Postcard from RCA Secret 2010 at the Royal College of Art, all photos via The Guardian

Twenty-eight hundred postcards are on view at the Royal College of Art in London through 6 pm this Friday, November 19. Until November 20th, the artists who created them will remain anonymous, their names (signed on the back of each card) revealed to buyers only after purchase during a one-day sale. The collection constitutes RCA Secret 2010: an annual exhibition and sale of postcard-sized art benefiting the Royal College of Art Fine Art Student Award Fund. To add to the allure of the unknown, a few household names are among the 1,000+ participating artists, including Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry, Yoko Ono, Jake Chapman, Olafur Eliasson, Yinka Shonibare, Sir Peter Blake, John Baldessari, fashion designers Manolo Blahnik, Mary Quant and Sir Paul Smith, animator Nick Park, photographer David Bailey, film maker Mike Leigh and designers Ron Arad and James Dyson. Students and graduates from the Royal College of Art comprise the majority of the participants.

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All images by C. Claisse for Art Observed.

Art Observed was on site at Spencer Brownstone Gallery for the lively B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Beamer), a one night event in which 25 artists participated in a collaborative, interactive installation of “moving light, sound, and performance” generated by the use of portable projectors. Curated by Rafaël Rozendaal, the evening aimed to create a three-dimensional environment in which the viewer was fully immersed in web-browser images transitioning, intersecting, and merging in a way that reflected the act of surfing the internet. The event has previously been held at venues in Berlin and Athens, and will take place again in Los Angeles this week on Friday November 19, 2010.

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Pipilotti Rist, 2010 SI Tribute Artist, and Sam Keller, Director Fondation Beyer and 2010 SI Award Recipient.
All images by Patrick Meagher for Art Observed.

Art Observed was On Site for the Swiss Institute’s 2010 Benefit Dinner and Auction. This year’s event honored Fondation Beyer Director Sam Keller and artist Pipilotti Rist. It also featured a live auction by Phillips de Pury Chairman Simon de Pury, which included works by Rita Ackerman and Harmony Korine, Pipilotti Rist, Paul McCarthy, and Jenny Holzer. Guest speakers for the evening were Marilyn Minter and Benedikt Taschen.

Prince George Ballroom, The Swiss Institute’s 2010 Benefit Dinner and Auction.

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The CHERYL Group, partnering with American Apparel, at P.S.1 MOVE!. Image courtesy of CHERYL.

The weekend after the closing of the ambitious survey “Greater New York,” visitors once again flocked to MoMA PS1 for Move!, a two-day event featuring 14 collaborations between artists and fashion designers.  Curated by Cecilia Dean, editor of Visionaire, and David Colman of the New York Times, the project featured interactive performance-based installations and saw 3,000 participants over two days.

Participating artists and designers included: Kalup Linzy and Diane Von Furstenberg; Rob Pruitt and Marc Jacobs; Terence Koh and Italo Zucchelli (Calvin Klein Collection); Tauba Auerbach and Ohne Titel; Olaf Breuning and Cynthia Rowley; Brody Condon and Rodarte; Rashaad Newsome and Alexander Wang; Dan Colen and Proenza Schouler; David Blaine and Adam Kimmel; Jonah Bokaer and Narciso Rodriguez; CHERYL and American Apparel; and Ryan McNamara and Robert Geller; and TELFAR + Lizzie Fitch, Rhett LaRue, Fatima Al Qadiri, Ryan Trecartin, and Leilah Weinraub.

The CHERYL Group, partnering with American Apparel, at P.S.1 MOVE!. Image courtesy of CHERYL.

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Christian Marclay, The Clock (still), 2010. Image via White Cube.

American-born (and Swiss-raised) collage artist Christian Marclay‘s “The Clock,” on view at White Cube through 6pm GMT tomorrow, has elicited an overwhelmingly positive response from viewers and critics alike. So much so, that the gallery recently staged three continuous viewings of the piece (in addition to the one going on now), allowing audience members to experience the full trajectory of Marclay’s meticulously-researched project. Over a span of more than three years, Marclay extracted film and video footage in which the time of day is captured and represented on a vast array of clocks, both digital and analog. He subsequently synced the clips so that the image-sequence accurately reflects the hour and minute of the day, in real time.

Christian Marclay, The Clock (still), 2010. Image via Free Art London.

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Trailer in transit. Courtesy Friends of the High Line.

Currently on display in Gansevoort Plaza, beneath the High Line, is Francis Cape’s The Other End of the Line. Friends of the High Line sponsored this first major public installation in New York City for Cape, which presents a previously residential trailer relocated to its new urban setting from Sullivan County, New York–not far from the artist’s permanent residence. In its new temporary home, Cape has transformed the trailer into an exhibition space, featuring works by other artists also from upstate New York. Art Observed attended the opening of The Other End of the Line, on the evening of October 22nd, and had the opportunity to speak with the artist afterward for a more personal discussion of the project.

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Roy Lichtenstein, Ohhh…Alright…, 1964 (est. not published, realized $42.6 million), via Christies.com

This week’s Contemporary Art sales in New York ended with a bang at Christie’s Contemporary Evening Sale on Wednesday night. Seventy-five lots offered brought in $272 million with a sell through rate of 93% by lot and 92% by value. As was the case earlier this week at the Phillips and Sotheby’s sales, Pop Art sold exceptionally well. Roy Lichtenstein‘s Ohhh…Alright… was the evening’s top lot and set the record for the artist when it sold to an anonymous bidder for $42.6 million – smashing the previous record of $16.3 million set at Christie’s in 2005.

AO Onsite photo by J. Mizrachi

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Marcel Broodthaers, Les Portes, 1969. Vacuum-formed plastic, hand painted, 192 x 178 cm. All images courtesy of Michael Werner Gallery.

Currently on view at Michael Werner Gallery is Marcel Broodthaers “Major Works.” The exhibition marks the second this fall of Belgian conceptual artist Broodthaers, who began his career as a poet before turning to visual art at age 40. Stemming from his roots in poetry, Broodthaers’ visual practice involved playful, provocative juxtapositions of word and image, poetry and object, language and art. His work is varied, dabbling in appropriations, film, image and text combinations, and mixed media installations he called decors.

The artist found inspiration in the Surrealists and American Pop artists, citing influence from Oldenburg, Segal, Mallarmé, and Magritte. Unfortunately, the artist’s career was tragically cut short when, a mere twelve years later, he succumbed to liver disease on his 52nd birthday. However, he leaves behind an astounding number of works, many of which have had a profound impact on future artists, including Richard Prince, Rachel Harrison, Philippe Parreno and Tino Sehgal.

Marcel Broodthaers, Dites Partout Que Je L’Ai Dit (Say Everywhere That I Have Said It), 1974. Parrot under bell jar, audiotape, 2 framed works. Variable dimensions.

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Andy Warhol, Coca-Cola [4] [Large Coca-Cola], 1962 (est. $20-25 million, realized $34.5 million), via Sothebys.com

Auction goers at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale on Tuesday night were offered glass bottles of Coca-Cola before entering the saleroom in honor of the auction’s featured lot – Andy Warhol‘s Coca-Cola [4] [Large Coca-Cola]. The painting sold for $35.4 million against a high presale estimate of $25 million and was, like the Warhol for sale at Phillips Monday night, the evening’s top lot. The Sotheby’s auction was comprised of 54 lots (not including a work by Felix Gonzales-Torres, which was withdrawn) that brought in $222.5 million against presale estimates of $151.8-214.5 million. The sale had a sell through rate of 90.7% by lot and 97.1% by value with 5 of 54 lots unsold.

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Felix Gonzales-Torres, Untitled (Portrait of Marcel Brient), 1992 (est. $4-6 million, realized $4.5 million), via Phillipsdepury.com

Phillips de Pury conducted its first auctions at 450 Park Avenue on Monday night to a packed house, kicking off a week of Contemporary Art sales in New York. The Carte Blanche auction, curated by Philippe Ségalot, was immediately followed by the Contemporary Art Evening Sale. The Carte Blanche auction carried a presale estimate of $77.5-104.8 million and realized $117 million, while the Contemporary Evening Sale brought in $20 million against a high presale estimate of $34.4 million.

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Andy Warhol, Men in Her Life, 1962 (est. $40 million), via Phillipsdepury.com

The second week of major New York auctions begins with two evening sales at Phillips de Pury on Monday, November 8th, followed by the Sotheby’s sale on Tuesday and the Christie’s sale on Wednesday. Phillips will hold two back to back sales on Monday evening that will inaugurate the house’s new headquarters at 450 Park Avenue in New York City. The evening sale is preceded by the first of a new series of auctions titled Carte Blanche, wherein a guest artist, collector, or curator organizes the auction. This week’s Carte Blanche auction is the bigger of the two sales and is curated by Philippe Ségalot. It is comprised of 33 works expected to fetch at least $80 million. The Sotheby’s sale is composed of 55 lots expected to bring upwards of $132 million, while the 76 lots at Christie’s are expected to fetch upwards of $240 million.

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12 People outside Ai Weiwei’s Shanghai Studio Playing Assassin, via Twitter.

This is the general tragedy of this nation. Everything has to be dealt with by police. It is like you use an axe to do all the housework because this is the only tool you have. –Ai Weiwei, via NPR

Ai Weiwei, one of China’s most internationally-visible and politically-engaged artists, was reportedly placed under house arrest Friday by police in Beijing. According to Ai and media outlets in dialogue with him, the detainment is an effort by authorities to prevent a party the artist scheduled for Sunday night at his studio in Shanghai, in protest of government orders received earlier this year to demolish the space.

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Artist Ai Weiwei, via The Guardian.

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Tony Oursler, Studio View, 2010. Courtesy of Lehmann Maupin Gallery

Art Observed attended last month’s opening of Tony Oursler’s exhibition Peak, presented by Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York. The show is comprised of all new works by Oursler, and continues his long standing examination of technology’s interaction with the human psyche. In Peak, the artist focuses in particular on the increasingly-central importance of computers to human existence, and the relationships that manifest within these virtual platforms. Each of the bizzare microcosmic scenes Oursler has created communicates emotions that are central to this connection, such as obsession, escapism, isolation, and sexual fetish.

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Photo Courtesy of Bismarck Phillips Communications & Media

Last night at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann was announced as the winner of the 2010 Hugo Boss Prize. In addition to receiving $100,ooo for his achievements, Feldmann will also have his work displayed in a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim, from May 20th to September 5th, 2011. Though the prize is regularly awarded to young emerging artists, critics could not ignore his recent contributions to the contemporary art, and at age 69 made Feldmann the oldest individual to ever receive it. The six person jury considered five other artists before reaching their decision. The Hugo Boss Prize was established in 1996 and has been given out biennially since then.

Hans Peter Feldmann with the Hugo Boss Prize, photo Courtesy of Bismarck Phillips Communications & Media

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All images via Lever House Collection, © Taryn Simon.

Taryn Simon’s “Contraband,” curated by Richard D. Marshall, consists of 1,075 photographs taken at U.S. Customs and the U.S. Postal Service International Mail Facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport.  Simon personally remained on-site at JFK from November 16, 2009 through November 20, 2009, photographing all items detained from travelers entering the country and from packages entering the US from overseas.

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Henri Matisse, Nu de dos, 4 état (Back IV), conceived c. 1930 and cast 1978 (est. $25-35 million, realized $48.8 million), via Christies.com

Wednesday evening’s Impressionist & Modern auction at Christie’s in New York featured 84 lots (not including lot 27, which was withdrawn) that were expected to fetch between $198-286.6 million. The sale realized a total of $231.4 million and had a sell through rate of 80% by lot and 88% by value. Like the Sotheby’s sale  on Tuesday night, a handful of the top lots found buyers after enthusiastic bidding while the majority of lots were sold within or below presale estimates, or were bought in.

Still, the aggressive bidding that set two artists’ records was largely unexpected. Perhaps garnering the most post auction attention,  the sale of Matisse’s Nu de dos, 4 état (Back IV), an impressively sized bronze sculpture of a woman’s back, went to Larry Gagosian–on behalf of an anonymous client–for $48.8 million. Similarly, Violon et guitare, a 1913 painting by Juan Gris, generously outperformed its $18-25 million estimate, fetching $28.6 million from a European collector. Though the top buyers identities remain unknown, sources such as the New York Times have speculated the involvement of hedge fund billionaire and collector Steven A. Cohen, who was present at the event and has bought through Larry Gagosian in the past.

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The room fills at Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Evening Sale in New York, via Art Observed

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Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Assis Sur un Divan (La Belle Romaine), 1917 (est. $40 million, realized $68.9 million), via Sothebys.com

The fall auction season in New York kicked off on Tuesday evening with Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern sale. The 61-lot auction carried a presale estimate of $195-266 million and realized $227,561,000. Just four lots accounted for more than half of the evening’s earnings, while 15 lots were bought in. Amedeo Modigliani‘s Nu Assis Sur un Divan (La Belle Romaine) was the top lot, bringing in a staggering $68.9 million and setting the record for a work by the artist at auction.

Aristide Maillol, Torse de L’Action Enchainée, 1861-1944, at auction (est. $500-$700 thousand, realized 2.9 million), via Art Observed

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Tina Barney, Players, 2010. Image Courtesy of Janet Borden.

Tina Barney’s latest show, Players, at Janet Borden features the elegant, highly detailed, large-format photographs for which the artist is best known.  The exhibition also marks the release of a book by the same name in which Barney closely examines instances of performance and theatricality.

The show addresses Barney’s long-standing engagement with the portrayal of upper-class American and European families and their dwellings, questioning the role of environment and visual signifiers associated with wealth.  Players depicts an expanded visual vocabulary emphasizing subject matter ranging from fashion, popular actors, circus performers, and the artist’s family and personal friends.  The work examines an intersection between public and private domains, resulting in a more casual-yet-editorializing style that is simultaneously revealing and perpetually curious.

Tina Barney, Players, 2010. Image Courtesy of Janet Borden.

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Francesca DiMattio, Marie Antoinette

The New Art Dealers Alliance held its inaugural NADA Artist Ball this past Sunday, October 31st at Eventi Hotel in Chelsea. The event naturally followed a Halloween theme, with inventive costume ideas abounding among the crowd of creative guests. According to NADA’s website, the gala was put on to “celebrate the artists that make our industry possible.” Proceeds from the event, which also featured a selection of live music and performances, benefit the organization’s growing public and educational programs. Patrick Meagher attended the festivities and captured some highlights on film for Art Observed; a full on-site photo collection follows the jump.

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Neckface, “Into darkness”, Crowd oustide on Halloween night at OHWOW Gallery, 2010. Via Michael C. Hsiung

With “Into Darkness,” Neck Face imparts many layers of his wonderful psyche upon the OHWOW audience, including takes on violence, music, optimism and addiction. His acerbic, Pettibon-esque drawings remain engaging, as always, and are the highlight of the show. An intelligent coupling of this series with a selection of collage and large, text-based paintings with his imagery provided a balanced presentation of his work at the Los Angeles venue’s installation. OHWOW’s sophisticated and discerning curatorial decisions transcend the chaos-over-saturation possible in the undertaking of this Halloween debut.

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John Baldessari, The Overlap Series: Jogger (with Cosmic Event), 2000- 2001 Image © John BaldessariLos Angeles comes to New York with “Pure Beauty,” a survey of work by conceptual Californian artist John Baldessari. With a career spanning over five decades and a body of work composed of nearly every media, Baldessari pioneered many of the tropes associated with conceptual art today.  In “Pure Beauty,” established themes of language and seriality intersect with Baldessari’s interest in cinema, pedagogy and the culture of LA.

John Baldessari, God Nose, 1965 Image © John Baldessari (more…)

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Exit Art Founders Papo Colo and Jeanette Ingberman at Exit Art, 578 Broadway, Manhattan, 1986. Courtesy of Exit Art

Exit Art’s Alternative Histories attempts to assess the inception and development of “alternative” art spaces in New York since the 1960s. The show presents various forms of documentary and archival material drawn from more than 130 organizations and collective experiences which have, from this establishment’s perspective, shaped  the cultural topography of the city over the past 50 years, informing and inspiring generations of artists and practitioners.

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All installation views courtesy Exit Art

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Takashi Murakami, Oval Buddha 2010, Chateau de Versailles, via Luxuo–>

Controversy over the Takashi Murakami exhibition at Versailles continued this past week as Prince Sixte Henri de Bourbon-Parm, descendant of King Louis XIV, filed a court order to suspend showing of the manga inspired contemporary pieces in the royal apartments. According the the Independent, the French aristocrat has taken the action out of “respect of the château and of his ancestors” and opposes the display because it has degraded “supreme good French taste.”  He joins the voices of the over 12,000 opponents who have signed petitions to remove Murakami’s playful works since the show was announced at the beginning of this past summer.

Prince Sixte-Henri de Bourbon-Parme, via tvhl.info.com–>

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Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Assis Sur un Divan (La Belle Romaine), 1917 (est. $40 million), via Sothebys.com

Sotheby’s and Christie’s will both hold Impressionist and Modern sales in New York during the first week of November. Sotheby’s will offer 61 lots during the Evening Sale on November 2nd, with Christie’s Evening Sale following on the 3rd. The latter is comprised of 85 lots, and is expected to bring at least $200 million.

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