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Los Angeles
There’s a new Jeff Koons show at Gagosian Gallery’s Beverly Hills space, so Koons gives a Q&A about his “Gazing Ball” series. Koons says, of the series, “They’re playing with metaphysics because in the reflective, you have the right here, right now.” And Koons says, of the series, “It’s affirming you, it’s affirming any movement you may make, everything’s dependent on you.” [The Los Angeles Times]
Plus, Koons was feted Saturday night at the gala for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Here’s a very detailed diary of the event, which begins with an Uber driver saying he’s a big Koons fan. “I like his Michael Jackson thing at the Broad,” the Uber driver says. Who doesn’t! [The Los Angeles Times]
Speaking of the Broad, it’s going to have a new competitor later this month when the Marciano Art Foundation opens in a former Masonic Temple near L.A.’s Koreatown. Here’s a look at the overlap in the two collections. [Los Angeles County Museum on Fire]
The First Monday in May
Tonight is the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. But this is much more than just a fundraiser—it’s the Met Ball, the mother of all galas, New York’s answer to the Oscars. People are excited. Here’s a pretty sturdy primer. [The New York Times]
And while it’s always been tough to get a ticket, this year it’s even harder, due to a trimming of the guest list. Some of those who got axed dish on their snubs. [Page Six]
Here’s a long interview with Anna Wintour, who oversees the gala as the editor of Vogue. [The Business of Fashion]
One would think that the controversial resignation of the Met’s director, Thomas Campbell, amid budget issues and an allegation of an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate would sour the mood at the party. But that won’t be an issue, apparently. Not when Beyoncé is at the museum. [Forbes]
On the Market
Political art is all the rage, but the question remains: Will this sort of stuff sell in London galleries, where buyers have a very British indifference to the problems in America? Scott Reyburn investigates by looking at how work by Jordan Wolfson is selling at Sadie Coles HQ. [The New York Times]
With Art Cologne expanding to Berlin, and MCH Group starting a new fair in Düsseldorf, we’ve got a brand new German art fair rivalry on our hands, folks. [Deutsche Welle]
Here is a marvelously Belgian take on how to spend a weekend in Brussels, courtesy of haute chocolatier and collector Pierre Marcolini. [The Financial Times]
Museums of all Types
A rare wolf species on the brink of extinction saw one of its last 300 members give birth to six pups on Friday at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina. Click through for cute pictures of wolf puppies! [The Raleigh News & Observer]
The Museum of Failures will open in Sweden. Let’s hope it’s a success. [The Huffington Post]
An old restaurant in Lincoln, Illinois, is now a museum devoted to Route 66. Get your kicks. [The State Journal-Register]
There’s a new museum devoted to biodiversity at Bethlehem University, on the West Bank. [Al-Monitor]
And the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, was just gifted a Modigliani sculpture. [The New York Times]
Downtown New York
Jill McLennon, formerly of Andrea Rosen Gallery, starts today as the director of Eva Presenhuber’s first New York gallery, which opens Friday on Great Jones Street. [LinkedIn]
And a few blocks over at NYU’s Grey Art Gallery, there’s what looks like a rad exhibition of work by Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh. [Brooklyn Vegan]
In the East Village, a bar on Avenue A that just closed down erected a short-lived “Tompkins Square Park Art Bar” by the entrance to the park. [EV Grieve]
And More!
On the complicated problems involved with storing film as the movie industry transitions almost fully to digital. [IEEE Spectrum]
The nonprofit ProjectArts set up a show at Red Bull Arts New York over the weekend that displayed work that artists such as Tom Sachs, Cecily Brown, and Dustin Yellin made as kids. [W]
Have a look at “New York Grid,” a grid-themed group show that closed yesterday at New York’s Mathew, on the Lower East Side. [Contemporary Art Daily]