Urs Fischer (Installation View), photo by Stefan Altenburger, © Urs Fischer, Courtesy of the artist and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Occupying both the Grand Avenue and the Geffen Contemporary spaces at MOCA, Swiss-born, New York based artist Urs Fischer presents his first U.S. retrospective, culling from his diverse and unique body of work to fill both spaces with an overwhelming display of sculptural pieces and grandiose immersive environments.

(more…)

Nick van Woert, Haruspex (Installation View), Courtesy Yvon Lambert Gallery

The work of American artist Nick van Woert is currently on view at the Yvon Lambert Gallery in Paris.  Taking its name from a 2010 work, Haruspex refers to the practice of divination in Etruscan or Roman religious practice, called Haruspicy involving the interpretation of mens or predicting the future based on the entrails of animals. Inspired by the images of divination and dismemberment, the artist has constructed a series of pieces that approach modern economic and social conditions of the world through the deconstruction and application of material runoff.

Nick van Woert, Untitled (2013), courtesy of the Artist (more…)

The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Con te Partiro (2009), via Brooklyn Museum

Shrouded in anonymity, the Bruce High Quality Foundation has made a career for themselves out of playful irreverence.  Rising out of the post-9/11 New York art scene, the anonymous collective has launched a campaign of physical aggression against public installations (Public Art Tackle), initiated their own free education classes, staged socio-politically charged morality plays on gentrification, all under the guise of a production of the Broadway musical Cats, all alongside a number of pieces and installations that embrace the juxtaposition of art history, pop culture and contemporary society to “invest the experience of public space with wonder.”

The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Ode to Joy (2001–2013) (Installation View), via Brooklyn Museum (more…)

Robert Irwin, Black Rectangle – Scrim Veil – Natural Light (1977), via The Whitney

The immediate effect upon entering Robert Irwin’s full-room installation at The Whitney Museum is one of disorientation.  A single black runs along the outskirts of the room, interrupted by the enormous window at one end of the space.  Through the middle of the room runs an even larger black line, seemingly suspended in mid-air.  The eye swims around this phenomenon, unsure of the depth of the room, or the origin of the line until one notices the large veil bisecting the room, leaving about 6 feet of clearance for viewers to walk under.

Robert Irwin sets up his installation at the Whitney in 1977, via New York Times (more…)

Bill Viola, Chapel of Frustrated Actions and Futile Gestures (Detail) (2013), via Blain Southern

Several new works by American video artist Bill Viola are currently being hosted by the Blain Southern gallery in London through July 27. Viola is considered a leading voice in the field of New Media, and is known for the existential and essentialist themes that surface in his work. Drawing from Buddhist, Zen, and mystical tradition, Viola approaches human mortality and spirit through video, sound and digital installation.  (more…)

Artist Giuseppe Penone will bring a trio of monumental bronze tree sculptures to Madison Square Park this fall and winter, exploring the relationships between humanity and nature through art.  Meticulous reproductions of 40 foot high trees, Ideas of Stone marks Madison Square Park’s 26th exhibition of outdoor sculpture.  “A tree summarizes in an exemplary way the contrast between two forces: the force of gravity and the weight of life we are part of. The need and the search for balance, which exists in every living being to counteract the force of gravity, is evident in every step and in every small action of our lives.” Penone said in a statement. (more…)

The controversial installation of a neon Playboy logo and cement sculpture by curator Neville Wakefield and Richard Phillips in Marfa, TX has been ordered to be removed.  After complaints from a local resident, the Texas Department of Transportation found that the installation was in fact corporate advertising, which requires a permit for installation. The Texas Department of Transportation has ordered the property owner to remove this sign because the owner does not have a Texas License for Outdoor Advertising and a specific permit application for the sign was not submitted,” explained Veronica Beyer, the director of media relations for the Texas DOT, in a statement. (more…)

Paul McCarthy’s WS has become the Park Avenue Armory’s second most well-attended show at the venue’s history, having already drawn 11,000 visitors since its opening last month.  The work, already gaining major press for its challenging subject matter, runs until August 4th.  “There’s a much narrower potential audience for this than for most things we’ve done before,” says Armory President Rebecca Robertson, “so I think the attendance we’re seeing is very strong.” (more…)

Xavier Veilhan, Mobiles (Installation View), via Galerie Perrotin

Galerie Perrotin in Hong Kong is currently presenting a solo exhibition by French sculptor, photographer and painter Xavier Veilhan, the first exhibition by the artist to focus exclusively on his mobiles.  Combining a selection of past work with a series of new installations created specifically for the exhibition, Veilhan explores the mobile as a fluid continuation of his work on the intersections of geometric form and three dimensional space. (more…)

Artist Imran Quereshi recently sat down with Bloomberg to discuss his current installation on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his inspiration for the work, and his attempts at bringing a certain understanding of violence to his audience.  “We’ve had so many bomb blasts and people suffering in Pakistan, and when these things happen, people are asked to stay away and officials investigate. And nobody really knows what the reason behind the violence was. I made this work interactive so that people could investigate it themselves and get multiple meanings out of it.”  He says. (more…)

The Tate Modern has announced a selection of new exhibitions focusing on artists from the African continent.  Featuring retrospectives of work by Sudan’s Ibrahim El-Salahi, 82, and the Lebanese artist Saloua Raouda Choucair, as well as a large-scale installation by Meschac Gaba (where the artist created his own, fictional museum), the move underlines the museum’s more global view towards the contemporary landscape.  “These are all exhibitions that 20 or 30 years ago were quite impossible,” says Tate Modern director, Chris Dercon. “At some point it will be absolutely normal and absolutely necessary to have all these kinds of work, all these artists, together in one museum.” (more…)

Mark di Suvero, Little Dancer (Installation View), via Paula Cooper Gallery

Mark di Suvero is an American abstract expressionist sculptor that often works in kinetics, incorporating dynamic movements to add an element of illusive grace to his monumental sculptures. Continuing his exhibition partnership with Paula Cooper Gallery in New York, the artist is currently exhibiting a new sculpture, Little Dancer, as well as a number of other works in both sculpture and canvas.

Mark di Suvero, Little Dancer (Installation View), via Paula Cooper Gallery (more…)

Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s Toiletpaper magazine, done in collaboration with photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, has just announced a special edition of collaboratively designed sweatshirts with Italian fashion house MSGM.  Incorporating a number of images from the magazine, the sweatshirts work between a nostalgia for past italian fashions and an irreverent take on the sweatshirt itself.  “I don’t like nostalgia,” says designer Massimo Giorgetti. “I prefer irony.” (more…)

James Franco, Psycho Nacirema, (still) (2013), courtesy Pace London

On view at Pace London is an exhibition of works by American actor James Franco, presented by Scottish artist Douglas Gordon entitled Psycho Nacirema. The exhibition, which marks Franco’s first major gallery exhibition in the United Kingdom, continues Franco’s intriguing explorations of celebrity, cultural symbols, and obsession.

(more…)

The last of artist Thomas Hirschhorn’s monument structures, constructed in in tribute to writer Antonio Gramsci, opens today at the Forest Houses housing project in the South Bronx.  Consisting of a library, performance space and Internet access point, the Gramsci Monument will stand all summer, welcoming all visitors to engage with the writings of the Italian anarchist at a space constructed by Forest Houses residents.  “I tell them, ‘This is not to serve your community, per se, but it is to serve art, and my reasons for wanting to do these things are purely personal artistic reasons,’” Hirschhorn says. “My goal or my dream is not so much about changing the situation of the people who help me, but about showing the power of art to make people think about issues they otherwise wouldn’t have thought about.” (more…)

The Bruce High Quality Foundation, which opens its first ever museum retrospective tonight at the Brooklyn Museum, is profiled in the most recent issue of the Village Voice.  Speaking with two members of the amorphous collective, the interview covers the group’s history of art world subversions, their efforts towards a more populist art world, and their take on the economic value of art.  “Art’s most radical quality is that it’s useless,” says one member. “People have used art for lots of purposes throughout history, but artists have to protect its uselessness—it serves as a shield against corruption.”  (more…)

Paul McCarthy, WS (2013), via Park Avenue Armory

There’s a lot that can be said about Paul McCarthy’s WS installation, which opened this week at the Park Avenue Armory in upper Manhattan.  One could note the full spectrum of sexual atrocities committed on-screen during his numerous filmic works, or the bizarre references to Walt Disney and his fantastic empire of entertainment, or even to the prosthetic noses he seems to put on all his characters of late.  No matter the line of discussion, McCarthy’s show, presented by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and Armory artistic director Alex Poots, is a dizzying and difficult immersion into McCarthy’s powerful body of work.

Paul McCarthy, WS (2013), via Park Avenue Armory”

(more…)

Los Carpinteros, Tomates (2013), via Sean Kelly

Cuban artist collective Los Carpinteros are currently presenting a show of new and recent work at Sean Kelly’s Chelsea art space, pulling together a trio of projects that serve as a strong summary of the artists’ complex and multifaceted practice.

Los Carpinteros, Irreversible (Installation View), via Sean Kelly (more…)

Lucien Smith, A Clean Sweep (Installation View), Photos Courtesy The Suzanne Geiss Company, New York

Suzanne Geiss Company’s New York’s SoHo neighborhood is currently housing A Clean Sweep, Lucien Smith’s nostalgic exhibition inspired by the changing streets of his home city.

Lucien Smith, Untitled (Pizzerias 001), (2013) Photos by Matthu Placek. Courtesy The Suzanne Geiss Company, New York (more…)

A 40-foot high neon light sculpture of the iconic Playboy Bunny logo has been erected in Marfa, Texas, creating discussion and debate over its presence.  The piece was created by writer and artist Neville Wakefield, who is reportedly Playboy’s creative director of special projects, and who has curated a show this past year at Ballroom Marfa. (more…)

Ana Mendieta, Untitled (Cuilapán Niche) (1973), via Galerie Lelong

The current exhibition at Galerie Lelong contains a wide range of Ana Mendieta’s work, spanning from photography (Mendieta was known for her documented performances), sculpture, and works on paper. Mendieta’s diverse approach often brings to question the artist’s practice and style: was she an earth artist, a conceptual artist, a performance artist, a filmmaker, a photographer, or a sculptor?  Featured prominently in this show, the artist’s earth sculptures in particular provide viewers a unique opportunity to examine the transformation of Mendieta’s work during the last years of her life. Presenting ephemeral works the artist executed in natural environs, as well as her three-dimensional pieces, made from natural elements such as earth, wood and sand, these pieces show the artist’s continued imagery of the female body.

Ana Mendieta, Alma Silueta en Fuego (Silueta de Cenizas), (1975), via Galerie Lelong (more…)

Jean Dupuy, Performances/Bouffe Théâtre d’en face (1979) (detail), via Galerie Louevenbruck

Galerie Louevenbruck Paris is currently exhibiting Jean Dupuy: the collective years (1973-1983),  a first time retrospective of the artist’s “collective” period during the late 20th century. This period of work was developed after Dupuy left Paris for New York in 1967. Having begun his art career as a painter, he infamously threw his old works into the Seine before heading off to America, where a year later his Cone Pyramid (Heart Beats Dust) sculpture became his introduction to the notions of the collective.  Shortly after its creation the piece had already been exhibited at both the Museum of Modern Art and the Brookyln Museum, and its success launched the artist into his 40 year study of “techno-sensual” techniques and collective art practice.

Jean Dupuy, The Collective Years (Installation View), via Galerie Louevenbruck

(more…)

Monkeytown, the unique film and performance event presented by Brooklyn artist Montgomery Knott, will stage its first iteration in Manhattan this summer, at Chelsea’s Eyebeam Art and Technology Center.  The event will run for 60 days, beginning tonight, and features a selection of works by Theo Angell, Shana Moulton, Eve Sussman, and more, alongside a dinner and beer or wine pairing.  “It’s strange to be a restaurateur, as I think of this as an art installation. But I’m very aware of service.”  Knott says. (more…)

Nadja Frank, Red Headed Stranger (2013), via Denny Gallery

Creating links between the exterior world and the white cube of the gallery space, artist Nadja Frank’s work explores the intersections of natural forms and fabrication through her sculptural and painted works.  Often creating works around samples and materials culled from natural landscapes, Frank’s pieces express an attempt to bridge the distance between her experience and practice, while sitting firmly between the two.  For her first solo show at Denny Gallery in New York, Frank has turned her focus to the landscapes of the High Desert, exploring the rich hues and striking forms of the American West.  (more…)