Team Gallery Booth at Art Basel 2010, Image via Art Basel.

AO is on site at Art Basel, Switzerland, where Wednesday marked the official, public opening of the international show.  On the roster was an inaugural Conversation Series speech by Paul McCarthy, an Art Film at Stadtkino Basel, and an Artist’s Talk with Rodney Graham at Kunstmuseum.  If the congenial and thronged atmosphere hadn’t tipped us off to the anticipation surrounding this year’s exhibitions, Tuesday’s sales would have been a clear indication.   A $15 million Picasso 1960 plaster maquette, Personnage, was snatched up immediately from Krugier Gallery by one of the VIP guests (an American collector) invited to Basel’s early opening, as was a line drawing by the same artist, one by Egon Schiele, and paintings by Max Ernst and Paul Klee. Sara Kay of the Geneva- and New York-based Kugier Gallery was unable to disclose the buyer of yesterday’s Picasso sale, but ten minutes after the purchase’s confirmation noted to Art Info that “[The] piece went to a very important collector with the best modern masters.  This is museum-quality, not trophy-level. It’s a very serious piece.” Skarstedt Gallery also enjoyed a  meritorious patronage yesterday, with sales including a Christopher Wool painting, Untitled, for $800,000, a Barbara Kruger photograph for $700,000, a Cindy Sherman piece for $500,000, and two works by George Condo: The Madman and The Colorful Banker, which fetched $375,000 and $225,000, respectively.  Hufkens Gallery sold a Louise Bourgeois etching, A Baudelaire (#7), which the late artist completed several months before her death in May, for $650,000 to a European collector.  Cheim & Read boasted a lucrative afternoon as well, with sales including a $2 million Joan Mitchell abstraction, a $125,000 Sam Francis drawing, a $100,000 Ghada Amer painting, Paradise, and a 28-strong Bourgeois watercolor series, Les Fleurs.  Lisson Gallery sold two Anish Kapoor‘s for $742,000.  Richard Prince‘s Student Nurse brought Gagosian $4.2 million, and Paul McCarthy’s bronze suites–Sneezy and Dopey–yielded Hauser & Wirth a combined total of $3 million. Blum & Poe sold a dyptich by Takashi Murakami for $1 million. White Cube reportedly sold six of Damien Hirst‘s new paintings, as well as Hirst’s “Memories of Love,” valued at $3.48 million. Lehmann Maupin sold two neon works by Tracey Emin, each for $74,000.

Damien Hirst, ““Memories of Love,” at White Cube’s booth, sold for $3.48 million. Image by Art Observed.

More images and text after the jump…

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Still from Doug Aitken’s ‘migration’ via Regen Projects

Doug Aitken’s film, ‘migration,’ makes its West Coast debut at Regen Projects in Los Angeles, along with an exhibition of  new text-based light boxes. ‘migration,’ which was first shown at 303 Gallery in New York and then at the 2008 Carnegie International, shows a number of different wild animals in motel rooms across the US, acting as wild animals will do, but in settings unnatural, with only subtle variations. The film is shown at both of Regen Projects’ locations, projected outside of the Santa Monica Boulevard location from sunrise to sunset, and on a billboard inside the North Almont Drive location.

Doug Aitken [Artist’s Page]
Doug Aitken [Regen Projects]
Doug Aitken’s ‘Migration’ at Regen Projects [LA Times]
Doug Aitken at Regen Projects Preview [SlamXHype]
Doug Aitken at Regen Projects [Sundance]
Doug Aitken’s Migration [KCET]
Doug Aitken: Migration [Daily Serving]
DOUG AITKEN – LOS ANGELES [Look Into My Owl]

Installation view of Doug Aitken’s ‘migration’ via Regen Projects

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Installation view of Anish Kapoor’s work at the Royal Academy of Arts in London via BBC

Anish Kapoor, the first living artist to exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, installs a work that shoots red paint to the walls of the famed 18th century building [The Wall Street Journal]
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Jeff Koons to be the curator of the New Museum show of Dakis Joannou’s collection, including works by Maurizio Cattelan, Urs Fischer, Robert Gober, Chris Ofili, and Jeff Koons himself [The New York Times]
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Russia’s biggest contemporary-art fair opened September 23, 2009 in Moscow to coincide with Third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art [Bloomberg]
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Donald Fischer, founder of Gap and art collector, loses his battle to cancer at 81; his collection will be permanently housed at San Fransisco Museum of Modern Art [San Francisco Chronicle]
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Artist Ed Ruscha stars in a film by video artist Doug Aitken to be projected as installation entitled “Frontier” on Tiberina island in Rome [The Art Newspaper]
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Andreas Gursky, his works and Pop influences, mainly Warhol’s, as analyzed in the Economist conclude “99 cents II (Diptych)” as the artist’s most important piece [Economist]

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Ryan McGinness via J. Crew

Last summer painter Alex Katz modeled clothes for J. Crew catalog; this year seven New York artists, including Ryan McGinness and Vito Acconci, are featured [J.Crew]
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Tate Modern to recreate a 1992 exhibition that took place in New York’s Leo Castelli and was criticized as racist; 15 years later Tate curators appropriate the show as a part of a bigger Pop Life: Art in a Material World exhibit and hope for a different reaction [The Independent]
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A Sigmar Polke painting, Untitled – Oil on Drape (1969), stolen directly from the artist’s atelier, the police deliberates the thief could only be someone with access to the space [Artforum]
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Frieze Art Fair 2009 announces the details of its sculpture park, in London’s Regent’s Park; “Henry Moore Bound to Fail” by American artist Paul McCarthy is to remain on display for six months [Frieze Art Fair]

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Guggenheim Museum Art Award via The New York Times

Louise Bourgeois, Urs Fischer, Dan Graham and Mary Heilmann are among the select individuals nominated for the First Annual Art Awards Guggenheim Museum announced this week [The New York Times] In related, the Frieze Art Fair announced the call for entries to The Cartier Award 2010 [Art Review]     
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Results from Sotheby’s mid-season Contemporary Art Sale details at Art Market Monitor [Sotheby’s]
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The British Arts Council and the London 2012 organization announce Anthony McCall as a finalist in their nationwide initiative to commission public art in celebration of the upcoming Olympics. McCall has proposed a 1,5 mile earth sculpture in the form of a simulated vertical cloud in Liverpool [ArtInfo]
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A detailed survey of Contemporary-Art Auction values in the midst of economic crises as influenced by several variables, show a significant decrease [Bloomberg]
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65 year old Jehuda Reinharz, President of Brandeis University- home to Rose Art Museum housing works by artists such as Warhol and De Kooning, is to resign [Los Angeles Times]

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Sophie Calle photographed by Yves Geant via Guardian UK

France’s conceptual artist Sophie Calle’s path to art world recognition as examined through a personal perspective: stripping, spying, sleeping, “seducing her father” all turned into artistic practice [Guardian UK]
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At Westminster Cathedral, British painter Peter Doig is to create a new installation to coincide with a concert from the British pianist Stephen Hough whom he met after a recital in London in 2008 [Art Review]
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Two new co-directors, both previously with Art Basel, promote this year’s Art Forum Berlin to attract some of the city’s big name art galleries, among which: Max Hetzler, Johann König, Klosterfelde and Neugerriemschneider [Financial Times] and here is some video of the event [Vernissage TV]
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60 Galleries are not returning to Art Basel Miami Beach, but 65 new ones are added, hence the fair grows in quantity [Lindsay Pollock]

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Picasso’s sketch to be auctioned via Guardian UK

Picasso’s sketch that must have taken seconds to produce is expected to sell for more than £20,000 at Duke’s auction [Guardian UK]
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Christie’s “First Open” Post-War and Contemporary Art sale brings in good results, appealing to many buyers while providing a wide range of pricing and themes [Art in America]
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Christie’s Frieze exhibitions and auctions dedicated to Post-War and Contemporary Art will include works by artists such as Lucio Fontana, Damien Hirst and Gerhard Richter [ArtDaily]
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Museum of Contemorary Art in Los Angeles raises $60 million since December 2008 when it had revealed its financial troubles [Culture Monster]
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Annie Leibovitz and Damien Hirst to design for Louis Vuitton [Elle UK]

Tony Cragg’s Big Head (2009), courtesy of the Marian Goodman Gallery, photo by Art Observed.

The 40th installment of Art Basel runs this year from June 10 to the 14th.  The annual event, dubbed the “Olympics of the Art World” by the New York Times, includes this year over 2,500 artists, and works exhibited in almost 300 galleries around the world.  Works range in medium, from painting and drawing to sculpture, installation art, photography, and video.  Featured are both old masters of modern art and contemporary artists: among this year’s roster are the works of Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Jackson Pollock, Marcel Duchamp and more, alongside that of today’s artists, including John Baldessari, Vanessa Beecroft, and Rebecca Horn.

Related links:
Art_Base [Official Website]
Art Basel Catalog
Art Basel 40 Celebrates the First Art Basel Weekend with Special Presentations [ArtDaily]
Art Basel Shows Works of Art by 2,500 Artists at World’s Premier International Art Fair [ArtDaily]
Editor’s Picks: Art Basel Preview [ArtInfo]
Il Tempo del Postino – “The World’s First Visual Arts Opera” [ArtKey]
The art market: The biggest fairs around the world [the Financial Times]
Trading Places [the Financial Times]
Meanwhile, in Basel, Contemporary Works You Can Buy [Wall Street Journal]
Brad Pitt Buys Big at Basel, with a Little Push from Eli Broad [Wall Street Journal]
Preview sales defy all expectations [The Art Newspaper]
For Art Lovers, Basel Doesn’t End at the Fair [New York Times]
Warhol Price Slashed as Art Basel Fights Slump With Bargains [Bloomberg]
Pitt Buys in Basel as Broad Browses, $2 Million Sculpture Sells [Bloomberg]
Liste: Quality Uneven but Spirits High [ArtInfo]
To Bling or Not to Bling? [ArtInfo]
Locals Rule: Alternative Art Spaces Gear Up for Art Basel [ArtInfo]
BASELMANIA 2009 [ArtNet]
Preview sales defy all expectations [ArtNewspaper]
Forty Years of Art Basel [The Art Newspaper]

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David Zwirner booth at the Armory, showing Yan Pei-Ming, John McCracken, and Rachel Khedoori.

New York Armory Week 2009 is in full swing, with attendance higher than expected moving into the weekend.  Despite the absence of several blue chip galleries – including Matthew Marks and Lehmann Maupin – the gallerists’ collective mood seems hesitant but optimistic.  177 contemporary galleries are exhibiting in the Armory’s 11th year, along with the addition of a Modern wing at Pier 92 selling more established, less edgy work.

The Armory Show 2009 and the Armory Modern
Piers 92 and 94
12th Avenue at 54th Street
March 4-8, 2009

Armory Opening Party at MoMA.

RELATED LINKS
Sales still down, but spirits are buoyant [Art Newspaper]
On the Piers, Testing the Waters in a Down Art Market [New York Times]
Has the Recession Sparked a New Renaissance? [Guardian UK]
On the Scene at the Armory Preview Party [Style File Blog]
MoMA’s Armory Show Opening Benefit Party [Patrick McMullan]
Armory MoMA After Party [Guest of a Guest]
Now Dealing | The Armory Show [TheMoment]
Window-shoppers Descend on Armory Art Show [NYMag]
What’s Selling (or Not) at the New York Armory Show [NYMag]
‘Creepy’ Bernie Madoff Watercolor Fails to Sell at Armory Show [NYMag]
Dealers Sold on Armory Modern, Collectors Less So [ArtInfo]
The Herd Is Out, but Holding Back [ArtInfo]

more stories and photos after the jump…

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The Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City via panoramio.com

Mexico City opens a new 3,300 sq. m, $20 million contemporary art museum [TheArtNewspaper]
Sculptor Richard Serra awarded the Order of Arts and Letters of Spain [ArtDaily]
A Sotheby’s video offers refreshing transparency into its process in the current environment [Sotheby’s]
In more video, Takashi Murakami on money and art, New York vs. Tokyo and more [TMagazine – The Moment]
And finally, video of Damien Hirst on his Statuephilia installation in London [Aarting]

Tom Sachs opens his online store [tomsachs.org via supertouch]
Gallerist/web presence Edward Winkleman announces his book ‘How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery’ [edwardwinkleman]
The Louvre finds 3 possible Leonardo Da Vinci drawings on the back of his painting [Bloomberg]

Gallerist Mellissa Bent, artist Hope Atherton and artist Georgia Sagri make the scene at Rivington Arms via ArtForum

On the closing of Lower East Side Gallery Rivington Arms [ArtForum] more on this here [NYObserver]
Similarly, the International Asian Art Fair is canceled [ArtInfo] Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin Miami, opened in 2005, will also close [ArtLurker]

The installation entitled ‘Moscow on the Move’ via the Guardian

Dasha Zhukova and the Moscow Garage organize a 17-artist public video installation which includes work by Doug Aitken, Fischli and Weiss and Pippilotti Rist [GuardianUK]

Grayson Perry; Entrance To The Forest; 2002; Victoria Miro Gallery; London -Photos by ArtObserved

“The surprise is the business we are doing. Frankly, people are expressing more confidence in the art market than the government or Wall Street right now,” said Sean Kelly of Sean Kelly Gallery. The night of December 2nd, Vernissage attendees glittered and Piper Heidsieck champagne flowed.  More importantly, buyers were in attendance, asking questions and indeed, according to most of the galleries interviewed for this article, buying.  On Thursday afternoon, Douglas Baxter, President of Pace Wildenstein professed “We’ve met expectations.” Also on Thursday, when asked his feelings on sales from the night before, a representative at Cheim & Read insisted his artists have been selling well, pointing to Jack Pierson sculpture and a pile of William Eggleston’s photos.  Margherita Belaief of Peres Projects had the same confidence, “It’s hard to say so early but in general, Dash Snow’s pieces are selling strong.”  While hesitant to disclose precise numbers, the overall sentiment of the top galleries was optimistic.

However, it’s important to note while the larger known artists have been selling strong, some galleries have reported some difficulty selling lesser known artist pieces.  Alfons Klosterfelde at Klosterfelde was most direct: “People are asking more questions and really want to know the details,” but he said pointedly as of Thursday, “there have been less sales” and Klosterfelde remarked the pieces sold were from the gallery’s more known artists.

Photos and Writing by Faith-Ann Young

more pictures and story after the jump…

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Opening reception for Doug Aitken ‘Migration’ at 303 Gallery photos by Art Observed

Art Observed was on site at the well attended opening reception for Doug Aitken’s new installations at 303 Gallery. His piece called ‘Migration’ is the first exhibition to inhabit the new 303 Gallery space on 21st Street but the opening also took place correspondingly at the gallery’s original 22nd street location. On 22nd street, a series of 30 abstract watercolors greet you when you first enter the brightly lit circular room, and lead you to the back gallery which houses a series of illuminated signs. The large-scale signs are lit up and filled with panoramic photos of our contemporary landscape.

‘Migration’, an audio-visual installation, is played on three large screens spaced throughout the new 21st Street gallery space. In the footage, Doug Aitken takes wild North American migratory animals out of their natural environment and juxtaposes them in roadside hotel and motel rooms, all the while supplementing the footage with a dramatic soundtrack. The guests at the opening reception spread out through the gallery in search of a preferred viewing vantage point; some standing in front of the screen, sitting on the ground, or mingling towards the front of the gallery. The exhibition will continue to be on view at547 W. 21 St through November 1st and 525 W. 22 St through November 8th.

Art Observed Exclusive Videos of the opening:
Opening reception for Doug Aitken: Migration at 303 Gallery [Art Observed]

Doug Aitken: Migration [303 Gallery]
303 Gallery current exhibitions [Artslant]
Doug Aitken at 303 Gallery [Supreme Management]
AO On Site: 303 Gallery’s 25th Anniversary Summer Celebration, Wednesday night, July 23 NYC [ArtObserved]

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From “99¢ dreams”, Doug Aitken via Galerie Eva Presenhuber

Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich is pleased to announce two simultaneous solo shows by Ugo Rondinone and Doug Aitken. Both Rondinone’s “Twelve sunsets, twenty nine dawns, all in one” and Aitken’s “99¢ dreams” will run until August 2, 2008. While one artist creates sculptures and one photographs, there is a common thread between the two. Each artist touches upon the simplicity of day-to-day life, infusing a sense of longing or yearning for something.

DOUG AITKEN, “99¢ dreams” [ArtNews]
Doug Aitken at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, “99¢ dreams” [ArtNet]
Ugo Rondinone- Twelve sunsets, twenty nine dawns, all in one. [ArtNet]
Galerie Eva Presenhuber: Doug Aitken, Ugo Rondinone [Galerie Eva Presenhuber]

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