The WSJ reports on a vineyard in Tuscany that has been commissioning projects by well-known contemporary artists for over a decade. Lorenza Sebasti and Marco Pallanti, the husband and wife owners, started their first of 12 commissions at the vineyard with a work by Michelangelo Pistoletto, at a rate of about one per year. The works are created in situ among stone buildings and 18th-century villas. Artists who have commissioned works include Louise Bourgeios, Daniel Buren and Anish Kapoor, among others. (more…)

The Getty Institute has announced that it will purchase the former Knoedler Gallery’s complete archives. Before the gallery was mired in lawsuits and closed its doors, it was an 165-year old institution whose client roster included Paul Mellon, Henry Clay Frick and Robert Sterling Clark. It exhibited and sold work by van Gogh, Manet, Winslow Homer, Frederic Church, John Singer Sargent, Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning and Barnett Newman, among others. The well-preserved archive includes stock books, sales books, photos and illustrated letters from artists and collectors. (more…)

Stray Light Grey opening at Marlborough Chelsea. All photos by Ryann Donnelly for Art Observed unless otherwise noted.

Stray Light Grey is a full gallery installation on view at Marlborough Chelsea by artist collaborators, Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman. Equal parts creation and destruction, a series of rooms has been gutted and destroyed in order for the viewer to pass through a maze of the artists’ apocalyptic scenery. The torn walls, fluorescent horror-film lighting and the glut of strange objects such as crystals, antique dentist chairs and 1980s movie posters all make up the experience.

Freeman Lowe installation courtesy Marlborough Chelsea

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FIAC Grand Palais, photo courtesy We Want Contrast for Art Observed

FIAC, one of Europe’s main three art fairs, held its vernissage last night in Paris at the Grand Palais. Dealers saw strong blue chip sales, including an $8 million Joan Miro panting, despite concerns over France’s proposed increase in wealth taxes and a strong Frieze and Frieze Masters in London the week before.

Gilles Fuches, President Prix Marcel Duchamp

All photos by Tiphaine Popesco for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

The crowd at FIAC

FIAC has added more contemporary work from the second half of the 20th century in the last two years, attracting big collectors like Francois Pinault, Bernard Arnault, Alberto Mugrabi and Omer Koc.

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A woman ranked #1 on Art Review’s Power 100 of 2012 for the first time ever. The Bulgarian curator, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, topped the list for her dOCUMENTA (13) exhibition in Kassel.  After 100 days of being open to the public, the fair received a total number of 887,000 visitors. The Power 100 is based on “a combination of influence over the production of art internationally, sheer financial clout … and activity in the previous 12 months”. Numbers, 2, 3, 4 and 5, are Larry Gagosian, Ai Weiwei, Iwan Wirth and David Zwirner, respectively. (more…)

Heather Hubbs, the director of the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), sent out a letter to its Miami exhibitors who also plan to have a booth at the inaugural “Untitled” fair, saying they must “commit to NADA solely”. The “Untitled” fair is in its first year in Miami, is curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud and will take place in a tent on the beach designed by Terry Riley. Hubbs also stated any gallery that did not withdraw would be barred from future participation in NADA fairs. A spokesman from “Untitled” issued a statement saying: “Our attorneys have sent a cease and desist letter to NADA and demanded that they immediately notify those with whom it has been in contact that it is withdrawing its opposition to such exhibitors participating in the Untitled fair.” (more…)

Last week, a Gerhard Richter from the collection of Eric Clapton set a record as being the most expensive work by a living artist to be sold at auction. Now, Sotheby’s, who sold that painting, is offering another 1990s Richter, also called “Abstract Painting,” in its November 13th New York sale. The presale estimate is $16 million, according to the WSJ. There are 65 paintings from this series that are 6 feet or higher, with 1/3 of these large pieces in museum collections. The auction will also offer major Abstract Expressionist works, such as  Mark Rothko‘s No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue) from 1954 and a 1951 Jackson Pollock drip painting.

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Rotterdam Kunsthal, photo Peter Dejong AP

The Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands suffered the loss of several valuable paintings in a theft around 3:00 a.m. on October 16th, among them Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, Matisse and Lucian Freud. The paintings were part of an exhibition of 150 works in the Triton Foundation’s collection as part of the museum’s 20th anniversary celebration. The burglars set off an alarm at a security agency and authorities responded within 5 minutes, but not in time to catch the suspects.

Picasso Harlequin Head, 1971 courtesy Businessweek

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A Roy Lichtenstein painting, missing for 42 years has been returned to its owner by Federal authorities.  Barbara Castelli’s late husband, Leo Castelli, had purchased the painting in the 1960s for $750; it is now valued at $4 million. The piece was sent to be cleaned in 1971 and remained there unnoticed until the restorer’s widow said the the employee who had kept track of the painting asked her to find a buyer for him. She found a buyer in Colombia, not knowing it was stolen. When the buyer contacted the Lichtenstein Foundation to authenticate the work, the Foundation contacted Castelli, who alerted the FBI. (more…)

Grand Palais, courtesy FIAC

FIAC, or the 39th International Contemporary Art Fair, will open tomorrow (Thursday) in Paris, with a VIP preview today, with 184 galleries exhibiting at the Grand Palais, and this year utilizing the restored Salon d’Honneur as well, which lies at the center of the structure. As in past years, galleries will exhibit sculpture at the Tuilieries Garden nearby. Approximately 65,000 visitors are expected to attend.

Tuilieries Garden courtesy FIAC (more…)

Thomas Hirschhorn, Concordia Concordia (2012), installation view. All images courtesy of Gladstone Gallery

Visitors to Gladstone Gallery can re-live the wreckage of the marooned Costa Concordia cruise ship that made headlines in January through the lens of Thomas Hirschhorn’s scrutinizing eye. Concordia, Concordia, on view through October 20th, is the artist’s reproduction of the overturned ship’s casino based on photos and video of the wreckage.

Video of “Concordia, Concordia” on Site at Gladstone Gallery

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Adrian Searle interviews artist Ryan Gander in the first of a series of artist interviews for The Guardian. Gander discusses his new works: a cast sculpture that resembles marble of his daughter’s secret fort, and a carved bureau that is conceptually about collisions between objects. He discusses his approach to making art in general, which relies on careful observation and the acknowledgement that everything is absurd: “It’s just being interested in the world. It’s enjoying keeping your eyes open and your wits about you.” (more…)

Larry Gagosian will partner with the owners of Sant Ambroeus cafe and restaurant, Gherardo Guarducci and Dimitri Paul, to open his new restaurant at 976 Madison Avenue. They have applied for a full liquor license and are reportedly planning a fall 2012 opening. (more…)

Breaking: Several valuable artworks were stolen from the The Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam on October 15th or 16th, including paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Gauguin and Freud. Police said the robbery happened on Monday night or early on Tuesday morning. They are reviewing surveillance video and asking any witnesses to come forward. The museum is showing works from the Triton Foundation in a 20th anniversary celebration. (more…)

Mr. – Give Me Your Wings – Think Different (2012), Courtesy Lehmann Maupin

Japanese artist Mr. has a remarkable ability for blurring the lines of contemporary culture.  Using the forms and imagery of the potent manga, otaku and kawaii subcultures of his homeland, the artist turns the lens towards the Japanese identity, highlighting what these icons say about the national culture.  On now, Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York City is presenting a large-scale installation by the artist that incorporates these works into a broad statement on the the emotionally frustrated climate of Japan after a year of economic stagnation and natural disaster. (more…)

Animal rights activists are speaking out against Damien Hirst‘s “In and Out of Love” exhibition at the Tate Modern.
More than 9,000 live butterflies died during five months after living out their lifespan but also at times being  inadvertently stepped on or crushed by visitors. The animal rights groups have also criticized Hirst’s shark preserved in formaldehyde and the severed cow’s head. PETA issued a statement saying that “Damien Hirst’s quest to be edgy is as boring as it is callous”.
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French President Francois Hollande, Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti and Prime Minister Ayrault have declared their opposition to a socialist lawmaker’s proposal of making art subject to the country’s wealth tax. The proposed amendment to the 2013 budget would apply to people with assets above €1.3 million. The wealth tax of 0.25% is levied in addition to income tax. For assets over €3 million, the rate would go up to 0.5%.
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Lynda Benglis sculptures and Hans Hurting paintings at Cheim & Read’s booth at Frieze Masters. All photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

Frieze Masters and Frieze London concluded on October 14th, with both fairs reporting solid sales on the high end. This year, there was a distinct focus on curated booths and curatorial projects and less of an overt feeling of commercialization. Frieze Masters in particular focused on serious connoisseurship and an academic approach, both of which translated into a successful fair for dealers.

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Elmgreen & Dragset, The Stag, 2012, courtesy Victoria Miro

Elmgreen & Dragset’s Harvest is a unique twin exhibition divided into two coexisting halves, presented on the upstairs and downstairs of the Victoria Miro gallery in London.

The lower half of the gallery presents a banal, almost “mock tranquillity”, exhibiting sheets of paint that have been carefully peeled from notorious art galleries from all over the world and are named retroactively. The works both pay homage to the galleries’ ability to facilitate the work, yet simultaneously mock the uniformity and pedantic nature of art culture. The installation on this floor plays on the irony of a modern art exhibition space: consistent, precise, conforming; yet the works that lie within are anything but.

To reinforce the subliminal jest upon which Elmgreen & Dragset have built their career, the upstairs of the installation is completely paradoxical to the work from which it ascends. What can only be described as a barn awaits the unaware viewer, the immediate submergence of hay forcing him to interact with the installation.

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Forbes interviews Lisson Gallery‘s Nicholas Logsdail about the gallery, the market and the exhibition in London of new works by Anish Kapoor, marking 30 years of the partnership between the gallery and the artist. He says Kapoor’s work is special because “in very simple terms, his work is profound, beautiful, timeless and outside of politics or national boundaries. It is about the very essence of our being – the body, and the human psyche”. (more…)

The New York Times reports on the rising wealth in Singapore and its interest in arts and culture; a particular example at the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Over 4,200 paintings and sculptures are on view to the public in the hotel. “Moby Dick,” a fiberglass sculpture the hotel commissioned by Frank Stella, hangs in the lobby. The corporate collection includes work by Andy Warhol, David Hockney and Henry Moore. The four Kwee brothers, whose company owns the hotel, are known to be one of Singapore’s wealthiest families. They started by displaying their private collection in the hotel and then went on to commission 350 artworks for the site. (more…)

London auction week ended with a £12.2 million sale at Phillips de Pury & Co., below the total presale estimate of £15m-£22 million. In other news about the auction house, several newspapers also reported that it plans to move its headquarters into 30 Berkeley Square as a tenant to the new owner, Mercury, a Russian luxury goods company which reportedly paid £100m in the sale of the property. Phillips, however, has not issued any statement about the move. (more…)

Image: Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild, 1994 via Sotheby’s
Estimate: £9,000,000 – 12,000,000
Sold for: £21,321,250

Sotheby’s just concluded its evening Postwar & Contemporary sale in London on October 12th with a sale total of £44,146,350 ($70,793,087),  the highest total of the three auction houses this week.

Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild, 1994 from the collection of Eric Clapton set a record price at £21,321,250 ($34,297,363). Alongside this work, the second cover lot of the sale was Yves Klein’s RE 9-I from the artist’s most sought-after series: the Relief éponge, which sold for  £3,737,250 with premium.

Image: Yves Klein, RE 9-I, 1961 via Sotheby’s
Estimate: £2,000,000 – 3,000,000
Sold for: £3,737,250

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Josef Albers, Color Study for White Line Square, Courtesy The Morgan Library & Museum

Now on view at the Morgan Library & Museum are German-born American artist and educator Josef Albers’ studies and sketches for his most well-known series of work, Homage to the Square. Approximately eighty oil sketches on paper show Albers’ artistic process, thoughts and reasoning behind the iconic paintings.

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