West Coast art dealer Blum and Poe has begun its search for a gallery space in New York City, which is intended to “focus on our artists who currently do not have representation in New York, in addition to very specific projects, both historical and otherwise,” says co-owner Tim Blum. The gallery is currently based in Los Angeles, and will look to open by August. (more…)
Long Island Art Dealer Glafira Rosales has been charged with tax fraud and the sale of several millions of dollars in forged art. Rosales reportedly failed to disclose over $12.5 Million she had learned form the sale of the works, made through the already embattled Knoedler Gallery in New York. Authorities assert that in many cases, Rosales had acted as a mediator for sales of work, although in some cases she reportedly fabricated the selling client, and kept the sales profits for herself. “As alleged, Glafira Rosales gave new meaning to the phrase ‘artful dodger’ by avoiding taxes on millions of dollars in income from dealing in fake artworks for fake clients,” Manhattan United States Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. (more…)
In anticipation of his new shows at Matthew Marks, Mnuchin Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art, artist Ellsworth Kelly is profiled in the Wall Street Journal, covering his work, his life, and his creative process at 90 years old. “I think one of the things that is great about being 90, he only feels his body. His sense of wonder, wanting to create more are still there.” Says his partner, Jack Shear. (more…)
The NADA Art Fair opened yesterday for its second annual New York event, bringing over 70 galleries and exhibitors to downtown Manhattan’s Basketball City for a diverse exhibition of new works by artists around the globe.
Alex Da Corte at Joe Sheftel (more…)
Nine massive stone sculptures by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone have been installed in Rockefeller center this week, a collaboration between the artist at New York’s Public Art Fund. Titled Human Nature, the primitivist sculptures each way 17 and 1/2 tons, and were installed by crane. “My first thought was how big,” said Keith Douglas, managing director for Rockefeller Center. “He was saying ‘huge colossal sculptures,’ and I’m thinking, ‘In comparison to what?’ and multiplying times nine.” (more…)
Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea (1952), Courtesy Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Inc., on extended loan to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. © 2013 Estate of Helen Frankenthaler/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery.
In 1951, at the age of twenty-two, American painter Helen Frankenthaler appeared in her first solo exhibition in New York. It was a fitting introduction to the artist, who, over the next ten years, developed a uniquely evocative style that would define her as a major talent of mid-twentieth century New York City. Sixty years later, Gagosian Gallery is exhibiting some of Frankenthaler’s works from this decade, showcasing the creative practice of the artist’s pivotal early years, and offering perspective on her ever-evolving style.
Helen Frankenthaler, Untitled (1951), © 2013 Estate of Helen Frankenthaler/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery. Photography by Robert McKeever”. (more…)
Beginning in June, artist Donald Judd’s Spring Street home and studio, which he purchased in 1968 and renovated himself, will reopen as a museum, offering visitors a look inside at the artist’s personal collection of works and living space. The building stands as the only intact, single-use cast-iron building left in the neighborhood, and was renovated under the supervision of The Judd Foundation. “This has all been toward the goal of having people experience this place as if none of these things we had to do were ever done. And from the beginning it’s been a battle between preserving the art and preserving the building.” Said Judd’s daughter, Rainer. (more…)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been handed a class-action lawsuit, alleging that it has deceived patrons into believing that the admission price for the museum is $25. While the museum is legally required to offer free admission to the public, it posts a “recommended” admission fee at the front entrance. “The museum was designed to be open to everyone, without regard to their financial circumstances,” says Arnold Weiss, one of the attorneys in the case. “But instead, the museum has been converted into an elite tourist attraction.” (more…)
Artist and musician Nick Cave’s Heard•NY opened at Grand Central Terminal in New York yesterday, filling the terminal with actors dressed in surreally designed horse costumes. Bloomberg spoke with the artist about his practice, and his goals for the installation, which will remain open all this week. “I’m looking at the station as a platform to get people back to that place where we dream. We’re in a world where we’re trying to do what we can to exist and hold on to our jobs. So I’d like to transmit this dream-state feeling, to get us out of our day-to-day routine for a moment.” Cave says. (more…)
Curators Alex Gartenfeld and Norman Rosenthal are preparing to unveil an exhibition in Rome next month, looking at the city of New York through the framework of the capital of the ancient Roman Empire. Titled Empire State, the show brings 25 New York artists to Rome for a show exploring the creative essence within the two iconic metropolises. “Instead of just celebrating a city, I hope it’s an exhibition that questions what it is to be an art center today, and what sort of cultural cachet a city wields by having these art institutions. I think a lot of cities, Rome included, are thinking about what it means to be a contemporary art center. That’s where empire becomes this very relevant theme.” Says Mr. Gartenfeld. (more…)
José Parlá, Broken Language (installation view) via Haunch of Venison
Haunch of Venison presents “Broken Language,” itsx first solo exhibition of work by New York-based artist José Parlá. Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Parlá’s works highlight the layered stories embedded in urban environments. His practice of combining of personal text, found objects and graffiti styles into large paintings and site-specific installations results in expressive works that relate to the legacies of calligraphy, modernism and abstract expressionism. The works on view include a selection of new paintings, works on paper, photographs, and sculpture spread throughout the gallery’s three spaces.
The Guggenheim Museum has received a $10 million grant from the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation in Hong Kong to comission new works from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The move comes as the museum continues to expand its global view of contemporary art. “This is all part of our global narrative,” says Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. “For years people have asked what we are doing about China. This is a crucial next step.” (more…)
| Chinati: The Vision of Donald Judd |
Dan Flavin (Installation View) via David Zwirner
The inaugural show at David Zwirner’s spacious new location on W. 20th Street in Manhattan is a pairing of two of minimalism’s major figures and long-time friends, Donald Judd and Dan Flavin. Given the size of the new location, with its towering ceilings and ample floor space, the show is sparese in both form and quantity, containing 8 illuminated frameworks by Flavin and 5 welded steel boxes by Judd.
Donald Judd, untitled (1991), via David Zwirner
The New York Times has published a profile of the recently deceased Lisa de Kooning, daughter of 20th Century American painter Willem de Kooning. The article traces her youth in New York City, her active championing of her father’s estate after his death in 1997, and her struggles with alcohol and drugs, which ultimately led to her early death. “She had an immense amount of talent,” says actor Alex Kilgore, “but she knew what genius was and she could never free herself from her own eye.” (more…)
Matisse: In Search of True Painting, (Installation View),via The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opened the exhibition “Matisse: In Search of True Painting” on December 4th 2012. Dedicated to Henri Matisse’s painting process, and highlighting his tendency to “repeat compositions in order to compare effects,” the exhibition includes forty-nine works, emphasizing the artist’s lifelong work with pairs, trios, and series, and exploring his artistic exercise of variance to discover the true essence of an image.
The New York Times publishes an in depth story on Kathy Grayson and The Hole Gallery, which blends a forward thinking curatorial practice with a vibrant atmosphere. The gallery has charged into an art scene still bemoaning the loss of Jeffrey Deitch’s Deitch Projects space. “There hasn’t been a gallery like this since Deitch,” said Mike Malbon, of Frank151 magazine. “It’s got a good buzz and a cool, creative vibe. Other art shows, to me, are just stuffy.” (more…)
The Luck You Collective, a group of young, born and bred New York artists aged 19 to 21, is currently making on impact on the downtown arts scene. “To me they represent the heart and soul of the young New York creative scene,” says photographer David Mushegain. “They are the ones who grew up here and are continuing the conversation that started so long ago. They are seemingly the last stand in a downtown scene that is surely vanishing, and I love them for that.” (more…)
The Opening for Doug Aitken, 100 YRS, Courtesy of 303 Gallery
Working across a broad body of media and techniques, including photography, sculpture, video, installation, sound art and architectural interventions, Los Angeles-based artist Doug Aitken’s work frequently explores concepts of rhythm, repetition and duration, exploring interrelations between time, memory and space and the subsequent fluctuations of meaning and understanding caused by their interactions. His work has been ehxibited in a variety of institutions and contexts, including his enormous Song1 installation on the outside of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, as well as his upcoming video art installation at the Seattle Art Museum.
Doug Aitken, MORE (Shattered Pour) (2013), Courtesy of 303 Gallery
2 Works by Mark Flood at Peres Projects, photo by Daniel Creahan for Art Observed
The Independent Art Fair returned to Chelsea this year, taking up three floors of Center548 with work from over 40 galleries around the world, offering a markedly fresh take on the busy sales rush of Armory Week in New York.
Independent, New York, 2013 (Installation View) Courtesy Independent, New York
MoMA PS1 has announced that it will host an exhibition focusing on the current state of the environment, alongside notions of political and social change. Titled EXPO 1: New York, the exhibition will include a selection of video, art and photo installations at PS1, as well as a component at the new VW dome in the Rockaways. EXPO 1 “focuses on some of the most pressing issues of the day set against a backdrop of economic and socio-political concerns that have made a dramatic impact on daily life.” Says Director Klaus Biesenbach. (more…)
The View from Outside The 2013 Armory Show
The doors opened this morning on the 2013 edition of the Armory Art show, welcoming press and VIP’s into the massive exhibition halls of Piers 92 and 94 on the waterfront of New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. It was a special year for New York’s biggest annual art event, marking the 100 year anniversary of its namesake, the 1913 exhibition that welcomed the European avant-garde to American shores, and gave many their first glimpses of Marcel Duchamp, Matisse and Edvard Munch, among many others.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Makes the Opening Remarks at The 2013 Armory Show (more…)
Attentive curators for the Metropolitan Museum of Art made quite a find at this past January’s Old Masters Week auctions, buying an authentic sketch by Jacques-Louis David for $840. The drawing, closely resembling David’s The Death of Socrates, was attributed to an anonymous artist, but the hawk-eyed curators took notice immediately. “The drawing style is typical of David. It was obvious we had to have it.” Said Met drawings curator George Goldner. (more…)
Art Club 2000, Untitled (Conran’s I) (1993), Courtesy of The New Museum
Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, on view now at The New Museum, is a look 20 years into the not-so-distant-past, using 1993 (and the works produced and shown within that calendar year) as a critical reflection point into recent art history and practice.
The Gagosian Gallery’s current retrospective of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is drawing impressive crowds to the gallery’s Chelsea location on 24th St. Weekend attendance has frequently topped 3,000 visitors a day, and weekday attendance has seen somewhere from 1,000 to 2,000 visitors daily. Attendance numbers are only expected to grow, with the upcoming Armory Show bringing much of the art world to New York City. (more…)
