The Chairman of Christie’s, David Linley, is interviewed by the Financial Times to discuss the auction house’s recent success and his upbringing as part of the Royal Family. The auction house recently had a record season in the Postwar & Contemporary category, totaling $412 million. He discusses his view on various markets, from Old Masters to Chinese contemporary. (more…)
Kate Moss reveals her tattoo, depicting birds, which was designed and applied by artist Lucian Freud. “He told me about when he was in the navy, when he was 19 or something, and he used to do all of the tattoos for the sailors,” she said. (more…)
A painting that was previously believed to be a copy of a work by Peter Paul Rubens is now being considered an original. Mary Magdalene in mourning with her sister Martha has been restored, revealing new imagery. The head paintings conservator from the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Viktor Korobov, has examined the piece and believes it to be authentic. The work was discovered in Irbit, a small town near Yekaterinburg, Russia. (more…)
Andreas Gursky – Katar, (2012), courtesy Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf
On now at Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, Germany is a selection of works from photographer Andreas Gursky, showcasing the artist’s continued practice at the forefront of the digital photography landscape. (more…)
Charles Atlas has created a video montage background piece for a documentary-style video of the band Antony and the Johnsons. “Turning” focuses on thirteen women (of which some are transgender), posing on a rotating disc. (more…)
Will Barnet, an artist whom President Obama bestowed with the National Medal of Arts just this year, has died at age 101. He explored various styles throughout his eight decade-long career, but was best known for his later work of stylized portraits and domestic scenes. (more…)
David Lynch has created a version of his Parisian club Silencio (which takes its inspiration from Mulholland Drive) at the Delano for Art Basel Miami this year. He designed all of the furniture and interior and curated the library and film projections. (more…)
William Turnbull in 1956 via The Guardian
Artist William Turnbull has died at the age of 90. His diverse artistic production included abstract painting, figurative and minimalist metal sculpture. He was considered a forerunner to the Pop Art movement and was one the Abstract Expressionist’s earliest adopters. His work is part of major public collections including the Tate, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Victoria and Albert Museum, among others. (more…)
Martha Roesler is hosting her Garage Sale at MoMA, starting today. Although it is not intended to be a performance piece, the artist stated that “It’s not symbolic activity. It’s real activity. Like most things, it has symbolic dimensions. But it is what it is.” (more…)
The author of Seven Days in the Art World, Sarah Thornton, recently wrote in TAR magazine about why she will no longer write about the art market. Adam Lindemann’s perspective and response to her piece on writing about writing about not writing about the marketing and the market of art appeared in the Observer. (more…)
Carte Blanche (Installation View), courtesy Galerie Seguin and Paula Cooper Gallery
Each year, Galerie Patrick Seguin in Paris opens its doors to international galleries of note from the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world. With no limits or constraints placed upon the guest curators, “Carte Blanche” allows a broad international audience exposure not only to great works from around the world, but also a taste of the various curatorial approaches and personal idioms of each invited gallery.
Bruce Conner – CROSSROADS (1976), courtesy Galerie Seguin and Paula Cooper Gallery
This year, the invitation was extended to Paula Cooper Gallery in New York City, who chose a selection of artists from their early years as the first art gallery in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. First opened in 1968, the gallery has continued to grow with its hometown, now recognized as one of the premier art spaces in the city.
Paper Magazine profiles four young curatorial collaborative groups in Brooklyn, London, Detroit and San Francisco. Many share costs of mounting exhibitions and operate without a firm structure, holding other day jobs, but nevertheless are gaining international attention. (more…)
The Met has added a new curator in preparation to temporarily occupy the Whitney’s Breuer building in 2015. Nicolas Cullinan has been appointed as Curator in the modern and contemporary department by Chief Curator Sheena Wagstaff. He is currently the Curator of International Modern and Contemporary Art at the Tate Modern. (more…)
Anish Kapoor has enlisted Mark Wallinger, Bob and Roberta Smith, Tom Phillips and other art world heavyweights such as Alison Myners, chair of the ICA, and Tamara Rojo, artistic director of the English National Ballet to create a Gangnam Style video in support of Ai Weiwei. “It had to be done,” said Kapoor, “Yes, it is desperately silly, but what is the paradigm of the artist? The artist does stupid things with serious intent.” (more…)
Phillips de Pury saleroom photo by ArtObserved
On Thursday night, boutique auction house Phillips de Pury & Co. hosted the final Contemporary Art Evening Sale in a blockbuster week for the art market. Tallying $79.9 million against its projected estimate of $73 to $110 million, Phillips de Pury’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael McGinnis, stated “we’re happy with the competition and prices,” especially after the third consecutive night of Contemporary Art sales. McGinnis reflected on the evening saying ” it was a small and deliberate sale, with works specifically chosen to compliment the week.”
Andy Warhol Mao courtesy Phillips de Pury & Co.
Despite achieving just over its low estimates for the sale, Phillips de Pury had a sell by value of 98% and a sell by lot of 83%. With a very carefully selected 35 lots offered, only six artworks failed to find a buyer. However, all of the lots had third party guarantees, of which there were five guarantors.
The Louvre, together with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (which includes the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park), have created an agreement to collaborate on exhibitions and to share artwork. The five-year agreement allows for a partnership promoting lending in both cities as well as joint publications, conservation projects and educational programs. (more…)
Liliana Porter (right) and Ana Tiscornia, photo by ArtObserved
The following an interview with Liliana Porter, November 14th, 2012, by Anna Mikaela Ekstrand for Art Observed:
As Liliana Porter received me in her West Village pied-a-terre for our interview, she asks, “hablas español?” The apartment is light, airy and sparsely decorated with objects such as a Claes Oldenburg pretzel on a shelf and a Richard Artschwager exclamation mark on a wall. As we walk to the window, Porter points out highlights of the view; the Chrysler building to the left and perhaps of more interest the rooftops and a garden beneath, belonging to Donna Karan “where she throws crazy parties”. Looking down it feels like we are on the balcony of a theater.
Liliana Porter, Man with Axe, 2011 courtesy Hosfelt Gallery New York and Pinta
An interview with artist Aleksandra Mir who is attempting to bring the iconic bronze statue of Freddie Mercury in full costume — which is installed in Montreux, Switzerland — back to London’s Trafalgar Square. The band members of Queen commissioned artist Irena Sedlecka to create the piece after Mercury’s death. In 1991, the Westminster Council rejected the statue and had it sent to Montreux. (more…)
Christie’s is suing a Chinese competitor over a name that is so similar it is potentially infringing its Chinese trademark. Chritrs Group has held auctions in Singapore and Hong Kong this year, and its Chinese name is pronounced similarly to Christie’s Chinese brand name. The written form also shares one of the Chinese characters used in the translation of Christie’s. (more…)
Christie’s saleroom photo by ArtObserved
Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale broke the record for the highest ever grossing Contemporary Art auction in history, totaling over $412 million in sales. The auction came on the heels of Sotheby’s Postwar & Contemporary Art Evening Sale, which broke its own record for highest-grossing auction in Sotheby’s long history ($375 million). Christie’s achieved an astounding 92% sell by lot and 93% sell by value – of the 73 lots offered only 6 failed to sell.
Records at auction were broken for Richard Diebenkorn, Jeff Koons, Richard Serra, Franz Kline, George Condo, Jean- Michel Basquiat, and Mark Grotjahn. Additionally, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly and Jean-Michel Basquiat set new records for their artworks on paper. A record was set for an Alexander Calder wire sculpture at auction with Policeman, which sold for $4.2 million.
Gallerist Barbara Gladstone and Cindy Rachofsky
November 12th marked Dia Art Foundation’s Fall Gala. The annual event raises funds for Dia’s ongoing projects, such as its current relocation to Chelsea, after a few years’ hiatus. Co-chair Nathalie de Gunzburg was in attendance with her husband Charles and daughter Laura. Other art world attendees included: Robert Longo,Rirkrit Tiravanija, Brice Marden, Marty Marguiles, Barbara Gladstone, Jim Cohan, David Maupin, Andrew Kreps, Gavin Brown, Arne Glimcher, Glenn Ligon, Fred Wilson, Kara Walker, and Lawrence Wiener.
Artist Glenn Ligon
All photos by C. Daleli for ArtObserved
Joseph Beuys, I like America and America likes Me, 1974, courtesy MMOMA
Appeal for an Alternative is a manifesto of the late Joseph Beuys’ works and the first and thus far most comprehensive retrospective of his to be shown in Russia. It features excerpts from his Marx series, the collection fromThe Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, The Van der Grinten collection, the Joseph Beuys Archive and the Joseph Beuys Media Archive. It has been curated by Eugen Blume, a major Joseph Beuys specialist and Head of the Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof − Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin. The title for the show is based around his 1950s Western Man project, which incorporated elements of World War II in which Beuys himself was enlisted as a soldier.
Kilo Kish (Performance) – All photos for E. Damenia for ArtObserved
The annual RxArt Live and Silent Auction took place on November 12th, honoring Dan Colen and his installation for King’s County Hospital Pediatrics, Brooklyn. The event paid tribute to the artists and donors who have made projects in over 20 hospitals nationwide possible. RxArt aims to improve patients’ experience in hospitals with creativity and art.
RxArt live auction (more…)
All photos by E. Damenia for ArtObserved
This past Sunday, The Brant Foundation Art Study Center held the opening party and preview for Nate Lowman: I wanted to be an artist but all I got was this lousy career. The exhibition features recent and new work including paintings, collage and sculpture. Also on view on the foundation lawn was the actual White Ford Bronco from OJ Simpson’s June 17, 1994 car chase, and Gang Gang Dance performed. Artists such as Scott Campbell, Adam McEwen, Richard Prince, Kalup Linzy, Kaws and Aaron Young were in attendance, as well as dealers, collectors and museum directors such as Eli Broad, Jeffrey Deitch, Larry Gagosian and the Mugrabi family.
The OJ Simpson White Bronco brought in for the event from Los Angeles
