Global contemporary art events and news observed from New York City. Suggestion? Email us.

AO On-Site – New York: The Armory Show at Piers 92 & 94, March 8th – 11th, 2018

March 10th, 2018

Yinka Shonibare at James Cohan, via Art Observed
Yinka Shonibare at James Cohan, via Art Observed

As Wednesday winds down, this year’s edition of the annual Armory Show has gotten underway, with the doors of Piers 92 and 94 opening on to an expansive array of booths and art objects.  Marking its most recent iteration since first opening in 1994, this year’s edition of the Armory Show also marked its first for new director Nicole Berry, who took over following Benjamin Genocchio’s ouster over reports of sexual harassment.  Berry brings years of experience with EXPO Chicago, and it shows, with a relaxed pacing and well-curated body of main booths and special exhibitions keeping the fair at the top of its game. Read More »

AO Auction Results – London: Sotheby’s Contemporary Sale, March 7th, 2018

March 8th, 2018

Gerhard Richter, Gelbgrün (1982), via Sotheby's
Gerhard Richter, Gelbgrün (1982), via Sotheby’s

The second night of London’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sales has wrapped, as Sotheby’s capped a 61-lot auction outing that reached a final tally of £109,292,700.  Achieving a solid price for the sale despite some underperforming lots and a handful of unsold works.  The sale seemed to underscore a market whose highest selling works are still stuck in a state of relative uncertainty, with certain bets and guaranteed prices far less reliable than in recent years.

Peter Doig, The Architect’s Home in the Ravine (1991), via Sotheby's
Peter Doig, The Architect’s Home in the Ravine (1991), via Sotheby’s

Read More »

AO On-Site – New York: SPRING/BREAK Art Fair, March 7th – 12th, 2018

March 7th, 2018

Brooke Nicholas, via Art Observed
Brooke Nicholas, via Art Observed

As the Armory Week begins to heat up, and turns towards the centerpiece of the week’s proceedings at Piers 92 and 94 tomorrow, the first night of SPRING/BREAK was underway at 4 Times Square.  Holding its seventh edition this year, the fair has grown into one of the more enigmatic and exciting events of the week, with this year being no exception.   Read More »

AO Auction Results – London: Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, March 6th, 2018

March 7th, 2018

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Multiflavors (1982), via Christie's
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Multiflavors (1982), via Christie’s

The art world’s market focus has split between London and New York this week, as Armory Week kicks off in New York, and a trio of major contemporary auctions hit the British capital.  The week’s sales got its first indicator of health for the Contemporary and Post-War Market as Christie’s capped the first night of sales, closing a 65-lot offering with moderately strong results, ultimately achieving a final tally of £137,989,750 with only five lots going unsold. Read More »

AO Preview – New York: The Armory Show Art Week, March 8th – 11th, 2018

March 6th, 2018

Hannah Van Bart, The Waiting (2017), via Marianne Boesky
Hannah Van Bart, The Waiting (2017), via Marianne Boesky

As the winter months draw slowly to a close, and the weather shifts into more temperate conditions, New York City will once again step into its role as a central hub of the contemporary art market, and the global art fair circuit, as a string of fairs and exhibitions open up across the city.  Centering around the annual Armory Show Art Fair on the West Side, the scale of the proceedings seem to only get larger each year (so much so that this year mainstay the ADAA Art Show branched out into its own week), yet attention continues to center around a selection of fairs spread across Manhattan.

Nam June Paik, Lion (2005), via Gagosian
Nam June Paik, Lion (2005), via Gagosian

Bruce High Quality Foundation, Ways to Die (House of Turds) (2018) via Pippy Houldsworth
Bruce High Quality Foundation, Ways to Die (House of Turds) (2018) via Pippy Houldsworth

Read More »

AO On-Site – New York: ADAA Art Show at the Park Ave Armory, February 28th – March 4th, 2018

March 5th, 2018

Tomas Saraceno at Tanya Bonakdar, via Art Observed
Tomas Saraceno at Tanya Bonakdar, via Art Observed

The early weeks of March in New York are notoriously packed with art.  There’s the usual string of exhibitions and openings, coupled with the ever-growing number of art fairs taking up space across the city during Armory Art Week.  With that in mind, it’s no wonder that the ADAA might look outside this marathon week in hopes of reaching a broader fair-going public. That gambit seems to have paid off this year, as the ADAA Art Show opened its doors at the end of February, setting itself apart from the mass of exhibitors opening their doors in the coming days.   Read More »

Frankfurt am Main — ‘-46,08°’ at fffriedrich through March 2nd, 2018

March 4th, 2018

fffriedrich_75_Robert_Schittko_copyright
Sophie Kitching, Ausblick (2018), Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen, LL 31012018 (2018), installation view -46,08°, fffriedrich, photo by Robert Schittko

The night sky, with the reflecting light of the full moon or the gloom of the new moon, offers a polarity of attraction and rejection that not only affects natural phenomena like high and low tide but also works as a mirror for the contemplation of basic human dispositions. Gazing into the stars, the astronomical objects or their formal representation, comes from the curiosity to see what lies beneath the surface of things. This ability to go beyond the boundaries of time, space and fiction, and the fascination for the infinity of the outer space has been a constant source of inspiration for artists.

sophiekitching_anselmschenkluhn_rasmussondergaardjohannsen_fffriedrich
-46,08°, fffriedrich, installation view

Frankfurt-based project space fffriedrich presents such parallel visual worlds in the exhibition ‘-46,08°’ featuring works by Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen, Sophie Kitching and Anselm Schenkluhn. For all three artists, the moon and the stars function as symbols, become subjects of iconographical experiments or are actively implicated in their creative process. The works on view move between personally and scientifically oriented approaches and explore various craft techniques in their artistic development. Presence and absence, shadow, illusion and dissolution are recurring concepts in their work.

Read More »

AO Auction Results – London: Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale, February 28th, 2018

March 1st, 2018

Pablo Picasso, Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) (1937), via Sotheby's
Pablo Picasso, Femme au béret et aÌ€ la robe quadrillée (Marie-ThéreÌ€se Walter) (1937), via Sotheby’s

The first tests of the  Impressionist and Modern market for 2018 are now in the books, as Sotheby’s capped a brief but action-packed sale this evening in London, ultimately achieving a final of £118,932,000 despite a handful of unsold works.  There was little room for error in the 21-lot sale, which seemed primarily organized around several marquee works and a selection of works that garnered very little interest. Read More »

AO Auction Recap – London: Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Evening Sale, February 27th, 2018

March 1st, 2018


Pablo Picasso, Mousquetaire et nu assis (1967), via Christies
Pablo Picasso, Mousquetaire et nu assis (1967), via Christies

With a few brief wobbles, the first evening of two weeks of auctions in the British capital has concluded, bringing solid results and a final of £114,103,000 for Christie’s auction house this evening.  The sale saw most of its premiere works moving quickly over the course of the evening, with 11 works going unsold, including one of the sale’s lead lots, a Kees van Dongen portrait.

Edgar Degas, Dans les coulisses (1882-1885), via Christies
Edgar Degas, Dans les coulisses (1882-1885), via Christies

Read More »

AO Auction Previews – Impressionist/Modern and Post-War Evening Sales in London, February 27th – March 8th, 2018

February 25th, 2018

Pablo Picasso, Femme au béret et à la robe quadrillée (Marie-Thérèse Walter) (1937), via Sotheby's
Pablo Picasso, Femme au béret et aÌ€ la robe quadrillée (Marie-ThéreÌ€se Walter) (1937), via Sotheby’s

Marking the first major test of the secondary market for this 2018, the major auction houses are preparing to open their doors for a series of marquee evening sales in London this coming month.  Trying both the Impressionist/Modern and Post-War categories with top selections of works, the sales at Sotheby’sChristie’s and Phillips will offer a look at just how strong the market is rebounding since a long stretch of inactivity and stagnancy. Read More »