract painter Charline von Heyl, marking her seventh solo exhibition at the gallery, and a continuation of her intricately layered practices on canvas.   (more…)

Jeffrey Deitch will once again exhibit in New York, the New York Times reports.  The current curator of MOCA has announced a soon to open show at Leila Heller Gallery in Chelsea, focusing on the intersections of graffiti and calligraphies in contemporary art.  Opening September 5th, Calligraffiti: 1984-2013 will feature work from over 50 artists, including Basquiat, Haring, Shirin Neshat, an eL Seed.  ”Graffiti has become an important part of the imagery that has defined the Arab Spring.”  Deitch writes in the catalog.  “Today new communications platforms like Instagram and YouTube have given street art a new resonance.” (more…)

Pat Steir, Last Wave Painting: Wave Becoming a Waterfall (1987-88), via Cheim and Read

The 1980’s have long been marked for their resurgent focus on the painted canvas.  Led by a dynamic group of New York artists, and a supportive system of gallerists and collectors, the decade saw an explosive body of work emerge that blended expressive technique with a new vision towards abstraction and figuration, breathing new life into a medium many were labeling dead in the water.

Carroll Dunham, Horizontal Bands (1982), via Daniel Creahan for Art Observed (more…)

After the monumental damages to New York’s art world caused last year by Superstorm Sandy, which some estimate between $200 and $300 million, Art Insurance firms are feeling the pressure to adjust their policies.  Many firms are subtly adjusting their underwriting agreements, taking into account newly redrawn flood maps and the risks of subterranean storage as part of policy coverage as factors in the coverage of high-value artworks.  “Sandy was a wake-up call,” says Christiane Fischer, president and CEO of AXA Art Insurance. “People are much more aware of how much New York is in the path of hurricanes.”  (more…)

Rachel Harrison, Coffee Cart (2013), Courtesy of the Artist and Greene Naftali, New York

Currently on view at Matthew Marks Gallery in the Chelsea district of New York is an exhibition organized by American painter Terry Winters. Titled “Roving Signs,” the group of works made by a variety of artists reflects Winters’ interest in traditional American folktales and the cultural heritage of the United States, as well as the various semiotic interpretations and variations that the use of these symbolic images and stories holds in contemporary art.

The Center for Land Use Interpretation, Autotechnogeoglyphics: Vehicular Test Tracks in America (2006), Courtesy CLUI Archive, Los Angeles

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