The colorful hall near the Deitch Project’s Exhibit at the Armory 2008 via ArtObserved

Photos and Writing by Faith-Ann YoungEntering this year’s Armory Show felt like entering a Hollywood studio lot. Gone is any semblance to its roots in the fleabag suites of the Gramercy Park Hotel, when zealous artists displayed from suites’ sinks and bathtubs. This Wednesday’s VIP/Press Opening? Tons of Champagne, neon, kitsch, glitter, popped-collars, drugs, sex, but simply not enough BANG.

Opening of the Armory show [Bloomberg]
Armory show 2008 [New York Magazine]
Armory Show review [ New York Times]

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Justin Anderson via the Moment

Art handlers in the forefront, and the back story [NYTimes, the moment]
The story of Gauguin’s severed head Arii Matamoe [NY Times]
Gugg. ex-director Krens up to more than expected in Abu Dhabi [NYMag]
China’s art market as a mere “pump and dump” PR play [Forbes]
Murakami interview before Brooklyn Museum show [New York Magazine]
Spencer Tunick’s nudes at Four Seasons restaurant [New York Post]
Update: The Guardian’s criticism of Whitney Biennial [Guardian.co.uk]
Asian art wrap-up: Yen bolsters Christie’s sales; Sotheby’s slumps [Bloomberg]

Photo via Will Rocklin for Art Observed

Phillips de Pury & Company opened its Chelsea, New York doors March 25^th from 6:00-8:00pm for an auction preview of “Under the Influence.” Also on view was an emerging artist exhibition, “Associates in New York.”

Under the Influence [Phillips de Pury]
Associates in New York [Phillips de Pury]
Auction Registration [Global Auction Network]

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Triptych by Bacon via Bloomberg

In May Sotheby’s New York will auction a Francis Bacon painting which could fetch a record of $70 million. The triptych and was painted in 1976 when the Bacon lived in Paris, comprised of oil and pastel on canvas in three parts.

Record for Bacon’s painting [Bloomberg]
Bacon’s most important work in sale [Guardian.co.uk]
Sotheby’s sets record with Bacon nude [ArtObserved]

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John Baldessari, Carsten Holler, Nathalie Djurberg and Thomas Demand; Prada’s Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada; the curator Germano Celant;Francesco Vezzoli via the New York Times

Miuccia Prada as global patron of the arts [NY Times Magazine]
The expansion of South Korean art galleries in Chelsea [New York Sun]
Update: “Warhol’s Jews” the Sun reviews [New York Sun]
Salander profiled as a martyr of sorts for old masterworks [New York Mag]
On Artist Zhang Huan’s [Men’s Vogue]
Hockney donates fifty works to Tate Britain [the Times.UK via ArtForum]
Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster chosen for Turbine Hall [Guardian UK]
Sonnabend’s collection to be sold to pay taxes on $400 million estate [Crains]

Crowds at the 2007 Armory via Kopenhagen

The Armory Show pulls droves of collectors, curators, dealers and enthusiasts.  Now in its tenth year, the Armory Show is New York’s largest contemporary art fair. However, many of the satellite fairs that have sprung up as a result of the crowds are not to be missed.  After the jump, a full rundown and schedule…

Companion Fairs offer variety for Armory attendees [NYSun]
SCOPE art fair sets itself apart[NYSun]
Newcomers to Armory Arts week [Artnet]

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The Eden Rock hotel via Eden Rock, St.Barth’s

Until March 31, The Eden Rock hotel will display Will Cotton new works on paper. The artist was recently the guest of the hotel for three weeks in one of their beachside bungalows.

Will Cotton’s exhibition [Wall Street Journal]
Will Cotton’s exhibition at the Eden Rock hotel [Eden Rock hotel]
Richard Prince at Eden Rock Hotel in St. Barth [ArtObserved]

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Kunstmuseum Video from Vernissage.TV (Click for link)

Running from March 5th until the 12th, the Kunstmuseum in Bonn, Germany will feature a full survey of twin artists, Gert and Uwe Tobias’ work. 100’s of works be on display, including their well-known oversized wood cuts. In the video Dr. Stefan Gronert, curator of the museum, speaks about the artistic world of the Tobias brothers.

Gert & Uwe Tobias / Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany[Vernissage.TV]

Mark Handforth via Gavin Brown’s enterprise

Through March 29, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise will present Mark Handforth’s fourth gallery show. The exhibition will feature large-scale sculptures.

Review of Mark Handforth at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise [New York Times]
Mark Handforth at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise [Gavin Brown’s Enterprise]

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US Attorney announcing charges via Chicago Sun-Times

Buyers of ‘limited edition’ signed fine art prints take note– the Feds have indicted an international ring of several dealers making, forging signatures, and selling fake prints by Chagall, Picasso, Calder, Warhol and other big name artists. Utilizing Ebay, galleries and art fairs to sell the works, the fakes were made by reproducing from original artworks and by creating prints in the ‘style’ of a particular artist.

Official FBI Press Release[FBI]
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7 dealers from US and Europe indicted [Chicago Tribune]
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Same dealer was imprisoned for fraud in the 90s [Chicago Sun-Times]

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Rosy Keyser via Peter Blum Gallery

From February 28 until April 19, Peter Blum gallery presents the exhibition of Rosy Keyser’s “Rivers Burn and Run Backward.” This is Rosy Keyser’s first solo exhibition in New York.

Rosy Keyser Review [New York Sun]
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Rosy Keyser at Peter Blum Gallery [Artnet]
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Peter Blum gallery [Peter Blum website]
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The Apotheosis of King James I via the Times U.K

Tate seeking £6 million to keep “country’s most significant” Rubens[Times UK]
Monet, Rodin, 30 other works stolen from ‘priceless’ French collection [Bloomberg]
As Indian art gains value, is it a good time buy? [NY Sun]
Chanel commissions Sophie Calle, others for bag inspired installation [The Age Australia]
Fake Picasso prints sold over eBay, arrests made in the U.S. [New York Post]
Update: Is the Whitney Biennial too smart for its own good? [NYMag]
Sischy, Brant formerly of Brant Publications (Art in America), are new editors of European Vanity Fair [Mediaweek]

“Terminal Stage” via Artnet

Since March 13, at the lobby of the Lever House on Park Avenue in New York, Richard Dupont has set nine naked figures as the latest installation piece in Aby Rosen’s iconic office tower.

Richard Dupont’s exhibition [artnet]
video [coolhunting]
Terminal Stage at the Lever House [New York Sun]
Richard Dupont’s new exhibition [Artnet]

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Salle de conférence du Sénat via Yvon Lambert

Yvon Lambert gallery in Paris is presenting works by the German photographer Candida Höfer from March 8 through April 5. The show is entitled “Paris Serie” and features a large variety of indoor pictures of well known monuments such as the “Sorbonne” library, the “Théâtre de Marie Antoinette” in Versailles, the “Salle de Chasse” in Fontainebleau, the “Salle Pleyel” concert hall in Paris.

Candida Höfer’s exhibition [Yvon Lambert Gallery]
Candida Höfer’s works at Yvon Lambert [Artnet]
“Paris Serie” [re-title]

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The Lotus Eaters, 2005 via Zwirner

Marcel Dzama is a young Canadian- born artist best known for his intricate pen and watercolor works on paper, featuring fantastical characters. For this solo show at David Zwirner, Dzama is showing drawings, as well as five 3-D dioramas, a film, and a special sculptural installation that pays homage to Marcel Duchamp.

Even the Ghost of the Past [Zwirner]
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Marcel Dzama’s current picks for art to see in NYC [Artinfo]
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Profile of Marcel Dzama [New York Times]

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Maison Tropical via The New York Times

Jean Prouvé’s Maison Tropicale to Art Basel Miami [The Art Newspaper]
Met buys Delacroix in honor of retiring director Montebello [New York Times]
LACMA spends $12 million on more land [Los Angeles Times via ArtForum]
81 artists are selected for international Biennial in New Orleans [ArtForum]
Capital’s influence on Chinese contemporary art [GuardianUK via c-monster]
Rome’s growing contemporary art scene [New York Times]

Mary Heilmann “Yellow Wave” and John Waters Courtesy via The Armory Show

From March 27 through March 30, Pier 94 will host the Armory show in New York. While there will certainly be sales made, the Armory show will expand its offerings to panel of discussions, tours of the Whitney Biennial, visits to New York collectors’ homes, and cocktail parties, and other events throughout the city.

The Armory show [New York Sun]
Official Website of the Armory show [Armory Show]

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Leonard A. Lauder via the New York Times

Leonard A. Lauder the executive of Estée Lauder and the chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art committed $131 million to the Whitney Museum of American Art: it is the biggest donation that the 77-year old museum has ever received. The major part of the gift will be to the art museum endowment

$131M gift to the Whitney Museum [AP]
Leonard Lauder’s donation to the Whitney [The New York Times]

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“No Title (On That Hard)” via CFA

Contemporary Fine Arts gallery in Berlin is hosting Raymond Pettibon’s exhibition “No Title” from March 15 until April 26. This is his sixth solo exhibition at CFA Berlin, it features 50 new drawings and one painting.

“No Title, 2008” [Contemporary Fine Arts]
Raymond Pettibon [Artnet]
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The work for sale via Guardian Uk

Back in the 1990’s– after his now-famous Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, (aka the shark), was first shown at the Saatchi gallery in London, but before he won the prestigious Turner Prize – Damien Hirst gave a fish in formaldehyde to the owner of a fish-n-chips shop in Leeds as a gift. Bonhams has just announced they’ll offer the work this Fall for an expected £100,000- 150,000.

Hirst’s takeaway fish [Telegraph UK]
Hirst gift to sell for up to £150,000 [Guardian UK]
About Damien Hirst [White Cube]

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Rare 10th Century Bronze vessel for sale at Sotheby’s via The Economist

Rare Chinese bronze vessels dating back to the Western Zhou dynasty, belonging to an Asian collector, were expected to sell for record prices at Sotheby’s today, but were left unsold along with other high priced Chinese antiquities. However there was some positive news yesterday at the contemporary sale, where Chinese painter Zeng Fahnzi’s Mask Series No.11 (Triptych) sold for $1.05 million. There are still several days of sales and other events as Asian Week in New York continues.

Asian Contemporary Art Week [ACAW]
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International Asian Art Fair [Haughton]
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Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Asia [Sotheby’s]
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Christie’s Asian Art Week [Christie’s]
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East comes to NYC [Financial Times UK]
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Had good art becomes scarce at Asian Art Show? [New York Times]
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A bidding frenzy over Chinese art [Economist]
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Huge market for Chinese painters in New York [New York Sun]
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How Asian art has risen from obscurity [New York Times]
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Sotheby’s finds no takers [Economist]
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Sotheby’s contemporary sale results [Economist]

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Warhol’s portraits installed via c-monster

This weekend the Jewish Museum in New York will open Warhol’s Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered. When Warhol completed the series in 1980 — which he referred to as his “Jewish Geniuses”- it raised many eyebrows. This exhibit considers not only how and why Warhol made the works, but how the broad cultural concept of “Jewishness” has evolved in the past 25+ years.

Warhol’s Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered [Jewish Museum]
Andy Warhol Biography [warholfoundation.org]
Remounting a Controversy [New York Sun]
Reaction then and now [c-monster]
Jewish for Fifteen Minutes [New York Post]

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The New Museum via Gawker

New Museum’s first tag [via Gawker]
Rembrandt up for $49 million, reportedly less than 1/2 estimated value [New York Post]
Richard Dupont’s sculpture exhibition at the Lever House [The New York Sun]
NY Debut of Italian art publication FMR aka “most beautiful magazine in the world” [New York Sun]

Georg Baselitz via Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac is hosting Georg Baselitz’s exhibition ‘Remix’ from February 20, to March 29. Georg Baselitz was born in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony. His work has been marked by a reaction to human trauma and tragedy, particularly in regard to German history. Baselitz was also influenced by “Art Brut,” the writings and drawings of Antonin Artaud, and African sculpture.

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac [Thaddaeus Ropac]

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