Artists Concerned Over Possible Ban of Cadmium Paints in Europe

Thursday, September 25th, 2014

A potential ban on cadmium pigments in the EU has many artists concerned in the quality and consistency of their materials.  The ban, favored by the Swedish government, claims that the cadmium in paints ends up in sewage when artist’s rinse their brushes, and ultimately may wind up spread over fields in various fertilizers, but many seem to disagree.  “[Nickel cadmium] batteries are the real problem, it’s just an easy fix to ban everything with cadmium in it,” says Michael Craine, the managing director of Spectrum Artists’ Paints. “Artists are not rotters; they are not tipping this stuff down the drain, it’s an expensive substance.”  (more…)

London – Tony Smith at Timothy Taylor Gallery Through October 4th, 2014

Thursday, September 25th, 2014


Tony Smith, Smog (1969-70), all images courtesy Timothy Taylor Gallery

On view at Timothy Taylor Gallery is artist Tony Smith’s first solo exhibition in the UK.  The American artist and architect was a driving force in post-war art, anticipating the rise of minimalism while working alongside Jackson Pollock, Barnet Newman, and Mark Rothko.

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Frank Auerbach Tours the Victoria and Albert Museum’s John Constable Show

Monday, September 22nd, 2014

The Guardian joins Frank Auerbach for a tour of the V&A’s John Constable show this week, as the artist reviews Constable’s longstanding influence on his work.  “With the passage of time,” he says, “Constable has meant more and more and more to me. It is not so much about the more well-known qualities – the clouds and the freshness and the light. It is more that I can’t think of another painter who has invested quite so much in every single image.” (more…)

Glenn Ligon Creates Tote Bag to Benefit Harlem’s Studio Museum

Monday, September 22nd, 2014

Artist Glenn Ligon has created a specially-designed tote bag, for sale to benefit Harlem’s Studio Museum.  Based on the artist’s work Untitled (I am Somebody), the bag is co-designed with MZ Wallace, and is available for $225.  “It’s always been a favorite text of mine,” Ligon sayws. “When I was approached about an image for this project, I thought the message of that image and its history, and also how it works on the bag when I saw the sketches, that this is a perfect marriage of these two things.” (more…)

Anselm Kiefer Interviewed in Financial Times

Sunday, September 21st, 2014

The Financial Times interviews painter Anselm Kiefer in his studio this week, discussing his ongoing approach to Germany’s turbulent history, his upcoming show at the Royal Academy in London, and his own relationship to his work.  “You cannot avoid beauty in a work of art,” he says.  “You can take the most terrible subject and automatically it becomes beautiful. What is sure is that I could never do art about Auschwitz. It is impossible because the subject is too big.” (more…)

New York – James Bishop at David Zwirner Through October 25th, 2014

Sunday, September 21st, 2014


James Bishop, Slate (1972), All images courtesy David Zwirner Gallery

Now through October 25th, David Zwirner’s 537 West 20th Street location is showing a selection of both recent and historically significant work by James Bishop, an American artist who, through the characteristic opacity and ethereality of his work, has come to be known for the delicate language of abstraction his compositions reveal.  Bishop, working since the early 1960s, has forged a strongly individualistic language of space and form in his work, utilizing careful layerings of paint into geometric patterns in large-scale, shown here alongside small-scale works on paper, which Bishop has produced since 1986.

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London – Nathaniel Mary Quinn: “Past/Present” at Pace Gallery Through October 4th, 2014

Saturday, September 20th, 2014


Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Slim (2014), all images courtesy Pace London

Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn presents his first major solo exhibition this month, on view at Pace Gallery’s London location. The artist’s works, large-scale abstract figurative works, are piecemeal constructions, representative of Quinn’s own identity and influenced by an enormously challenging upbringing.

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New York – Dan Colen: “Miracle Paintings” at Gagosian Gallery, through October 18th 2014

Friday, September 19th, 2014


Dan Colen, The Pastoral Symphony (2012), all images © Dan Colen, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, Photography by Christopher Burke

On view currently at Gagosian New York is an exhibition of new paintings by American artist Dan Colen, which aims to question the nature of painterly practice, particularly focusing on the intersections of materials, chance and the interactions of these elements with the actual intent of the artist.  The Miracle paintings are based on Disney stills, particularly from Fantasia, famous for its pairing of musical compositions with animated sequences.  In similar form, the pieces on view walk a fine line between abstraction and representation, drawing on the audience’s collective memory of the film.

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New York – Roman Opalka: “Painting ∞” at Dominique Lévy Through October 18th, 2014

Thursday, September 18th, 2014

There’s any number of ways to approach Roman Opalka, whose work sits at the center of Dominique Lévy’s first show of the fall season (and the self-professed “most important show the gallery may ever host” according to Lévy herself).  One is through the visual content of his work, which is perhaps the most recognizable point of access.  Taking minimalist conceptual action to one of its natural conclusions, Opalka abandoned a gesturally abstract career in 1965, pursuing a new project: the painting, number by number, of the artist’s endless count to infinity.


Roman Opalka, Détail – Photo 5055607 (1965/1), via Dominique Lévy (more…)

New York – “Here and Elsewhere” at the New Museum Through September 28th, 2014

Wednesday, September 10th, 2014


Kader Attia, Repair, Culture’s Agency (2014), via Art Observed

In light of its subject matter, the New Museum wastes no time in describing the challenges ahead of Here and Elsewhere, its current exhibition focusing on contemporary Arabic and Middle Eastern art.  Taking its title from the 1976 Jean-Luc Godard documentary of the same name, the museum effectively poses the same questions that plagued Godard’s quasi-documentary on the Palestinian army.  Faced with an inability to complete his statement on the complex social issues and the subsequent defeat of Palestine in the Six Days War, Godard instead sought a middle ground between the embattled nation and his French homeland.  The film is spiked with cinema verité segments, abstract performance and experimental camerawork that ultimately places a considerable distance between the film and any sense of cohesive, authoritative statement. (more…)

Mark Rothko Works Dominate Private Sale of Bunny Mellon Collection

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

Bloomberg looks into the ambitious effort behind the sale of the Bunny Mellon art collection, which will include a private sale of works through Sotheby’s, among them a pair of Mark Rothko works valued at over $250 million together.  Of particular note is No. 20 (Yellow Expanse), a striking 1953 work.  “Unquestionably, it is the jewel in the crown,” said David Anfam, author of “Mark Rothko: The Works on Canvas,” the artist’s catalogue raisonne,. “Unlike its companion at the Guggenheim in Bilbao, it’s not labored. In terms of its size there is nothing to compare it with since this is the only ‘classic’ Rothko, as opposed to the Seagram and Harvard murals, of such epic dimensions.” (more…)

Sotheby’s to Sell Turner Masterwork for £20 Million This December in London

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014

A masterwork piece by Joseph Turner, depicting a view of the city of Rome from Mount Aventine, will go on sale at Sotheby’s in London this December.  The piece, estimated to sell for £20 million, has remained in the same family for nearly two hundred years, and was only sold once before, setting a then-record auction price of £6,000.  “This painting, which is nearly 200 years old, looks today as if it has come straight from the easel of the artist; never relined and never subject to restoration, the picture retains the freshness of the moment it was painted: the hairs from Turner’s brush, the drips of liquid paint which have run down the edge of the canvas, and every scrape of his palette knife have been preserved in incredible detail,” says Sotheby’s Old Masters head Alex Bell. (more…)

Liverpool – Piet Mondrian: “Mondrian and His Studios” at the Tate Liverpool Through October 5th, 2014

Tuesday, September 9th, 2014


Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red (1937-42) © 2014 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust c/p HCR International

Running in tandem with the Turner Contemporary in Margate’s expansive Piet Mondrian retrospective, the Tate Liverpool is currently exhibiting an immersive exhibition focusing on the Dutch artist’s creative process and physical locales. (more…)

New York – Wassily Kandinsky: “Kandinsky Before Abstraction, 1901-1911” at The Guggenheim Through Spring 2015

Monday, September 8th, 2014


Wassily Kandinsky, Group with Crinolines (1909), via Art Observed

On view at the Guggenheim New York is an exhibition of early works by the pioneering Russian modernist Wassily Kandinsky, made between the years of 1901 and 1911, during the time he and his partner Gabriele Münter traveled extensively throughout Europe, Tunisia, and Russia.  The works, featuring a blend of Kandinsky’s developing lyrical style and his more early, studied figurative pieces and landscapes offer a strong look at an oft-overlooked part of the artist’s career.

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US Trailer for Mike Leigh’s Joseph Turner Biopic Debuts

Sunday, September 7th, 2014

A trailer has been released for the film Mr. Turner, an upcoming biopic that centers around the life and work of Joseph Mallrond Turner.  The film is directed by respected British filmmaker Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies, Naked) and earned lead actor Timothy Spall a Best Actor award at Cannes for his performance.  Mr. Turner opens in the US this month at the Telluride and New York Film Festivals.   (more…)

Margate – Piet Mondrian: “Mondrian and Color” at the Turner Contemporary Through September 21st, 2014

Saturday, September 6th, 2014


Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray and Blue (1921), Collection Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. © 2014 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust c:o HCR International

“I wish to approach truth as closely as is possible, and therefore I abstract everything until I arrive at the fundamental quality of objects,” Piet Mondrian’s quote reads in the introduction to his expansive retrospective at the Turner Contemporary in Margate.  The Dutch artist, who moved slowly but steadily through the early history of abstraction, explored a diverse body of work in his career, from early impressionist experiments through to his iconic grids, colorful, reductive patterns of black lines and squares of color. (more…)

Researcher Pinpoints Exact Time Monet Painted “Impression, Sunrise”

Thursday, September 4th, 2014

A researcher at Texas State University, San Marcos claims to have pinpointed the exact time frame and date at which Claude Monet painted his foundational work Impression, Soleil Levant.  Physicist Donald Olson compared numerous astrological charts, historical records, and photographs of the Normandy town of Le Havre (where the painting was made), before calculating a model that points to an extremely precise date of Nov. 13, 1872, around 7:35 a.m.   (more…)

Milan – Takashi Murakami: “Arhat Cycle” at Palazzo Reale Through September 7th, 2014

Thursday, September 4th, 2014


Takashi Murakami, Oval Buddha Silver (2008), all images via Palazzo Reale

After more than a decade, Takashi Murakami has returned to Italy for an exhibition of his Arhat Cycle. The father of the Superflat movement, Murakami’s most recent work blends his signature style, in which he usually combines traditional elements of Japanese culture with consumeristic pop-culture imagery, into a series of paintings and sculptures depicting the artist alongside a dizzying cast of surreal characters.


Takashi Murakami, Arhat Cycle (Installation View) (more…)

Picasso Painting to Depart from Four Seasons After 55 Years

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014

After much discussion, Pablo Picasso’s famed Le Tricorne will leave its place in the lobby of the Four Seasons New York this Sunday, traveling to a new home at the New York Historical Society.  In the meantime, the Hotel is encouraging visitors to come and see the work one final time.  “We’ll enjoy it and give it the standing ovation it deserves after nearly six decades as the backdrop of wild parties and quiet moments when families celebrate life’s milestones,” says Four Seasons co-owner Julian Niccolini.  “Everyone is welcome to stop in and see it before it leaves.” (more…)

Basel – Gerhard Richter: “Pictures/Series” at Fondation Beyeler Through September 7th, 2014

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014


Gerhard Richter, Wald (Forest), (2005), all images courtesy Fondation Beyeler

On view at Fondation Beyeler is the largest exhibition ever devoted to German painter Gerhard Richter, with an express focus on the artist’s reoccurring interests in series, cycles, and interior spaces, while also offering some of his most singularly iconic works. (more…)

BBC Two Commissions Major Documentary on Life of David Hockney

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014

BBC Two has commissioned a feature-length documentary on the life and work of David Hockney, focusing on the life and work of the iconic British painter.  HOCKNEY, as it has been titled, will air next year, and will be made by the same filmmaking team behind the popular Lucian Freud: Painted Life.  “David Hockney stands as one of Britain’s seminal and most important artists, and I’m delighted to be showing this major film on him on BBC Two,”  says BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw:  Arts on BBC Two is all about bringing the biggest and best documentaries to the broadest of audiences, and I know this film will be a riveting and inspiring watch.” (more…)

Yayoi Kusama Interviewed in The Telegraph

Monday, September 1st, 2014

Artist Yayoi Kusama is interviewed in The Telegraph this week, in the run-up to the artist’s show of new work at Victoria Miro next month.  In the article, the artist discusses her life between Japan and New York, and her reasons for moving to New York in the late 1950’s.  “Japan was a very feudalistic society and I felt I wanted to live more freely,” Kusama notes. “So I decided to go to America. I thought lots of people were making beautiful images in America… It was a very interesting society to me, especially the younger generation. Everyone seemed to try really hard to find their own way.” (more…)

New York – Summer Exhibition at Skarstedt Gallery Through August 31st, 2014

Sunday, August 31st, 2014


David Salle, Fooling with Your Hair (1985), via Skarstedt

The Skarstedt Gallery continues its series of summer group exhibitions in Chelsea this month, presenting another series of works by artists sharing common interests in production, appropriation and the potential for painting after the advent of widely distributed photographic technologies.  The exhibition, featuring work by Martin Kippenberger, George Condo, Richard Prince, David Salle and Albert Oehlen, is spread across the two rooms of the Skarstedt space on 21st Street, offering ample space to pass back and forth between the monumental canvases, and examine the various artist’s techniques and formal interests. (more…)

London – Giulio Paolini: “To Be or Not To Be” at Whitechapel Gallery Through September 14th, 2014

Sunday, August 24th, 2014


Giulio Paolini, Young Man Looking at Lorenzo Lotto (1967)

Arte Povera, meaning ‘poor art’ in Italian, contained a profound criticism towards commodification and consumeristic production. Among its key figures stands Giulio Paolini, who was invited to Arte Povera’s first exhibition by art historian Germano Celant.  But Paolini also occupies a separate position in terms of focusing on a noticeably historical examination of the artistic state in turn. Related to his critical approach towards production dynamics in art, Paolini on the other hand has been investigating the duality between the seer and the seen, questioning the exchange not only between the artwork and the viewer but also between the subject matter and the artist. (more…)