Damien Hirst is reportedly planning to write his autobiography, despite the artist’s claim that he can’t remember most of his twenties. The artist announced his intent to pen the story of his hard partying and decadence as part of the YBA’s early this week, but has admitted on several occasions that about ten years of his life are a complete blank, due in part to the same hard living he plans to document. (more…)
Christie’s completed its first auction mainland China yesterday, selling a variety of artworks, jewelry and collectibles for a total sale of $25 million. One highlight was a painting by Pablo Picasso, which achieved a final price of over $1.5 million. “I’m very happy with the results, with the right place, with the right people, with the right moment,” said Christie’s executive Steven Murphy. (more…)
Damien Hirst, Death or Glory (2001)
In conjunction with the events and exhibitions of the 55th Venice Biennale this summer, Le Stanze del Vetro (“Rooms for Glass”), the joint project by La Fondazione Giorgio Cini and Pentagram Siftung, is currently presenting Fragile?, an exhibition dedicated to the presence and use of glass in contemporary art. Perhaps one of the more interesting conceits for a Biennale exhibition, the show on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore looks at glass as an aesthetic and and figurative medium in current practice, featuring works by Ai Weiwei, Marcel Duchamp, Pipliotti Rist, Joseph Beuys, and many more.
Hong Kong Convention Center, via Art in America
Tomorrow, Art Basel Hong Kong will open its doors to the public, inaugurating the expansion of the company’s impressive range of art fairs into the Far East. Situated at the Hong Kong Convention Center, the fair has brought collectors and galleries from the world over to the heart of this bustling metropolis, for a week of art sales, talks and special projects, all with a particular focus on the contemporary art world of the Asia-Pacific region.
Hong Kong’s Inflatable Rubber Duck, via CNN
