Jay Jopling’s White Cube, purveyor of art by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Chapman Bros., to open first overseas branch in Hong Kong, shortly after Larry Gagosian [AO Newslink]

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Image via New York Times.

Celebrated painter Cy Twombly died today at the age of 83.  Twombly passed away from cancer in Rome, where he has been living since 1957.  Known as somewhat of a recluse, Twombly usually did not write about his work or give interviews.  One of the exceptions to this was made in 2008 when Twombly spoke to Nick Serota, director of the Tate. “I had my freedom and that was nice,” he said.

Born Edwin Parker Twombly, Jr.  in 1928 in Lexington, Virginia, and nicknamed “Cy” by his father, the artist was known for his calligraphic style. Writer, critic and assistant professor at the San Francisco Art Institute Claire Daigle writes, “Twombly arrived in Manhattan in 1950 while the New York School painting of Pollock and de Kooning was in full swing. Upon Robert Rauschenberg’s encouragement, Twombly joined him for the 1951–1952 sessions at Black Mountain College near Asheville, North Carolina – a liberal refuge [staffed by] influential teachers present at this time [such as] Charles Olson, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell and John Cage.” In 2001, Twombly won the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale.

Cy Twombly, Untitled, (Peony Blossom Painting), 2007. Image courtesy Gagosian Gallery.

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Kazimir Malevich, Rectangle and Circle (1915). Via ibiblio

Through a collaboration with the heirs of Kazimir Malevich, the Gagosian Gallery is displaying six of Malevich’s paintings as the centerpiece in their current show, ‘Malevich and the American Legacy.’ Surviving paintings by this trailblazer in geometric abstract art are a rarity, and it is uncommon to see them on display outside of a museum. ‘Malevich and the American Legacy’ affords viewers some intimacy with these influential paintings while displaying works by a sampling of the artists Malevich inspired, including Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Alexander Calder, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Ruscha, Robert Ryman, Richard Serra, Frank Stella, James Turrell, and Cy Twombly.

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Tiermetabolismus V (Katzchen) by Jonathan Meese at Bortolami Gallery, Art Basel Main Fair, Hall B, Booth I-09.

Art Observed will be on site as of today for the ninth edition of the America’s biggest contemporary art fair: Art Basel Miami Beach which will open to the public on Thursday December 2 and will run through Sunday, December 5.

The main section of the fair will house over 180 galleries and over 40,000 are expected following the December 2nd opening.  Annette Schönholzer and Marc Spiegler are the main fair organizers alongside its main sponsor UBS with Cartier, NetJets and AXA Art as the associate sponsors.  While Art Basel is still the main draw, the NADA Fair (the New Art Dealers Alliance) up the road at the Dauville Beach Resort will open to the public Thursday December 2. It will run through Sunday December 5 and also should not be missed.

Untitled (Art Fair Floor) by Ryan Reggiani.  Kate Werble Gallery at Nada Art Fair, booth 312.

The fair week is notable for its bridging of the Latin American buyers with American and British art centers as well as its uniquely intense amalgamation of social, media, fashion and other spheres of influence into the business of selling art.

The global art market seems to have stabilized this year and the main fair, along with its very significant satellites, should be met with lively buying this round.  Beyond this, all around Miami, the social calendar will be infused with events to the point where there is little chance to avoid regretfully missing something.

A view of an installation by Terrence Koh at The Island, an event during the week (see bel0w).

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Image still from Christies.com video In the Salesroom: Andy Warhol’s Silver Liz, via Christies.com

The results of Christie‘s Post-War and Contemporary Art auction in London last night are a relief after this week’s lackluster Sotheby‘s auction and the let-down at Phillips de Pury & Co. on Thursday. The sale earned £45,640,200 against the pre-sale estimate of £40.9-58.1 million for 63 lots, selling 84% by lot and 85% by value (totals realized include buyer’s premium, estimates do not). The combination of higher-quality works, lower starting prices, and a greater variety of material presented is thought to have contributed to the success of the sale, even amidst a drop in the stock market.

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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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Richard Prince, Nurse in Hollywood #4 (2004)

Fueled by 22 choice works from the collection of the embattled CNET founder Halsey Minor, which sold for $21.1 million, Phillips de Pury & Company’s evening sale last night wrapped-up a hugely successful week of contemporary art auctions in New York. Overall, the boutique-sized auction house sold 58 of the 74 lots on offer for a grand total of $37.9 million. Unlike its uptown rivals, Phillips saw no lots make over $5 million with only seven exceeding the $1 million mark. Nevertheless, the result is superior to the auction house’s last Contemporary evening sale in New York in November 2009, when they managed to bring in only $7,099,250. While a few familiar faces featured in the crowd, including Miami collector Donald Rubell and the fashion mogul Marc Jacobs, most of the action was dominated by anonymous telephone bidders – with the majority of winning bids being taken by Michaela de Pury and Michael McGinnis, head of Phillips’s contemporary art department worldwide.

In March this year Halsey Minor was instructed by a court order to give up dozens of artworks to satisfy a $21.6 million delinquent loan to ML Private Finance L.L.C., an affiliate of Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch. While last night’s sales may cover the majority of this payment, Minor is also under a court order to pay Sotheby’s a further $6.64 million in a dispute over three artworks he had purchased at auction and later refused to pay for. Meanwhile, in the state of California, a trial is underway on issues between him and Christie’s auction house. More works from Minor’s collection are coming on the block at Phillips today and on June 9.

More images, related links and a full round-up of the sale after the jump….
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Untitled, Maurizio Cattelan (2001) Estimate: $3–4 million Price Realized: $7.9 million

Last night, Sotheby’s confirmed the art market’s return to form as 50 of the 53 lots on offer sold at its Contemporary art sale.  Tallying $189,969,000 in sales, well over the house’s $162 million pre-sale estimate, 39 works fetched more than one million dollars, with two selling for more than $30 million, and seven making more than $5 million. Further to this, the sale achieved the two top lots achieved so far at New York’s Contemporary sales week, surpassing Christie’s sale of Jasper Johns Flag for $29 million on Tuesday night  – Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait more than doubled its high estimate to sell for $32,562,500, and an Untitled Mark Rothko painting from 1961 soared over the high estimate to sell for $31,442,500.

Self Portrait, Andy Warhol (1986). Estimate: $10-15 million. Price Realized: $32,562,500

More images, text and related links after the jump….
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In 2005, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, held a retrospective of the works of Jean-Michel Basquiat.  In conjunction with that exhibition was a short 20 minute film of an interview by Tamra Davis, a friend of the artist. The footage shows a young Basquiat speaking about his works and his life, and is one of the few instances we have of the artist on film. The rare footage also shows Basquiat at work on a number of paintings, providing insight into his artistic process and highly intuitive means of creation. Because of the rarity of the footage, and at the encouragement of Jeffrey Deitch, Tamra Davis decided to work with Arthouse Films to make a feature length documentary entitled Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, combining the original eighties footage with interviews by various artists, gallery owners, and friends of Basquiat. The film constructs a psychological portrait of the artist tracing his humble beginnings as a street artist to his extreme success.

Afterparty at the Boom Boom Room

More images, story and documentary preview after the jump…

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Copyright: Andreas Gursky Ocean I, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2010, via Gagosian Gallery

Gagosian Gallery Beverly Hills recently inaugurated its new double-size gallery with an exhibition of work by German artist Andreas Gursky. Known for his luscious color, elaborate and intricate photographs which reproduce modern life often in epic proportions,  here Gursky presents a new series of large-scale works as well as a variety of subjects from the last twenty years of his career. The works on display capture his fascination with the structure of labor, luxury and leisure.

More text and related links after the jump….

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Jeanne-Claude and Christo via smh

Jeanne-Claude, the radical artist best known for the joint projects undertaken with her husband Christo – most notably the wrapping of the Pont Neuf in Paris and the installation of 7,503 vinyl gates with bright orange panels in Central Park in 2005 – dies at the age of 74 in New York City [Guardian] a review of some of the couple’s monumental art here [Guardian]

Jeff Koons’ train installation via artculture

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) reconsiders plans for a Jeff Koons sculpture involving a replica of a 70-ft 1944 Baldwin locomotive to hang from a crane and estimated to cost $25 million [LATimes]

to stay apprised of the latest relevant news of the art world…

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The Royal College of Art Secret Postcard fundraiser via The Guardian

-The Royal College of Art’s Secret 2009 event has 2,500 postcards for sale for £40, made by artists including Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry and Yoko Ono.  Though buyers don’t know who the artist is until after they buy. [Times UK]

-Penelope Curtis has been appointed director of Tate Britain, the first woman to hold a directorship at Tate. [Guardian]

-Tracey Emin opens a new exhibition in New York, that, while popular, comes nowhere near the levels of sales or attendance she normal receives in Britain. [NY Times]

An artist’s rendering of Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Cirkelbroen’ bridge to be built in Copenhagen via Artinfo

-Olafur Eliasson has designed a bridge to be completed by 2012 in Copenhagen’s harbor. Called ‘Brikelbroen,’ the bridge is comprised of five circles that take pedestrians on a winding path rather than straight across. [Artinfo]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week… (more…)

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200 One Dollar Bills, Andy Warhol

Last night’s Postwar and Contemporary Sale at Sotheby’s, New York easily outmatched their rival Christie’s sale the night before with a total of $134,438,000 and only 2 lots unsold. While 59% of works sold over their pre-sale estimates, it was Andy Warhol‘s 200 One Dollar Bills, which sold for $43,762,500 over an estimate of $8-12million, that catapulted the total sales revenue way over the initial estimate of $67-97 million.

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Violins, Violence, Silence, Bruce Nauman. Record for a neon by Nauman – $4,002,500

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Artist, Nicolas Pol, poses infront of one of his works at the opening party for his show, “The Martus Maw”

Lastnight ArtObserved was on site at the opening of “The Martus Maw;” the first US exhibition featuring the “wild and raw” work of the emerging French artist Nicolas Pol. Housed in an old meat market at 80 Essex Street in New York’s Lower East Side, the private party recalled an art gathering of the Warhol era when openings were not just for the art crowd but included prominent pop culture figures of the time from the worlds of art, fashion, literati, music and social scenes – an element typical to shows produced by Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld’s company, Feedback Production Ltd. Vladimir, son of French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, has a penchant for working with emerging talents to promote and produce their shows and provide a platform for them to sell their art – this is Vladimir’s fourth show and follows an exhibition of works by Richard Hambleton that previewed in an equally star-studded affair in September this year.

Puaka Crusade, Nicolas Pol

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Ron, Will Cotton via Artnet

-Eric Fischl, Chie Fueki, Hilary Harkness, Will Cotton, Francesco Clemente, Peter Halley and Barbara Kruger  are all a part of the long list of artists who have created, dedicated and portrayed Ron Warren in their works; Mary Boone’s assistant he has always played an understated yet influential role leading to a Mary Boone Gallery exhibition in his honor [The New York Times]

-The 2009 edition of the Power 100 by ArtReview is released with Hans Ulrich Obrist taking the first place and the list showcasing some changes in the influences and forces of the art world; the top ten include dealers and artists as Larry Gagosian, Francois Pinault, Eli Broad and Bruce Nauman [ArtReview]
-In related, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, the director of Serpentine Gallery, just voted to be the art world’s most powerful figure by the Power 100, gives an idea of how busy his week gets [The Independent]

-A $310 million collection of Mark Rothko paintings to be shown next spring in artist’s first Moscow solo exhibition at Dasha Zkukova’s Garage Center for Contemporary Culture [Bloomberg]

To stay apprised of most of the relevant art news for this past week… (more…)

Damien Hirst’s ‘For the Love of God’ via Artinfo

Ukrainian collector Viktor Pinchuk, who is currently hosting Damien Hirst’s retrospective in Kiev, is revealed as the fourth stakeholder in the artist’s platinum, diamond-encrusted skull, which has yet to sell despite a £35 million offer from Alberto Mugrabi [The Art Newspaper]
in related, Fiats decorated by Hirst have had little problem selling at a London charity auction [Art Review]
Two proposed tax-free ports in Paris and Singapore aim to revolutionize international art handling [NY Times]

Roxy Paine with one of his ‘Dendroid’ sculptures via Artinfo

National Gallery of Art commissions a Roxy Paine ‘Dendroid’ sculpture [National Gallery of Art via Artnet]
Art Basel’s Marc Spiegler says that now is an essential time for collectors to buy work from galleries to support artists and local art scenes [ArtInfo]
In conjunction with Saatchi, the Times lists top 200 artists of the 20th century with Picasso and early Modernists at the front [TimesUK]
Three arts professionals describe how they collect for their own homes [Financial Times]

Sam Francis, Grey, the subject of an auction dispute at Christie’s

Shipping magnate Gregory Callimanopulos appealing court decision in auction dispute with Christie’s and Broad Art Foundation over Sam Francis’ ‘Grey’ [ArtForum]
Art during the Nazi regime: Van Meegeren and Göring, forgery and thievery [New York Times]
Unusual Renoir painting recovered in Venice 25 years after it was stolen [Artinfo]

Edward Hopper, Rooms by the Sea, recently acquired by Yale University. via ArtDaily

Yale University counter-sued over Van Gogh painting ‘The Night Café,’ seized during the Communist takeover of Russia [Bloomberg.com].
In related, Yale University Art Gallery acquires Edward Hopper preparatory drawings ‘Rooms by the Sea’ and ‘Western Motel and the Study’ [ArtDaily]
Young collectors pooling resources and sharing art [Financial Times]

Pablo Picasso’s Homme à l’épée for sale in London. via The Telegraph.

€7 – 10 millionv notebook of Picasso sketches discovered stolen from the Picasso museum in Paris [ArtDaily]
and in related, two ‘Musketeer’ paintings by the artist to be auctioned at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, respectively [The TelegraphUK]
As early as 2010, the Louvre may be at risk financially, despite a wave of acquisitions totaling an estimated  €38 million [NYTimes]

Andreas Gursky’s ‘James Bond Island III’ via FOTO8

An interview of Andreas Gursky in which he speaks of scaling down his monumental prints, the influence Bernd and Hilla Becher, and working with North Korea [FOTO8]
Vito Acconci closes his studio, citing cash flow troubles [The Architect’s Newspaper via ArtInfo]

Massimiliano Gioni navigates Venice during the Biennale opening via NY Times

Following curator and critic Massimiliano Gioni and his various party obligations at the Venice Biennale [NY Times]
Points on whether or not the recession is indeed good for art [GuardianUK]
Gagosian has hired Richard Meier to double the space in his Los Angeles Gallery [The Art Newspaper]

62 Imlay Street in Red Hook, Brooklyn, recently leased by Christie’s for storage

Christie’s leases a building for storage in Red Hook, in what is likely one of the largest real estate deals in Brooklyn this year [Brownstoner]
A guide to investing in contemporary art in current market conditions [NY Times]
Sotheby’s London Russian Art Evening Sale totals £7.9m with 17 of 28 lots sold [Art Market Monitor]

Video of Banksy’s exhibition in Bristol via BBC

Banksy secretly sets up exhibition in Bristol museum [BBC]
Beginning June 16, 2009 the Metropolitan Museum of Art will display ‘The Torment of Saint Anthony,’ now widely believed to be Michelangelo’s first painting, before it goes to its new home at Kimball Museum in Texas [ArtDaily]

Picasso’s Château de Vauvenargues via Artinfo

Picasso’s Château will open to the public this summer [Artinfo]
Billionaire collector Eli broad contends that the downturn in the art market has bottomed [Bloomberg]
Christie’s similarly calls a leveling off of the art market’s downshift [Reuters]

Martin Kippenberger’s ‘Untitled’ via Sotheby’s sold for $4.1 million, falling within estimates of $3.5-4.5 million and setting a new record at auction for the artist.

Sotheby’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale resulted in another disappointment for the beleaguered auction house following last week’s thin Impressionist and Modern Art sales. Total sales were estimated at $51.8-72.4 million for 49 lots, but the total came up short at $47 million, with 9 lots failing to sell. However, the auction is not viewed as disastrous, considering Sotheby’s put very little money up front, and the star of the show, a Jeff Koons sculpture from his ‘Celebration’ series, did manage to sell, unlike at last week’s auction.  However, ‘Baroque Egg With Bow (Turquoise/Magenta)’ fell short of its $6 million low-estimate, selling for $5.4 million to Larry Gagosian.  The piece was put up by hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb, who originally bought it from Gagosian in 2004 for what is believed to be around $3 million.

While the dollar amounts were nothing compared to a year ago, the auction did sell 81.2% of its lots, with 78.1% of total value realized. Still, the auction comes on the heels of Sotheby’s 1st quarterly earnings report, posting a loss of $66.7 million with the market looking tepid for some time to come.

Sotheby’s Sale Fails to Meet Low Expectations [WSJ]
In ‘a Recalibrated Market,’ Auction Buyers Take Over [NY Times]
Bidders respond to lower prices for contemporary art [Reuters]
Sotheby’s Contemporary Sale Solid but Subdued [ArtInfo]
Loeb Sells Koons Egg for $5.5 Million at Sotheby’s in New York [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s Tax Benefit Offsets Average Daily Loss of $1 Million [Bloomberg]
Sotheby’s shares tumble after weak auction [Crain’sNewYork]
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Larry Gagosian via Askmen

An aggressive attempt to get the story behind Larry Gagosian, possibly the most influential yet enigmatic figure in the art world [NYTimes]

A Donald Judd installation in Marfa, TX via Drexel, University

On the stark, quirky, top art pilgrimage destination of Marfa, TX [Chicago Tribune]
Art is moving out of the hands corporations [FT]

After the Tate, New York on the Bowery, and a slum in Kenya, street artist JR appears in Cambodia [WoosterCollective via the World’s Best Ever]
Nick Cohen’s critique of Nicolas Bourriaud’s curated vision of a “globalised cultural state” at the Tate’s ‘Ultramodern’ [ObserverUK]

Initial work on Raven’s Row in London via RavensRow

Alex Sainsbury opens non-profit exhibition space Raven Row’s in London [FT]

Richard Prince via Interview

Richard Prince donates “one of the most valuable and distinctive modern libraries in private hands” [TimesUK]
The Museum of Modern Art has relaunched a decidedly more interactive website [FastCompany]

Bruce Nauman via National Gallery of Australia

Bruce Nauman will represent the United States [ArtDaily] and John Baldessari (and Yoko Ono) to be awarded the Golden Lions at the 53rd Venice Biennale this year [ArtInfo]

Charles Saatchi via the Times UK

Charles Saatchi grants a rare interview: “art is my only extravagance” and another interview from Turner Prize winning Film director Steve McQueen [TimesUK]

David Zwirner with Simon de Pury via the Swiss Institute

On the resilient and very active power dealer David Zwirner: “Many people have cash on hand and they are waiting for first-rate objects” [Bloomberg]

Maria Baibakova via the Guardian UK

On Maria Baibakova, young Russian heiress addition to the art world (not Daria “Dasha” Zhukova) [TheIndependent]
Will Gompertz on Joseph Beuys, his Duchampian influence and other noteworthy points such as the myth of the inception of his art at the hands of Tartars in the Crimean War [GuardianUK]

Damien Hirst’s skateboard decks for Supreme, via The Hundreds

Damien Hirst launches a new line of skate decks for Supreme [Hypebeast] plus a Glenn Brown interview with Supreme [Interview]
Turner prize winning British artist Steve McQueen debuts Hunger. [W Magazine via C-Monster]

John Baldessari at Mies van der Rohe’s Haus Lange of 1928, in Krefeld, Germany, via Edward Lifson

John Baldessari transforms a Mies van der Rohe house [Edward Lifson]
Metropolitan Opera puts up two Chagalls as collateral for loan in the face of a shrunken endowment [Crain’s]
Art In America launches its new website [Art Fag City]

A model of Jeff Koons’s ‘Train’ to be built at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, via LACMA

LACMA moves forward with record $25 million sculpture by Jeff Koons [The Art Newspaper]
Gold Bars for a Chris Burden show at Gagosian held up in Stanford fraud case [Culture Monster]
A negative forecast for the recession’s impact on art [NewYorkMagazine]

Banksy in London, via Wooster Collective

New Banksy works appear in London [Wooster Collective]
A profile of the Guggenheim’s Richard Armstrong, a modest museum head compared to his controversial predecessor [Wall Street Journal]

KAWS’s cover for the current issue of New York, via SuperTouch

KAWS designs New York Magazine’s cover for their ‘Best of New York 2009’ issue [SuperTouch]
Jackie Wullschlager looks at the exhibitions that have come about after Anthony d’Offay’s gift of his collection to Britain [Financial Times]

Gang Gang Dance, via The Social Registry

Armory Show preview and party at MoMA featuring a performance by Gang Gang Dance [MoMA]
A profile of art collecting Mugrabi family [NY Times]
Second ever newspaper interview of Charles Saatchi [London Times]

Jake and Dinos Chapman’s remade ‘Hell’ via The Guardian

Jonathan Jones on why the Chapman Brothers’ Hell deserves to be shown at the National Gallery [Guardian]
Munich gallery Andreas Grimm shutters NY location [Hintmag]
SANAA, architects of the New Museum, to design Serpentine Pavilion [Icon]

A rug made by Francis Bacon, via London Times

Rediscovered Francis Bacon rugs are up for auction at a relative pittance versus his canvases [London Times]
Alex Katz models for J. Crew [MediaBistro]
A trend of wealthy collectors building museums to open their collections to the public [Fortune]

Richard Prince (left) and Larry Gagosian (right), via ArtInfo

Patrick Cariou, a photographer, has filed a lawsuit against Richard Prince after the artist allegedly used photographs without consent from Yes Rasta, a book released by Cariou in 2000, in several of his works in his ‘Canal Zone’ series, which is based in part on a post-apocalyptic vision of the island of St. Barths (exhibit covered by Art Observed here).  Larry Gagosian and Rizzoli, the publisher of Richard Prince’s book, are also named as defendants. Gagosian’s involvement stems from the fact that the works in question were featured a month ago at the ‘Canal Zone’ show at his gallery, while Rizzoli is responsible for the book covering the exhibition.

Prince, who is most famous for collages of photographs from ads often featuring prominent brands and iconic figures, among other things, has caused a stir in the past due to allegations of copyright infringement and misappropriation.  In this specific instance, Cariou is especially incensed due to the fact that he spent 10 years in the mountains of rural Jamaica gaining the trust of the Rastafarians who are the subject of his book, only to have these images easily appropriated by Prince without any indication of context or subtext.

Richard Prince and Gagosian get slapped with suit [ArtFagCity]
Photographer Sues Prince, Gagosian, and Rizzoli [ArtInfo]
Artist site: Richard Prince
Gallery: Gagosian

Previously on ArtObserved:
AO ON SITE: RICHARD PRINCE’S CANAL ZONE, GAGOSIAN GALLERY, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH, CHELSEA, NEW YORK

Alanna Heiss via ArtNet

Alanna Heiss has retired after 37 years of curating MoMA’s PS1; an article on her final show [NYTimes]
$250,000 worth of prints including those by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse stolen in Berlin [AssociatedPress]
A chronicle of the rise of auction prices before the fall, and a rumor that 2/3 of the bidders for Hirst’s monumental September auction may not actually pay for the works, and part 2 here [Bloomberg]
A video of  Eric Fischl at Mary Boone [Newarttv]

Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally via the ArtNewspaper

US lawsuit filed to confiscate Egon Schiele’s Portrait of Wally from the Leopold Museum in Vienna is suspended [ArtNewspaper]
Art dealers as paparazzi fodder?  White Cube owner Jay Jopling garners attention with singer Lily Allen in St. Barths [TheMirror]
also on the island, dealer Larry Gagosian and the band Kings of Leon fete collectors Roman Abramovich, Dasha Zhukova and Aby Rosen, designer Marc Jacobs, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, musician Jon Bon Jovi and actor Daniel Craig among others [IndependentUK]
In other art world vacation news, Damien Hirst hires 4 guards formerly in the British Special Forces to protect him during his Mexico holidays [MercoPress]

The Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion via architecturelist

The Zaha Hadid-designed Chanel Mobile Art tour is stopped; London, Moscow, and Paris canceled [ArtInfo]
Emmanuel Perrotin on three current Parisian exhibitions [The Moment – NYTimes]
MoMA to launch two-year series of live performance works [NYMag]
Collector Ronald Lauder interviewed at his Klimt-rich Neue Galerie in New York [Financial Times]
Damien Hirst bans a documentary film of his Statuephilia work [TelegraphUK]
The Velvet Underground’s John Cale will represent Wales at Venice Biennale of Art next year [BBC]
The controversial act of State museums deaccessioning works [NYTimes]
The Getty endowment has declined 25% [LATimes]
Art Info’s Top 5 art world figures of 2008 [ArtInfo]

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Photos by ArtObserved

Last night RxArt hosted its annual “Party 2008″ (formerly the RxArt Ball) in honor of Jeff Koons at Milk Gallery in Chelsea, New York. RxArt promotes optimal healing through exposure to original fine art in patient, procedure, and examination rooms of healthcare facilities. By curating artistic installations in hospital settings, they provide a surrounding which helps to relieve stress and anxiety in patients, families, and staff. A festive silent auction, hosted by Larry Gagosian, Antonio Homen, and Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, the event was well attended by art enthusiasts, fashion darlings and RxArt supporters all in good spirits. Works were set up along the walls from well-known artists such as Will Cotton, Inka Essenhigh, Hilary Harkness, Terence Koh, Nate Lowman, Delia Brown, Terry Richardson, Rob Pruitt, Ed Ruscha, Kehinde Wiley and Tom Sachs.

Guests at the launch of Timo’s neckwear collection, which took place prior to the auction, in the Phillips de Pury space upstairs, were also in attendance. Seen in the crowd at the RxArt benefit were designers Cynthia Rowley, Kai Kuhn and Sue Stemp, Opening Ceremony founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, social fixtures Genevieve Jones, Derek Blasberg, Emma Snowdon-Jones, and Victoria and Vanessa Traina, gallerists Gavin Brown, Barbara Wilhelm Dwek, Amy Greenspon and Melissa Bent and artists Rita Ackermann, Dan Colen and Terry Richardson (with girlfriend Jen Brill).

Each corner of the gallery was closed as the auction, both online and live, closed in sections, as the lights literally went out and the art was swiftly removed by art handlers over the course of the evening. The timed element lent a thrill to the cocktail party and auction.

RxArt Official Website
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RXArt Parties at Milk Gallery [WWD]
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Lazaro Hernandez Gets Outbid [VanityFair]
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When Terry met Barry [men.Style.com]
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Prescription Strength [Style.com]

more photos after the jump…

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Diane Brown, President of RxArt and artist Terry Richardson at last year’s RxArt Ball via Style.com

RxArt is hosting “The Party 2008” (formerly the RxArt Ball) in honor of Jeff Koons tonight from 7pm to 10pm at the A Milk Gallery Project located at 450 West 15th Street in New York City. The event is part cocktail party, part silent auction and is expected to be a festive evening attracting artists, designers, and socialites alike. The gracious co-chairs for this year are Larry Gagosian of Gagosian Gallery, Antonio Homen of Sonnabend Gallery, and Lazaro Hernandez & Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler. All guests will receive a copy of the the limited edition puzzle by Dan Colen. Tickets are available online here.

RxArt Official Website

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