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Frieze Highlights: Dan Colen, Nick van Woert, Other Irreverent Stars Stand Out
10/05/2013
Frieze Highlights: Dan Colen, Nick van Woert, Other Irreverent Stars Stand OutPhoto Gallery: Slideshow: Highlights from Frieze New York 2013Published: May 10, 2013If you feel art fairs are intruding ever more into your life, you’re apt to find the second edition of Frieze New York an especially in-your-face experience — in a good way, of course, like spring sun. Although little in the way of new styles or approaches announces itself here, the art insistently pushes your space, which is to say that work in three dimensions predominates, if not in quantity, then in quality and energy level. Even pieces on the wall extrude, vying for attention. At Peter Blum, a beefy Rosy Keyser painting in corrugated metal and sliced oil drum appears to be trying to rip itself off the wall, while the Rashid Johnson and Matthew Day Jackson paintings at Hauser & Wirth’s booth share a heavy, sculptural density. Indeed, a thick vein of muscularity runs through Frieze’s bright tent. Nick van Woert’s chromed gym weight machine, with agglomerations of cat litter affixed, squats like a comely alien in Grimm Gallery’s booth. At Gagosian stands an impressively large ring — probably as tall as its artist — which Dan Colen made out of shattered Plexiglas basketball backboards. At Kukje Gallery, Ghada Amer’s sphere of Arabic script in blackened bronze continues the theme, yet the booth as a whole has one of the most elegant presentations on view. Amer’s sphere rhymes with two collages by Haegue Yang, which repeat the circle motif in sandpaper and cardboard; with Sora Kim’s photograph “Turtle Walk,” 2010, which depicts two people carrying large white disks down urban stairs; and with Yee Sookyung’s two bulbous “Translated Vases,” 2010, made from ceramic seamed in gold leaf. Still, despite the brawn, a number of successful delicate efforts can be found, chief among them Abraham Cruzvillegas’s “April in Paris (brief & delirious),” 2012, a calligraphic floor sculpture in rebar, fabric, feathers, and strewn bottle caps, at Regen Projects. Gabriel Orozco employs feathers to equally fine effect in his hanging sculpture at Galerie Chantal Crousel. Also, one must certainly file under delicate the two Sarah Sze works spotted: the kinetic assemblage “Timed Twenty-five (Sun Dial),” at Victoria Miro, and the pendulum, tripod, and tools that constitute “Slow Sieve (Water Diviner),” 2013, at Tanya Bonakdar. But no piece at the fair is more lifelike, or magical, than Tino Sehgal’s at Marian Goodman’s booth. In a small room a young girl takes on the role of “Ann Lee,” originally a manga character (the rights to which were bought by artists Philippe Parreno and Pierre Huyghe, who deploy her image in their work). Her interactive performance explores what it’s like to live suddenly in three dimensions. The sculptural work succeeds in drawing one into the booths to check out what’s on the walls. Among the surprises at Frieze are Becky Beasley’s photographs of fabric at Laura Bartlett Gallery and Pablo Bronstein’s ink and watercolor drawing “Tiepolo’s Triumph of Marius Entering the Metropolitan Museum,” a rare work that puts art handling center stage, on view at Herald St. Of the paintings on offer, Caragh Thuring’s seven canvases at Simon Preston, so spare they almost dissolve the figurative into the abstract, whisper at you alluringly. This year’s Frieze demands your attention, by any means necessary. At least it’s deserving. To see images, click on the slideshow. Read full article here

Sotheby's Losses Double, Frieze Artist Shames Fair For Labor Practices, and More
10/05/2013
Sotheby's Losses Double, Frieze Artist Shames Fair For Labor Practices, and MorePublished: May 10, 2013– Sotheby's First Quarter Losses Double: In the first quarter of 2013, Sotheby's lost some $22.3 million, more than double the $10.7 million it lost over the same period in 2012. Revenue for the period was also down, by three percent, to $101.7 million, while expenses rose eight percent to $123 million. "The first quarter showed a solid increase in auction sales compared to the prior year, but the results illustrate how competitive the market is for the highest-value consignments," said Sotheby's chairman and CEO William Ruprecht. "That competition resulted in lower commission margins, which is reflected on the bottom line." [Bloomberg] – Frieze Labor Protests Move Inside the Fair: A few days ago, the activist group Arts & Labor issued an open letter to participants in Frieze New York, asking them to speak out against the fair's use of non-union labor to construct its massive tent. The campaign appears to be having some effect. One of the more unexpected stand-outs of the 2013 fair comes from L.A. artist Andrea Bowers, who is offering a public statement of support inside the fair at the booth of her dealer, Susanne Vielmetter, via a letter that states, "If Frieze wants to be accepted in New York it should play by the rules which include hiring workers which have experience in the industry with family supporting wages." The simmering controversy has gone inside Frieze in another way too: artist Suzanne Lacy and curator Nato Thompson have agreed to cede part of their Frieze Talk today to activists to read a statement. [ARTINFO, ITA] – Artists Sue Honda Over Ad: In 2005, the Houston-based artists Dan Havel and Dean Ruck collaborated on the hugely popular public art installation "Inversion," which resembled a vortex of wood exploding from the façade of a house. Now the artists are suing Honda for featuring a strikingly similar installation in a recent TV commercial. In the commercial for the automaker's new CR-V, a driver passes through a house in Vancouver that has been transformed with a portal resembling the one Havel and Ruck built in Houston. The copy-cat ad's tag line, ironically, is "Do More New." [Houston Chronicle] – Another Knock for Knoedler: A sixth former client has come forward to file a lawsuit against the defunct Upper East Side gallery Knoedler & Company: Philanthropist (and the U.S.'s former ambassador to Romania) Nicholas F. Taubman claims in a suit that the gallery's ex-director Ann Freedman tricked him into buying a fake Clyfford Still in 2005 for $4.3 million. The forged work was on view in the Bucharest embassy during Taubman's time there. [NYT] – Collector Enters Art Storage Business: The real estate developer and collector Steve Guttman is going head to head with Christie's, Crozier, and other companies providing art storage services. He plans to open Uovo Fine Art Storage, a new purpose-built, 280,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Queens, in 2014. (He could be heard talking up the project at Frieze New York yesterday.) Guttman got the idea for Uovo when he was looking at storage options for his own collection. "I go and look at the space, and they're all old buildings," Guttman said. "As a real-estate developer, I said, 'Boy, this is interesting." [WSJ] – Getty Gets More Old Masters: The Getty Museum has gone on a mini-buying spree, picking up two paintings by prized Old Masters: Rembrandt's playful self-portrait "Rembrandt Laughing" (ca. 1628) and a Canaletto painting of Venice's Grand Canal from circa 1738. Both were bought last week for undisclosed sums, though the Rembrandt's pice tag most likely was in the eight figures. "We feel we know Rembrandt better than any other artist who lived because we see his face in portraits from when he was a young man in his 20s just starting out, virtually all the way through to his death," said Getty director Timothy Potts. "So he’s in a sense his own greatest subject, and these are among the most admired works he ever made." [LAT] – Cristin Tierney Gallery Is Now Tierney Gardarin Gallery: The New York dealer Cristin Tierney has brought on Denis Gardarin, recently of White Cube in London, to be a partner in her Chelsea gallery, which has been renamed Tierney Gardarin Gallery, effective immediately. "Denis and I formed this partnership because we envision a gallery that connects artists and art history through thoughtful, carefully curated exhibitions," Tierney said. "Together, we hope to broaden the gallery's international scope and focus on presenting exhibitions that take risks. A gallery should be an incubator for innovative ideas, not merely an economic mechanism." The gallery, which has been located on West 29th Street since it opened in 2010, represents Eve Sussman, Joe Fig, and Peter Campus, among others. [Press Release] – "Project Runway" Hand Revolutionizes Contemporary Quilt Art: Change is afoot on the contemporary quilting scene, as evidenced by the recent QuiltCon in Austin, Texas, the first-ever national exhibition of the Modern Quilt Guild, which was co-founded by "Project Runway" casting director Alissa Haight Carlton in 2009 and now counts more than 180 branches. "I didn't like the quilts at shows, but I did like the quilts I saw on blogs," Carlton said. [WSJ] – New Museum Plans Burden Blockbuster: The New Museum will hold the first New York survey devoted to the work of Los Angeles artist Chris Burden, "Chris Burden: Extreme Measures," which is slated to open in October and will take over the entire museum and its exterior with works spanning from 1970 to the present. Co-curated by Lisa Phillips, Massimiliano Gioni, and Jenny Moore, the four-decade survey will be Burden's first major show at a U.S. museum in over 25 years. [Press Release] – Lincoln Center Relaunches Public Art Program: Fresh off the massive renovation of its entire campus, New York's Lincoln Center is turning some attention back to its temporary public art program — to compliment permanent installations by Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, and others — with a series of 14 new sculptures by Los Angeles-based artist Aaron Curry that will be installed in the plaza surrounding the central fountain in October. The brightly painted aluminum sculptures, which will be on view through January 2014, take inspiration from modern art and pop culture. [NYT] – Soho Residents Want Art, Not Bikes: Some Soho locals are up in arms over the city's decision to install a large rack for its new bike-share program, Citi Bike, at the tip of tiny Petrosino Square, a spot that has served as a public art venue in recent years — and where Tracey Emin's 2005 sculpture "Roman Standard" will be unveiled this morning. "We're livid," said area activist John Fratta. "That area was supposed to be reserved for art exhibitions, not bikes." [DNAinfo] VIDEO OF THE DAY Dan Havel and Dean Ruck's "Inversion" ALSO ON ARTINFO New Frieze Week Fair Wish Meme Explores the Many Facets of Nostalgia French Fair Cutlog's NYC Debut Establishes an Edgy, Hip Frieze Week Addition Collective .1: A New Tastemaker in Design Fairs VIDEO: Orly Genger's Waves of Color in Madison Square Park Anne Hathaway, Paul McCarthy, Others Mingled at Tate Americas Foundation Dinner See Photos of Frieze's Funky Kickoff at MoMA PS1 For breaking news throughout the day, check our blog IN THE AIR. Read full article here

Karen Kilimnik at Eva Presenhuber
10/05/2013
Artist: Karen Kilimnik Venue: Eva Presenhuber, Zurich Date: April 6 – May 18, 2013 Click here to view slideshow Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump. Images: Images courtesy of Eva Presenhuber, Zurich. Photos by Stefan Altenburger. Press Release: The American artist, who has been represented by Eva Presenhuber since 1995, became known in the early [...]Contemporary Art Daily is produced by Contemporary Art Group, a not-for-profit organization. We rely on our audience to help fund the publication of exhibitions that show up in this RSS feed. Please consider supporting us by making a donation today. Read full article here

VIDEO: Hidden Gems of Frieze New York 2013
10/05/2013
VIDEO: Hidden Gems of Frieze New York 2013Published: May 10, 2013Frieze New York 2013 kicks off its second edition on Randall's Island with galleries from more than 30 countries showing their works for sale.  Blouin ARTINFO's Matthew Drutt went looking for hidden gems and found them from Julia Schmidt at the Casey Kaplan Gallery, Charlotte Posenenske at Berlin's Galerie Mehdi Chouakri and Adriana Lara at the Algus Greenspon booth. Watch other ARTINFO videos from Frieze Week New York 2013 HERE.  Read full article here

Ideas City StreetFest, New Museum, New York
10/05/2013
Ideas City is a four-day, biennial festival of conferences, workshops, and an streetfest in New York. Ideas City was founded by the New Museum in 2011. It’s a major collaborative initiative between hundreds of arts, education, and community organizations. Ideas City explores the future of cities around the globe with a focus on arts and [...] Read full article here

Anne Hathaway, Paul McCarthy, Others Mingled at Tate Americas Foundation Dinner
10/05/2013
Anne Hathaway, Paul McCarthy, Others Mingled at Tate Americas Foundation DinnerPhoto Gallery: Slideshow: Tate Americas Foundation Artists Dinner and After PartyPublished: May 9, 2013NEW YORK — Marina Abramovic, Paul McCarthy, Richard Phillips, and Elizabeth Peyton were just some of the many artists and celebrities who should have been getting to bed early last night to get a head start at Frieze the next day, but weren’t. They, and their art world brethren, were too busy kicking back glasses of Veuve Cliquot champagne, dancing to endless DJ sets, and raising money (over $2 million) at a Simon de Pury-led auction at a dinner and after party for the Tate Americas Foundation. The Dior-sponsored fête for 650 guests — including luminaries like Anne Hathaway, Martha Stewart, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alex Katz, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Josephine Meckseper, and Los Carpinteros — honored 30 artists and offered at auction some rare treats. One lucky bidder won a spin around the Greek islands on collector Dakis Joannou’s luxury yacht “Guilty,” for $175,000. If you missed the event, check out this slideshow for a glimpse. To see images from the Tate Americas Foundation dinner, click on the slideshow. Read full article here

Slideshow: Highlights from Frieze New York 2013
10/05/2013
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Slideshow: Tate Americas Foundation Artists Dinner and After Party
10/05/2013
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Fridge Fair's Debut on the LES Recalls the Neighborhood's DIY Heyday
10/05/2013
Fridge Fair's Debut on the LES Recalls the Neighborhood's DIY HeydayPhoto Gallery: Slideshow: Highlights from Fridge Art Fair, May 2013Published: May 9, 2013Founded this year by New York artist Eric Ginsburg, the Fridge art fair presents an earnest alternative to the glitz and glam of other Frieze satellite fairs, one which also recalls a historic chapter in the Lower East Side art scene. Relatively tiny, with just 14 booths, and headquartered in one of the neighborhood’s oldest galleries, Gallery OneTwentyEight, Fridge is largely packed with work by international artists — most of whom have arrived without dealers, setting up their own booths and handling their own finances, mingling with friends in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. Works in the fair are almost exclusively two-dimensional, though varying widely in style and medium. Debra Drexler’s layered, broad-stroked paintings ($80-$7,400), Susana Thornton’s sparse stills ($1,000), Cheryl Edwards’s multimedia collages and paintings ($150-$800) offer a cross-section of artists that feels comfortable in its familial Rivington Street environment. “This fair allows the viewer to come in and touch and feel the minds of the artists, to question the work and to discuss the work in an intimate and casual setting,” explained Edwards. Founded by the artist Kazuko Miyamoto in 1986 as a space to show works by unknown artists, Gallery Onetwentyeight initially took over an abandoned building long before the neighborhood was recognized for its then-burgeoning contemporary art scene. Miyamoto was also a founding member of the women-run A.I.R. Gallery and a long-time friend and contemporary of Sol LeWitt, one of OneTwentyEight’s original supporters. Miyamoto’s pieces in the fair — three photographs and one geometric, abstract silkscreen — are the gems of Fridge, and just a small sampling of her oeuvre, which includes dance, performance, and installation. A large photo, almost hidden in the back of the gallery, was taken during a conceptual performance she did in the ’80s, for which she wrapped herself in a blue blanket and intricately folded lengths of industrial brown paper and then walked from the Lower East Side to Tribeca.  Fridge Art Fair runs at Gallery OneTwentyEight through Sunday, May 12. To see image, click on the slideshow. Read full article here

Slideshow: Frieze New York Launch Party at MoMA PS1
10/05/2013
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