Newsweek attempts to discern the sociological and psychological factors that drive the high price of art.  “Some people actually prefer to pay more than makes sense.” [AO Newslink]

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Marina Abramović fielding questions after the preview screening of Marina Abramović The Artist is Present at Soho Beach House. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Marina Abramović was on site at Soho Beach House to present her new documentary Marina Abramović The Artist is Present, which was recently confirmed to show at Sundance Film Festival, and will air on HBO next year. The showcase featured a looping 15-minute preview clip—made while the film was still in production—and between each screening was a Q & A session with the artist and her filmmakers Jeff Dupre and Matthew Akers. Moving from the second floor screening room, a cocktail reception at the 8th floor poolside bar followed. The after-party was attended by the artist herself, along with Dasha Zhukova, magazine editor Jefferson Hack, and Waris Ahluwalia, among others. Both the viewing and the party were sponsored by NOWNESS, an online publication on luxury lifestyle and entertainment. A slide show of fashion, travel, art, and gastronomy was projected by the pool.

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In his editorial in the Guardian “The Hideousness of the Art World” a mercurial Charles Saatchi, a determining force in Contemporary art’s recent history, doubles back with a view: “Even a show-off like me finds this new, super-rich art-buying crowd vulgar and depressingly shallow”  [AO Newslink]

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Vanity Fair’s satire of the Art Basel Miami Beach’s events: “The Greatest Art Basel Party in the History of Mankind” on behalf “HSBC Bank, Fiji Water, the Government of Finland, and the Edible Arrangements Corporation of North America” [AO Newslink]

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All photos by Caroline Claisse.

On December 1st Mexican-born artist Gabriel Orozco sat down with Michelle Kuo, Editor-in-Chief of Art Forum, kicking off the series of “Art Basel Conversations” in Miami this week. The yearly panelist series begins each fair with an actual artist contributing to the conversations, and Orozco’s multicultural influence and Latin American roots suited this year’s intent to bridge global connections. The artist’s focus skirted his Tate Modern retrospective that debuted in January, reflecting instead on the metacognitive forms of recognition and orientation in his work, most notably life-size Corplegados, or “folded bodies,” on site at Basel, and later on the archaeologically excavated whale skeleton work, Mobile Matrix (2006), and the recast skeleton of Dark Wave (2006).

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All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Art Observed was on site for night three of André Saraiva’s Le Baron party in the Florida room below the Delano.
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Marina Abramović, Waris Ahluwalia, and friend in the back of Paris Paris. All photos by Caroline Claisse.

The grittier, satellite party to Le Baron, André Saraiva’s ‘Paris Paris’ pop-up karaoke club opened its exclusive downstairs doors Wednesday night. Paris Paris is something of a throwback, taking place in the original home of Le Baron after the latter jumped from the basement of Shelborne to Delano, with a few stops in between. Artists Marina Abramović, Aaron Young, and Nate Lowman, among others, arrived sometime after midnight, a full-band-backed karaoke session awaiting. Featuring mixologist Charles Vexenat’s Pernod Absinthe infused “Green Beast,” Paris Paris remains open through Saturday night, with Saraiva closing out the week with a Sunday BBQ at the Standard Hotel.

Karaoke on the stage

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Artist Erwin Wurm in attendance at the Bass Museum of Art for his opening of Beauty Business. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Erwin Wurm: Beauty Business held its opening reception at the Bass Museum of Art Wednesday night, along with several other Art Basel Miami Beach related events. The adjacent Collins Park displayed the Art Public sculpture park sector of the fair, and across the street Mr. Brainwash‘s 2nd annual “Under Construction” building takeover held its own party. Inside the Bass, crowds wandered through Wurm’s large gray architectural experiments and distorted sweater sculptures. Walls at each end of the ramp up to the exhibition space were dressed in sweaters themselves, covered in knit cotton with a neck hole and sleeves. Drinking Sculptures were arguably the main attraction and the most literally interactive. Wooden desks elevated or turned sideways invited viewers to open drawers and consume the bottles of vodka and whiskey stored within. One large wooden box on the floor had two holes in which to climb into and place one’s feet, shoulder width apart for a drink.

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The Gallerist as “industry matriarch:” The Wall Street Journal interviews Barbara Gladstone, purveyor of works from such artists as Matthew Barney and Anish Kapoor. [AO Newslink]

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Allora & Calzadilla, Umbrella and Bell (2011), front; Anish Kapoor, Untitled (2011), behind. At Lisson Gallery, booth J1. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

International collectors and art enthusiasts filled the Miami Beach Convention Center for the Wednesday preview of Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. While the maze of gallery booths could seem overwhelming, buyers were able to navigate through for a solid day of sales and works placed on reserve. Larger galleries such as Gagosian, David Zwirner, and Sprüth Magers sold several works and editions thereof. Speaking with Neil Wenman of Hauser & Wirth, “We’ve had a great response on the opening day. In particular for works by Thomas Houseago, Rashid Johnson, Paul McCarthy, Matthew Day Jackson, Richard Jackson—all works sold and all available editions.” Jenny Holzer’s new paintings at Sprüth Magers sold for upwards of $300,000, as well as Condos and Krugers at the booth. Lesser-known galleries were pleased to gain the exposure the fair offers; if not selling right away, interest was high and therefore also prospects for the remainder of the fair. Gallery Arratia Beer said the crowd was very engaged and informed, also saying, “The fair feels very international. It’s also good to see young internationals here too.” The newer Latin American presence was reportedly strong, both exhibiting and buying, as expected in Miami as opposed to the Frieze or FIAC fairs across the Atlantic earlier this year. Celebrities on hand included Julian Schnable, Eli Broad, Brett Rattner, Naomi Campbell, and Sean Combs/P. Diddy.

Larry Gagosian

Entrance D at the Miami Convention Center

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Paul McCarthy, Cultural Gothic (1992). All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Art Observed was on site for the private Tuesday evening preview of the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation show American Exuberance. Throughout 28 gallery spaces in a 45,000 sq ft museum, 190 works by 64 artists explore the American condition today through art, dissecting the paradoxical arenas of culture, economics, and politics. A 244-page catalog includes written commentaries by 13 of the artists from the notable roster, as follows: Thomas Houseago, Richard Jackson, Rashid Johnson, Nate Lowman, Richard Prince, Sterling Ruby, Haim Steinbach, Ryan Trecartin, and to name a few. About a quarter of the works were made in 2011 specifically for the show.  Also, Art Observed returned the next morning on Wednesday for Jennifer Rubell’s 11th annual breakfast, which is presented every morning throughout the week, treats visitors to a small jar of fresh yogurt, to be ‘anointed’ with honey dripping from the ceiling.

Collecting dripping honey at Jennifer Rubell’s Incubation yogurt and honey breakfast.

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André Saraiva and Benjamin Moreau man the DJ Booth at Le Baron. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

Beyond the red velvet rope, André Saraiva’s Le Baron party went well in to the A.M. on the first night of Art Basel Miami Beach, tucked beneath the Delano hotel in the Florida room. The first of several nights out, Le Baron kicked off the exclusive endurance test of the South Beach party week, many of the parties invite only. Hence, though the party certainly filled up with a diverse crowd of dancers, the fair’s gallerist and gallery goers were not in yet in full force, likely saving themselves for the rest of the long week. Mingling and dancing throughout, behind the DJ booth at times, Saraiva is notorious for his international pop-up clubs. Le Baron Miami originally took place in the basement of the Shelborne, where this year Savaiva’s other party, Paris Paris will also be happening this week.

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All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.

An extensive collection of Ferraris, spanning decades of makes, models, and colors, filled the seven floors of 11 11 Lincoln Road on the first preview night of Art Basel Miami Beach. Officially a party in honor of Ferrari chairmen Luca di Montezemolo, hosted by Interview magazine, Peter Brant, and Tobias Meyer of Sotheby’s, the latest Ferrari 458 Spider was unveiled in shades of both red and yellow. The Herzog & de Meuron designed open-air parking garage could be seen glowing from blocks around.  RPM, a Ferrari-inspired 3D film by Marco Brambilla came to life with Wayfarer-esque glasses on hand.  While no doubt many enthusiasts would consider Ferraris to be works of art the event certainly leaned to the commerce side of the art and commerce equation and could be seen as a harbinger of some of the big ticket selling within the walls of the art fairs to occur over this week.

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‪‬Sheikha Al-Mayassa, daughter of the Emir of Qatar. named most influential person in the art world, among Gagosian, Zwirner, and Ai Weiwei, by Art + Auction; magazine early release today at Shore Club in Miami [AO Newslink]

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Will Ryman’s Roses being installed on Miami Beach. Image via The Art Newspaper.

Art Observed is on site for this year’s 10th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach which officially runs December 1–4, with previews and parties throughout the entire week beginning on Tuesday, November 29th. More than 260 galleries from around the world will be representing over 2,000 artists, not including the several satellite shows taking place simultaneously across Miami, including NADA, SCOPE, Pulse, and the original Art Miami—twelve years Basel’s senior. Attracting 46,000 visitors in 2010, the fair is expanding every year, with various collaborations and special additions celebrating its 10th. The Swiss-based Basel art fair installment in Miami has evolved into something that may have lost some of its innocence from its earlier days but in the end has become the definitive closing party for the art market’s year. There have been many previews and summaries of the fair, the following is our view of the week to come.

Hennessy Youngman, still from ART THOUGHTZ: Relational Aesthetics. Via Youtube.
Youngman will be speaking at NADA Deauville Beach Resort on Thursday at 5 pm.

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All photos on site for Art Observed by Zachary Concepcion.

Maurizio Cattelan: All at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is the artist’s first and last retrospective—and should not be missed—according to Cattelan. Long thought of as both prankster and genius, Cattelan is known for his subversion of authority, and fittingly his retrospective challenges the traditional museum exhibition. His hyperrealistic statues and taxidermied animals question the norm with heavy and often humorous irony, while also carrying darker, more serious undertones, hanging like a gallows from the ceiling of the Guggenheim.

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‪‬Mideastern IkonoTV to expand to Europe, broadcasting its ‘Vision On’ channel showing only images of art, enabling viewers to fully “read” and enjoy important works albeit neither political nor profane [AO Newslink]

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‪‬Richard Prince shares his “unrivaled” contemporary American book collection; stating, “I like the gnarlier stuff” [AO Newslink]

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‪‬Gordon Matta-Clark 1976 film ‘City Slivers’ to screen on 22nd street building via High Line Channel [AO Newslink]

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‪‬Guggenheim Foundation announces six finalists for $100,000 2012 Hugo Boss Prize [AO Newslink]

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The Pace Gallery‘s current exhibition, Surface of the Third Order presents a collection of cerebral sculptures and objects by Hiroshi Sugimoto. The exhibition features two groups of work: small crystal pagodas and larger aluminum sculptures. Surface of the Third Order is on view through December 23, 2011, displayed concurrently with an exhibition of twenty-four of the crystal pagodas at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas.

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‪‬120 early Sol Lewitt photos displayed permanently on exterior walls of Mondrian SoHo hotel [AO Newslink]

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‪‬David Brooks creates ‘Desert Rooftops’ installation in Times Square in collaboration with Art Production Fund as part of ‘The Last Lot’ project [AO Newslink]

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Raymond Pettibon, Desire in Pursuyt of the Whole, 2011. Image via Re-Title.

In his current solo exhibition at Regen Projects, Desire in Pursuyt of the Whole, Los Angeles-based artist Raymond Pettibon shows a range of his works, from the more recent densely-woven collages to his well-known heroic surfers. Pettibon is one of the few artists whose work moves fluidly between the pages of Juxtapoz magazine and the walls of the Whitney Biennial, sustaining both the criticality of a conceptually-oriented practice and the cool ease of a graphic novelist.

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