– Perrotin to Open Manhattan Branch: Galerie Perrotin, one of France's top contemporary-art galleries, will open a New York branch in 2013. The Paris-based gallery, which already has a space in Hong Kong, represents 35 artists including Takashi Murakami and Maurizio Cattelan. Perrotin will share his new building — a landmarked former bank located at 909 Madison Avenue — with the new Dominique Levy Gallery, run by the former L&M Arts partner. "New York remains the capital of the art market, and it is key that we are a part of it," said Perrotin. [Bloomberg]

– Banksy's Former Dealer Builds an Asylum Across From Frieze: For his latest trick, street art dealer and showman Steve Lazarides is recreating a mental hospital in London, filling the Old Vic Tunnels with nightmarish art from Banksy and Antony Micallef, among others. "I really think of this as the complete antithesis of the Frieze Art Fair," he said. Among the works on view through October 21 are an installation featuring a three-hour film used by neuroscientists of an eyeball and a spinning chair, based on an old therapy for mental illness. (For a taste, see our Video of the Day, below.) [FT] 

– Nashville Plans Cash Museum: A collection of more than 1,000 objects will be housed in Nashville's newest attraction, the Johnny Cash Museum, an institution devoted to the late country music legend that has yet to set an opening date but whose gift shop will open this week. The Country Music Association will put as much as $7 million towards the two-story museum, which will be sited downtown near the Country Music Hall of Fame. [LAT]

– Surprise! Gogo and China Drive Auction Prices: Gagosian Gallery and China are two engines driving the contemporary auction market, according to a recent report by Artprice. The report lists the top 500 artists born after 1945 based on international auction sales. The top 20 is split evenly between China and the West; Gagosian has exhibited 11 of those 20 (all the Western artists plus Beijing-based Zeng Fanzhi). Familiar names from Gogo's stable — Damien Hirst, Takashi Murakami, and Jeff Koons — also have prominent places in the top 20, but sales for the latter two are down from last year. [TAN]

– Serralvos Museum Hires Suzanne Cotter: Portugal's Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art has hired Guggenheim Abu Dhabi curator Suzanne Cotter as its new director, a job she will begin in January. She is replacing João Fernandes, who has held the position since 2003 and is leaving to take over as deputy director of Madrid's Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. In addition to her work for the Guggenheim's UAE expansion over the last two years, Cotter co-curated the 2011 Sharjah Biennial and worked for Modern Art Oxford. [AiA]

– Stein's Paris Salon Exists in NYC: A precise recreation of Gertrude Stein's Paris salon located inside a little apartment in SoHo has stayed off much of the art world's radar for more than 20 years — until now. This evening, the Museum of Modern Art will host five experts on a panel to report on their first encounter with the space. (Apparently even the doorman acts as if he is living in the 1920s.) Art critic Kim Levin called the apartment "a black hole with the potential of sucking 80 years’ worth of avant-garde incident into its force field and sending it for a ride on a rubbery Möbius strip." [NYT]

– Sugar Sculptor Joins Royal Society: The Bangor-based sugar cube sculptor Brendan Jamison — whose oeuvre includes a 71,908-sugar cube rendering of Tate Modern — recently became the first artist working with his chosen material to be elected to the prestigious Royal British Society of Sculptors. "It is a great honour to join the ranks of Sir Anthony Caro and the many other sculptors across the UK who have made such significant advances in the field of sculpture and education," Jamison said. [BBC]

– Can't Afford Art? Try Cosmetics: A growing number of artists, from Kenny Scharf to Richard Phillips to E.V. Day, are creating so-called collectible packaging for cosmetics companies. On the high end, Dior's artist edition of its bottled J'adore L'absolu scent, made of Murano glass and designed by Jean-Michel Othaniel, carries a $3,500 price tag. On the lower end, Scharf has designed a lively label for Khiehl's Crème de Corps lotion that costs as little as $20. [NYT]

– Basquiat Tops Contemporary Auctions Again: The recent Artprice report also reveals that nearly a quarter-century after his death at age 27, Jean-Michel Basquiat is the highest-selling contemporary artist at auction for the second year in a row. His works brought in €79.9 million ($103 million) between July 2011 and June 2012, more than double the distant second, the Chinese artist Fanzhi Zeng. "Basquiat’s artistic reputation is more or less equal to that of Warhol, but he is more affordable,” said Artprice's head economist Martin Bremond. "In the current climate of economic uncertainty his work is therefore considered a safe haven that appeals to investors." [Independent]