Sean Kelly Gallery, Los Carpinteros, Kosmaj Toy (2012).

All images by A.M. Ekstrand for ArtObserved, on location at Art Basel Miami Beach Fair.

Art Basel returned once again in Miami Beach this past week for the 11th annual Art Basel Miami Beach Fair. Featuring over 300 galleries representing 36 countries around the world, the show has exhibited marked growth from last year’s event, with well over 2,000 artists flocking to exhibit at what has become the internationally-renowned closing party for the world art market each year.  It is of course always an irony that tens of thousands will fly down for the events and parties, with many of them never visiting the vast aggregation of what it said to be roughly $1.5 billion worth of art in one (large) room, a collection that few museums in the world could compete with.   Below is a selection of some of the works we thought to be notable from the fair.

Helly Nahmad Gallery, Mark Rothko No. 1 (1957) and Alexander Calder, installation view

(more…)

Art Basel Miami Beach 2011 photo by ArtObserved

Despite the large number of exhibitors from New York who are in recovery from Hurricane Sandy, almost  every Chelsea gallery scheduled to exhibit will be at this year’s 11th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach week. Events begin as early as today, Monday, December 3rd and run through Sunday, December 9th. Exhibitors and artists are preparing for a flurry of activity, with a multitude of fairs, some old, some new; public installations, exhibitions, collaborations and of course, parties centering around the Delano, The W, Soho Beach House, The Deauville, The Raleigh, The Standard and others. Check out the detailed schedule of events below.

Visionaire Magazine party at Delano Hotel 2011 photo by ArtObserved

(more…)

Maurizio Cattelan, “Catttelan,” 1994, neon, 90 x 47 x 3.5; 40 x 40 x 3.5, Courtesy Collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

On September 25th 2012, the Whitechapel Gallery in London opened a special exhibition composed of works from the Collection Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, one of the most prominent private collections in Europe. The gallery’s year-long series, Think Twice, is divided into four parts, the first of which is dedicated to works of Maurizio Cattelan – many of which have not been seen in the UK for over 20 years – on display until December 2nd, 2012.

Maurizio Cattelan, “Bidibidobidiboo,” 1996, Taxidermied squirrel, ceramic, Formica, wood, paint and steel, Courtesy Collezione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo

(more…)

Anish Kapoor’s video, “Gangnam for Freedom”, supporting Ai Weiwei’s quest for free speech, relied on major participants such as Southbank Centre director Jude Kelly and writer Hanif Kueishi, with contributions by institutions such as the Guggenheim. “Our film aims to make a serious point about freedom of speech and freedom of expression”, said Kapoor. (more…)

Anish Kapoor has enlisted Mark Wallinger, Bob and Roberta Smith, Tom Phillips and other art world heavyweights such as Alison Myners, chair of the ICA, and Tamara Rojo, artistic director of the English National Ballet to create a Gangnam Style video in support of Ai Weiwei. “It had to be done,” said Kapoor, “Yes, it is desperately silly, but what is the paradigm of the artist? The artist does stupid things with serious intent.” (more…)

Anish Kapoor, Installation view 2012, courtesy Lisson Gallery

Anish Kapoor’s current exhibition at the Lisson Gallery is a major exhibition of new works. Occupying both the gallery’s spaces on Bell Street, London, the exhibition marks 30 years of Lisson Gallery working together with the Turner-prize winning artist and provides a thorough examination of Kapoor’s most recent work.

Anish Kapoor, Installation view 2012, courtesy Lisson Gallery

(more…)

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…)

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…)

Toby Ziegler‘s The Cripples, image via Art Observed

Back in 2003 in Frieze’s first year, no major international art fair had ever been hosted in London before. Frieze Art Fair, organized by Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, has helped take London from being a city without a focused art scene to its current state at the center of the European art market. Now in its tenth year, Frieze Art Fair in London’s Regent’s Park has seen around 60,000 visitors, with 264 dealers from 35 countries hoping to sell work (valuing an estimated  £230m) created by more than 2,400 artists within 175 of the world’s leading galleries.

An Aaron Young motorcycle burn out work at Massimo de Carlo in Milan, photo via Art Observed

(more…)

Image: Frieze London Courtesy Frieze

Exhibitors are gearing up for the tenth edition of Frieze London, which takes place in London’s Regent’s Park from October 11–14th. The fair kicks off with a vernissage on the evening of Wednesday, October 10th, once again housed in a temporary structure designed by architects Carmody Groarke.

Although mostly composed of UK and US galleries (almost exclusively from London and New York) account for 45% of the main fair, fair organizers are broadening the scope this year, with new sections and exhibitors from 35 countries, making it the most international event to date organized by Frieze.

Image: Mona Hatoum, KAPANCIK, 2012 Courtesy White Cube Gallery

(more…)

Image: Sean Daly, Shaun Regen, Kathryn Bigelow, and John Loga via Vogue

Shaun Caley Regen opened her new location in Los Angeles last night at 6750 Santa Monica Boulevard, in a newly developing section of Hollywood, just east of Highland Avenue. The new space was designed by architect Michael Maltzan, creating a museum-like exhibition venue.

Image: Regen Projects’ inaugural exhibition via Regen Projects

(more…)

Yves Klein,  Le Rose du bleu (1960) which sold for £23.5 million (£3.5 million over its high estimate)

Last night in London, Christie’s Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction experienced a stellar sale. Totaling £132.8 million against an expected excess of  £120 million, it was the highest grossing contemporary art sale in Europe. Achieving sales with an 87% sell-through rate and 98% sold by value – Christie’s sold all but 9 on it’s 71 lots – save for the 2 withdrawn. Four of the lots sold above £10 million, and five lots boosted over $10 million. Christie’s Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe, Francis Outred, was quoted in a post-sale press release: “Following the record result achieved at Christie’s New York in May, we are delighted with tonight results which established a new record for an auction of Post-War & Contemporary Art in Europe… Overall we brought together consignments from four continents, reached buyers on four continents and benefitted from a depth and strength of bidding from across the room and on the phone.”

(more…)

The NY Times elaborates on Lakshmi Mittal‘s celebration and the public’s reception of the recently completed ArcelorMittal Orbit at Olympic Park in London, remarking on the mixed praise and criticism of the visual design of the public art piece. Turner prize winner, Anish Kapoor, comments that “the experience will be about winding up and in on oneself. You want to forget the construction and engage with what you’re experiencing.”

(more…)

‬An installation of Anish Kapoor works at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park will open this Saturday, June 16th.

(more…)

Anish Kapoor, Untitled (2012) installation view, Gladstone Gallery, West 21st Street. All photos on site for Art Observed by Perrin Lathrop.

Anish Kapoor’s current solo exhibition at Gladstone Gallery confronts visitors with two opposing sides to the artist’s three decade long investigation into the nature of objectness. A veritable global art star, with a Venice Biennale Pavilion (1990), a Turner Prize (1991) and countless prestigious public art commissions under his belt, Kapoor is known for his perception bending works that verge on spectacle. In the Indian-born, London-based artist’s first show in New York in four years his new works expand across two gallery spaces on West 24th and 21st Streets. As an artist interested in the metaphysical polarities inherent in individual objects, Kapoor invests these two galleries with both organic and highly engineered approaches to the materiality of form.

Anish Kapoor, installation view, Gladstone Gallery, West 24th Street.

(more…)

‬Forbes writes on Ukraine’s shift from its Soviet past towards a landscape more conducive to contemporary art thanks to such endeavors as the First Kiev International Biennale and the Pinchuk Art Center, now featuring a solo exhibition by Anish Kapoor.

(more…)

‪‬Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, who recently created an inflatable, bouncy Stonehenge sculpture, to represent Britain at Venice Biennale 2013, joining the ranks of Lucian Freud, Anish Kapoor, Tracy Emin, and 2011’s Mike Nelson as UK representatives

(more…)

‪‬The Anish Kapoor-designed ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower was unveiled on Friday. Rising at 376 feet over the Olympic Stadium in East London, it is 72 feet higher than the Statue of liberty, and the tallest tower in Britain. The artist, the steel company ArcelorMittal, and city of London officials hope that the ‘awkward’ structure will boost the Eastern part of the city’s economy.

(more…)

‪‬Anish Kapoor’s 115m Orbit structure in London’s Olympic park to open July 28, construction process shown in time lapse video

(more…)

‪Anish Kapoor reflects on his relationships with family, food, and art from his studio of 25 years in London, telling FT: “Art is good at intimacy: it can say, ‘Come here, be part of this’, beckoning.”

(more…)

Gavin Brown and Mark Ruffalo cooking sausages. All photographs by Aubrey Roemer for Art Observed.

The always fresh but now venerable Frieze Art Fair of Regent’s Park, London, has successfully completed its maiden voyage to this side of the Atlantic. The pavilion, designed by Brooklyn-based SO-IL Architects, places Frieze New York on Randall’s Island Park from May 4-7, 2012. The fair is being held in a distinctly snakelike structure that houses 180 leading contemporary galleries presenting works by more than 1,000 artists. There are a number of culinary options as well: Roberta’s, The Fat Radish Café, Frankie’s Spuntino Restaurant, Sant Abroeus Café and the Standard Biergarten.

Entrance to the Frieze Art Fair

(more…)

Anish Kapoor announced as the label designer for Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2009.  Mouton has commissioned a different artist to produce its label every year since 1945, including Picasso, Andy Warhol, Chagall, Joan Miró, Salvador Dali and Francis Bacon. [AO Newslink]

(more…)

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

(more…)

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.

(more…)