A series of sculptures cast from original plasters by Constantin Brancusi have reignited debate over the authenticity of works created after the artist’s death.  Brancusi in New York, currently on view at Paul Kasmin, is showing 5 such works, cast between 1992 and 2010 from the artist’s original casts, and with the permission of the artist’s estate, but some critics are calling foul, saying any work made after the Romanian’s death could only be considered a replica.  “There are always going to be people who say they’re 100% against it. I can only help guide you with what’s fact—I can’t decide somebody else’s morals for them,” says Kasmin. “What we want to come of this is to know that Brancusi, like many other great artists’ estates, is open for business.” (more…)

Yutaka Sone (Installation View), via David Zwirner

Yutaka Sone’s marble scale-models of some of the world’s most famous island cities are now on display at David Zwirner’s London gallery. The show, entitled Sculpture, includes replica banana trees and three of Sone’s city replicas: Hong Kong Island (Chinese) (1998), Little Manhattan (2007–2009), and Venezia (2013, brought together for the first time. The three marble works span over twenty years of the artist’s practice, and have each taken years of painstaking labor to produce. (more…)

The Guggenheim’s proposed outpost in the Finnish city of Helsinki seems to moving forward, with the museum posting an international call for architectural proposals following the city’s agreement to set aside a parcel of land on the city’s South Harbor waterfront.  The competition “will provide an opportunity to deepen public discussion surrounding the proposed museum,” the institution said in a statement. “We also believe it will bring Helsinki the heightened level of international attention the city deserves as a vibrant cultural center.’’ (more…)

New York Magazine has published an extensive profile of Jeffrey Deitch, marking the former MOCA head’s return to New York.  Speaking on his inspirations, sense of history, and views on creative collaboration, the piece offers a broad view into Deitch’s creative and entrepreneurial views .“I’m very aware of the connections between art, literature, and music. I look for aesthetic energy, aesthetic movements that are so big that they’re too big to just be an art alone, that they spill over,” he says. (more…)

A New York court has denied a motion to dismiss the case against Christopher Wool by studio Brand X, which is suing the artist over a series of unfinished prints he contracted through the studio.  Wool had reportedly originally made a deal to collaborate on the series with Brand X in exchange for one third of the works from the series, but allegedly tried to renegotiate when he felt the works would be worth more than originally estimated.  Wool has ceased work on the series “to get the deal he wishes he made rather than the one he did make” as court papers accuse.  “No evidence has been heard in the case yet… In due course, the true facts will emerge and Mr Wool and Luhring Augustine Gallery will be vindicated,” says representing attorney Roger Netzer. (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…)

The Bruce High-Quality Foundation University has announced an ambitious project for early 2014: a full production of the 1957 musical West Side Story.  Directed by artist and thespian Peter Zohore, the West Side Story project is beginning this month, and will run throughout the beginning of the year. (more…)

Reinard Mucha, Before the Wall Came Down (2008) and Lennep (2009), via Luhring Augustine

The first steps into Reinard Mucha’s show of new works at Luhring Augustine are something of a jarring affair.  Enormous wall-mounted pieces, composed from steel beams, glass casings, and cracked wood blocks are stacked on top of each other in bizarre, serial constructions.  In one work, a series of electric trains continually run through a series of stacked, oval tracks, running through metal pipes, joined by a series of boom boxes above the sculpture, all tuned to country music stations.

Reinard Mucha, Hidden Tracks (Installation View), via Luhring Augustine (more…)

René Magritte (Belgium, 1898-1967). La clairvoyance (Clairvoyance). 1936. Oil on canvas. 21 1/4 x 25 9/16″ (54 x 65 cm). Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Ross. © Charly Herscovici -– ADAGP – ARS, 2013

The work of René Magritte is nothing if not recognizable.  His subtle, often humorous subversions of painterly convention and semiotic understanding are foundational elements of the early 20th century avant-garde, from  to his classic piece of semantic self-destruction, The Treachery of Images to the dreamlike paintings of imagined worlds and pastiched approaches to conventional subjects.  It’s these iconic works that form the center of the artist’s exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, examining his early works as the foundations of both his own career, and the vital lifeline of Surrealism in the twentieth century.

René Magritte (Belgium, 1898-1967). La durée poignardée (Time Transfixed). 1938. Oil on canvas. 57 7/8 x 39″ (147 x 99 cm). The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Joseph Winterbotham Collection. © Charly Herscovici -– ADAGP – ARS, 2013 (more…)

As the investigation surrounding the Knoedler Gallery continues, The Art Newspaper traces a number of fake works that are still out in the market.  Two fraudulent pieces are currently held in the storage of The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri, and others have continued to circulate through various resales.  “I unloaded my victimhood,” says Bernard Kruger, a doctor who purchased a fake Richard Diebenkorn from the gallery, and who later resold it. (more…)

Peter Doig, I Think it’s Time (1982-83), via Michael Werner

Currently on view at Michael Werner Gallery in New York is an exhibition of works by Scottish artist Peter Doig, meant to be indicative of his formative years, including several works that have never been on public display before.  Displaying the artist’s signature, boundary-breaking approach, the show is a fitting complement for anyone interested in the painter.

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W Magazine profiles the sprawling rural estate of two anonymous New York City collectors in the Hudson Valley region, a site which formerly served as the working farm of the James Cagney estate.  Featuring works by Sol LeWitt, Monika Sosnowska, Franz West and Jeppe Hein, the site is a new adventure for the couple.  “We’d see people pack up their cars on a Friday night and laugh,” they say. “But we always considered ourselves sculpture collectors—and in a New York City apartment that’s a hard thing to do.” (more…)

A New York Times article analyzes the work of artist Pei-Shen Qian, the painter behind the multi-million dollar counterfeiting ring that included the Knoedler Gallery.  Mr. Pei-Shen is well-regarded as a painter in China, but moved to New York in the early 1980’s.  Analyzing the artist’s early work in comparison with his more recent fakes, the article goes on to examine the interplay of supply and demand in the contemporary market as a potential cause of the artist’s shift to fraudulent works. (more…)

An Alphabet City apartment building slated for demolition has become the site for a number of murals and installations.  The building will be torn down in late January, but the owner has, in the meantime, opened the space up for artists to create their own murals and sculptures inside the space.   (more…)

The Financial Times looks at the enormous final sale prices achieved this year at auction, and questions where the art market is headed in the future. Deep pockets and an increasingly deep market pool have led to growing sales, and a number of art fairs springing up to meet the demand. “In sheer defiance of other global economic trends, or perhaps because of such trends, there is an unprecedented flow of money into the art market. For some, this could represent a flight of capital from other conceivably more unstable harbours to comfortably park one’s wealth,” says dealer Edward Tyler Nahem.  (more…)

Sotheby’s is currently searching for a new headquarters in New York City, but any move or purchase still hinges on the auction house’s ability to sell its current location at 1334 York Avenue on the Upper East Side, and for which it is still accepting bids. “We continue to explore options as we determine what’s best for Sotheby’s now and in the future, but no decisions have been made,” says Andrew Gully, Sotheby’s worldwide director of communications. (more…)

The fraud lawsuit filed by the estate of Alexander Calder against the late artist’s longtime friend and dealer Klaus Perls has been rejected by New York State Supreme Court.  The ruling, announced this week, cited many of the claims in the case as “an incoherent stew of irrelevance and innuendo,” and Justice Shirley Kornreich went so far as to state that: “these allegations are so patently inadequate that the court can only conclude that they were brought solely for the purpose of harassment or embarrassment.”  (more…)

The Exhibitors List has been announced for the 2014 edition of the Frieze New York art fair, which will return to Randall’s Island from May 9-12 with 190 galleries in tow.  “We want the fair to make a positive contribution to New York and the response from New York galleries this year, from the smallest to the most established, has been better than ever,” reads the statement from directors Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp. (more…)

The New Museum has announced its 2014 schedule of exhibitions, prominently featuring a show by Polish artist Pawel Althamer, which will include a highly public, participatory aspect.  Alongside the artist’s immediately recognizable sculptural works, the show will also welcome visitors to paint the walls of the museum’s spacious lobby.  The show opens on February 12th. (more…)

Martin Creed performs at The Kitchen, via Art Observed

Martin Creed took the stage last week at the Kitchen last night for the first of three consecutive, part of his ongoing series of exhibitions in New York City that show the former Turner Prize winner at the top of his game, continuing his series of reductive, simplistic works with Work #1020, a performance piece that combine repeated gesture and dance, crass video and his own brand of buoyant, bizarre rock and roll. (more…)

Family Business Gallery, the collaborative exhibition space by Massimo Gioni and Maurizio Cattelan, has moved from its Chelsea home, and is preparing to take up residence in a new home in Paris.  “Palais de Tokyo had expressed an interest to Family Business practice and generously invited us to experiment within an open dialogue format, amidst an exciting and multifaceted art environment,” says curator  Nadja Argyropoulou. (more…)

Continuing its run of appointments and in-house changes, Sotheby’s has appointed Domenico De Sole as Lead Independent Director.  The co-founder and Chairman of Tom Ford International, former President and CEO of Gucci Group, De Sole turned around Gucci while he was there, taking it from nearly bankrupt to a multi-billion dollar conglomerate.  “We’re very excited that Domenico has joined the Board and has also agreed to serve as Lead Independent Director. He brings blue chip experience in the high-end luxury space, in Board leadership, and in strategic executive roles envisioning the future of elite brands,” said Sotheby’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer William F. Ruprecht.  (more…)

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, The Appearance of Collage #6 (2012), Courtesy Pace Gallery

Though Soviet-born artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov are New York-based, they were little known in the New York art scene until this Fall season.  Popular in Europe, their 2013 New York tour started with their successfully-launched, 8th rendition of the floating installation, “The Ship of Tolerance”, at the Dumbo Arts Festival.  Ilya Kabakov, a former childrens’ book illustrator and graphic artist did his conceptual art work in secrecy until he accepted a grant to work in Austria and grew to prominence in Europe.  Upon arriving to New York, he reconnected with his distant cousin, Emilia, a former pianist and linguist, and presently an art advisor and curator. She helped him navigate the arts scene in New York and the two soon began collaborating. They married in 1992 and have been sharing credits ever since on everything they have produced with the exception of several of Ilya’s paintings. (more…)

Rosemarie Trockel, Copy Me (2013), via Gladstone Gallery

On view at Gladstone Gallery in New York is an exhibition of new work by German artist Rosemarie Trockel, featuring a series of wool paintings and wall sculptures, as well as ceramics, drawings, videos and collages, alluding to the short but dense history of twentieth century abstraction and conceptualism.

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