AO Art Observed™

Millionaire Nurse, Richard Prince via Artnet

The record-setting Francis Bacon triptych wasn’t the only artwork purchased for large sums at Sotheby’s the other night. The evening sale, which amassed a total of $386 Million and came on the heels of a successful night at Christie’s was filled with powerhouse artwork and collectors –indicating that maybe not all Americans bearish on art.

Market Exuberance Surprises [International Herald Tribune]
Sotheby’s Stock Rises After Strong Contemporary Sales [Forbes]
Francis Bacon Triptych Tops Sales [Art Observed]
Sotheby’s begs the question - what recession? [New York Times]
$86 Million Corpse at Sotheby’s [Bloomberg]
The Scene at Sotheby’s [Wall Street Journal]
Bringing Home the Bacon [Artforum]

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Image via lilli in the city

Murakami, the subject of much news here in New York at the moment, returns to Los Angeles for the first time since his influential show at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). From May 3 to June 14, Blum & Poe will present Takashi Murakami’s “Davy Jones’s Tear.” This is a rare solo show of his new works.

Blum & Poe Gallery
“Takashi Murakami Davy Jones’ Show” [The Style Latte]
“Takashi Murakami: New Paintings” [LATimes]

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Stephanie Seymour (wife of Art Collector and Art in America owner Peter Brant) in Jeff Koons
for Gap; via Nylon

The Gap, working in close partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Art Production Fund, recently released a collection of 13 t-shirts designed by contemporary artists who have all been past Whitney Biennial participants. Jeff Koons, Chuck Close, Babara Kruger, Ashley Bickerton, Kiki Smith, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Marilyn Minter, Cai Guo-Qiang, Kenny Scharf, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Hanna Liden, and Sarah Sze are all participating.

Gap Partners with the Whitney to Launch Artist Edition T’s [Gap]
Gap Artist Edition T Shirts [LA Times]
Turning Shirts Into an Artforum [USA Today] Read More »

Colossal Promenade via Telegraph.co.uk

Richard Serra’s ambitious installation in Paris [Telegraph.co.uk]
‘Obey’ artist Shepard Fairey faces diabetic blindness [Animal NY]
How famed critics Greenberg, Rosenberg impacted markets of De Kooning and Pollack [Financial Times]
British artist trial set for manslaughter [NY Times]
American Embassy in Beijing to feature major contemporary works [Art Info]

Anselm Keifer, Secret Life of Plants(2008) via Bloomberg

From April 15 to June 29, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London is presenting a unique exhibition on the subject of books in art or of books as art. “Blood on Paper” is an exploration of how artists have interpreted and utilized the book medium. The works range from the conventional book format to large-scale installations and sculptures, such as Anselm Keifer’s enormous book made of lead (pictured).

“Blood on Paper” [Victoria & Albert Museum]
“Bacon’s Trash, Hirst’s Furniture Become Books: Martin Gayford” [Bloomberg]
“The Writing on the Wall“ [Financial Times]
“Works That Speak Volumes” [Financial Times]
“Blood on Paper: the Art of the Book” [The Independent] Read More »

image via Bloomberg

Francis Bacon’s Triptych, 1976, sold for an impressive $86 million dollars last night, crushing the contemporary art auction record and posing a serious counter-arguement to those who believe the recession has worked itself into the art market. The image depicts a headless Promethean being devoured by vultures; a reflection of Greek Mythology. Bacon’s painting was offered by the Moeuix family, producers of Château Petrus wines. The $86 million sale contributed to Sotheby’s triumph over Christie’s total this year. Last night, the Triptych became the most expensive piece of contemporary art ever auctioned.

Bacon’s Headless Corpse Tops Sales at Sotheby’s [Bloomberg]
Record Sale, $86 Million [NYT]
Bacon Sets New Record [BBC]
Triptych Leads Record Sales at Sotheby’s [International Herald Tribune]
Bidding Strong at Christie’s Postwar and Contemporary Art Sale [NYT]   

Kaufmann House, via LA Times

The Kaufmann House, designed in 1946 by Richard Neutra, hit the auction stand at Christie’s Tuesday night. The house was expected to go for anywhere between $15 to $25 million but landed at the lower end of the estimate with a $16.84 million sale. The house was included in Christie’s Postwar and contemporary art auction and although the sale did not meet it’s highest expectation, the property is still the highest priced modernist house to be sold as an architectural collectible. The 5.1 bedroom home sits on 2.1 acres in Palm Springs, California. It was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr., a Pittsburgh department store owner.

Kaufmann House goes for $16.84 million [LATimes]
Christies New York to Sell Neutra’s Kaufmann House [AO]
Nuetra Kauffman House Underperforms at Christie’s [Desert Sun] 

The Scene at Christie’s via WSJ

Last night’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale at Christie’s brought in a total of $348.3 million, close to the top of their pre-sale range. “The very important went very high,” said fashion designer and collector Valentino Garavani.  Only 3 of the 57 lots in the auction did not sell and more than a third exceeded their estimated sale prices.

Freud’s Fat Sue Sells for $33.6 Million in New York [Bloomberg]
U.S. Buyers Drive Christie’s $350 Million Modern Art Sale [NYTimes]
Friends Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud on top of world art market [Times Online]
Eight Records at Christie’s [NYSun]
Last Night’s Sale Brings in $348 million [Conde Nast Portfolio]
Bidding Strong at Christie’s Postwar and Contemporary Art Sale [NYTimes] 
Impressionist, postwar and contemporary artworks auctions could reach $1.8bn [Financial Times] 
Record Sale for Piece by Living Artist Shattered by Freud [National] 
 

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image via NYT

All American Artist, Robert Rauschenberg died from heart failure at his home on Captiva Island, Florida last night. Rauschenberg defied the stereotypical idea that an artist will stick to one medium or style by exploring many different areas of art. Rauschenberg was a painter, photographer, choreographer, printmaker, set designer, onstage performer and in his later years, a composer.

American Artist Dies at 82 [NYT]
Will Rauschenberg’s Death Create Frenzy at Christie’s Tonight? [New York Entertainment]
RIP Robert Rauschenberg [ArtReview]
Alchemist of the Mundane [Washington Post]

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Image via Bloomberg

On May 4^th, The Art Newspaper revealed the buyers of five of last year’s highest priced artworks at auction. The Al-Thani ruling family of Qatar was one of the previously anonymous buyers of three of these through Sotheby’s in May and June of 2007.

Revealed: $72.8m Rockefeller Rothko has gone to Qatar [The Art Newspaper]
Qatari Ruling Family Revealed as $72.8 Million Rothko Buyers [ArtInfo]
Qatar rulers pay £26m for Bacon [Times Online]
Revealed: Record-Breaking Rothko In Qatar [Art Forum] Read More »

Hello Kitty lowered into position via Wallpaper

From May 8 - June 21 the Sperone Westwater Gallery presents the works of Tom Sachs. The gallery has divided up the gallery space into smaller spaces each housing an individual work.  Sachs has handmade each of the pieces in this exhibit, using various items to create a “do it yourself” feel.  The Lever House has sponsored Sachs to create large scale creations.  In the plaza is a 21 foot Hello Kitty with fountains, and a 7 foot Crying Miffy.  In the lobby, Sachs has created 6-9 feet tall towers made of batteries, and even a bronze dumpster.

Sachs & Co [The New Yorker]
Tom Sachs “Animals” [Sperone Westwater]
Tom Sachs’ Bronze Collection [Wallpaper]
Tom Sachs - Animals [likeyou]

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Nigel Cooke, Fun (2005-2006) via Stuart Shave/Modern Art

Stuart Shave/Modern Art in London’s East End recently opened a new space in the West End, on Eastcastle Street. Its inaugural show is an exhibit of new paintings by the artist Nigel Cooke. It runs from April 24 - May 24.

Stuart Shave/Modern Art
Nigel Cooke: New Accursed Art Club [ThisIsLondon]
London Gets New Art District: Fitzrovia Dealers Fight Slowdown [Bloomberg]

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image via NYT

Christie’s NY will be auctioning off Nuetra’s Kauffman House (located in Palm Springs, California) as part of its Postwar and Contemporary Art sale. The house is expected to go for anywhere between $15 to $25 million. The auction is considered notable in its treatment of architecture as an art object, which relates to Andre Balazs presenting Prouve’s Maison Tropicale at the Tate earlier this year. The sale will begin at 7 pm tonight.

Why does the art world consider the Neutra Kaufmann House just a home? [Guardian Unlimited]
The Kaufmann House [Christie's]
“Bringing the great divide” [Financial Times]
Jean Prouve’s Maison Tropicale goe to Tate [AO]
Jean Prouve’s Flat-Pack Home at Tate Modern in London [AO]

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Zaha Hadid and Karl Lagerfeld, image via Vanity Fair

Karl Lagerfeld and Zaha Hadid’s roving Chanel art space [Vanity Fair]
Art as an opaque, high risk/return asset class [FTimes]
Sotheby’s posts quarterly loss on lower commission margins [WSJ]
DiCaprio, his bike and his mom show up at Bonham’s NY debut [NYPost]
Alanna Heiss is PS1 [NY Mag]
A 5-part video series on Francis Bacon [Ubuweb via C-Monster]

David Zwirner and Tony Huang’s hospitality via Art Observed

“Who’s Afraid of Jasper Johns?”, a show conceived by Urs Fischer & Gavin Brown, opened Friday night at Tony Shafrazi Gallery in New York. An outpouring of support from the community poured into the Chelsea gallery. Heavy rain could not keep Mr. Shafrazi’s friends, clients, and fans from flooding to fete his latest feat.

Tony Shafrazi Gallery [Tony Shafrazi]
Gavin Brown [Gavin Brown]
Urs Fischer [Gavin Brown]
Rob Pruitt [ArtNet]

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Claude Monet, Le Pont du Chemin de fer a Argenteuil, (1873) via Bloomberg

A series of spring auctions in New York have proven to be successful despite some recent speculation about the market’s weakness due to setbacks in the financial and real estate markets. Bloomberg reported that Sotheby’s lost half of its value in the past year, but the company, at their Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on May 7^th, sold a total of $235.3 million in their 52-lot auction, hovering right in the middle of their anticipated $203.9 million to $280.1 million range.

In the 58-lot auction at Christie’s on the previous evening, the sales totaled $277.3 million, just under their $287 million to $405 million estimate for the evening’s sales. This was the first time in four years that Christie’s sold beneath the total estimate. The Christie’s auction was dominated by European buyers, while, at Sotheby’s, Americans bought 67 percent of the sales. More details of each each auction after the jump.

Art: Auction Jitters [WSJ]
Putting a Price on Mao’s Head [WSJ]
Record Leger, Munch Sales Lead Slim Sotheby’s Auction [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s Posts Loss on Lower Sales, Higher Salaries [Bloomberg]
Collectors Shrug Off Market Woes [Financial Times]
Americans Heaviest Bidders [NY Times]
Monet and Rodin Set Price Records at Christie’s [NY Times]
Auction houses put faith in $1.8bn art sales [Financial Times]
Art market shows strength at Christie’s sale of Impressionist and Modern Art [Herald Tribune]
Record Monet Fails to Stem Dip in Christie’s Impressionist Sale [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art Sets Record for Fernand Leger [Art Daily]
Monet and Rodin Set Price Records at Christie’s [NY Times]

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Image via Hint Fashion Magazine

The Prada Foundation, in collaboration with Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), led by Rem Koolhaas revealed their plans to transform their current building into a more organic, sophisticated, modern complex. Their joint venture was announced at the annual Milan Fair.

Prada/OMA collaboration [Wallpaper]
The New Prada Foundation Revealed [Hint Fashion Magazine]
Miuccia Prada as global patron of the arts [Art Observed]

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Vito Schnabel via NY Sun

Vito Schnabel’s art dealing off to a fast start [NY Sun]
The other (non-Hirst) British human skull artist [Guardian.co.uk]
$100M pier upgrade allows Armory Show to expand exhibitors [NYTimes]
An in-depth profile of Larry Gagosian via those who know him [Economist]
Takashi Murakami on Time’s most influential people list [ArtInfo]

Cans festival via Supertouch

This past weekend, the Cans Festival took over an empty railway tunnel near Waterloo train station in London. This massive graffiti exhibition showcased the work of famous British graffiti artist Banksy as well as more than 40 other artists including Bsas Stencil, James Dodd (dlux), Ron English, and John Grider.

“Biggest” Banksy exhibition in London tunnel [Reuters]
The Cans Festival [The Cans Festival]
Banksy [Banksy]
The Cans Festival- London 3/4/5/ May 2008 [NowPublic]

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Barnaby Furnas, Poe (2008) via White Cube

White Cube Hoxton Square, London, presents “You Dig the Tunnel, I ll Hide the Soil” an exhibition celebrating the legacy, influence, and iconic status of American writer Edgar Allan Poe. Some artists featured are Jake & Dinos Chapman, Douglas Gorden, Marcus Harvey, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Anselm Kiefer, Mike Nelson, Cindy Sherman and many more.

White Cube
“Preview: Animal Magic, Eleven Fine Art, London” [The Independent]

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