Wilson's World, Celebrating Robert Wilson's birthday with essays, interviews, a frog, and a sharkshin shoe
Posted: Saturday March 24, 2012
On the occasion of Robert Wilson’s 70th birthday, last October, the multitalented, often underappreciated, largely misunderstood artist generated a flurry of activity. His Threepenny Opera was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music that same month, and his hyperreal video portrait of dancer Roberto Bolle debuted at New York’s Center548
Qatar's Royal Patronage of the Arts: Glittering but Empty
Posted: Saturday March 17, 2012
Qatar’s royal family is making Doha, the country’s capital, into an international art hub for renowned artists from all over the world as it sets the stage for the World Cup in 2022, but local artists are being weeded out in the process.“Investing millions in art venues and art work
A Biennial Scorecard: Culling the Highlights of the Whitney's Signature Survey
Posted: Saturday March 17, 2012
What’s that smell in the air that’s been wafting as of late? Is it the onset of spring? Nope, it’s the Whitney Biennial! Once again, it is time for the ever-ambitious, always-criticized exhibition that attempts to summarize two years of American contemporary art. Only this time, it’s not so contemporary, and
Michael Dweck on His Unprecedented Havana Show of Portraits Chronicling Cuba's Creative Class
Posted: Saturday March 17, 2012
From the beaches of Montauk, to the VIP rooms of Cuban nightclubs, American photographer Michael Dweck shines a unique perspective on the who's who of communities hidden in plain sight. His newest body of work has just opened in Cuba in a landmark exhibition at the Fototeca de Cuba Museum in
On the Market: Insider Alice Gregory Exposes Sotheby's
Posted: Monday March 12, 2012
I spent the summer after graduation reading novels in McCarren Park. I had been warned that nobody was hiring and was secretly relieved because this meant it wasn’t entirely on me to have a legitimate job. I could copy-edit and babysit and transfer money from my savings account to my
A Sizzling Francis Bacon Helps Christie's Cook Up $126 Million at Its London Contemporary Sale
Posted: Sunday March 11, 2012
LONDON — Powered by a rare-to-market Francis Bacon painting of a reclining female nude, Christie’s Postwar and Contemporary Art evening sale shot to £80,576,100 ($126,504,477), the highest contemporary mark for the house here since June 2008.The tally came close to the high end of the £56.77 to 84 million ($88.96-131.9 million)
Sotheby's Contemporary Sale Soars to $80 Million in London, Driven by Gerhard Richter Fever
Posted: Sunday March 11, 2012
LONDON — Stoked by a half-dozen Gerhard Richter paintings chased by an international cast of hungry bidders, the contemporary art market maintained its surging pace at Sotheby’s tonight, realizing £50,688,450 ($79,672,106). The tally clipped pre-sale expectations of £34.5-48 million ($54.2-75.5 million), and improved on last February's £44.3-48 million ($71 million). Only six of the 63 lots
Facebook Graffiti Artist Could be Worth $500 Million
Posted: Saturday March 3, 2012
Mr. Choe said Facebook originally offered him $60,000 to paint murals in the company’s Palo Alto offices in 2005. Today, he said, the stock he took instead could be worth more than $500 million.Yes, that’s what he says: half a billion dollars to paint the murals.But it is unclear how much of
Midtown Walmart would force art fairs out
Posted: Saturday March 3, 2012
With plans for a proposed mega Walmart store in Midtown moving forward, reality sets in for many art fair organizers who will have to start looking for new venues once the project breaks ground.Scope Art Fair, Red Dot, and Art Asia, three Art Basel Miami Beach satellite fairs that last
A Reluctant Defense of Damien Hirst's "Spot Painting" Spectacular
Posted: Saturday March 3, 2012
If Damien Hirst didn't exist, we would have to invent him. In some ways, I think we have invented him. He has taken on fantastic proportions as a villain in many people's minds. In smart company these days, admitting that you actually liked Damien Hirst would be something like saying