The WSJ has an interview with Jeff Koons at the artist’s studio this week, which sees Koons revealing that his balloon animal sculptures were in part a way to communicate with his son, who left for Italy with the artist’s former wife, Ilona Staller, after their divorce.  “It was a way to be communicating with my son,” Koons says.  “I was thinking of him.” (more…)

A recent article in The New York Times reports on the state of photography in the secondary and auction markets, noting that, despite the popularity of the medium, sales for photography account for less than 2% of the global market.  “Many of these new buyers are looking for unique, high-quality trophy art which has been driving prices of postwar and contemporary art to new heights,” says Anders Petterson, the managing director of ArtTactic. “There has definitely been a trickle-down effect of this on the photo market. However, as most photographic works are selling in the lower- to medium-end of the price spectrum and often in larger editions, there isn’t the same allure of this market to many of these buyers.” (more…)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the California Resale Royalties Act is unconstitutional, but has allowed the law to remain on the books if the objectionable portion of the law is removed, keeping the resale royalty provided the sales take place within California.  Some speculate as to wether this may prevent major auctions from happening in the State.   (more…)

William Pope L., Trinket (Installation View), via MOCA

Inside the MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary building in Downtown Los Angeles, an immensely oversized American flag endlessly flutters in a synthetic breeze, held aloft by a series of industrial grade cooling fans.  The breeze is intense, and the force exerted on the delicate stitching holding the iconic stars and stripes together is gradually tearing apart, a powerful metaphor in a time when the nation is riddled by high levels of police brutality, harsh military involvement overseas and increasingly vitriolic partisanship. (more…)

The New Yorker has a profile on sculptor Charles Ray this week, the Californian sculptor known for his occasionally disturbing and lifelike works, including Huck and Jim a statue based on the inseparable pair of Mark Twin’s classic novel, which was initially intended for the plaza outside the new Whitney before it was declined over fears of controversy.  “I don’t want whatever becomes of it to be less than the original idea, and the original idea was for it to be there,” Ray tells the magazine. “I’m not naïve to the controversies this would generate—I told them that controversies would be a forest we had to navigate through.” (more…)

A protest last Friday over labor rights at its Abu Dhabi construction site led the Guggenheim Museum to close early last Friday.  Protestors threw pamphlets over the museum’s iconic spiraling walkway, and unfurled a banner saying “Meet Workers’ Demands Now” on the ground floor, forcing the museum to shut its doors. “We share their concerns about worker welfare in the Gulf Region, but these kinds of disruptive activities run counter to our objective of building the cooperation and good will necessary to further change on an extremely complex geopolitical issue,” the museum said in a statement. (more…)

Isa Genzken, Geldbild I (2014)

Referred to as “one of the most important and influential female artists of the past 30 years” by MoMA on the occasion of her retrospective at the museum in 2013, Isa Genzken‘s new work is the subject of Hauser &Wirth’s current solo exhibition in London. Less known in the States compared to her artistic influence and recognition in Europe, Genzken has pursued a notably progressive career in the recent decade, building new bodies of work and showing in various international venues. (more…)

The Venice Biennale, via Art Observed

As May begins, the city of Venice is preparing for the the 56th edition of the Biennale, set to open doors to press this week.  With the sheer scale of events, openings and exhibitions set to open this coming Wednesday through Saturday, the art world will turn its attention to the City of Bridges in earnest. (more…)

The founders of Frieze, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, are interviewed in the Wall Street Journal this week as they prepare to open this year’s edition in New York, reflecting on the early days of the fair, and how they first started their coverage of the art world in London during the 1990’s.  “You couldn’t get away from the feeling that something was happening in London, and though we really didn’t know anything about art or magazines, we just knew we had to respond to it,” Sharp says. (more…)

Lisa Yuskavage is interviewed in The Paris Review this week, shortly after opening a show at David Zwirner earlier this month.  In the interivew, Yuskavage reveals some unconventional aspects behind her new work, including dabbling in online dating networks.  “It’s interesting because in order to make some of these paintings of men, I did something a few years ago—I didn’t realize why I was doing it at the time. I joined Grindr. I had a Grindr persona.”  Yuskavage tells the magazine.  “You didn’t think I was going to say that today, did you?” (more…)

Jeffrey Deitch is preparing to install an exhibition of street art in Coney Island this summer, including work by Mister Cartoon, Swoon, JR, Lee Quiñones, and Icy Signs, among others.  I’ve always loved the energy that comes out of the New York vernacular,” Deitch says, “and I’ve dreamed of doing a show in Coney Island since I first started going there in the ’70s.” (more…)

First Lady Michelle Obama was on hand Thursday for the opening ceremonies at the Whitney Museum, which opens to the public today, and made remarks praising the vision of the new space.  “Maybe you can discover the next Carmen Herrera, or Archibald Motley, or Edward Hopper, or maybe even the next Barack Obama. That is the power of institutions like the Whitney. They open their doors as wide as possible both to the artists they embrace and to the young people they seek to uplift.” (more…)

French artist Vincent Lamouroux has completed a new public project in Los Angeles, covering the full exterior of an historic motel at Bates and Sunset Blvd. in white paint.  “It couldn’t have been any other place,” the artist says. “Because it is a motel, a place shared by a lot of people. And this type of architecture, international style, coupled with palm trees, the motel sign and the billboard as well, is a combination of the LA idea that we all have, the California dream.” (more…)

Charline Von Heyl Untitled (1995)

Petzel Gallery is currently inaugurating its new uptown location with early works from contemporary abstract painter Charline Von Heyl. Considered one of the leading female contemporary abstract painters, the New York based artist, known for an eclectic style which admires both the natural and the constructed.  Serving as a window into the painter’s early work and artistic roots, Düsseldorf: Paintings from the early 90’s is a collection of paintings never before shown in the U.S. Shown in Cologne and Munich during 1991 and 1995, these paintings posses a bold approach to abstraction, with their provocative aesthetic strength and impressive historical awareness.  In light of a past show with Petzel in September of 2013, this exhibition provides insight into some of the deeply rooted artistic practices that are still present in Von Heyl’s current works, combining heavy use of illustration and abstraction to powerful effect. (more…)

The Art Production Fund has launched another collaboration with luxury retailer Barney’s in an effort to raise funds for additional public arts projects.  Launching May 1st, the collaboration will feature a series of products with designs and illustrations by Alex Katz.  “Working with Alex is a dream come true,” says PF co-founder Doreen Remen.  “His work has long been influenced by pop culture imagery, and he’s passionate about getting his work out there to be enjoyed by everyone. Alex is the quintessential New Yorker and Barneys is such an iconic New York retailer, so the pairing was irresistible.” (more…)

Uta Werner, cousin of Cornelius Gurlitt, is appealing a Munich court’s decision rejecting her claim to Gurlitt’s trove of works.  The German court system is currently reviewing the appeal before it makes its decision to pass the claim on or reject it again. (more…)

The annual Art Critics Association Awards for 2014 have been announced, with Kara Walker’s Domino Sugar Factory project winning for “Best Exhibition in an Alternative Venue,” and Pierre Huyghe’s LACMA Retrospective winning for “Best National Museum Monograph.” (more…)

For the New Museum and Rhizome’s latest iteration of the Seven on Seven Technology Conference, Ai Weiwei has teamed with Wikileaks and Tor Project activist Jacob Appelbaum for a project dealing with surveillance and international borders, with the collaboration filmed and presented by Laura Poitras, director of the Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour.  “It was important to bring together these two courageous people who are disseminating their messages using art and technology respectively, and facing similar levels of scrutiny and hardship as a result,” says Heather Corcoran, Senior Executive of Rhizome. (more…)

The annual BP Portrait Award has announced this year’s shortlist, featuring artists from the UK, Israel and Spain.  “It was good to see even more international artists entering and my fellow judges and I were impressed by the different styles of portraiture, some quite new to the exhibition, and intrigued by the stories behind the portraits,” says Pim Baxter, the deputy director at London’s National Portrait Gallery. (more…)

Beginning May 1st, British Airways is launching a new in-flight television channel run by the Tate, featuring interviews and profiles in artists like Grayson Perry, Ed Ruscha and Ai Weiwei.  “We’re excited to be the first airline to have a dedicated Tate channel, offering our customers more entertainment options than ever before.”  British Airways in-flight entertainment manager, Richard D’Cruze, says.  “There is definitely a trend to use your flight time to discover something new and different and feel a sense of accomplishment when you step off a plane.”  (more…)

Against the backdrop of critical backlash over MoMA’s recent Björk exhibition, The Art Newspaper sits down with Glenn Lowry for a frank and lengthy interview, charting his vision for the museum, and his acknowledgement of issues of overcrowding often leveled on the museum.  “My background is as a historian of Islamic art, so of course I lament the loss of solitude,” Lowry says. “But I am also a pragmatist; solitude is probably gone regardless. Had our attendance grown by 25% or 30%, which is what we figured it would with the 2004 expansion, you would still have had those moments. Will the [next] expansion solve all those problems? No, it’s not going to solve everything, but it will enable us to show a great deal more of our collection and in many different ways.” (more…)

Following numerous set-backs and a potential cancellation, the second Kiev Biennial will open this September, the Art Newspaper reports.  The rescheduled event will be hosted at the Visual Culture Research Center, a target in the past for right-wing protests and activists.  Speaking of the Euromaidan revolution, Curator Georg Schöllhammer noted that the political upheaval in the country “spoke loudly about what the people of the Ukraine want to get rid of.  I think we have to follow that.” (more…)

Lauren Cornell, the Curator of this year’s New Museum Triennial, is interviewed in Dazed this week, reflecting on her origins in experimental film, her work with Rhizome, and her work in addressing gender and sexuality as a curator.  “I think it seems especially hard or frustrating to come up as a young artist now in an art world that seems to think of itself as ‘over’ inequality, while consistently rewarding white men more than anyone else,” she says.  “In this context, it’s important to create spaces for ongoing inequalities to be named and dealt with constructively.” (more…)

A new study on the use of digital technologies in American art museums is set for release this week, an in-depth study that looks at museum projects nationwide and their effectiveness in incorporating new immersive media.  The study covers 41 museum projects, from a “digital census” of French sculpture at Dallas’s Nasher Center to new iPad based wall labeling at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts.   (more…)