May 13th, 2016
The Modigliani Sells, via Art Observed
After a long week of sales that has seen both ups and downs for the two main auction houses, Christie’s has concluded its week with a consistently solid Impressionist and Modern sale, with 7 of the 54 lots at auction going unsold for a final tally of $141,532,000. The auction house saw its momentary stumbles over the course of the sale, with several pieces falling well below estimate, and a few high-profile lots going unsold. Even so, Christie’s managed to keep the bids moving, and keep works selling, a point that surely is not lost on those watching Sotheby’s occasionally disheartening sale earlier this week. Read More »
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May 13th, 2016
Mike Cooter, MacGuffin: some archetypes towards a definition (2016)
Swiss Institute’s Fade In: Int. Art Gallery-Day is a group exhibition featuring an ambitious array of contemporary artists, including Cindy Sherman, Allan McCollum, Christian Marclay, Dora Budor and Jamian Juliano-Villani, interpreting the ubiquitous relationship of moving images to the field of visual art. Comprised mostly of commissioned works, the exhibition transforms the gallery’s spacious interior into a vigorous stage, expanding outwards from the gallery entrance towards a deep corner of the storage room on the lower level. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – “Fade In: Int. Art Gallery-Day” at Swiss Institute Through May 19th, 2016 | |
May 12th, 2016
Francois Morellet, via Art Newspaper
François Morellet, the pioneering French artist who explored interrelations of optical phenomena, light, space and performance, has passed away at the age of 90. Read More »
| Comments Off on RIP РFran̤ois Morellet, Pioneer of Optical and Kinetic Art, at the Age of 90 | |
May 11th, 2016
A new world record set for Sam Francis tonight, via Art Observed
Another night of sales has come and gone at Sotheby’s, with an unexpectedly robust outing from the auction house that moved quickly through the 44-lot sale to a final total of $242,194,000. The sale was a short but impressive affair, as the auction house’s early lots consistently beat out estimates in the early lots, and ultimately saw only a small handful of lots go unsold. The sale makes for an impressive response to market alarmists and critics of the auction house, showing there seems to still be strong enthusiasm in the contemporary market. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Recap – New York: Sotheby’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, May 11th, 2016 | |
May 11th, 2016
Jussi Pylkkanen and Brett Gorvy in front of the Record-setting Basquait, via Art Observed
Christie’s has wrapped its Post-War and Contemporary auction last night in New York, continuing a strong performance that contrasted sharply with the lackluster sales last night at Sotheby’s, including an impressive new record for Jean-Michel Basquiat. All told, the sale saw 9 unsold lots out of a total 61 (counting a single withdrawn lot), and a final total of $318,388,000. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Recap – New York: Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, May 10th, 2016 | |
May 10th, 2016
Paul Signac, Maisons du Port, Saint-Tropez (1892), via Sotheby’s
Having just announced a loss of over $25 million for the first quarter of 2016, Sotheby’s needed a strong performance this evening to alleviate concerns over its recent shakeups and acquisitions, but there were few reassurances in sight for the house’s New York Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale tonight, as it concluded a 62 lot outing with almost a third of the works going unsold, bringing a final sales tally of $144,434,000. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO Auction Results – New York: Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Sale, May 9th, 2016 | |
May 10th, 2016
Mike kelley, The Thirteen Seasons (Heavy on the Winter) #13: Art (1994), via Art Observed
This week, Skarstedt Gallery opened a show of Mike Kelley’s shaped paintings at its Chelsea exhibition space, the first time that the artist’s work in this series of egg-shaped, abstracted canvases has been compiled at one time. Taking the artist’s interests in psychoanalytic techniques, trauma, and their intersections with the structures of mainstream American culture, the exhibition offers a close look at Kelley’s interests, juxtaposed through a series of pictorial relationships, or contrasted from work to work in a single room. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York – Mike Kelley: “Shaped Paintings” at Skarstedt Gallery Through June 25th, 2016 | |
May 9th, 2016
Omer Fast, 5,000 Feet is the Best (film still) (2011)
Offering a cinematic experience comprised of particularly constructed viewing rooms, Omer Fast’s inaugural exhibition at James Cohan saw the premier of the artist’s three most recent films for a New York audience. On view through this past weekend, the exhibition, which challenged the typical context of the theater, complicates notions of script and reality as well as of documentary and fiction. Read More »
| Comments Off on New York — Omer Fast at James Cohan Through May 7th, 2016 | |
May 8th, 2016
William Kentridge, Mantegna 2016, via Art Observed
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair opened its second edition at Pioneer Works in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook this weekend, presenting over 60 artists from 27 countries to cement its reputation as the premier platform for the representation of the multiplicity and diversity of contemporary African art. Referencing the fifty-four countries that constitute the African continent, 1:54 is a vital addition to the selection of fairs across the city during Frieze Week, presenting myriad perspectives on the contemporary African art context through a ambitious, yet focused lens. Read More »
| Comments Off on AO On-Site – New York: 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, May 5th-8th, 2016 | |
May 8th, 2016
Brice Marden, Star (for Patti Smith) (1972-74), via Phillips Auction
Following in the footsteps of an early evening auction at Christie’s just an hour prior, Phillips has logged a staid but consistent auction into the books for its sole evening sale of the spring auction week. The auction house’s 20th Century Sale achieved moderate success with a final tally of $46,576,000, with only 3 of the 38 lots going unsold.
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The Modigliani Sells, via Art Observed
