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.‘

PUREPURYGRAPHY
DJ Da Pury is in da Berlin house [The Art Newspaper]
A First Time for Everything [Interview]
Simon de Pury Exhibits Photos, Spins Turntables [Lindsay Pollack]
In the Air: Star Ambitions [Artinfo]
The Talented Mr. de Pury [Luxury Culture]
Purepurygraphy, Berlin [Harper’s Bazaar]
The art market: The talented Mr De Pury [Financial Times]
Best Link Ever! It’s Hammertime for Simon de Pury! [Art Fag City]

Simon de Pury’s ‘Multiple Choice.’ via PUREPURYGRAPHY

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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.

Press Release [Gagosian Gallery]
Alexander Calder: Monumental Sculpture [In Rome Now]

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200 One Dollar Bills, Andy Warhol

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.

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Violins, Violence, Silence, Bruce Nauman. Record for a neon by Nauman – $4,002,500

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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
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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…

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Brill Box, Andy Warhol (1964) via Phillips de Pury

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.

Exhibition Page [Arario Gallery ]
Yue Minjun Smile-isms at Arario Gallery in Chelsea [The Me Magazine]
Yue Minjun [Artinfo]
Yue Minjun “Smile-isms” [NY Artbeat]
Yue Minjun: Arario Gallery [Arthag]

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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.

Related Links:
Georges Seurat ‘Figure in Space‘ (Kunsthaus Zurich Museum)
Georges Seurat at the Kunsthaus Zurich (Expatica)
Kunsthaus Zurich Presents Work by One of the Fathers of Modern Art, Georges Seurat (ArtDaily)
Zurich Exhibition Fails to de Seurat Justice (Swisster)

Georges Seurat’s ‘Etude d’ensemble (Etude pour ‘Un Dimanche a la Grande Jatte)’ (1884). Via Kunsthaus Zurich.

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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.

Press Release [PaceWildenstein]
David Hockney: Paintings [NY Artbeat]
David Hockney: Recent Paintings [Hockney Pictures]
David Hockney: Critic’s Pick [New York Magazine]
A Walk in the Wood [Charlie Finch, Artnet]

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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.

Related Links:
The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art [Guardian UK]
The Dark Monarch [Tate St. Ives]
The Dark Monarch Review [Dazed Digital]
Tricks of the Light: Weird Visions in Art [The Independent]
The Dark Monarch [BBC Cornwall]

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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.

Related Links:
Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction [Whitney Museum of American Art]
In Full Flower, Before the Desert [NY Times]
Out of the Erotic Ghetto [NY Magazine]
Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction [Time Out: New York]
Georgia O’Keeffe, Whitney Museum, New York [FT.com]
Love It Or Hate It, O’Keeffe’s at the Whitney [New York Observer]
Painting a New Picture of Georgia O’Keeffe [The Wall Street Journal]

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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.

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Bayon Sunbow 67 (2009) by Marc Quinn, via Mary Boone Gallery

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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.

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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.

Press Release [David Zwirner]
David Zwirner to Hold First Dan Flavin Exhibition: Series and Progressions [Artdaily]
Recalling Flavin [NY Times]
David Zwirner Planning New York’s Biggest Dan Flavin Show in Over a Decade [The L Magazine]
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Performa 09 party via Artinfo

-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]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week… (more…)

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Futura, Jules de Balincourt, Dustin Yellin, Eric White, Tom Sachs, Shepard Fairey, Jeffrey Deitch, Lance Armstrong, Mark Parker, Geoff McFetridge, José Parlá, Dzine posing in front of a painting by Cai Guo Qiang; photo courtesy of Black Frame

A day before seven bicycles with frames designed by contemporary artists, and used by Lance Armstrong in his comeback season for July’s Tour de France, raised $1.3 million, an exhibition of artwork commissioned to benefit the legendary cyclist’s cancer foundation opened at Deitch Projects.  Launched in Paris at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, STAGES- the exhibit comprised of commissioned works created by over twenty established contemporary artists, is currently on view at New York’s Deitch Projects. Artists involved include Cai Guo-Qiang, Rosson Crow, Shepard Fairey, KAWS, Yoshitomo Nara, Catherine Opie, Os Gemeos, Raymond Pettibon, Andreas Gursky, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha and Tom Sachs. STAGES will run through November 21, 2009.  AO interviews some of the artists to find out their personal connection to the cause of STAGES, their view on creating commissioned work and the story of their involvement with the project powered by Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike and its goal of raising awareness of cancer.

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Rosson Crow in front of her piece “Texas Cycle Show”

Works presented in STAGES manifest not merely a vast array of mediums and stylistic approaches, they also speak of a multitude of equally appropriate paths the artists have taken in building the show.

Rosson Crow about STAGES: “This whole thing is incredible and overwhelming, it is a really awesome show with a great cause. Charity work is something that I love doing so this was a really cool opportunity. This painting that I did for the show is called ‘Texas Cycle Show’ and is based on an 1800′ cycle exposition. I made it Texas because both Lance and I are from Texas… kind of bringing the historical Texas vibe… and of course the bicycles I thought were perfect for a Lance Armstrong show [laughs]” When asked about any personal connections that the artist has with the cause, Rosson Crow comments that “it is hard to find anybody whose life has not been affected by cancer, so I think that everybody has a personal relationship to it in some way.”

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Yoshitomo Nara, “Fire” via STAGES

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Danseuses, Edgar Degas (1896) all images via Christie’s

Last night, November 3, the fall auction season in New York kicked-off at Christie’s with their Impressionist and Modern evening sale – the smallest since May 2004. While vigorous bidding wars ensued for the finer pieces in the sale, there was no escaping the deathly silence that occurred when auctioneer, Christopher Burge, called for bids on a number of the auction highlights which included works by Camille Pissaro, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, that eventually went unsold. Of the 40 lots on sale, 28 sold – making the overall total of $65,674,000, under the low-end estimate of $68,650,000.

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Installation view of Adansonias at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris via gallery’s website

Terence Koh, a controversial Canadian multimedia artist, has premiered his first solo show with Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac in Paris. The enigmatic exhibition cum installation cum operatic performance in two parts distinctly embodies Koh’s ouevre. The gallery is transformed via the artist’s multitude of references to mythology, identity, power, religion, fashion and sexuality. In addition to the time-based pieces Koh presented on October 6th and October 22nd, on display are various objects and wall pieces executed in the artist’s signature white monochrome style. An amalgam of drawings, photographs, and collages document the experimental opera project and reflect the influence of Parisian architecture and sensibility on Koh’s art.

A photograph of Adansonias opera performance staged by Terence Koh and 8 white-clad participants via Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

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Richard Serra’s ‘Opened Ended’ via Gagosian Gallery

On view now at Gagosian Gallery‘s West 21st Street location are two large sculptures by Richard Serra. ‘Blind Spot’ and ‘Open Ended’ are similar concentric structures each made of six weatherproof steel plates. ‘Open Ended’ was first exhibited at Gagosian’s London gallery last year and this current exhibition marks the New York debut of both works.

Richard Serra: Blind Spot/Open Ended [Gagosian]
Recent Richard Serra Sculptures Coming to Chelsea [L Magazine]

Richard Serra’s ‘Blind Spot’ via Gagosian Gallery

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TeÌ‚te de femme, Pablo Picasso (1943) estimated to sell for between $7,000,000 and $10,000,000 at Christie’s Modern and Impressionist evening sale tonight. via Christie’s

Christie’s Modern and Impressionist sale this evening, November 3, marks the beginning of the fall auction season in New York. Headlining tonight’s sale are works by Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse. Tomorrow Sotheby’s will follow with their Modern and Impressionist evening sale which is highlighted by Alberto Giacometti’s bronze Falling Man, estimated to sell for $8 million – $12 million along with works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Giacometti’s fellow modern masters Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. The combined total of the evening and day sales from both auction houses is estimated at as much as $607 million, down from $1.7 billion just two years ago.

ArtObserved will be on site to cover the proceedings on twitter at the show and in a review tomorrow. We are set to continue our auction season coverage next week when the Contemporary sales kick-off on Tuesday, November 10, at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips de Pury & Company.

L’Homme Qui Chavire (Falling Man), Alberto Giacometti (1951) via Sotheby’s

Related Links:
Christie’s Homepage
Sotheby’s Homepage
Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Evening Sale – Tuesday, November 3, 2009 – E-Catalogue
Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Day Sale – Wednesday, November 4, 2009 – E-Catalogue
Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale – Wednesday, November 4, 2009- E-Catalogue
Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale -Thursday, November 5, 2009 – E-Catalogue
On The Block: Traditional Offerings, Bargain Prices [NYTimes]
New House, Taschen Risking Low Prices for Art at Fall Auctions [Bloomberg]
New York Sales Preview [ArtInfo]
Up For Auction [NYTimes]
The Art World Goes Local [WallStreetJournal]
Art World Watching Sales Starting Next Week for Hints of Market Recovery [Financial Post]
As Art Auctions Shrink, Big Houses Look to the Future [Reuters]
The Art Market: Distress Sales, Iron Curtain Art and France’s Turner Prize [Financial Times]

Pure Beauty 1966-1968, Acrylic on canvas © John Baldessari, Courtesy of Baldessari Studio and Glenstone

Tate Modern are currently exhibiting the largest ever UK retrospective featuring the work of the prolific Californian artist, John Baldessari, through January 10. Tate Modern’s exhibition, John Baldessari: Pure Beauty, acts as a parallel to the Ed Ruscha exhibition only minutes away at the Hayward Gallery in London’s Southbank Centre; both artists employ humor and a compulsion toward language and American pop culture in their works.

Bloody Sundae 1987 Black and white photographs, vinyl paint © John Baldessari, Courtesy of Baldessari Studio

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Los Angeles County Museum on Fire,(1965 – 1968) Courtesy of Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution © Ed Ruscha 2009 Photography: Lee Stalsworth. All images in this article are by Ed Ruscha.

The Hayward Gallery, in London’s Southbank Centre, is currently hosting the UK’s first major retrospective of the leading Californian artist Edward Ruscha. The exhibition is comprised entirely of paintings – by highlighting this medium in a multidisciplinary oeuvre testifies to Ruscha’s influence on it.  After all, in 1956 Ruscha enrolled at the Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles, intending to train as a commercial artist, but this course was diverted somewhat after taking complementary fine art classes: this truth is made greatly evident in this exhibition in which the works hover at an interesting crossroads where graphic design meets Conceptualism in painting.

Large Trademark with Eight Spotlights (1962) via The Guardian

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