The Louvre is reportedly loaning over 300 works to its new museum in Abu Dhabi, The Guardian reports, including works by Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh and Matisse.  “This will be the first time many of these works will travel to Abu Dhabi or even the Middle East, and are a rare opportunity to see important art from French museums,” said Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. (more…)

The Guggenheim Museum has announced plans to open a new location in New York City, which will house the institution’s archives and library, with possible new space for public engagement.   (more…)

London’s Herald Street Gallery has announced plans to open a temporary space in Golden Square, the Soho area that has received notable attention from a number of galleries in the past several months.  Sadie Coles and Marian Goodman have both open spaces nearby in recent months, and this new exhibition space seems to have intentions on staying for some time.   “Programming will run into 2015,” says a gallery spokesman.

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The Guardian notes the ongoing backlash in Helsinki against the Guggenheim’s proposed expansion, as many doubt the actual benefits a Guggenheim branch may offer the Finnish capital.   “I’m not paying my taxes to be handed over to an American corporation to do with what they want,” says one interviewee. “If we’re spending that kind of money, it should be on our own national museum, not another outpost of a global company.” (more…)

Sprüth Magers Gallery has purchased a 14,000 square foot building in West Hollywood this week, signaling the gallery’s intent to open a new exhibition space in Los Angeles, directly across the street from LACMA.  “It’s an artist’s city,” says Philomene Magers.  “It’s the cultural and intellectual climate of the city that really excites us. And while we already have collectors in the region, we are hoping to meet many more.” (more…)

The New York Times spotlights Phillips new flagship location in London, and the auction house’s renewed efforts to challenge the duopoly between Sotheby’s and Christie’s at the highest end of the secondary market.  “It’s a statement of intent,” says Phillips’s new chair Edward Dolman.  “This gives us the best space for viewing contemporary art in London. It’s potentially a game changer.” (more…)

The Financial Times reports on the newly opened Hauser and Wirth location in the Somerset town of Bruton, and the anticipated boon the space may offer for the area’s arts community and real estate.  “Somerset is a large county but there are not many galleries exhibiting contemporary art,” says director Alice Workman. “So as well as the space being for the local community, we’re confident we’ll attract a national and international art-loving audience who will probably bring new custom to Bruton and have a positive impact on the local economy.” (more…)

The Centre Pompidou may be expanding yet again, with plans to open a temporary satellite in the northern town of Maubeuge, close to the Belgian border.  The extension has yet to be confirmed by the Centre Pompidou, but the Art Newspaper reports that Maubeuge mayor Arnaud Decagny has pledged €500,000 for the project annually. (more…)

A New York Times article argues against the Frick Museum‘s plan to construct a tower in its gated garden, citing recent, less-than-popular expansions at the Morgan Library and the MoMA as evidence why the Frick should hold off from this “self-inflicted wound”. The tower would be part of a larger renovation and expansion, which would result in 40,000 new square feet, of which only 3,600 sq. feet would be exhibition space.   (more…)

The Louvre’s new expansion in Abu Dhabi will be announcing 300 loans from its Paris counterpart and twelve other French museum partners by the end of the year, The Art Newspaper reports.  The works on loan will rotate over the course of the next ten years, joining up with about 500 new acquisitions that will make up the new museum’s permanent collection.   (more…)

The Smithsonian Institution is reportedly in talks to build an expansion in London’s Olympic Park, a project that would become part of Mayor Boris Johnson’s plan to build a massive cultural center on the grounds of the 2o12 Olympics.  “The mayor has made clear his ambitions for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a view that it becomes home to a range of prestigious higher education, cultural and technological institutions,” said Johnson’s spokesperson. (more…)

Goldsmith’s London has announced plans to build a public art gallery on the University’s South London campus, repurposing the old water tanks of the Laurie Grove Baths.  To raise funds, the institution is asking many former pupils for donations and works to auction in support of the project, including Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley. (more…)

Auction Houses are placing an increased emphasis on pre-20th century art and other objects, in an effort to further expand the thriving auction markets.  Offering variety shows that present top works from a variety of areas and cultures, the auctions are designed to encourage top bidders by focusing sales.  “If the auction houses pick their 50 or so best objects, then their top buyers don’t have to sift through several sales,” says Stuart Lochhead, director of Daniel Katz Ltd. “People are less connoisseurial these days. Finance people are always rushing. They have so little time.” (more…)

Gallerist Dominique Lévy has announced plans to open a London exhibition space in the Mayfair district, following the opening of her Upper East Side gallery last year.  “We are pleased and proud to announce our new space in London,” says Lévy. “Our gallery’s program and culture represent an ongoing, spirited dialogue between Europe and America. And our team embodies that dialogue, with Europeans working in New York and Americans working in London.”   (more…)

The newest Hauser and Wirth space in Somerset opens its doors this week in the small town of Bruton.  The new gallery is celebrating its opening with a show of works by artist Phyllida Barlow, titled Gig.  But is also showing a number of site-specific installations on its expansive grounds. (more…)

The costs and logistics of the Guggenheim’s Helsinki expansion plans are causing a backlash against the museum in the Finnish capital, the New York Times reports.  “I felt some defensiveness and some very developed hostility to us, a fear which I was empathetic toward,” says Guggenheim director Richard Armstrong, “that the distinct local character of Helsinki would somehow be amalgamated into some sort of gigantic industrial apparatus.” (more…)

Architect Peter Zumthor has altered his plans for the expansion of the LACMA campus, taking into account its close proximity to the La Brea Tar Pits, and instead has shifted the design to snake around the museum campus, avoiding the pits altogether.  “The original design would have severely impacted six of the nine active tar pits,” said Jane Pisano, director of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, which oversees the tar pits. “We are so pleased, I do believe this design direction preserves and protects the tar pits.” (more…)

Lisson Gallery announced this morning that it will be building a new, 8,500 square-foot gallery space underneath the Highline on 24th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City, bringing the London-based gallery to Manhattan for the first time.  The space will be led by Alex Logsdail. (more…)

The Frick Collection has announced an ambitious expansion plan that will add a new six-story wing to the Upper East Side space.  The new wing will include a a new rooftop garden, and 60,000 square feet of new exhibition space, totaling 50 percent more room for short-term exhibitions and 24 percent more for a permanent art collection. (more…)

The Met has announced that it will undergo an immense renovation of its Modern Art wing, creating special showcase galleries and room for its expanding collection, especially following the windfall gift of Cubist and Modernist works from the collection of Leonard A. Lauder.  “Leonard’s collection is such a huge missing link between our very strong collections of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and our moderately strong holdings of early-20th-century,” says director Thomas P. Campbell, “that if we reconfigure the galleries, we have the potential to tell the chronological story.” (more…)

The New York Times documents a new trend in galleries’ approach to setting up space in Hong Kong: focusing on small exhibition spaces and tighter exhibitions to draw interest while remaining economically flexible.  “We’ll have exhibitions about four or five times a year, but an exhibition can be three works or four works,” says Pace chairman Arne Glimcher of his gallery’s new Hong Kong space. “Or if it’s watercolors or works on paper or small sculptures, it can be 10 works.” (more…)

Larry Gagosian is preparing to add another pair of New York exhibition spaces to his already impressive set of spaces, including a new space at Park Avenue and 75th, and a temporary exhibition space on Delancey Street in the Lower East Side, both of which will open next month with shows of new sculpture by Urs Fischer.   (more…)

Damien Hirst’s Other Criteria is looking to expand.  The West End London shop is looking to sell its £435,000 lease and seek a larger space in the neighborhood.  Other Criteria is also reportedly planning to open a location in New York’s Soho neighborhood later this year.   (more…)

The finalized plans for the expanded Museum of Modern Art campus have been announced, following a lengthy evaluation process, and the final decision by the organization has been unable to reconcile the preservation of the former American Folk Art Museum building with its new plans.  The new space, which will include a retractable glass wall, new gallery space and the opening of its entire first floor free to the public (including the sculpture garden), requires the destruction of the much-loved space, and goes against protests from a number of premier architects.  “It’s not for lack of trying that we find ourselves at the same pass,” said Elizabeth Diller, a principal at the firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro, which evaluated the new plans. “We can’t find a way to save the building.” (more…)