Archive for the 'London' Category
Monday, February 15th, 2010
Phillips de Pury London Contemporary Art Sale Results
Selling for $993,112 (before premium), Donald Judd’s Untitled (87-29 Studer), 1987 was the highest selling lot at Phillips de Pury’s Contemporary Art Day and Evening Sales in London this past weekend (Image © Phillips de Pury)
With this past weekend’s sales at Phillips de Pury, London, the last of the big three winter contemporary art auctions has winded to a close. Both day and evening sales failing to reach their low end estimates, with 37 (23%) out of 163 lots offered remaining unsold/withdrawn. The total sale across both auctions raised $10,096,428 (before buyer’s premiums), $738,427 (6.8%) below the combined low end estimate of $10,834,855.
Read on for our full analysis – Click Lot Numbers for Images and Details Read the rest of this entry »
Monday, February 15th, 2010
Christie’s London Post-War and Contemporary Art Auctions
A Christie's employee inspects Yves Klein's Relief éponge (RE 47 II). Selling for $8,329,329 (before buyer's premium), the gold coated sponge relief was the highest grossing lot a the auction house's Post-War and Contemporary Auctions late last week (Image © AP Photo/Sang Tan, via Boston Globe).
Overall, Christie’s fared well during their latest round of Post-War and Contemporary Art Auctions. With a combined sale of $69,346,950, both evening and day auctions sold within their projected estimates. 158 (63%) of the 249 lots offered sold within or above their estimated range. 49 lots (19.7%) sold below low estimates, and 42 (16.9%) were unsold/withdrawn. While these results fare better than last year’s combined result of $14,486,820 – $12,980,727 (47%) below the low estimate of $27,467,547, the 2009 sales consisted of only 123 total lots.
Read on for our full analysis – Click Lot Numbers for Images and Details Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
KAWS @ Phillips de Pury’s London Auction
Seminal works by KAWS finally make an appearance in a high-end auction format with Phillips de Pury’s upcoming London Day Sale of Contemporary Art. After a multi-year drought at auction of this level, KAWS artwork will be offered to the public on February 13. With an estimate of £10,000-15,000 or $16,300-$24,500, the market for the artist will indeed be in the spotlight. There are two lots available, one consisting of a two-piece set of ’skull’ canvases; the other of baby photographs, disrupted with other signature characters by the artist.
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
The Secret’s Out :: Benefit Offers £40 Works by Richter, Kapoor, Emin + Baldessari
(All Images via RCA Secret)
London’s Royal College of Art held its annual RCA Secret sale this past weekend. The week long exhibition culminated with the sale of 2700 postcard-sized works of art from the institution’s current roster of postgraduate students, mixed in with a lengthy list of contributors from professional artists and designers. Having a keen eye and the patience to camp out on the staggering cue reaped heavy rewards for some. As with previous year’s events, the artists’ identities were not revealed until after each sale. This year, a few lucky buyers took home £40 works by Gerhard Richter, Anish Kapoor, Tracey Emin, John Baldessari and Yoko Ono. Click through for more of the art works revealed. Read the rest of this entry »
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
After 20 Years Rothko Murals Return to Tate Liverpool
Alexander Liberman - Rothko in his Studio, New York, 1964. (Alexander Liberman Photographic Collection & Archive Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, California (2000.R.19) © J. Paul Getty Trust)
In 1988 Tate Liverpool opened it’s doors for the very first time with an exhibition of Mark Rothko’s The Seagram Murals. More than 20 years later the painting have returned to the museum, where they are on display now through March 21, 2010. On Thursday, Oct. 18, Achim Borchardt-Hume, formerly of Tate Modern where he was responsible for curating the recent Rothko exhibition, and now Chief Curator at Whitechapel Gallery, London, will give a unique talk concerning the museum’s long term relationship with Rothko. More event info here
Mark Rothko - Black on Maroon, Mural, Section 3, 1959. (Tate © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko ARS, NY and DACS, London)
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Lori Early at Opera Gallery, London
(All Images: © Lori Early via Curated Mag)
Lori Early opens Laments and Lullabies this Friday, Oct. 16, at Opera Gallery’s London location. The event marks her first solo show since exhibiting at Jonathan LeVine in the winter of 2008. Check out Curated Mag’s new interview with the New York based painter.
Lori Early – Laments and Lullabies
Oct. 16 – Nov. 14
Opera Gallery London
134 New Bond Street,
London, W1 2TF
london@operagallery.com
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Nike AM90 x Dizzee Rascal x Ben Drury Video
Friday 18th September, Nike and Mercury recording artist Dizzee Rascal will release the very special, and strictly limited, Nike Air Max 90 ‘Tongue N’ Cheek’ sneaker. The shoe has been created in a special partnership between Dizzee, Nike Design and long-time Dizzee collaborator and creative director, Ben Drury and will go on sale exclusively at Nike’s 1948 store in London’s Shoreditch, ahead of the release of Dizzee’s fourth LP, Tongue N’ Cheek (Monday 21st September).
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Pop-Up Art :: Street Cool, Turned Economic Tool
Ja Pay, 2009 is one of several collaborative works created by artist Peter Harris and musician Lee Scratch Perry that will be on display at the Higher Power art show on Sept. 10 in London.
This September marks three years since Banksy captured the art world’s attention with Barely Legal, the now legendary three-day Los Angeles warehouse show, whose location was not disclosed until opening day. Looking back, its as if the exhibit’s mammoth success spawned the beginning of pop-up art show mania. What was once regarded as a guerilla marketing move used by street-hip artists and dealers a few years ago is quickly catching on. In the past few years, companies like Nike, Scion and Campari have been particularly adept at promoting their brands to young audiences and tastemakers by using such art-events.
Yet, while pop-up galleries – temporary art shows held in vacant commercial spaces – are now a mainstream marketing tactic, they may quickly become a financial necessity in a shaken economy, where both the real estate and art markets have been dramatically impacted.
Earlier this summer, Ad Hoc Art partnered with community development organization, Metrotech BID, to transform a vacant Brooklyn, NY block into a storefront gallery of street art, inviting 15 artists including Chris Stain,Greg Lamarche, Lady Pink and Logan Hicks to create site specific installations in the windows of former businesses. (Its worth noting Ad Hoc has since announced its closing, joining a growing list of galleries who have been unable to fight off the recession)
Artists Cycle and Chris Stain contributed to the Willoughby Windows project. Image: Dave Pinter
This week, the New York Times reported on the recent proliferation of temporary galleries in London, noting “the British government, worried about the economic, psychological and criminal hazards of retail vacancies, announced a $5 million “revival fund” for local governments in hard-hit areas to transform empty shops into something useful, like showrooms for local artists, and another $800,000 to help artists and arts organizations turn vacant high street shops into artistic spaces.” The story was also picked up by Artinfo.
London based Watch This Space has taken advantage of this new space, going beyond the curatorial and acting as facilitator between up and coming artists, who are finding it increasingly difficult to secure galleries willing to take on any new risk, and landlords who find themselves with empty space. The organization launched in June with a group exhibit in a three-story former restaurant that had been empty for two years, and is currently playing host to DIY London Scene (previously reported) in a vacant storefront in London’s Covent Garden shopping district.
Lee Scratch Perry and Peter Harris
Moving outside of the traditional gallery setting also offers opportunities for more varied and ambitious undertakings. Take Higher Ground for example, a one-day multimedia collaboration between reggae pioneer Lee Scratch Perry, legendary dub producer Adrian Sherwood, and artist Peter Harris. The interactive art and music event will take place September 10 at the historic Tabernacle Theater in London’s Notting Hill. Perry will perform songs that relate to themes from Harris’ film Higher Powers, while a ‘VJ’ will respond with live visual interpretations of Perry’s songs. Collaborative works between Perry and Harris will be on display, and the two artists will be complete a live painting on stage, with Sherwood conducting a live mix. Tickets to the event are available here
While many galleries struggle to stay afloat, with some closing their doors for good, perhaps there is hope in a wave of more innovative, cooperative events and exhibits, where synergies between creative and business communities can nurture both the arts and wallets.
Monday, August 17th, 2009
Making Something from Nothing :: Beautiful Losers Released in UK, Inspires London Exhibit
Ivory Serra – Installation View of Alleged Gallery, 2001 (via: Watch This Space)
If you are reading this, chances are you are already familiar with Beautiful Losers, the traveling art exhibit turned documentary film celebrating a group of artists who emerged out of New York’s Alleged Gallery in the early 90s, joined together by the DIY aesthetics of punk rock, hip-hop and skateboarding. The marks of artists like Barry McGee, Shepard Fairey, Geoff McFetridge, Mike Mills and Harmonie Korine are widely acknowledged in popular art, design, film, and fashion. Now, a new exhibition in London takes up the Beautiful Losers calling to “Make Something From Nothing,” featuring a group of emerging UK artists.
DIY London Seen, an exhibition documenting the work of, and inspired by the artists featured in the film, opened today, coinciding with Beautiful ‘Losers UK DVD release and run at the London Institute of Contemporary Arts. Organized by Watch This Space, the show features a group of young London artists whose work embodies the spirit of the film, alongside the photography of original Loser, Cheryl Dunn, and Ivory Serra, who documented the rise of the Beautiful Losers’ artists throughout the 90s. DIY London Seen runs August 17 – September 5 at 2009 at The Market Building in Covent Garden.
DIY LONDON SEEN
August 17 – Sept 5
The Market Building
Covent Garden
London, UK WC2 8RF
Participating Artists: Arran Gregory, Aidan O’Neill, Best One, Chrissie Abbott, Clare Shilland, Charlie Woolley, Cheryl Dunn, Gustav Svanborg Edén, Graham Hudson, Harry Malt, Ivory Serra, Jethro Haynes, Marc Silver, Marcus Oakley, Niall O’Brien, Nick Jensen, Robin Clare, Sam Ashley and Toby Shuall, Ricky Adams, Rita Bored, XXXXXX, Mat Pringle and Sam Szulc
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Remi/Rough – Lost Colours and Alibis Book
The new Remi/Rough book is available for pre-order from Agents of Change with hundreds of artworks, including collaborations with other talented artists. The foreword is by New York legend, Mare 139. The book also contains a full catalog of the Lost Colours and Alibis painting exhibition. Read the rest of this entry »