AO Art Observed™

Charlotte Rampling will star in ‘Boogie Woogie’ via carmenhaid.com

In November of this year ‘Boogie Woogie’ a comedy lampooning the fine art world is set to be released. Boogie Woogie has a strong cast and is directed by the documentary film maker Duncan Ward, who is the husband of art curator Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst. The film is based on a novel published in 2000 and written by Danny Moynihan, who was once curator and is a friend of the artist Damien Hirst. Hirst created a limited-edition cover for the book which featured works by Sarah Lucas, Marc Quinn and Jeff Koons. Additionally, Charles Saatchi was quoted in the jacket comments for the book.

Top-notch cast lined up for art world spoof [Guardian UK]
Boogie Woogie movie detail [IMDB]
Boogie Woogie the novel [Amazon]
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Painting of Myra Handley by artist Marcus Harvey via Time

At a promotional event in Beijing for the London 2012 Olympics, a video montage produced by Visit London has sparked controversy when a photo of a painting by British artist Marcus Harvey came across the screen. The painting depicts the British child murderer, Myra Hindley; as an unintentional representation of British Heritage. The video was intended to promote London and the coming 2012 Olympics, but the quick glimpse one of London’s most prominent murderers was likely done in accidentally rather than in “poor taste”. The painting is very recognizable as a major fixture in Charles Saatchi’s famous 1997 Sensation shown in London and the Brooklyn Museum.

Myra Hindley casts Olympic shadow [Telegraph]
2012 Hindley image use condemned, view footage of the event here [BBC]
Olympics: London tourism body attacked over murderer portrait in promo [AFP]
Monster Movie [Times]
Censoring provocative art is the worst advert for 2012 [GuardianUK]

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Tracey Emin at her Retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art via Guardian

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh is presenting a retrospective of the notorious British artist Tracey Emin. The exhibition is called ‘20 Years’, and will run through November 9.  Emin’s range of work has been described as highly emotional, in the way that it deals with personal events of her life, such as abortion, rape, pregnancy, and death. The retrospective shows her life’s work, which includes installations, videos, photographs, drawings, sculptures, and ready-mades. The exhibition is void of one of her most famous works, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995, which was destroyed in the Momart fire in 2004.  Charles Saatchi, the wealthy collector and owner of the piece, offered to pay her $2 million for her to make another, but Emin declined.

Tracey Emin, 20 Years at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh [TimesOnline]
Highs and lows of bra, bed, and blankets: but is it all a bit too much? [Guardian]
Tracey Emin achieves eminence at last as enfant terrible grows up [Telegraph]
Tracy Emin’s work crude and self-centred? That’s missing the point [Independent]
Tracey Emin: 20 Years at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art [24 Hour Museum]
Take me or leave me, Tracey Emin retrospective full of self-confession [Financial Times]
Tracey was here [Guardian]
View Video of Tracey Emin and her work here [FactualTV]

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Untitled, Yue Minjun (2005) via Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery will open its new London site on October 9th in the Duke of York’s Headquarters building on King’s Road. The gallery, founded by advertising executive Charles Saatchi, will feature contemporary Chinese artists in its inaugural exhibition: “The Revolution Continues: New Art from China.” According to the gallery’s publicists, Freud Communications, the show will feature works from 30 leading painters, sculptors, and installation artists, such as Yue Minjun, Feng Zhengjie, Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi, Zhang Dali, Zhang Haiying, Qiu Jie, and many more.

Saatchi’s pledge for new art gallery [Guardian]
The Revolution Continues: New Chinese Art [Saatchi Gallery]
Saatchi Gallery to Open at New London Site With Chinese Artists [Bloomberg]
Saatchi Gallery to Open at New London Site With Chinese Artists [GG-Art]
View a virtual tour of the gallery here [Saatchi Gallery]

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Jacob Rothschild via BBC

Interview with Lord Jacob Rothschild, scion of legendary collector family [The Economist]
Tracey Emin rejects offer to remake her definitive ‘Sensation’ work: “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–95,” which burned at the Saatchi gallery warehouse in 2004 [Artinfo]
Guggenheim Foundation expands, taking over 60,000 sf in West Soho [Crain's New York]
Blue chip gallery Pace Wildenstein is up and running in Beijing before the Olympics [NYSun]
More on the China thing: Beijing’s 798 art district prepares for sales tied to the Olympic rush [WallStreetJournal]
And still more on the China thing: female Chinese artists move to the forefront [NYTimes]

Hume, Four Doors I, (1989-90) via ArtBistro

Almost two decades after Gary Hume emerged onto the British art scene with his famous “Door Paintings”, the Modern Art Oxford will present the first survey of his work. The exhibition will go through August 31 and was curated by Suzanne Cotter. The first of his “Door Paintings” was inspired by an ad for a British private health insurance company, which featured an image of waiting in a dismal hospital waiting area. Since then, the style of his doors have evolved and the series has provided Hume with great success. His works are large scale, monochrome, painted with household gloss paint.

Garry Hume: Door Paintings [Modern Art Oxford]
Gary Hume at Modern Art Oxford [Artbistro]
Gary Hume: the doors that unhinged the establishment [Telegraph]
Gary Hume: Door Paintings [Artrabbit] (more…)

Charles Saatchi via arts guardian.co.uk

In an event reminiscent of seminal moments in the YBA (Young British Artist) scene years ago, three students from the Royal Academy met good fortune when the affluent collector, Charles Saatchi, bought out the majority of all their works.  The chosen three, Angus Danders-Dunnachie, Jill Mason, and Carla Busuttil are names that we will likely hear again.  Saatchi has created a reputation for himself by making early purchases that helped jump-start the careers of the now famous Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, Jake and Dinos Champan, and Natasha Kissell.

Charles Saatchi Buys Student Art at Royal Academy Show [Artinfo]
Saatchi Taps Young Artists [nytimes]
Charles Saatchi makes three artists’ fortunes at art show [timesonline.uk]

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Charles Saatchi via ArteSpain

Charles Saatchi, the influential British art dealer and advertising magnate, has signed a deal with The Art Trading Fund to advise contemporary art purchases in the Western market, as well as the emerging markets of China, India and the Middle East. Saatchi will garner more corporate patrons for his gallery and will receive a percentage of profits on pieces of art that go through his hands; the fund is hoping he “will bring global expertise to our plans to enter new markets.”

Hegde Funds gets tips on hottest artists [Bloomberg]
Art For Money’s Sake [Portfolio]
Saatchi to Advise Art Fund on Deals [New York Times]
Saatchi Signs Deal with Art Trading Fund [Artinfo]
Charles Saatchi will advise fine art hedge fund [Wall Street Journal]
World’s First Regulated Art Hedge Fund [Financial News]
Charles Saatchi [Wikipedia]
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A part of the Chapman brothers’ ‘Family Collection’ via The Independent

Six years after Charles Saatchi acquired the “Chapman Family Collection”, the Tate Gallery is about to acquire the wooden figures for an unknown price. “The Chapman family collection” was first exhibit at the White Cube in 2002. At this time, the dealer and collector, acquired them for the average price of $2 million.

Jake & Dinos Chapman [White cube]
Tate buys Saatchi’s “Chapman Collection” [ArtInfo]
Jake and Dinos Chapman’s sculpture acquired by the Tate Gallery [The Independent]
Tate acquires Chapman Family Collection [First Post]

Damien Hirst “All You Need is Love” via Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s Lowers Estimate for (RED) Auction by 28% [Bloomberg]
Damage to Antiquities Caused by Tax Scheme Accounts for Art Raids [New York Times]
Ryan McGinley to Shoot Ads for Converse by John Varvatos [GQ Magazine]
Picasso Exceeds Auction Estimate at Christie’s London [Bloomberg]
Met Hires Headhunter to Find New Director [Wall Street Journal]
Guy Cogeval Appointed Director of Musée d’Orsay [Art Info]
Saatchi buys Contemporary Heinrich Himler portrait [UK News]
Richard Prince and Terry Richardson create artwork for controversial James Frey novel [New York Post]
Gerhard Richter at Serpentine Gallery in September [Guardian UK]

McHarg’s Wax Saatchi via Yip Ghost

Robert McHarg III, a London based artist and gallery owner, created a life size wax sculpture of Charles Saatchi. Saatchi, the influential and legendary British art collector, has been dressed up in various outfits (i.e. as a cowboy, with a gas mask, in Mickey Mouse ears) by the artist and then photographed. Featuring HIM in his Subway Gallery, McHarg says, “It’s the biggest action figure I’ll ever own, it’s all about the artist collecting the collector, a David and Goliath battle over power and punch lines.” The images have been complied into a book released October 2007 by Trolley Books.

Yip Ghost
Trolley Books