Julian Schnabel is moving to Pace Gallery, the New York Times reports, concluding a loose association with Gagosian Gallery (which issued a statement that it never officially represented the artist). “I wanted to have a more human relationship with the person who was representing my work,” Schnabel said. “A dialogue between a dealer and an artist is important.” (more…)
Artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel has announced the opening of an exhibition space on the ground floor of his West Village home in New York. Titled Casa del Popolo, the space’s first show will feature six new works by British painter Nick Mead. “This is the first installment of a program to show the work of other artists and an opportunity to collaborate with people who present unique perspectives on art that I believe in. I wanted to open part of my house to the public so they could have an art experience ‘far from the maddening crowd’.” Says Schnabel. (more…)
One of the most anticipated art events of the year, Creative Time’s annual gala took place Tuesday night at the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, honoring painter, artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel. Celebrating the artist’s career and creative output, the event lived up to expectations, hosting nearly 600 guests inside the Sugar Factory’s remarkably maintained space. Featuring a menu prepared by renowned chef Mario Batali, as well as a performance by Laurie Anderson and a tribute to Schnabel by Dick Cavett, the event once again showcased Creative Time’s reputation as a driver in the New York art world.
Creative Time is honoring artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel this year during its annual Spring Gala, and has just released a video of actor Al Pacino, recounting his personal experiences with Schnabel. “He came to my house once and looked at a couple of my paintings.” Pacino said. “I thought: ‘he’s looking at a painting I did. If he likes, it I know he’s a real phony. He didn’t like it, and with Julian, he lets you know right away.” (more…)
Rita Ackerman, Fire by Days XXI (2012), Courtesy the artists and Vito Schnabel
Assembled by the young curator Vito Schnabel (son of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel), White Collar Crimes, at Acquavella Galleries, brings together a collection of new abstract and conceptual works from emerging and internationally recognized artists, exploring the themes of concealment of crime by wealth, high level education and social status. Connecting concepts such as identity, historical erosion, commercialization, and political satire, the show opens the door to complexly interconnected readings of the subjects and artists on view, while directly addressing the context and location of the event itself. According to Schnabel, the exhibition “proposes an interplay between obscure ciphers and spectacular discoveries.”
Vanity Fair Magazine sat down with curator and dealer Vito Schnabel (son of artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel), to talk about finding his way into the art world, his recently opened group show “White Collar Crimes” at Acquavella Galleries, and his practice as a curator: “It’s very personal; it’s just what I like and what I’m drawn to and what I get enthusiastic or excited about, and what I feel like working with or putting my time into.” (more…)
Berlin Gallery Weekend coordinated openings at 51 galleries throughout the German capitol, featuring work by Diane Arbus, Douglas Gordon, Jenny Holzer, Robert Longo, and Rikrit Tiravanija, among others
Model May Andersen becomes assistant director at The Hole gallery following spring internship and is also separately in the press today regarding her dating Julian Schnabel
All photos by Art Observed by Aubrey Roemer
The “Third and a half” Brucennial opened last night in New York City, the 2012 edition titled, “Harderer. Betterer. Fasterer. Strongerer.” At 159 Bleecker Street, the high-ceilinged art-filled space reached its capacity of 15,000—with a line around the block—shortly after opening its doors at 6 PM. Organized by the anonymous Bruce High Quality Foundation and Vito Schnabel, a large main room, balcony, and basement, were covered with paintings, sculptures, video-works, and other installations by artists both established and less so. Running the gamut from friends of the Bruces to a Damien Hirst spot painting, exhibiting artists of note include Mike Kelley, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, Sigmar Polke, Julian Schnabel, Anselm Reyle, Francesco Clemente, Aurel Schmidt, Dan Colen, David Salle, George Condo, Rashid Johnson, Dash Snow, Terence Koh, Richard Prince, Joseph Beuys, Scott Campbell, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Tom Sachs, Andy Warhol (collaboration), and Dustin Yellin.
Installation view of Rene Ricard’s “Sonnets from the Portuguese”. All images Ian Hassett for Art Observed.
AO was on-site for the opening of Rene Ricard‘s “Sonnets from the Portuguese,” presented by Vito Schnabel at the former Heidi Cho Gallery in Chelsea. This is the artist’s first solo painting show in over twenty years, and features paintings overlaid with sharp, evocative poems written by Ricard. The show is entitled “Sonnets from the Portuguese” after a book by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and is meant to “show [his] affection for the city of Lisbon.” It features sixteen canvases painted in basic “poison” green with short poems, and larger works featuring images based on those culled from family photo albums of Ricard’s friends, similarly painted over with text.
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Billboard paintings after Dennis Hopper photographs, courtesy of LA Observed.
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Dennis Hopper’s photograph series, 1961 to 2010, courtesy of When You Awake.
‘Dennis Hopper Double Standard,’ a comprehensive survey of artwork by the late cultural icon, is currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The exhibition explores an interdisciplinary body of creative work produced by actor, director, photographer, painter, sculptor, and conceptual artist Dennis Hopper, over the course of his prolific sixty-year career. More than two hundred objects crafted in a variety of media are on view, including a rare early painting completed in 1955, before to the loss of the artist’s studio and much of his work in the 1961 Bel Air fire. Curated by artist Julian Schnabel, ‘Dennis Hopper Double Standard’ is the inaugural exhibition of the museum’s new director, former New York gallerist Jeffrey Deitch. Prior to his death in May of this year, from complications related to prostate cancer, Hopper also played a significant role in the organization of the exhibit.
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MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch, actress Diane Keaton and Jean Stein at the Opening of ‘Dennis Hopper Double Standard’ on July 10th, 2010, courtesy of the Huffington Post.
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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.
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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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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 Bleckner, Francesco Clemente, Carroll Dunham, Eric Fischl, Robert Gober, Jeff Koons, Barbara Kruger,Louise Lawler, Sherrie Levine, Malcolm Morley, Richard Prince, David Salle, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Simmons, Jenny 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…
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]
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’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]
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 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]
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 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]
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]
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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:
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For Annie Leibovitz, a Fuzzy Financial Picture [The New York Times]
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That Old Master? It’s at the Pawnshop [The New York Times]
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Lender Sues Annie Leibovitz, Seeking Her Homes to Pay $24 Million Debt [The New York Times]
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Leibovitz, Photographer, Sued Over $24 Million Loan [Bloomberg]
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Art Capita Group, Inc. [Business Week]
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Annie Leibovitz pawns rights to all future work [Guardian]
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Annie Leibovitz via Daily News
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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
“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, Hobo (1999), via NPR.
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]
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]
Huang Yongping's Sixty-Year Cycle Chariot sold for double the high estimate of $194,00, setting a new auction record for the artist, via Artdaily
Contemporary Asian Art Sale at Sotheby’s Hong Kong brings in $8.5 million USD, well wthin expectations with over half of the lots above estimate [Artdaily] more here [Bloomberg] and here [AuctionPublicity] and here [Economist] and here [Artinfo]
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and finally more here [China Daily via ArtPatrol]
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And in related: The Getty acquires 9 contemporary Chinese photographs for $100,000, boosting its Asian collection despite a tighter budget [Bloomberg]
Takashi Murakami will soon debut a new collaborative collection with Louis Vuitton [HypeBeast]
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New York financier/art collector Ezra Merkin charged with $2.4 bilion fraud, the proceeds of which were used to fill his apartment with $91 million worth of art including Mark Rothko works from his collection, one of the largest in the world for the artist [Guardian UK]
Kate Moss by Damien Hirst is the new cover of Tar Magazine (anagram for “art”) [NY Times]
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Art funds launched in 2008, such as the London-based Art Trading Fund, are shelved due to failure to raise required funds [ArtNewspaper]
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Art:21, Art in Twenty-First Century is now available for free on Hulu [Hulu]
Russian Artist Andrea Molodkin, previously cited by AO here, prepares for Venice Biennale [Financial Times]
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Jeff Koons is speaking at Strand Books tonight at 7:00-8:30 in New York [Via FAD]
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New York Old Masters dealer Lawrence Salander is indicted and pleads guilty in $88 million charge [Bloomberg]
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]
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Adam Lindemann, financier, collector and author of Collecting Contemporary launches a new book from Taschen: Collecting Design [ArtInfo]
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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]
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Madonna’s art collection is estimated at £80 million pounds [TimesUK]
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]
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Richard Serra to receive honorary degree from Pratt Institute at its 120th Commencement on May 18th [MediaBistro]
Interview with photographer Nan Goldin on why she is auctioning some of the curiosities she has collected [TelegraphUK]
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SFMOMA announces plans for a future expansion, doubling gallery space [SF Chronicle]
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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]
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Jim Dine donates 40 drawings influenced by Greek and Roman sculpture to the Morgan Library [Artinfo]
Julian Schnabel’s Picasso Femme au Chapeau will soon be sold by Christie’s [New York Times]
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The Mugrabis, a high impact, market-making collector family, may be addicted to the game of art [The Observer]
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
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]
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 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 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]
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]
Reactive moments from Julian Schnabel on 60 Minutes [CBS]
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]
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]
