Global contemporary art events and news observed from New York City.
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AO on site – Final installment and news summary – Art Basel, Switzerland, sets attendance records, sets very positive tone, concludes

Monday, June 21st, 2010


Quilt by Alexandre da Cunha, and Six Billboards by Angus Fairhust, Art Basel.  Image via Art Daily, AP Photo/Keystone/Georgios Kefalas.

Yesterday marked the end of the most highly-attended Art Basel to date. The 41st annual contemporary art fair boasted 306 galleries from 36 countries, and AO was on site to peruse the work of some 2,5000 artists.  62,500 dealers, collectors, curators, high-profile shoppers, artists, and art appreciators navigated installations, browsed gallery booths, mingled, and enjoyed the city of Basel.  Artists, established and newcomers both, showcased works ranging from Polaroids to performance pieces, paintings to videos, sculptures to large-scale installations.  A social and teeming affair with an obvious commercial edge, Basel’s sales were optimistic.  Picasso, Warhol, Prince, Hirst, de Kooning, Pollock, and other similarly established artists reigned supreme as the focus of this year’s event.  Franck Giraud, a New York dealer, spoke to the New York Times about the lack of prominently featured up-and-comers: “Is it because that’s what the market wants, or is it because dealers didn’t want to take risks? I think it was a bit of both.” Nonetheless, certain galleries used Basel as a platform to introduce new artists and show off their latest signings.

More text, images and related links after the jump…
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Go See – New York: The Brucennial 2010 – Miseducation, on view through May 22, 2010

Monday, April 26th, 2010


Installation view, Brucennial 2010: Miseducation (image courtesy of The New York Times)

Thought you missed your chance to see what the artist group known as the Bruce High Quality Foundation claims to be “the most important survey of contemporary art in the world. Ever.”? Fear not – the Brucennial 2010: Miseducation has been extended until May 22.

The exhibition’s opening in February was greeted with snow, but visitors were not deterred by the weather, and the entry line extended far beyond the block. Boasting to exhibit 420 artists from 911 countries working in 666 disciplines, the Brucennial 2010 is not to be missed. The BHQF, as they are called, were a highlight in this year’s Whitney Biennial. Their video installation piece entitled “We Like America and America Likes Us” featured a 22-minute video projected onto the hood of a white hearse.


We Like America and America Likes Us
by Bruce High Quality Foundation

Along with celebrated artists the likes of David Salle, Francesco Clemente, Ron Gorchov, George Condo, Donald Baechler, James Nares, Rita Ackermann, and Julian Schnabel, hang works by younger artists without privileged connections. To make sense of the chaos, use, as your map, Hyperallergic’s piece-by-piece guide to the works in the exhibition.

More text and images after the jump…

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Don’t Miss – Your History Is Not Our History at Haunch of Venison, New York through May 1, 2010

Monday, April 26th, 2010


L: Barbara Kruger, Untitled (He entered shop after shop…), 2008 R: Eric Fischl, Rebirth I: (The Last View of Camiliano Cien Fuegos), 1986. All images courtesy of Haunch of Venison, New York.

On view at Haunch of Venison New York, until May 1, 2010, is “Your History Is Not Our History.” Organized by artists David Salle and Richard Phillips, this group show presents works produced in 1980s New York City.

Including works by Donald Baechler, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ross BlecknerFrancesco ClementeCarroll DunhamEric FischlRobert GoberJeff KoonsBarbara Kruger,Louise LawlerSherrie LevineMalcolm MorleyRichard PrinceDavid SalleJulian SchnabelCindy ShermanLaurie SimmonsJenny Holzer, Phillip Taaffe, Terry Winters and Christopher Wool, this exhibition seeks to convey “a more accurate portrayal of the energy and experimentation that was permeating the city during that time,” says Phillips.

L: Christopher Wool, Untitled, 1988   C: Jeff Koons, Buster Keaton, 1988 R: Eric Fischl, The Old Man’s Boat & The Old Man’s Dog, 1981.

More text and images after the jump…

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Newslinks for Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Judith Supine
Judith Supine, Above the City in a Summer Night Dream via Wooster Collective

Judith Supine installs his “Above the City in a Summer Night Dream” on top of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York [Wooster Collective]
Ryan McGinley writes on Dash Snow in Vice Magazine
[Vice via Art Fag City]
India’s contemporary art “superstar,” Subodh Gupta, before his first UK solo show at Hauser & Wirth, speaks of his Western influences
[Financial Times]
In related, The Economist discusses the state of Indian Contemporary art with a summary of the International Art Fair in Delhi [Economist]

Y curators as models
Julien Fronsacq (Palais de Tokyo, Paris), Olivier Sailliard (Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Paris),and Hans Ulrich Obrist (Serpentine Gallery, London) model for Yohji Yamamoto’s Y, via ArtJetSet

The spring lookbook for Yohji Yamamoto’s Y features curators as models [ArtJetSet]
Gagosian Gallery sues Lufthansa and Art Crate Inc. over the destruction of a 1969 Brice Marden painting worth $3 million
[NY Times]
Russian artist, Presniakov, to sue Hilton heiress for failing to pay $10 million for his artwork [Reuters]
Meanwhile a Moscow dealer sues Luhring Augustine over George Condo paintings
[Bloomberg]
Graffiti charges against Yoshitomo Nara dropped after 6 months of proper behavior [Artforum]
The Norton Simon Museum’s ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ become the center of a legal battle after an heir to the work claims the paintings were looted by the Nazis
[LA Times]

gavin turk brillo 5

Gavin Turk’s ‘Brillo 5′ a bronze sculpture of a cardboard box for sale via Christie’s

Christie’s announces its First Open Sale of Post-War and Contemporary Art, scheduled for September 23rd [Artdaily]
LA art gallery Blum and Poe expands its gallery into a new space launching October 2 in related both Sotheby’s and Christie’s downsize their LA operations [Lindsay Pollock]
Christie’s converts an icon Brooklyn warehouse into a rigorously guarded storage space [The New York Times]
With 372,000 visitors, the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit was the most attended show in the Guggenheim Museum’s history
[NY Times]
In related, Banksy’s guerilla Bristol Museum show reaches over 300,000 visitors [Guardian]

new york minute posters ohwow
Posters for the New York Minute exhibition at Macro in Rome via OHWOW

An interview with Charles Saatchi, who is releasing a book on September 8th detailing his experiences as an art collector [Guardian]
Daniel Richter leads a protest against the demolition of artist studio and gallery space in Hamburg
[Artinfo]
Moscow International Biennale for Young Art- an ambitious art initiative announces call for applications [Art Daily]
AMR- a new index by analysts for tracking prices aimed solely on post-war art is created [Financial Times]
The Scotsman Steps built in 1899 will become a panel for famous contemporary artist- Martin Creed’s installation [News Scotsman via ArtInfo]
A painting uncovered in Iraq is picked up by the media as a Picasso but is likely inauthentic [ArtMarketMonitor]

Pipilotti Rist
Pipilotti Rist via Panache

The Gucci Group award, previously awarded to artists including Steve McQueen and Julian Schnabel, has announced its 4 nominees, among which is artist Pipilotti Rist [Vogue]
This year’s Frieze Music Presentation will be a performance choreographed by artist Martin Creed [Frieze]
In response to LACMA’s decision to end its long standing weekend film program, two outside organizations step in with $150,000 pledge in an attempt to save it [Los Angeles Times]

Snewville wooden sneakers
Skewville wooden sneakers via C-Monster

The ubiquitous Skewville wooden sneakers have online documentation [Skewville via C-Monster]
The latest V magazine profiles 6 projects presented at the 53d Venice Biennale, including those by
Tauba Auerbach, Aurel Schmidt, Dan Colen and the late Dash Snow [V magazine]
Art exhibitions to see this fall as suggested by New York art critic Jerry Saltz [Artnet]
The values of art related financial indexes increase as the market is possibly recovering [ArtInfo]

Townhouses restored and owned by photographer Annie Leibovitz could potentially cure her $24 million loan obligations to Art Capital Market [Bloomberg]

Nils Folke
Nils Folke installation via Phillips De Pury

Phillips De Pury & Co installs sculptures by Nils Folke in its windows to be viewed from High Line park in New York [Phillips De Pury]
Newly created Arts Editor role at the BBC News is being assumed by Will Gompertz who is the current Director of Tate Media at the Tate [BBC]
This year’s Vanity Fair 100 includes art world figures Bernard Arnault (#10), François-Henri Pinault (#20), Miuccia Prada (#40) and Jean Pigozzi (#74) [Vanity Fair]
Ed Ruscha will receive the Artistic Excellence Award from the National Arts Awards on October 5, 2009 [Americans For The Arts]
The Guardian investigates the art scene in Moscow complete with the listing new exhibition spaces [Guardian]

Go See – Naples: Julian Schnabel “Untitled (Chinese Mirror Paintings) at Museo di Capodimonte, through September 6, 2009

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Julian Schnabel Capodimonte
Untitled (Chinese Painting), Julian Schnabel. Via Robilant+Voena

New works by the American painter and film director Julian Schnabel are currently showing in Naples.  After a successful run in 2008 at the Saatchi Gallery in London the exhibition, produced by Marco Voena, comes to Museo di Capodimonte. The latter is one of the rare museums that houses works of contemporary artists alongside a collection of Old Masters.  The show endsSeptember 6, 2009.

Related Links:
Julian Schnabel: Exhibtion at Capodimonte National Museum
[Pintostory]
Julian Schnabel: Biography [Tate Gallery]
Julian Schnabel at the Saatchi Gallery [Lookintomyowl]
Julian Schnabel on Artnet [Artnet]
Capodimonte homepage [Capodimonte]
Julian Schnabel Untitled Capodimonte [Press Release]

More text and pictures after the jump…

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Art Capital Group Sues Annie Leibovitz to Collect on $24 Million Loan

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Ian Peck Baird Ryan ARt Capital
Ian Peck and Baird Ryan at Art Capital Group. Via The New York Times

Art Capital Group founded in 1999 and based in New York is a company that provides financial and consulting services to art owners in creating liquidity from assets. In other words, Art Capital allows clients to discreetly get loans in using artwork as collateral. Whether it is due to the tender nature of the business that steps into the fields of intellectual property when dealing directly with artists, or the necessity on the company’s side for firm and assertive approach in an economic environment that is nothing short of unstable; Art Capital Group seems to often be caught up in lawsuits with its clients. One of the most prominent photographers Annie Leibovitz has recently become the center of one of those litigious disagreements.

Related Links:
For Annie Leibovitz, a Fuzzy Financial Picture [The New York Times]
That Old Master? It’s at the Pawnshop [The New York Times]
Lender Sues Annie Leibovitz, Seeking Her Homes to Pay $24 Million Debt [The New York Times]
Leibovitz, Photographer, Sued Over $24 Million Loan [Bloomberg]
Art Capita Group, Inc. [Business Week]
Annie Leibovitz pawns rights to all future work [Guardian]

Annie Leibovitz Art Capital Group
Annie Leibovitz via Daily News

More text and pictures after the jump...

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Go See – Washington, DC: ‘PAINT MADE FLESH’ at The Phillips Collection through September 13, 2009

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

Jenny Saville, Hyphen 1999, Paint Made Flesh, The Phillips Collection
Jenny Saville’s Hyphen, 1999, part of Paint Made Flesh at The Phillips Collection.

“Paint Made Flesh,” a series of 43 oil paintings that focus on the human body, is showing at The Phillips Collection through September 13.  Featured artists incude Pablo Picasso, Leon Golub, Ivan Albright, Cecily Brown, David Park, Philip Guston, and more.  ”At times when figure painting was considered outdated,” comments Assistant Curator Renee Maurer, these and other artists included in the show “continue to explore the expressive potential of the painted human body.”

Related links:
Current Exhibitions at the Phillips Gallery
Paint Made Flesh [video]
“Paint Made Flesh” Survey opens at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC [Art Knowledge News]
“Paint Made Flesh” Is More Than Skin-Deep [Washington Post]
“Paint Made Flesh” : Modern Bodies, Naked Eyes [NPR]

john currin, the hobo, paint made flesh, the phillips collection
John Currin, Hobo (1999), via NPR.

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AO Auction Results: Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale at Christie’s – Expectations reached

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

picasso-femme-au-chapeau
Pablo Picasso’s ‘Femme au Chapeau,’ via Christie’s, sold by Julian Schnabel, went for $7.7 million, slightly under the estimate of $8-12 million

Last night’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale at Christie’s fared better than Sotheby’s auction on Tuesday covered here by AO, with 38 of the 48 lots selling, realizing 94% of potential value, bringing in a total of $102.7 million, falling within estimates of $86.7-125.2 million. Highlights include two late Picasso paintings and a Giacometti sculpture, in contrast to the pricey Picasso and Giacometti works offered by Sotheby’s which failed to sell. Picasso’s ‘Mousquetaire à la Pipe,’ offered by Madoff victim Jerome Fisher, was the highest selling lot at $14.6 million, falling between estimates of $12-18 million. Julian Schnabel sold his own Picasso, ‘Femme au Chapeau,’ to recover debts due to construction costs at his West Village townhouse. The painting sold for $7.7 million, just shy of its low estimate of $8 million. The Giacometti sculpture, ‘Buste de Diego (Stele III)’ sold for $7.7 million, surpassing its high estimate of $6.5 million.

Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale [Christie's]
Picassos Sell at Christie’s Auction, After Faltering at Sotheby’s [NY Times]
Christie’s Bests Sotheby’s With $102.7 Million Sale [WSJ]
Works by Picasso and Giacometti Lead Christie’s Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art [Artdaily]
Madoff Victim Sells Picasso for $14.6 Million at Christie’s [Bloomberg]

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AO Auction Preview: Impressionist and Modern Art and Sotheby’s and Christie’s

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

picasso-mousquetaire-a-la-pipe
Pablo Picasso’s ‘Mousquetaire à la Pipe’ via Artnet, goes on sale at Christie’s with estimates between $12-18 million

Following mixed results at last night’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale at Sotheby’s, where two high profile works by Picasso and Giacometti failed to sell, auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s continue tomorrow.  C hristie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale tonight features two late Picasso paintings, both with estimates between $12-18. One, ‘Mousquetaire à la Pipe,’ is offered by Madoff victim Jerome Fisher, co-founder of show company Nine West.  The other painting, ‘Femme au Chapeau,’ comes from the collection of artist Julian Schnabel. The auction sees 50 lots with estimates of $94.9–134.6 million.

Madoff Investor Puts Picasso ‘Musketeer’ on Sale at Christie’s [Bloomberg]
What a Difference a Year Makes [Artinfo]
Impressionist and Modern Art [Christie's]
Bernie Swindle Is a Pablo Blow
[NYPost]

Newslinks for Monday, April 13, 2009

Monday, April 13th, 2009
Kate Moss by Damien Hirst on the cover of Tar Art Magazine, Via New York Times

Kate Moss by Damien Hirst on the cover of Tar Art Magazine, Via New York Times

Kate Moss by Damien Hirst is the new cover of Tar Magazine (anagram for “art”) [NY Times]
Art funds launched in 2008, such as the London-based Art Trading Fund, are shelved due to failure to raise required funds
[ArtNewspaper]
Art:21, Art in Twenty-First Century is now available for free on Hulu [Hulu]

"G8" by Andrei Molodkin

"G8" by Andrei Molodkin via Financial Times

Russian Artist Andrea Molodkin, previously cited by AO here, prepares for Venice Biennale [Financial Times]
Jeff Koons is speaking at Strand Books tonight at 7:00-8:30 in New York
[Via FAD]
New York Old Masters dealer Lawrence Salander is indicted and pleads guilty in $88 million charge [Bloomberg]

maxxi

A look inside Rome’s MAXXI designed by Zaha Hadid via c-monster

A preview of the MAXXI in Rome, $108 million art museum designed by Zaha Hadid [c-monster]
Adam Lindemann, financier, collector and author of Collecting Contemporary launches a new book from Taschen: Collecting Design [ArtInfo]

flash-art-marlene-dumas-obama
Flash Art’s current cover featuring a portrait of Barack Obama by Marlene Dumas via Art Fag City

Marlene Dumas’s portrait of Barack Obama is the cover of Flash Art [Art Fag City]
Madonna’s art collection is estimated at £80 million pounds
[TimesUK]

art-movments

A selection from the site via The World’s Best Ever

A timeline of modern & contemporary art artists by movement, school, style, period, theme & art prize [The-artists.org via The World's Best Ever]
Richard Serra to receive honorary degree from Pratt Institute at its 120th Commencement on May 18th
[MediaBistro]

goldin1_1378331c

Interview with photographer Nan Goldin on why she is auctioning some of the curiosities she has collected [TelegraphUK]
SFMOMA announces plans for a future expansion, doubling gallery space
[SF Chronicle]

sanaa-serpentine-pavilion
A preview of SANAA’s design for the 2009 Serpentine Pavillion via Architect’s Journal

SANAA, the Japanese architectual duo behind the New Museum, release first glimpse of design for the 2009 Serpentine Pavilion [Architect's Journal]
Jim Dine donates 40 drawings influenced by Greek and Roman sculpture to the Morgan Library
[Artinfo]

Picasso Portrait from the Collection of Julian Schnabel Highlights Christies Impressionist Sale

Picasso Portrait seen here at the home of Julian Schnabel highlights Christie's Impressionist Sale [via artinfo

Julian Schnabel’s Picasso Femme au Chapeau will soon be sold by Christie’s [New York Times]
The Mugrabis, a hi
gh impact, market-making collector family, may be addicted to the game of art [The Observer]

AO On Site (with Interview): ‘Image Matter’ curated by Klaus Kertess at Mary Boone in Chelsea, February 21, 2009; Interview with artist Carroll Dunham

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

image-matters-klaus-kertess-mary-boone
Opening night of Image Matters curated by Klaus Kertess at Mary Boone, photo by ArtObserved

Image Matter, an exhibition curated by Klaus Kertess, opened at Mary Boone Gallery’s Chelsea location on Saturday. The show brought together paintings by seven artists who have expanded the plane of the canvas and pushed the limits of painting to the third dimension.  Each artist is represented by a single piece, with most works in the mid-size range around six-feet-tall evenly spaced around the gallery with no wall text, privileging the paintings and their commonalities. The artists in the exhibition are Carroll Dunham, Ralph Humphrey, Elizabeth Murray, Alfonso Ossiorio, Peter Saul, Julian Schnabel, and Joe Zucker.

Image Matter
Curated by Klaus Kertess
February 21, 2009 to March 28, 2009
Mary Boone Gallery

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Newslinks for Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

richard-serras-equal-parallelguernica-bengasi-1986-at-museo-nacional-centro-de-art-reina-sofia-madrid
Richard Serra’s Equal Parallel: Guernica-Bengasi, 1986, returned to El Museo Nacional Centro de Art Reina Sofia, Madrid via Art Daily

Missing Sculptures by Richard Serra are replaced at El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia [ArtDaily]
How Art Capital Group is providing liquidity backed by significant fine art
[The New York Times]
A new book on the world’s largest unsolved art theft, the Gardner Museum Heist [Wall Street Journal]
A new Julian Schnabel-designed steak house back room?
[NYMag]
The Moscow Art Fair has been postponed
[Bloomberg]

marcel-dzama-animated-for-new-nasa-videoe2809d
A still from the Marcel Dzama video via Pitchfork

Animated Marcel Dzama for NASA’s video [TheWorldsBestEver]
The Prado’s conclusion that Colossus is not a Goya is brought into question
[Wall Street Journal]
How the Brooklyn Museum’s Shelly Bernstein expands the institutions presence via internet outreach [New York Observer]
Francis Bacon, and a new exhbition in the unlikely city of his death [New York Times]
An agreement reached with further clarifies the collection boundaries between the UK’s National Gallery and the Tate
[Guardian UK]

assume-vivid-astro-focus-tmagazine
Assume Vivid Astro focus via the TheMoment

Assume Vivid Astro focus collaborates with the New York Times [TheMoment]
The last days of Soho’s Guild and Greyshkul gallery
[New York Times]
A detailed new report on the growing impact of China, Russia, India and the Middle East in the global art market [ArtDaily]
How the fall of the art boom is useful to trim the movement of blockbuster art to the only fleetingly interested masses
[Newsweek]
Mega dealer David Nahmad on the market’s rise and fall: “It’s almost a fraud. I would never advise my clients to buy contemporary art.”
[IndependentUK]

lucian-freud-label-of-chateau-mouton-rothschild-2006

Lucian Freud has painted a wine label for Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2006 [Forbes]
Sotheby’s reports $2.8 billion in sales in 2008
[ArtDaily]
UK Government cuts VAT taxes after court rules that video and light art is sculpture in a case involving Dan Flavin and Bill Viola works imported by Haunch of Venison [The Art Newspaper]
How the Whitney recently benefited from the weakness of the corporate system [NYTimes]
The Times UK and Saatchi Gallery begin a top 200 artist survey with results to be announced in May [TimesUK]

Newslinks for Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

caravaggio-judas-kiss-taking-of-christ
Caravaggio’s ‘Kiss of Judas’  or the ‘Taking of Christ’ via ArtDaily

Caravaggio’s ‘Kiss of Judas’ aka ‘Taking of Christ’, stolen from Odessa, is recovered; theft previously reported by AO in July here [ArtDaily]
The Moment interviews the Vogels, a New York couple who built a formidable contemporary art collection on a postman’s and librarian’s salary
[NYTimes the Moment]
The New Yorker’s 10 best art exhibits of 2008 [NewYorker]

julian-schnabel
Reactive moments from Julian Schnabel on 60 Minutes
[CBS]

damein-hirst-copyright
The collage in question via the Independent

Damien Hirst cites 16 year old artist for copyright infringement regarding £65 collage works bearing Hirst’s imagery [IndependentUK]
Lehman Brothers to sell $8M collection
[GuardianUK]

raft-of-the-medusa-gericault
The Raft of the Medusa via rhett.biz

A new novel is based on Gericault’s painting, The Raft of the Medusa [holartbooks via C-Monster]
Italian curator Francesco Bonami will curate the 2010 Whitney Biennial
[NYMag]

Newslinks for Sunday, November 30th, 2008

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

ed-ruscha-art-production-fund-beachtowel
A beach towel by Ed Ruscha via the Art Production Fund

Just in time for Art Basel Miami Beach, new beach towels by Ed Ruscha, Karen Kilimnik, Raymond Pettibon and Julian Schnabel are ready, catch them at the Raleigh Hotel [Art Production Fund]
A Page Six roundup of some of the Art Basel Miami Beach parties, as usual, the Raleigh hotel is front and center [NYPost]

paysage-le-mur-rose-landscape-the-pink-wall-henri-matisse1
“Paysage, le mur rose” (Landscape, the Pink Wall) by Henri Matisse via Artsjournal

France gives back Henri Matisse painting, once seized by Nazi SS officer, proceeds from sale to go to British charity for medical rescue in Israel [Artsjournal] more here [AP]

museum-of-islamic-art-doha-qatar1
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar via The New York Times

Qatar opens the 41,000 square foot, IM Pei designed Museum of Islamic Art in Doha; Robert de Niro, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and London dealer Jay Jopling attend festivities [NewYork Times]

giambattista-tiepolo-portrait-of-a-lady-as-flora1
Portrait of a lady as Flora , by Italian master Giambattista Tiepolo

A lost painting by Giambattista Tiepolo, discovered in a chateau attic, may sell for £1m at Christie’s sale in London next week [FinancialTimes]
City of San Francisco not accepting $1 billion gift to build space to show Gap Inc. founder Don Fisher’s 1,000 work strong collection due to aesthetics of architecture
[Bloomberg]
A review of Calvin Tomkins’s ‘Lives of the Artists’ which profiles headliners such as Hirst, Cindy Sherman, Schnabel, Serra, Koons, Currin and others
[NYObserver)

Gustave Klimt -  Portrait of Ria Munk III
Portrait Ria Munk III - by Gustav Klimt via Linz Presse

Lentos Museum in Austria may have to give a $10 million Gustav Klimt painting to heirs of Holocaust victim [Bloomberg]

steve-mcqueen
The artist Steve McQueen via GuardianUK

Turner prize winning video artist Steve McQueen interviewed, and more, on his new film, ‘Hunger’ [GuardianUK]

GO SEE: UBS OPENINGS: NEO-EXPRESSIONIST PAINTINGS FROM THE 1980s AT THE TATE MODERN, LONDON, THROUGH APRIL 13, 2009

Monday, November 24th, 2008

jean-michel-basquait-tobacco-vs-red-chief-1981-2
“Tobacco vs Red Chief” (1981-2) by Jean-Michel Basquiat via UBS Art Collectio

A new collection at the Tate Modern in London titled “UBS Openings: Paintings from the 1980s”, which opened last week, centers on Neo-Expressionist paintings, a departure from the minimalist and conceptual artwork that preceded this period. Artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Salle, Alex Katz, Julian Schnabel, and Christopher Le Brun sought to return to historical narratives executed in a vibrant, energetic fashion contributing to powerful results in large-scale, figurative paintings.

The collection draws on works from the reserves of the Tate Collection as well as the UBS Art Collection and includes works such as Basquiat’s “Tobacco vs Red Chief” (1981-2), David Salle’s “My Subjectivity” (1981), Julian Schnabel’s “Humanity Asleep” (1982) painted over a surface of broken plates, Christopher Le Brun’s “Dream, Think, Speak (1981-2) and Clemente’s Self Portrait (1984).  The exhibition has been curated by Matthew Gale, Head of Displays of the Tate Modern.

UBS Openings: Paintings from the 1980s – Tate Modern
Through April 13, 2009

Paintings from the 1980s [Financial Times]
UBS Openings: Paintings from the 1980′s
[Tate Modern Website]
UBS Openings: Paintings from the 1980s at Tate Modern
[Art Daily]

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Newslinks for Thursday, October 30th, 2008

Thursday, October 30th, 2008


Banksy’s controversial One Nation Under CCTV via hutley.net

Banksy issues a statement on London City removal of his CCTV work
[Time via TWBE] and a video of Banksy’s pet store/charcoal grill in NYC [Wooster Collective]
At the Whitney: Leonard Lauder, Cindy Sherman, Mary Boone, Donatella Versace, Christina Ricci, Sting and assorted socialites show up for the Gala and Studio Party [ArtInfo]
Art and Commerce: Julian Schnabel, sponsored by Mastercard, completes portrait of sweepstakes winner [Tradingmarkets]
A quiet but strong video of Jenny Holzer at the Guggenheim, New York [Vernissage.tv]
Takashi Murakami, a bit hurt perhaps from the his Phillips Frieze auction, comments on the art market: “Everyone is very nervous. Everything is negative” [NYMag]
And in the latest in Damien Hirst: the Guardian quotes his art market comments from four years ago: “they would sell your granny to Nigerian sex slave traders for 50 pence and a packet of woodbines” [GuardianUK] his cover art for British band The Hours [Brand Republic] and Sarah Thornton has a thorough summary of Hirst and some of his series: “he faces all the problems of an aging rock star” [TheArtNewspaper]

Newslinks for Sunday October 5th, 2008

Saturday, October 4th, 2008

JR London
A London building-side JR via Woostercollective

Some large works mark JR’s return to London from NYC (previously covered by AO here) for a solo show at Lazarides [Woostercollective]
The Tate will brand a cruise ship line focused on art [GuardianUK]
Jackie Wullschlager’s biography of Marc Chagall reviewed
[The Economist]
Focusing on the sculptures of Pablo Picasso [Wall Street Journal]
Due to gambling regulatory concerns, Lazarides cancels ‘art raffle’ meant to coincide with Frieze [ArtInfo]
Tar magazine (anagram of art) debuts with a cover by Julian Schnabel [Mediabisto]
The Chapman Brothers produce a fuzzy backdrop for Stella McCartney’s spring/summer show in Paris [Independent]

Go See: Tracey Emin Curates at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, through August 17

Friday, July 18th, 2008

Moses Contra Freud, RB Kitaj (2005) via Royal Academy of Arts

Recently appointed Royal Academician, artist Tracey Emin has curated a gallery at the current Royal Academy Summer Exhibition which is the institution’s 240th event of this kind. The exhibition, whose theme this year is ‘Man Made’, is a well-recognized annual event in the contemporary art world and includes works from approximately 1,200 artists, both established and emerging.

Emin brings sex, death to UK Royal Academy show [Reuters]
Tracey Emin at the Royal Academy summer show [TimesOnline]
Row erupts over Tracey Emin’s ‘offensive’ selections for Royal Academy exhibition [DailyMail]
Tracey Emin at Royal Academy [ViewLondon]
Tracey Emin RA on curating Gallery 8 of the Summer Exhibition [RA Magazine]
The Summer Exhibition: A Culture Show Special [RoyalAcademy]
Newslinks: Tracey Emin’s controversial selections for Royal Academy
[Art Observed]

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