Archive for the 'Fairs' Category
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
KAWS debuts in Madrid
KAWS’ debut exhibit in Spain with Javier Lopez (sister gallery to New York’s Gering-Lopez, where the artist is also represented) debuted last night in Madrid, coinciding with the opening day of the ARCOmadrid contemporary art fair, where the gallery is also showcasing a new multi-panel painting by the artist. Comprised of three large monochromatic canvases (as well as a bronze sculpture), the show is reminiscent of some of the artist’s earlier black matte and gloss paintings (circa 2000). In recent works from the last year, KAWS has drifted deeper into abstraction and away from the figurative forms he is so well known for. Here, the artist combines his signature characters with these new geometric elements, continuing his claim on popular iconography by reworking them into his own lexicon. What is so compelling is that KAWS has managed to take such recognizable cultural images – the Michelin Man and more recent Sponge Bob character – and so effectively recast them as his own. Given his trademark treatment, with their morbid X’d out eyes the Chum and Kawsbob have quickly become instantly recognizable as part of the KAWS brand.
KAWS
Feb 18 – April 7
Galeria Javier Lopez
José Marañón, 4
E-28010 Madrid, Spain
ARCOmadrid
Feb. 17 – 21
Feria de Madrid (Halls 6,8,10)
28042 Madrid, Spain
(ARCO images via Glltn, Gallery images via Javier Lopez)
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Recap :: Art Basel Miami 09
Van de Weghe Fine Art (All Images © Jeff Newman/The Art Collectors)
Once again Art Basel descended on Miami beach, delivering a massive spectacle of contemporary art. Though largely predictable, the fair didn’t disappoint in hosting a whose-who list of blue-chip galleries, showcasing works ranging from the most influential icons to the hottest stars of the moment. Some heavyweight standouts included Van de Weghe Fine Art (Andy Warhol, Willem De Kooning, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Basquiat), Skarstedt Fine Art (Richard Prince, George Condo, Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger, John Baldessari), Paul Kasmin (Kenny Scharf, Mark Ryden, Robert Indiana, Erik Parker, Walton Ford), Regen Projects (Lari Pittman, Raymond Pettibon, Lawrence Weiner), and Gagosian (Jeff Koons, Warhol, Richard Prince).
Finally, in what we now know to be their last hurrah, Deitch Projects was at the top of their game, doing what they do best – fusing the likes of Haring, Clemente and Schnabel together with some of the most respected younger talents, including Kehinde Wiley, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Ryan McGinness, Rosson Crow, Dzine and Kristin Baker. The booth’s best buy went to the lucky collector who reportedly snatched up an early Barry McGee installation of 99 painted bottles for the unbelievably low price of $100,000, (about $250 – 350,000 less than we’d assume).
Read on for 100+ images from the event. Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Recap :: PULSE Miami
Angelo Musco – Aranea Project, digital C print on metalic photo paper, 192 x 96 inches (detail), Carrie Secrist Gallery (All Images © Jeff Newman/TheArtCollectors)
PULSE Miami gets our pick as the strongest of the satellite fairs during Basel week. Standouts in the fair’s IMPULSE section (a juried selection of galleries invited to present solo exhibits of single artists) included art collective/gallery OK Mountain, who took home this year’s Pulse Prize for their corner store installation, Brian Dettmer’s carved books, which ponder the nature of recorded information and history (Packer Schopf Gallery), and Cody Hudson’s display with Andrew Rafacz Gallery. In the main halls, Catharine Clark Gallery was a standout with the haunting, towering paper ink washes of Josephine Taylor and Jonathan Solo’s gender bending collaged graphite drawings. Our number one photography pick goes to Angelo Musco (Carrie Secrist Gallery), whose digital manipulations of thousands of naked swimming bodies, interwoven like DNA help create a large scale, metaphysical biological architecture. Other worthy photo mentions are the documentary work of Deanna Templeton (Kopeikin Gallery and the computer generated works of Sangbin Im (Dean Project).
Click for pics of these and many more… Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Recap :: SCOPE Miami
Judith Supine at New Image Art (All Images © Jeff Newman/TheArtCollectors)
Though largely hit or miss, SCOPE Miami did present some stand outs, with Joshua Liner Gallery rising to the top of the pack. Showcasing artists like David Kassan, James Roper, Tomokazu Matsuyama, and Tony Curanaj, the gallery continues to take bold steps to move beyond the street/outsider art circles (Cleon Peterson, Dave Kinsey, and Travis Louie were also on display) it has already gained a reputation in. Making its art fair debut, Anonymous Gallery struck big with Dave Ellis’ musical installation – a beat-making anamatronic trash heap snatched up by none other than Charles Saatchi. The New York Gallery also had success with the best paintings by Maya Hayuk and Rostarr we’ve ever seen. Judith Supine’s solo installation at the New Image Art served as a reminder of why the artist has so successfully transcended the street environment where he first garnered attention. Krampf Gallery again focused on a a selection of Asia artists, including the porcelain works of Ma Jun, while AJ Fosik stole the show at Jonathan LeVine with his most ambitious and imposing beast sculpture to date. The gallery was also invited by the fair to show large scale paintings by Jeff Soto, Calma, and Doze Green at a special SCOPE exhibit.
Read on for our extensive photo recap.
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Free Art Basel Miami Passes
We’re giving away one package including free passes to the SCOPE and PULSE fairs, as well as the Wed., Dec.2 Art Basel Vernissage and First Choice events, before the fair opens to the public. The first responder to email us with a photo and brief description of an original work of art from their personal collection wins! Send entries to: info@theartcollectors.com and include mailing address. We will contact the winner via email.
Passes courtesy of our friends at Jonathan LeVine, Richard Heller, and Mizuma Art Galleries.
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
FAILE Debuts New Works with New Gallery
(All Images © FAILE)
After debuting a new installation at Perry Rubenstein in September, FAILE have officially announced the gallery is now representing them in the U.S. The artist duo will unveil the below series of Wood Paintings with Rubenstein at FIAC, Paris, which runs Oct. 22-25. FAILE also alerts us to a new print release through Paper Monster sometime this week. Stay tuned… Read the rest of this entry »
Friday, June 19th, 2009
Design Miami/Basel Expands to Seoul
Image: Design Miami/Basel
Design Miami/Basel has reached an agreement with officials in Seoul that will bring the fair to the South Korean city’s future design museum and convention centre as early as 2012. The news of this expansion comes shortly after the opening of the fair’s Basel exposition last week, which, only in its second year, has relocated to a larger venue. The two year old venture is a partnership between its founder, Miami real estate developer Craig Robins and Art Basel owner Messe Schweiz Group.
More at Artinfo and The Art Newspaper
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Venice Biennale Roundup
Image: TheArtCollectors/Jeff Newman
With opening week of the 53rd Venice Biennale in full swing, there’s no lack of shortlists and reviews to keep you busy. Planning a trip between now and November 22? We’ve done the sifting for you - Here’s some reading to get you on the inside track:
Francesco Bonami, director of the 2003 Venice Biennale and curator for the next Whitney Biennial served as guest writer for the New York Times’ The Moment blog last week. Get his inside view of the event here
The NY Times also informs us about Pop Minimalist, John Wesley’s, mammoth retrospective, organized by the Prada Foundation, which runs till Oct. 4th in conjunction with the Biennale. Read on
Artinfo is on the ground and tweeting throughout the opening week, while our friends over at Art Observed caught the early look and posted regular updates during preview weekend. Check them out here
The Guardian’s resident art critic, Adrian Searle gives a video tour of some highlights as well as a more comprehensive and academic review here, or check out the paper’s blog here for a quick don’t-miss list.
The London Times and The Independent also served up overviews.
And for the street art enthusaists, Vandalog has posted a ton of images of the arrival of Swoon’s Swimming Cities in Venice, while Shepard Fairey has kept fans updated on his decoration of the city here and here
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
Josh Keyes / Hunters, Run! Green Vinyl Edition
AT ARMS LTD. will be releasing the second pressing of the Hunters, Run! EP1 7-inch record on their website, sometime before midnight tonight, EST. The edition features cover and insert art by Josh Keyes and is limited to 100 copies on green vinyl. This is the final press and there will be no future editions of this record.
The company states they will only be offering a very small number of the edition online, as the band will be selling the record in the coming week during their Midwest tour and some copies have already gone during a pre-sale to mailing list members who missed out on the first edition.
In related news, preparation is underway for the second record in the Hunters, Run’s! artist collaboration series. The next 7-inch will feature art by Eric Beltz, who recently won the 2009 PULSE Prize at Pulse Art Fair NY and will be exhibiting with Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Berlin later this year.
Buy the record here, and check Hunters, Run! tour dates here.
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Chelsea Goes to Havana
Andrew Schoultz will be exhibiting with Morgan Lehman Gallery as part of Chelsea Visits Havana. Image: Pulse Art Fair 2009 via TheArtCollectors
For the first time in over twenty years, New York art galleries will have a presence in Havana, Cuba, at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The exhibition, Chelsea Visits Havana, opens March 28 as part of the 10th Havana Biennial, and will include twenty-eight NY galleries, along with thirty-five represented artists. The event was organized by Fundacion Amistad, a U.S. based non-profit dedicated to “fostering better mutual understanding and appreciation between the peoples of the United States and Cuba.”
As noted by The Art Newspaper, in 2004 the Bush administration heightened travel restrictions to Cuba, effectively ending cultural exchange programs. Since then, numerous Cuban artists have been denied visas to the United States to claim prizes or fellowship opportunities, and efforts by the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to bring U.S. artists to the country have continually been blocked. Abelardo Mena, a curator at the museum, said, “I don’t believe this exhibition would have been possible under the Bush administration. I hope the new president and his secretary of state recognize the value of cultural diplomacy based on mutual respect, and the free exchange of cultural goods (Art Newspaper, March 2009).”
As a side note, The Art Collectors are particularly excited for Morgan Lehman Gallery’s participation in the exhibit with an installation by Andrew Schoultz, whose visual commentary on U.S. government, capitalism and the military industrial complex should be particularly appropriate. Stay tuned for pictures…