AO Art Observed™

Duane Hanson’s “Flea Market Lady” staffs Emmanuel Perrotin’s booth at Frieze via New York Magazine

In the midst of perhaps the most spectacular global financial and credit market cave-ins ever experienced, The Frieze Art Fair in London, one of the three largest contemporary art fairs, felt a slowdown in some attendance indicators, sales volume and pricing; a harbinger of similar buyer sentiment reflected in anemic sales totals from all of the three major contemporary art auctions that followed in London over the weekend from Sotheby’s, Phillips and Christie’s respectively. In light of the true magnitude of the global wealth disrupted in recent weeks, overall, the output of the Frieze art fair and the concurrent contemporary art auctions likely could have been worse. The following is a roundup of the news and images looking back from the close of the Frieze fair as well as detailed summaries of each auction.

Takashi Murakami’s “Tongari-Kun” 2004. Though it was headliner of the Phillips Auction on Saturday, it failed to sell. Image via Phillips

Newslinks, images and more on the Frieze Art Fair and on the Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips auctions after the jump…

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A silica gel sculpture “Communication” by Cang Xn in the new Saatchi Gallery via Reuters

One of the most influential art collectors, Charles Saatchi, who years ago jump started the careers of the Young British Artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, has opened his new gallery in Chelsea in Central, London. The neoclassical former military barracks from 1801 known as the Duke of York Headquarters building is the now home to Saatchi’s gallery and his opening exhibit called “The Revolution Continues: New Art From China.” Within the space, a standard “white cube” internal architecture, the inaugural group show features works of art from the most of the top contemporary Chinese artists. Duke of York Headquarters buildings provides an impressive 70,000 square feet of space of gallery space, and in its past life was the military headquarters and barracks for the Duke’s soldiers.

Also notable is that the new Saatchi Gallery, a huge space that compares with City or National arts spaces in its scope and quality of offerings, is entirely free, due to a corporate sponsorship by Phillips de Pury & Company, which only this week was purchased by the Mercury Group of Russia, as reported by Art Observed yesterday here.

Saatchi Gallery Website
Saatchi Gallery Opens at Duke of York’s HQ Building, Chelsea [Artdaily]
Saatchi leads Chinese revolution with video here, and more video here [BBC]
Classical frame for Saatchi’s brand-new look [Financial Times]
Art guru Saatchi back with new gallery, China show [Reuters]
Saatchi’s New London Gallery Hails Britart, Chinese Revolution [Bloomberg]
Charles Saatchi’s old favourites - made in China [TimesUK]
Stuck with Saatchi [ArtReview]
The Revolution continues at the new Saatchi Gallery [TimesUK]
The verdict on Saatchi’s new gallery and Dog chews and Mao [Independent]
Saatchi Gallery: great space, shame about the art and Saatchi gallery: a study in blandness [GuardianUK]
Last scene by Saatchi and Charles Saatchi: Did I say that? and Is it third time lucky for Saatchi gallery? [GuardianUK]
Saatchi Gallery Opening - London [Jean Pigozzi for Colette]
Update: Opening of the Week: Saatchi rolls out the red carpet [Independent]

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The Peaceable Kingdom, by Edward Hicks, the subject of a dispute between Halsey Minor and Sotheby’s, via Wikimedia

The founder of CNET sues Sotheby’s, citing non-disclosure of its economic interest in a painting sold to him, which he has withheld payment for [Bloomberg] more on this here [LATimes] and here [Wall Street Journal] and here [New York Times]
A prediction that the new leadership of the MoMA and Guggenheim will broaden and focus each institution respectively [NewYorkMag]
A profile of the emerging Zoo Fair artists at the National Academy in London [Guardian]
In a recent interview, Tracey Emin addresses her being raped at age 13 in Margate as well as her being a victim of child abuse [ThisisKent]
Artist builds a custom environment to work for 3 months at the Whitney for an upcoming exhibit of photographs of the happenings [ArtInfo] more on this here [New York Times]

‘I give you all my money 2008′ by Cathy Wilkes, a finalist at 2008’s Turner Prize, via Guardian

The Turner Prize is exhibiting this year’s finalists starting September 30th at the Tate Britain, in London. Founded in London in 1984 to support the development of contemporary artists under 50 years of age, the prize is widely considered one of the art world’s highest honors. This year’s finalists are Runa Islam, Goshka Macuga, Mark Leckey and Cathy Wilkes–the first time in the prize’s history that three of its four nominees are women. The works shown run the gamut from installation art to film.  Past award recipients have included Wolfgang Tillmans, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Steve McQueen.

Turner Prize page at the Tate Britain
A mannequin on a toilet and dry porridge – it’s the Turner Prize [Independent]
The Turner Prize 2008: who cares who wins? [Telegraph]
Turner Prize Nominees Offer Supermarket Checkouts, Broken China [Bloomberg]
Video: Take a tour of the Turner prize 2008 [Guardian]
Turner Prize 2008: Who’s Who [Guardian]
Dummies and china compete for Turner [Financial Times]
Turner fight begins again [Financial Times]
Nurses and Curses: Adrian Searle on this year’s Turner Prize finalists [Guardian]

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Tracey Emin and her sparrow, now returned via BBC

For second time in 3 months, Tracey Emin’s 4-inch Liverpool sparrow is stolen then returned [BBC]
Photo profile of collector / Art in America and Interview-owner Peter Brant [TMagazine-New York Times]
Art Basel commits Miami Beach for 3 years [ArtForum]
Midtown gallery sued after improperly safeguarded Dali’s are stolen [New York Post]
Oliafur Eliasson interviewed [GuardianUK]
New art fair Art Berlin Contemporary opens with 70 artists and 40 Berlin galleries [ArtReview]

Frank Dunphy Damien Hirst’s Manager via D2

On Frank Dunphy the ‘Man behind Damien Hirst’ [Wall Street Journal]
More Damien Hirst pre-sale press here, and more here [TimesUK] and still more here [TIME]
Moscow’s largest collection of Russian art seeks a new building for Modern and Contemporary [Bloomberg]
Japanese film ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’ satirizes the art world [ArtInfo]
Sotheby’s sues buyer to collect commission [NYTimes]
Larry Gagosian is number 38 the New Establishment Top 100 [Vanity Fair]
and Harper’s Bazaar names Tracey Emin “Creative Person of the Year” [Telegraph]

Dakis Jaonnou’s Yacht “Guilty” Designed by Jeff Koons

More on Greek billionaire Dakis Joannou’s Jeff Koons-designed yacht [GQ]
Interview with Takashi Murakami: “maximalist” [Esquire]
More on Sarah Thornton’s Seven Days in the Art World [Portfolio]
A telling selection of 30 years of quotes from Tracey Emin [GuardianUK]
Portrait auctioned for $21,850 in 1998 by Christie’s is now attributed by some to Leonardo Da Vinci and may sell for over $50M [NewYorkTimes]

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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Tracey Emin in front of Tatiana Echeverri Fernandez’s sculptures via Guardian

After a slew of traffic-heavy evenings at the Tracy Emin curated “Summer Exhibition 2008″ at the Royal Academy of Art, it was on an uneventful Saturday afternoon that a visitor knocked over “Christina”, a 9 ft tall sculpture by Costa Rican artist, Tatiana Echeverri Fernandez. Though the piece wasn’t of major magnitude in cost and is valued at $12K it was described by Tracey Emin as the star of the show.

Art: Smashed sculpture proves show-stopper [Guardian]
Visitor shatters £6,000 art work [BBC]
Summer Exhibition 2008 [The Royal Academy]

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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]

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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Olafur Eliasson, ‘Visualization of The Parliament of Reality’, Bard College via Artdaily

Bard College has Olafur Eliasson’s 1st permanent US installation [Artdaily]
MoMA purchases 23 photo works from eight Chinese artists controversially bought in bulk [Bloomberg]
Two Pulitzer Prize winning authors gain rights to new Francis Bacon biography [Bookseller]
Next-generation, under-30’s legacy arts patrons: on the scene [NYTimes]
Tracey Emin’s $122,000 4-inch bronze sparrow goes missing from public work and then is inscrutably returned (publicity stunt?) [BBC]

Anish Kapoor via Time

Time Magazine on Anish Kapoor [Time]
Tracey Emin’s controversial selections for Royal Academy include zebra bestiality, closeups of masturbation during menstruation, and barbed wire hula-hooping [The Daily Mail]
Separately, Hirst invited to join Royal Academy, and has yet to reply [[TimesUK]
Banksy friend/street artist Nick Walker to tag undisclosed British landmarks with laser [Artinfo]
Private art insurance premiums jump 30% year on year [Wall Street Journal]
Salander furniture/antique sale garners $1.6 million [Bloomberg]
The Met is closer to a new Director [New York Sun]
The Vatican begins a contemporary art initiative[the Independent]

Martin Creed; Brass & Chrome in front; Multi-Colored Neon in back; Hauser & Wirth

Commentary and Photos by Faith-Ann Young

In the 1950s, neon represented the light of the American Dream- a technological innovation that emblazoned a company or brands’ success and riches into the starry skies. In the 1980’s art world, neon signs were omnipresent, signifying cool kitsch. At this year’s Armory Show in NYC, neon was back and bold- flashing flamboyantly in at least seventeen exhibitions- whether in traditional form or L.E.D. However today’s neon, rather than to flaunt the obvious (like typical commercial signage), most artists employed these glow rays to reveal the hidden, secret or censored. (more…)

Rembrandt self-portrait via the New York Times

Last for sale Rembrandt self-portrait is at Maastricht Art Fair [NY Times]
Update: Review of Jeff Wall at the Marian Goodman Gallery [NY Sun]
Warhol, Emin to have solo exhibitions at Hayward Gallery, London [Bloomberg]
Chris Burden, next public art piece at Rockefeller Center [artinfo]
“Biba,” at Coningsby Gallery, London: Kate Moss buys, notables attend [The Moment]

“The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil” via Telegraph.co.uk

Follow up: Monet’s “The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil” sells for £20 million at Christie’s [Telegraph.co.uk]
Update: Make your own movie at Gondry Deitch Projects [New York Times]
Tracey Emin spends $8 million to save an art district in London [ArtForum via the Guardian.com]
Whitney Biennial’s busy schedule, starting next Thursday [New York Times]
A good overall summary on artist Paul McCarthy [LATimes via C-Monster]
Judge Denies Salander’s bankruptcy [Bloomberg]
Michael Ovitz may buy the Chelsea Art Museum Building for growing art collection [New York Post]

Los Angeles County Museum Via Bloomberg

Review: Eli Broad gives $50mm, loans his foundation’s and personal collections to LACMA [Bloomberg]
Jeff Koons chats with Katy Siegel at 92nd Street Y Exhibition [Art Fag City]
Julian Schnabel claims he will “bring peace to Israel” in June [New York Mag]
Ad agency accuses Tracey Emin of plagiarizing Antony Gromley’s E.ON 2007 campaign [Art Fag City]
New Award for Top Swiss Contemporary Art, courtesy of Julius Bär Foundation [Swiss Info]
ARCO8, 27th Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair, opens today [Art Daily]

The Fourth Plinth via The National Gallery

The Fourth Plinth, built in 1851, remained unused for 147 years, until the National Gallery began a rolling program to display select artists’ works on it. Jeremy Deller, Tracy Emin, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Yinka Shinibare, and Bob & Roberta Smith are currently competing for the spot. Artists such as Marc Quinn have been on the Plinth.

Competing for the Plinth [The National Gallery]

Emin via Fawcett Society

Tracey Emin has joined over 100 British artists condemning the British Council for their decision to drop their film, drama, dance, literature, design, and the visual arts departments. These artists have all signed a letter expressing their disgust.

Emin condemns the British Council [BBC]
British Council: These crass bureaucrats are placing the arts in real danger [Telegraph]