‪‬Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk’s Future Generation Art Prize second biennial open to applications through May 6, 2012, with a prize of $100,000 and mentorship by artists Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Andreas Gursky, and Takashi Murakami [AO Newslink]
‪Damien Hirst video interviewed by TIME about his use of assistants, the origin of the spot challenge, and the meaning of his art overall: “That’s the world. You have these massive polarities and extremes all the time, and I try to make work that reflects that.” [AO Newslink]
‪‬Graffiti artist David Choe was paid in Facebook stock options for painting the walls of the first Facebook Headquarters, now estimated to be worth more than $200 million when Facebook goes public. Although the shares were less than .25 percent of the company, the payout may be more than Damien Hirst’s record-breaking $200.7 million Sotheby’s auction in 2008. [AO Newslink]
New York City amateur art dealer pleads guilty for forging authentication papers for fake Damien Hirst prints he had purchased on ebay: “LSD,” “Opium” and “Valium.” Silver reaped and ultimately repaid a total of $84,000, with an additional $20,000 on reserve and $7,000 in taxes. [AO Newslink]
David Hockney criticizes Damien Hirst’s use of assistants, claiming it insults skillful craftsmen [AO Newslink]
‪Damien Hirst interviewed before his show of ‬300 spot paintings in 11 Gagosian galleries “‘What would be more appealing … to have made the Mona Lisa painting itself or have made the merchandising possibilities — putting a postcard on everyone’s walls all over the world? Both are brilliant, but in a way I would probably prefer the postcards” [AO Newslink]
Zhang Huan, 49 days nO. 1 (2011). Blum & Poe. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.
Collins Park, located just outside of The Bass Museum of Art on Collins Avenue just off the ocean, held the Art Public sector of Art Basel Miami Beach 2011, including artists such as Antony Gormley, Glenn Kaino, Thomas Houseago, and Zhang Huan,.  The following is a photoset of the works.
Artist Glenn Kainto participating in his Levitating the Fair piece
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.
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.
‪‬Damien Hirst teams up with Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a spin bass guitar [AO Newslink]
Damien Hirst Legend (2011) and Myth (2010), via The Guardian
Damien Hirst has moved on to dissecting mythical creatures in his most recent public showing at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, UK, part of a Sotheby’s selling exhibition of monumental sculpture. From Legend, the winged horse with exposed bones and muscles, to Myth, a partially skinned unicorn, Hirst continues his exploration of anatomy, as well as “the relationship between science and religion,” (The Guardian). “It’s kind of like exploding a myth to make it real,” Hirst explains.
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Crowds outside the Grand Palais on the public opening of FIAC, October 21, 2011. All photographs for Art Observed on site by Caroline Claisse.
After two days of previews, FIAC opened its doors to the Paris public on Friday, October 21st. Jill Silverman, Director of Paris/Salzburg-based gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, tells Art Observed that the fair presents “a very good cross section of European collectors.” FIAC is one of the most nationally-focused art fairs, boasting a solid 32% of French exhibitors, whereas last week’s Frieze in London had only 25% British galleries. American presence increased this year with several New York galleries making their debut at the fair: Matthew Marks, Eleven Rivington, Andrew Kreps, Michele Maccarone and Friedrich Petzel. After a 30+year absence, Pace Gallery made a comeback to the fair. Works by seasoned veteran Damien Hirst are exhibited at both White Cube and Gagosian. Anish Kapoor also has work spread across the fair, whose gargantuan installation Leviathan filled the entire interior of the Grand Palais earlier this year. Lisson is showing one of his signature colored concave mirrors in fire-engine red; Kamel Mennour has wine-red, Galeria Continua has green, and Kukje/Tina Kim has purple; all have different price tags. Sales have been strong thusfar; Pace Gallery’s Arne Glimcher told Artinfo, “We had sales right off the bat, it was really fascinating. I hadn’t anticipated this kind of rush, especially in this economy, where Europe is not in as good of shape as America. But I think we have the right artists.” He added, “FIAC is certainly an enormous cut above Frieze.”
Michelangelo Pistoletto, Two Less One (2011) at Galleria Continua
More on site coverage and images after the jump… (more…)
‪‬Damien Hirst designs label for 20-year-old Somerset Cider Brandy as a favor to Alice Temperley, 10 years after being asked [AO Newslink]
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FIAC 2011 at the Grand Palais in Paris. All photos on site for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.
FIAC 2011 (The Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain) opens this weekend in Paris for its 38th year. The international art fair, which boasts an impressive array of 168 galleries from 21 countries, will show the work of some 2,800+ artists. Running October 20–23rd, the exposition comes at the tail end of Frieze Art Fair, drawing artists, collectors, gallerists, and enthusiasts eastward from London. While the focus of Frieze leans toward contemporary, FIAC includes both contemporary and modern, including works from Picasso, Calder, and Matisse. The fair has been building momentum since 2006; Jennifer Flay, appointed general director in 2010, credits this boost to the fair’s move to the Grand Palais, one of the city’s most cherished architectural gems. The fair also expands this year to the Jardin des Tuileries, the Jardin des Plantes, the Museum of Natural History, and other venues around the city. Another innovation, a mobile application (in French) is available through Windows Phone which enables visitors to book tickets directly from their phone, as well as receive realtime news updates from the fair, find exhibitors and artists, and access videos and photos of the show.
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Jay Jopling of White Cube, which is exhibiting Damien Hirst’s Where Will It End.
More on site coverage and images after the jump… (more…)
Yves Klein all photos by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed
This year marked the 2nd iteration of the House of the Nobleman, a privately sponsored exhibition which took place at the Boswall House, 15,000sqft mansion at 2 Cornwall Terrace, overlooking Regent’s Park and the Frieze 2011 Art Fair. Art Observed was on site for the private viewing. On view were works by Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, Peter Paul Rubens, Edgar Degas, Max Ernst, Damien Hirst, Marlene Dumas, Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana, Sigmar Polke, Christian Boltanski, Anish Kapoor, Nick Hornby, Matthew Day Jackson, Cecily Brown, Lucian Freud, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Yayoi Kusama, Robert Longo, Alexander Calder, Eugenia Emets, Francesco Clemente, Salvador Dali, Peter Doig, Olafur Eliasson, George Condo, Takashi Murakami, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Gerhard Richter.
Monet, Claude “ Chemin dans le brouillardâ€, (1879)
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Doug Aitken, Now (2011) at 303 Gallery NY. All photos for Art Observed by Caroline Claisse.
AO is on site in London for this week’s Frieze Art Fair. With 173 galleries selling an estimated $350 million worth of art, a level of anxiety pervades as the week’s results will be indicative of the overall international contemporary art market. Works like Christian Jankowski’s droll The Finest Art on Water and Michael Landy’s Credit Card Destroying Machine directly comment on the world economic state, while the overall demeanor remains upbeat, with art world moguls and A-list celebrities enjoying the festivities.
Michael Landy’s Credit Card Destroying Machine (2011), Thomas Dane Gallery
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Dasha Zhukova launches Garage magazine with fashion/art collaborations from Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, John Baldessari, Raymond Pettibon, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Paul McCarthy and Richard Prince [AO Newslink]
Gagosian Gallery announces ‘Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011,’ to be shown at all 11 galleries worldwide, simultaneously [AO Newslink]
Mr. Brainwash of Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop plasters LA for new Red Hot Chili Peppers album (with cover by Damien Hirst) [AO Newslink]
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Self-Portrait, 1985Â (est. $3.2-4.8 million), via Phillipsdepury.com
The summer sales continue in London this week as the major auction houses host their Contemporary art auctions. Phillips will offer 32-lots on Monday evening, followed by Christie’s 67-lot sale on Tuesday and capped with an 88-lot sale at Sotheby’s on Wednesday. The Phillips sale will take place at the company’s new exhibition space at Claridge’s London. Like the auction house’s move uptown to 450 Park Ave in New York last year, the new London location is closer than their Howick Place headquarters to competitors Sotheby’s and Christie’s. The night’s 32 lots are expected to fetch $16-23 million and are headlined by a Basquiat self portrait that is estimated to bring as much as $4.8 million.
Damien Hirst, Confession, 2008 (est. $958,000-1.3 million), via Phillipsdepury.com
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Yutaka Sone Little Manhattan (2007-2009) at David Zwirner Gallery – All images by Caroline Claisse for Art Observed
Art Observed remains on site in Basel, Switzerland for Art 42 Basel 2011. The following is our second of the photosets of the main fair. Stay tuned for more coverage of the main fair before the end of the week as well as profiles of the satellite exhibitions and events.
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Artist Wim Delvoye before one of his sculptures at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin
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Subodh Gupta, Untitled, 2011, oil on canvas. All images courtesy Hauser & Wirth.
Opening tonight at Hauser & Wirth New York is an ascetic new exhibition by Indian artist Subodh Gupta. The artist, who is often referred to as “The Damien Hirst of Delhi,” earned his nickname from a dazzling sculpture of a skull entitled Very Hungry God (2006). He is the leader of a group of Indian artists whom mega-curator Hans Ulrich Obrist frequently heralds as art world game-changers, and his works regularly fetch auction prices over 1 million USD.
In contrast to this glitzy reputation, “A glass of water” is shockingly subdued. The exhibition takes its name from a work in which a metal drinking cup rests atop a table, filled to the brim with fresh water. Its origin and constant replenishment remain a mystery. The tension created– that the cup may overflow at any moment, from a visitor’s step or breath– “serves up a rich metaphor for the almost unbearable tension between luxury and depletion, accumulation and deprivation, acquisition and exhaustion that are the daily diet of exploding international culture,” explains the exhibition statement.
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Alfred Gilbert, Jubilee Memorial to Queen Victoria (1887). Via The Guardian
It is understandable that critics are particularly divided in their reviews of Modern British Sculpture, at the Royal Academy of Arts through April 7. It attempts to question “What is British, what is modern and what is sculpture” ranging as far and wide as the African and Asian colonial influences of 20th century British sculptors, to the transitions between figurative and abstraction, to the work of Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst. The show runs the gamut of well-known names but has fun throwing in the odd obscurity, like Alfred Gilbert’s Jubilee Memorial to Queen Victoria, a baroque piece by a classic British artist that is decidedly out of context in this exhibition. More familiar are Anthony Caro, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, who are newly contextualized in this first exhibition in 30 years to focus on 20th century British sculpture—its origins, evolution, and impact.
Damien Hirst, Let’s Eat Outdoors Today (1990). Via The Guardian
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