–> Still Life Bread (2009) by Ugo Rondinone, via Sadie Coles
Now on view at Sadie Coles in London is Ugo Rondinone’s ‘Nude.’ The Swiss artist displays new sculptures from his ongoing ‘still.life.’ series. Objects such as tree trunks, walnuts, potatoes and other objects normally found in still-life paintings are cast in lead-filled bronze and displayed throughout the gallery.
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The Royal College of Art Secret Postcard fundraiser via The Guardian
-The Royal College of Art’s Secret 2009 event has 2,500 postcards for sale for £40, made by artists including Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry and Yoko Ono. Though buyers don’t know who the artist is until after they buy. [Times UK]
-Penelope Curtis has been appointed director of Tate Britain, the first woman to hold a directorship at Tate. [Guardian]
-Tracey Emin opens a new exhibition in New York, that, while popular, comes nowhere near the levels of sales or attendance she normal receives in Britain. [NY Times]
An artist’s rendering of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Cirkelbroen’ bridge to be built in Copenhagen via Artinfo
-Olafur Eliasson has designed a bridge to be completed by 2012 in Copenhagen’s harbor. Called ‘Brikelbroen,’ the bridge is comprised of five circles that take pedestrians on a winding path rather than straight across. [Artinfo]
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Currently on view at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills is “New Paintings” by Jeff Koons. This new body of work suggests a departure from the artist’s usual rendering of familiar yet banal objects within glossy surface textures. These works appear to be more literal, abstract and gestural yet also follow the tradition of figurative painting. They also engage in a dialogue that is cultural and intellectual by referencing major figures in modern art such as Gustave Coubet and Salvador Dali.
more images, text and relevant links after the jump…
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Mike Kelley, “Horizontal Tracking Shot of a Cross Section of Trauma Rooms,” (2009) Via Gagosian.
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On the back side of “Horizontal Tracking Shot of a Cross Section of Trauma Rooms,” are TV color bars, interspersed with videos depicting family life found on YouTube. (2009) Via Gagosian.
Currently showing at Gagosian Gallery in New York is an exhibition of paintings by Mike Kelley entitled “Horizontal Tracking Shots.†The show is Kelley’s first exhibit in New York which is devoted solely to paintings. In the past, his collaborative and solo shows have involved elaborate multimedia sets, symbolic performance art, theatrical spectacles, drawings and installation works. This body of work grew out of one of Kelley’s previous exhibitions entitled “Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstructions,” a kind of auto-biographical, multi-faceted project that began in 1995, involving sculpture, video narrative and themes of trauma and repressed memory.
Women and Blackboard from Take Care of Yourself (2007) by Sophie Calle, via The Whitechapel
Now on view at the Whitechapel in London is Sophie Calle’s  exhibition Talking to Strangers. Hailed for her photographic and film installations, Calle is known as one of France’s foremost female conceptual artist. Her often obsessive and voyeuristic projects examine the many notions by which human identity is constructed. She has been known to ask a stranger to sleep in her bed and invite an author to command her destiny. Such social interactions involve a complete act of trust for circumstances where trust is normally termed taboo.
This week we have been reporting on the Post-War and Contemporary evening sales in New York and last night Art Observed was on site at the final auction of the week – a smaller, more boutique event at Phillips de Pury in the meatpacking district of the city overlooking the celebrated Highline railway and Hudson River that was overseen by Simon de Pury himself. Unlike the multi-million totals achieved at Sotheby’s and Christie’s Contemporary evening sales, Phillip’s modest sale brought in a grand total of $7,099,250, within the pre-sale estimate of $5.8 – $8.4million.
Ice Bucket, Jeff Koons (1986) sold under estimate $230,500
More text, images and related after the jump….. (more…)
Simon de Pury DJing at the opening of his exhibition ‘PUREPURYGRAPHY’ in Berlin via Interview
Auctioneer Simon de Pury of Phillips de Pury & Company has stepped out from behind the rostrum and into the role of exhibiting artist at a show this fall at the upscale clothing store The Corner Berlin in Berlin’s fashionable Mitte district. The exhibition is comprised of 40 large-scale photographs taken by de Pury on his various travels, under the title ‘PUREPURYGRAPHY.’ Another 400 photographs are included in the accompanying catalogue. The photographs range wildly in subject matter and style, touching on luxury brands, contemporary art, urban architecture, and nature. At the opening of the exhibition, de Pury, who said his “ultimate musical hero is Prince,” DJed a mix of 80s hits and power pop, a night given the title of PUREPURYPOP, which Interview called ‘a blissful Bar Mitzvah-style bash.‘
Rouge Triomphant (Triumphant Red) (1959-1963) by Alexander Calder, via Gagosian Gallery
Currently on view at the Gagosian gallery in Rome is ‘Monumental Sculpture’ by Alexander Calder. Taking place at the same time as the current Calder retrospective at the Scuderie Quirinale, also in Rome, the Gagosian Gallery displays an exhibition of the artist’s monumental sculpture created between 1948 and 1964.
Last night’s Postwar and Contemporary Sale at Sotheby’s, New York easily outmatched their rival Christie’s sale the night before with a total of $134,438,000 and only 2 lots unsold. While 59% of works sold over their pre-sale estimates, it was Andy Warhol‘s 200 One Dollar Bills, which sold for $43,762,500 over an estimate of $8-12million, that catapulted the total sales revenue way over the initial estimate of $67-97 million.
–> Violins, Violence, Silence, Bruce Nauman. Record for a neon by Nauman – $4,002,500
More text, images and related links after the jump….. –> (more…)
Large Vase of Flowers, Jeff Koons. Sold by Benedict Tashcen to Dominique Levy for $5,682,500. All images via Christie’s
Last night Christie’s, New York brought-in a total of $74,151,500 from the sale of 39 lots at their Post War & Contemporary sale. While this figure falls within the pre-sale estimate of $64 – 88 million, and an impressive 21 lots sold for over the $1million mark, the sum is still a strong step down in comparison to that acquired from last year’s Fall Contemporary Auction at Christie’s which brought in $113.6million for a 43 lot sale. In the end, major marquee works went unsold. After a remarkable Impressionist and Modern auction at Sotheby’s last week, rumors were flying that the Art Market was flourishing once again – however, it now appears that the art world may have spoken too soon.
Reflection (What does your soul look like),Peter Doig
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Installation view of Ed Ruscha’s artist book: On the Road by Jack Kerouak
For the Los Angeles based artist Ed Ruscha, the road carries a symbolic connection to his artistic beginnings as well as the culture in which he thrives. His intimate reflection on the aesthetic and emotion of traveling or just the nature of moving from one point to another is the subject of a book tribute to Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and an exhibition at Gagosian gallery in London. Ruscha’s work is also presented in a large retrospective of the artist’s ouevre at the Hayward Gallery in Mayfair. Both shows reflect a trajectory and development of one of the most groundbreaking American artist of the 20th century. Tha Gagosian Gallery show runs through November 28th and the Hayward retrospective ends on January 10th, 2010.
An artist’s book of the classic novel by Jack Kerouac “On the Road,” 2009. Ed Ruscha via Gagosian Gallery (more…)
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Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘Trophy Wife,’ depicting Stephanie Seymour, currently going through a messy divorce from Peter Brant, who owns the piece
-Recent court filings in the divorce of Peter Brant and Stephanie Seymour reveal disputes over nearly 50 works by Andy Warhol, as well as works by Richard Prince, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Julian Schnabel, and a bust of Seymour made by Maurizio Cattelan [Vanity Fair]
-And in related, Udo Fritz-Hermann Brandhorst, an heir to Germany’s Henkel AG & Co. fortune, settled out of court a dispute with his former mistress over two works by Damien Hirst [Bloomberg]
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Allison Schulnik’s music video for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Ready, Able’
– Painter Allison Schulnik’s claymation music video for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Ready, Able’ via The Flog
-Tracey Emin reading her new book of poems “Those Who Suffer Love” and “Strangeland” at University Settlement as part of Performa 09 [Supreme Being]
-Also related, a round-up of Performa 09 includes a “Pasta Sauna” based on the Futurist Manifesto, Tacita Dean, William Kentridge, Merce Cunningham and more [Financial Times]
To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week…
Last week ArtObserved was on site for the Modern and Impressionist auctions at Christie‘s and Sotheby‘s in New York. Tonight, November 10, ArtObserved is set to attend Christie’s for the first auction of the fall ‘Contemporary Week’ in the city. After their record-breaking sale on November 4, Sotheby’s Emmanuel Di-Donna stated that “when you have the right property…you get fireworks.†In light of this, much is to be expected this week with Phillips de Pury, Christie’s and Sotheby‘s all stating that they are offering the most important and rare works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Willem De Kooning, Ed Ruscha and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Ilona on Top (Rosa Background), Jeff Koons (1990) via Sotheby’s
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Artist, Nicolas Pol, poses infront of one of his works at the opening party for his show, “The Martus Maw”
Lastnight ArtObserved was on site at the opening of “The Martus Maw;” the first US exhibition featuring the “wild and raw” work of the emerging French artist Nicolas Pol. Housed in an old meat market at 80 Essex Street in New York’s Lower East Side, the private party recalled an art gathering of the Warhol era when openings were not just for the art crowd but included prominent pop culture figures of the time from the worlds of art, fashion, literati, music and social scenes – an element typical to shows produced by Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld’s company, Feedback Production Ltd. Vladimir, son of French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, has a penchant for working with emerging talents to promote and produce their shows and provide a platform for them to sell their art – this is Vladimir’s fourth show and follows an exhibition of works by Richard Hambleton that previewed in an equally star-studded affair in September this year.
Puaka Crusade, Nicolas Pol
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Untitled (Smile-ism No.14) (2006) by Yue Minjun, via Arario Gallery
Smile-isms, an exhibition of a new set of 28 original prints by the internationally renowned Chinese artist Yue Minjun, is now on view at the Arario Gallery in New York City. The prints depict the iconic laughing face of the artist in various states from solitary play to humorous camaraderie. The joyful self-portraits reveal an unexpected viewpoint on the idea of personal freedom and satisfaction in contemporary Chinese society.
Georges Seurat, ‘Le Bec du Hoc, Grandcamp’ (1885). Via Kunsthaus Zurich.
Currently showing at the Kunsthaus Zurich is an exhibition of some 70 paintings and drawings by one of the fathers of modern art and masters of the Pointillism movement, Georges Seurat. The exhibition, entitled “Figures in Space,†is notable as the artist’s work has rarely been represented in European museums east of Paris. Most of the collection is on loan for a limited time from special public and private collections in London, Paris, New York and Washington. Seurat’s work demonstrates a kind of scientific manifestation of Impressionism—bringing rationalism into the picture through the application of geometry to figures, objects and landscapes. His artwork introduced a revolutionary, scientific groundwork to the Impressionistic technique.
Winter Timber (2009) by David Hockney, via Artnet
Currently on view at PaceWildenstein in New York is David Hockney: Paintings 2006-2009. The two-venue exhibition at 32 East 57th Street is on the occassion of David Hockney’s first exhibition of new paintings in New York in over 12 years. Praised by Charlie Finch as “one of David Hockney’s best ever exhibitions,” the show features recent landscape paintings of the artist’s native Yorkshire, including 14 new works that have never been exhibited before.
Graham Sutherland, “Black Landscape” (1939-40). Via Telegraph.
On view now through January 2010, “The Dark Monarch” explores “the influence of folklore, mysticism, mythology, and the occult on the development of art in Britain.” The name of the exhibition alludes to St. Ives artist Sven Berlin’s controversial autobiography, which has been republished since it was first withdrawn following legal action. The exhibition focuses primarily on works that draw a relationship with the “landscape and legends of the British Isles.”
Damien Hirst, “The Child’s Dream” (2008). Via Telegraph.
Georgia O’Keeffe, “Abstraction White Rose” (1927). Via NY Times..
On view now until January 2010, the Whitney Museum of American Art is featuring abstract works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The exhibition contains over 130 paintings, drawings, watercolors, and sculptures by O’Keeffe, including selections taken from Alfred Stieglitz’s photographic portrait series of the artist. “Abstraction” will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, which follows O’Keeffe’s celebrated career and life.
–> Iris (We share our chemistry with the stars) MQ 2801 (2009) by Marc Quinn, via Mary Boone Gallery
Currently on view at Mary Boone Gallery is Iris, featuring new paintings by Marc Quinn. Each work depicts large renditions of the iris of the human eye spotted and permeated with bright colors. Such new works refer back to Quinn’s recurring themes of the body and identity, flesh and the spirit. The works examine the significance of the eye, which since Biblical times have been likened to representations of the soul.  The works also recall earlier works by Quinn such as Self (1991), in which the artist’s head was cast in his own blood, where he similarly examines the act of bringing the inside out.
Jeune Arabe, Kees Van Dongen (1877) sold for $13.8 million – a new record for the artist
In contrast to the slim pickings made available to buyers at Christie’s Modern and Impressionist Evening sale on November 3, last night’s sale at Sotheby’s offered many iconic works that had bidders excited and which resulted in an auction that Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department in New York described as “a shot in the arm for the art market. A real vote of confidence.” The evening’s auctioneer Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Contemporary Art, commented that after all his time at Sotheby’s he had never seen such an active sale. And indeed it was, with a grand total of $181,760,000 over a high-end estimate of $163,600,000, this sale marked the first time since May 2006 that Sotheby’s in New York have exceeded their top estimate.
L’Homme qui Chavire, Alberto Giacometti – an instantly recognizable icon of the modern era cast in 1951. Sold for a remarkable $19,346,500.
More text, images, related links and video after the jump….
The Nominal Three (to William of Ockham) (1963) by Dan Flavin, via David Zwirner
Now on view at David Zwirner in New York is the city’s biggest Dan Flavin show in over a decade. Last month the gallery announced that it would have exclusive rights over the Estate of the New York minimalist who died in 1996. Series and Progressions opens at David Zwirner’s West 19th Street complex in Chelsea on November 5th. Curated by Tiffany Bell, the exhibit reveals Flavin’s use of progressives and serial structures which the artist incorporated throughout his career.
-To benefit Performa 09, party designer Jennifer Rubell invites 600 guests to “Creation” held at X Initiative in Chelsea in New York, where 3,600 drinking glasses, a pyramid of unshelled peanuts and 2,000 pound hillock of honey-soaked ribs were among the excess of food being served (Performa 09/ Food for Thought) [The Moment]
-In related, To mark the start of Performa 09 MoMA invited Fischerspooner to stage a show (Performance Art Enters the Museum) [Artinfo]
-In related, At Haunch of Venison in New York Marina Abramovich, Leandro Erlich, Mickalene and Rob Wynn pair with NYC pastry chefs to create performances; cakes were served by topless models (Kreemart or Cream Art Performance at Haunch of Venison) [NY Art Beat]
-Bikes used by Lance Armstrong and with frames designed by contemporary artists fetch $1.3 million at auction in Sotheby’s, among them Damien Hirst’s sold for $500,000 (Armstrong’s Tour de France Bikes Fetch $1.3 Million at Auction) [Bloomberg]
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