the art collectors

Archive for the 'Market Talk' Category

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 »

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

New Whitney Museum Confirmed

The High Line at night (Image © Jeff Newman/TheArtCollectors)

The New York Times confirms that after three years of negotiation, the Whitney Museum has closed a deal with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to build a second museum near the Ganesvoort St. entrance to the new High Line park, located on a former elevated railway line in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. The museum recently singed a contract to buy the city owned site for $18 million, about one-half its actual value.

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

US Art Museum Directors Face Salary Reductions

MoMA Director, Glenn Lowry (Photo: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders/MoMA)

The Art Newspaper reports that more than one third of the directors of major US art museums have recently faced significant cutbacks in compensation, ranging from salary reductions and elimination of bonuses to unpaid leave. Included in the list is MOMA Director, Glenn Lowry, who is credited as the highest paid art museum executive in the US. After having his salary cut  15% in 2009, Lowry will face an additional 10% cut this coming year. His salary however, will remain above $1m in 2010.

See the entire list here – It’s worth a read.

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Pop-Up Art :: Street Cool, Turned Economic Tool

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)

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.

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.

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Warhol’s Michael Jackson Canvas Sells

Culture Monster, the LA Times arts blog, announced the recent sale of Andy Warhol’s Michael Jackson 30 x 26 inch painting for over $1 Million USD. Offered at private auction by the Vered Gallery in East Hampton, the painting was last sold for $278,500 USD in Sotheby’s May 13th event. It’s unquestionable that the demise of the ‘king of pop’ is responsible for the sharp rise in value in mere months, but it’s also a sign of a recovering art market. Blue chip artwork remains among the best ‘alternative’ investment options available.

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Nara Painting Stolen from LA Home

Just another reminder how important it is to insure your art collection. The Art Loss Register has announced the recent theft of this Yoshitomo Nara painting, stolen from a private residence in Los Angeles. The owner is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the return of the artwork. Anyone with information can contact the Art Lost Registry at 877 ART-LOSS, or the LAPD Art Theft Detail.

Via: Art Market Monitor

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Rose Museum Sues Brandeis to Stop Closure and Sale of Art

Former Brandeis President Abram Sachar (left) with the Rose Art Museum’s founding benefactors Bertha and Edward Rose (far right). Image: Rose Art Museum via Boston Globe

The battle to save the Rose Art Museum escalated Monday, when the museum’s overseers filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to halt Brandeis University from permanently shutting it down and selling off of a collection including some 7,000 works of art estimated at $350 million.

Read on for our full story and full transcript of the filed lawsuit. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Shepard Fairey for Art for Life Charity Auction

Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s 10th annual Art for Life Charity Auction ends today and along with it, a chance to take home Close Knit (2009) by Shepard Fairey. With a current bid of $28,500 and $5,000 bid increments, this one’s certainly no bargain but will benefit the foundation’s mission of providing disadvantaged urban youth with exposure and access to the arts, as well as providing exhibition opportunities to under-represented artists and artists of color. Those interested can view lots and place bids via charitybuzz.

The highlight of last year’s auction was also donated by Fairey – one out of the only three existing original Obama Hope canvases which generated $108,000, far above its $30,000 estimate.

Monday, July 27th, 2009

The Rise and Rise of Steve Lazarides

Steve Lazarides – Image: Jorn Tomter/The Art Newpaper

In a recent glowing profile, the Times Online dubbed UK art dealer Steve Lazarides the Jay Jopling of graffiti. With his recent expansion into a third gallery – a five floor townhouse on London’s Rathbone Place –  the comparison is worth considering. In fact, upon the opening of Jopling’s third White Cube space in  2006, the Independent declared him to be “the man who brought – and sold – Britart to the world.”  Many would agree Lazarides has done the same for what he prefers to call outsider art. However, what Jopling did over the span of thirteen years, Lazarides has done in a mere three, leaving one  to wonder if such rapid growth is sustainable over the long term.  Other factors aside, in the end it will be up to collectors of Laz’s staple of artists to decide.