By Sarah Douglas and Dan Duray 3:41pm

artists

Installation view of 'Junction / Cycle' at Gagosian Gallery in 2011. (Rob McKeever/Gagosian Gallery)

Richard Serra to Exhibit Major New Sculptures at Gagosian Next Fall, Historical Pieces at Zwirner in Spring

Amidst talk of artists leaving the Gagosian Gallery, news of any artists who show with Gagosian doing exhibitions elsewhere is likely to be closely scrutinized, and potentially misunderstood. Gallerist can reveal that, while Richard Serra, a longtime Gagosian artist, will have an exhibition of historical work at David Zwirner gallery in the spring, the artist’s relationship with Gagosian remains unchanged, and, in fact, he is planning a major exhibition of new sculpture for next fall at Gagosian’s two Chelsea locations.

The exhibition of historical sculptures will take place in Zwirner’s new West 20th Street gallery. According to John Silberman, Mr. Serra’s longtime attorney, Mr. Zwirner approached Mr. Serra about the exhibition, and the artist was enthusiastic about it. Read More

By Michael H. Miller 11/05/12 2:15pm

chelsea

David Zwirner Gallery. (Courtesy yelp.com)

David Zwirner Will Partially Reopen on Friday

Chelsea, as you’ve heard by now, was devastated by Hurricane Sandy last week, and galleries on West 19th Street reported some of the worst flooding and damage. David Zwirner, whose galleries take up most of one side of the block between 10th and 11th Avenues thankfully issued a statement with some good news on Monday afternoon: his space at 519 West 19th Street will reopen Nov. 9 with an exhibition by Diana Thater. Other exhibitions that had been planned in November will open in early January, “once all our spaces have been fully renovated.” The full text is below. Read More

By Michael Wilson 10/23/12 6:33pm

Review

8 Photos

James Welling, FD105C3, 2012

Odd Couples: Frank Benson/Peter Fischli and David Weiss at Andrew Kreps, Al Taylor and James Welling at David Zwirner

In these days of endlessly proliferating biennials, triennials and mega-exhibitions, contemporary art curatorship tends to be equated almost exclusively with the ability to gather works by dozens of artists under one roof while maintaining at least the illusion of a convincing theme or thesis. And while this skill is nothing to be sniffed at—it implies administrative mastery if nothing else—there is perhaps just as much to admire in the successful juxtaposition of two artists not generally associated with one another, or even with a particular approach or sensibility. Two current Chelsea exhibitions make a convincing case for the satisfactions of such pairings. Read More

By Andrew Russeth 7/10/12 8:27pm

galleries

Installation view of works by Dave Miko in 'People Who Work Here,' curated by Rawson Projects, at David Zwirner. (Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner)

Employees Only: Greenpoint’s Rawson Projects Curates David Zwirner Staff Show

It’s not uncommon to hear New Yorkers say that they work almost all the time, but in the case of James Morrill and Chris Rawson it’s actually true. During the week they’re the controller and archivist, respectively, at the David Zwirner gallery, and on the weekend they run a gallery on the northern edge of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, called Rawson Projects, which they take turns manning so that they each get to spend one day a week outside a gallery. Read More

By Rozalia Jovanovic 6/26/12 6:52pm

art and hype

Owen Wilson and Val Kilmer at the Art.sy party at Soho Beach House during Art Basel Miami Beach, 2011. (Courtesy Nadine Johnson)

Believe the Hype! How PR Took the Art World

“That was covered on Perez Hilton,” PR agent Michelle Finocchi announced proudly to The Observer. She wasn’t talking about a Kim Kardashian marriage breakup or wardrobe mishap but was instead referring to an artwork, Lindsay Lohan, a short film by artist Richard Phillips, which debuted last June on the Gagosian Gallery YouTube channel and at the Venice Biennale, before getting picked up by the tabloids—all part of Ms. Finocchi’s plan.

We’d called Ms. Finocchi to ask her about PR’s incursion into the art world. Yes, PR. Before going further, let’s get the bite-the-hand-that-feeds-us stuff out of the way: this is an article about publicists and the art world. Now more than ever, PR controls access (or at least tries to) in the art world—when journalists know things, how we know things, whether or not we get to know things in the first place. We wanted to take a look at how that became the case; in what follows we’re not biting the hand that feeds us. We’re just, you know, examining it. Read More

By Will Heinrich 6/12/12 4:59pm

Review

8 Photos

Alice Neel, Geoffrey Hendricks and Brian, 1978

Facing the Truth: ‘Alice Neel: Late Portraits & Still Lifes,’ at David Zwirner and ‘Jutta Koether: The Fifth Season,’ at Bortolami

Alice Neel paid attention. Of course, she also worked hard and was prodigiously talented, but the main thing is, she paid attention—such close, lucid, existentially present and profoundly generous but completely unsentimental attention to the friends, lovers, relatives and acquaintances whom she painted that her work dissolves theological mysteries more thoroughly than four years in a seminary. You can see, in her portraits, exactly how each of her models felt—not in general but in the very moments in which they were doing it—about sitting still and posing. And you can see in her still lifes the demurely exhibitionist pride that her mind’s eye attributed—and that her hand then highlighted with a subtle fisheye distortion—to a potted plant. How can something have its own complete personality while simultaneously expressing no personality other than its creator’s? And how is it possible for something to be absolutely changeless but distinctly alive? Read More