Wayne Thiebaud, Five Seated Figures, 1965; oil on canvas, 60 x 72 in. (152.4 x 182.88 cm). Wayne Thiebaud Foundation © Wayne Thiebaud Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY Welcome to One Fine Show, where Observer highlights a recently opened exhibition at a museum not in New York City, a […]
Sotheby’s Closes Marquee Week With $186.1M in Contemporary Sales
Sales on May 16 reflected renewed energy in the contemporary and ultra-contemporary segments. Bre Johnson/BFA.com Closing out a week-long marathon of evening marquee sales, Sotheby’s capped its final major May auction with a combined total of $186.1 million across three sales. After Tuesday’s disappointment, when the star Giacometti went unsold, the tone shifted notably. The […]
Looking Back at 25 Years of Tate Turbine Hall Commissions
Kara Walker, Fons Americanus, 2019. Photo © Tate (Matt Greenwood) The first time Maman appeared at the Tate Modern gallery in London, she wasn’t supposed to be the central attraction. Louise Bourgeois’s enormous bronze spider was part of a larger installation entitled “I Do, I Undo and I Redo,” commissioned to mark the opening of […]
Building a Living Archive at the Guggenheim: An Interview with Rashid Johnson
Rashid Johnson recently opened an expansive career survey in New York. Photo: David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York Being honored with a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim is arguably one of the most significant milestones an American artist can achieve. Despite the curatorial challenges posed by its distinctive architecture, the museum’s spiraling […]
Art Stars Party With the Power Patrons: Inside This Year’s MoMA PS1 Gala
Pete Scantland, Michelle Scantland and Rafael Flores. Jiraurd Key/BFA.com MoMA PS1’s annual gala, staged each year in the museum’s airy courtyard, always defies expectations. Last year, the scene-stealers on the red carpet weren’t celebrities but two stunning parrots brought in by art collective Shanzhai Lyric. This year, the step-and-repeat wasn’t a carpet at all, but […]
U-Haul Gallery’s Mobile Model Takes Art to the Streets
By turning rental trucks into exhibition spaces, U-Haul Gallery challenges the conventions of brick-and-mortar galleries. Jack Chase of Uhaul Gallery During the jam-packed New York art week, you may have spotted a nondescript U-Haul truck parked outside any one of the city’s main fairs or high-profile gallery openings. It stands to reason—U-Haul, with its relatively […]
At Sotheby’s, a $70M Giacometti Fails to Sell While Works By Munch and Cézanne Ignite Buyer Excitement
Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction saw a headline lot by Giacometti falter dramatically, casting a shadow over an otherwise solid $186.4 million result. Brendon Cook/BFA.com If the prevailing art market mantra in recent months has been that, while buyers may be more selective, true quality will always sell, then what unfolded last night at Sotheby’s Modern […]
Six Decades On, Joan Jonas Is Still Leaving Space for Mystery
Joan Jonas’ evolving practice explores a wide variety of themes without ever reducing them to simple narratives. Photo: Toby Coulson To experience the work of renowned multimedia artist Joan Jonas is a bit like trying to articulate the origins of the universe. Her mediums span video, performance, sculpture, drawing, literature, found objects—and elements like wind, […]
Billionaire Edward Zeng On Building a Tech-First Art Foundation to Confront What Comes Next
Each show in “ARTECHISM” explores the intersection of art, technology and the future of humanity. Artech Art Foundation In recent years, the possibilities at the intersection of art and technology have drawn growing attention from practitioners on both sides, as digital visual expression and technologies like A.I. become increasingly pervasive, shaping not only communication but […]
Nine Must-See Art Exhibitions to Catch in Philadelphia This Spring
An installation view of “Kelly Kozma: Watch Me Backflip” at Paradigm Gallery + Studio. Courtesy of Paradigm Gallery + Studio The city of brotherly love and sisterly affection is ready to greet art lovers with a heated exhibition season that not only raises questions but answers them, too. How do archaeologists preserve ancient Assyrian artifacts […]