Art Basel Miami Beach starts on Thursday, and the word "test" is being used instead of "expectation." Even though there have been signs this month that the art market is turning the corner (or at least trying), caution remains pervasive, and the market is still seen to be fragile. The fair's organizers have said that profits will be down at least 20 percent for everyone involved, because of lower prices and a decline in the number of exhibitors.

Sixty of last year's participants have dropped out already, and the number of satellite art fairs around Art Basel Miami Beach has fallen from 22 to 16. Layout changes are taking the shift in participation and making it benefit those who remain. Exhibit space has been increased by 20 percent, and booths in the main art galleries area will be larger, as a result. This is where most of the action is. Eighty-five percent of the dealers have come back, and the number of stands has increased from 265 to 270.

Though prices are expected to be down at the Miami fair this year, artists and galleries aren't giving their work away. Emmanuel Perrotin, the Paris gallery, is trying to move Takashi Murakami's "Warp," painted this year, for $1.5 million. The same gallery is also pushing a Duane Hanson sculpture for $425,000 and a photographic print by Paola Pivi for $33,000. Edward Tyler Nahem, a first-timer at Art Basel Miami Beach, has a room full of paintings by Alejandra Icaza, which are selling for $35,000 a piece.

The crowd in Miami is likely to be a return to past decades, in which art collectors and investors -- rather than what Todd Levin, director of Levin Art Group calls the "fashionista crowd" -- dominate the scene. Art Basel Miami Beach thus might become an art fair again.

Art Basel Miami Beach: It's About the Art Again originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Etiquette at the Opera originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Water/Bodies exhibit kicks off on December 21, 2009 at the Eden Rock Gallery. Located at the Eden Rock Hotel on St Barths, the gallery has hosted shows from the top artists in the world and those who will be in the next few years. The new show, curated by David Kratz, President of the New York Academy of Art, will no doubt be consistent with the gallery's fantastic reputation. This year, Eric Fischl and Jenny Saville, both Senior Critics at the Academy, will be among the Academy-affiliated artists showcasing their work at Eden Rock.

Each of the pieces at Eden Rock this winter will be related to the theme of nature, water and the body. Only small works will be displayed at this event, though a variety of media will be present, including oil, watercolor, drawing and sculpture.

Water/Bodies is the latest in an ongoing relationship between the Eden Rock Gallery and New York Academy of Art. The program includes an artist-in-residence program, in which up to 10 students or graduates of the Academy can visit St Barths and participate. Some of the proceeds from the sales at Water/Bodies will be used to support this program and others at the Academy. Past participants include Richard Prince, whose early 2008 show sold out before the opening.

While we're unlikely to see a replay of Prince's sales at Eden Rock this year, the art market is certainly better than what we saw late last year. Maybe collectors will go back to voting with their wallets.

Gallery: Eden Rock Gallery Winter 2009/2010 Art Exhibition

Water/Bodies: A New Exhibition by NY Academy of Art and Eden Rock originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm still not sold that the art market is recovering (it could be, but it's too soon to tell). But, if it is, the upside is going to the galleries and collectors -- the artists aren't getting squat. November was generally kind to Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in art sales. So, to get their own piece of the art market pie that may or not be forming, artists are starting to go directly to the buyers.

Artist Ryan McGinness hosted a sale of pieces by several artists, with the person who did the work taking home all the spoils. The presale estimate of $47,000 to $57,000 made sense, as the final tally came to $51,300, pretty much in the middle. McGinness himself was present at the event ... via a video connection from Amsterdam.

The traditional auction model trends to benefit collectors rather than artists, as it creates a secondary market for artwork. It's really no different from the stock market. An IPO, if successful, will be the starting point, with the price going up later, to the advantage of all subsequent owners.

Continue reading Unconventional Auction Favors Artists Only

Unconventional Auction Favors Artists Only originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The critics weren't kind to Damien Hirst's latest collection, which was exhibited at the Wallace Collection. It doesn't seem to have mattered. All news is good news in Hirst-land, as evidenced by the sales of his most recent effort. Hirst opened a new show yesterday at White Cube. Even if the media isn't crazy about his, the artist's collectors haven't ended the love affair. Five of the seven largest pieces in his new "Nothing Matters" collection sold before the show opened, with the highest-priced piece hitting $15.7 million, despite an initial point of only 235,000 pounds.

The show runs at White Cube through January 20, 2010, but you'll have to accept that you'll be checking out what is now other people's property. Hirst collectors are nothing if not loyal.

Hirst Gets Last Laugh originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Surrealist, modern and postwar pieces will go under the gavel next week at the Christie's Impressioniste et Moderne auction in Paris. More than 140 lots will be offered on December 1, 2009, with presale estimates ranging from $6 million to $9 million. Among the artists represented in the auction, which consists of the Lefebvre-Foinet collection, are Alberto Giacometti, Max Ernst, Henri Matisse and Zao Wou-Ki. The collection was amassed over five generations, with the latest in the family making the decision to sell.

A portrait of Maurice Lefebvre by Giacometti could fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million, but other lots are more attainable. "Lyrical Explosion C," by Alberto Magnelli, is expected to sell for $210,000 to $270,000, and Sonia Delaunay's "Colored Rhythms No. 615" could go for up to $160,000. Playing on the success of the market for Chinese art, Zao Wou-Ki's "5.11.64" could move for as much as $600,000.

Paris has done pretty well through the art market slump, especially when the auctions deviate at least somewhat from the norm. Though there aren't any guarantees, let's keep an eye on this one. It could be the touch of fresh air we need.

[Photo via Christie's]

Giacometti on the Block: Family Collection to Move at Christie's in Paris originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Dry Ice: Art Exhibit at Alaska House New York

Dry Ice: A New Exhibit of Alaska Native Art in Soho originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The hint of a recovery we got in the first half of 2009 has fallen off a bit,according to Art Price's Art Market Confidence Index. The latest report suggests that art prices have dropped 37 percent since January 1, 2008, when the art market first showed signs of weakness. But, there are some indications that it's headed in the right direction over all. Art Price does state that the third quarter is almost always weak. Only 12 percent of auction lots sold during all third quarters over the past decade, and low sales volumes tend to mean low prices.

The art market appears to have hit its worst point in the first quarter of this year, when art prices were down 38 percent over the previous 15 months. Values plunged to 2004 levels, and spectators figured that conditions would only get worse. Prices edged up 1.2 percent after the first quarter, but a slow summer didn't yield any real progress.

Art Price sees the November results as promising, with seasonally adjusted growth for the Post-War period up 2.1 percent since March and the Old Masters picking up 4.5 percent. And, for the past two quarters, only 38 percent of lots failed to sell, and it looks like October and November will stay consistent with that result.

More than anything else, the numbers suggest that confidence is increasing -- which is the first step in a recovery.

Art Market Confidence Is Up, Sales Come Next originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shaquille O'Neal, Art Curator originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Heidi Klum Goes To Pieces In Artsy Puzzle originally appeared on Luxist on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Own Original Works of Art - MoMA and Peter Norton Team Up To Raise Money for P.S. 1

Own Original Works of Art - MoMA and Peter Norton Team Up To Raise Money for P.S. 1 originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ten artists found a way to make vacant commercial space incredibly exciting. I wandered by 25 Central Park West on a walk in my neighborhood a few days ago and saw artists inside. They were hard at work cleaning, preparing and hanging their pieces. Tapping on the window was one of my smartest moves this week. By doing so, I learned of a new exhibition, which opened Wednesday night. The show, 10 from 25: Emerging Artists using Photography, is set to run through December 13, 2009. It includes flat art and video, bringing to life an empty space in a part of Manhattan generally forgotten by the art community.

The artists, including Bess Greenberg, who gave me a tour of the space as she and the other artists prepared for opening night, have created an integrated show that doesn't sacrifice the message of each of the participants. So, in addition to a group exhibition, visitors are treated to 10 individual efforts, in which one can appreciate a specific style without having to cope with the intrusion of other pieces on his experience.

Gallery: 10 from 25: Emerging Artists using Photography

Continue reading 25CPW: Artists Turn Empty Upper West Side Space into Den of the Aesthetic

25CPW: Artists Turn Empty Upper West Side Space into Den of the Aesthetic originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Olive Oil, Lemon And A Whole Lot Of Cash originally appeared on Luxist on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Hans van Bentem Chandeliers at the Escher Museum

The Glorious Chandeliers of the Escher Museum originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Art Work Partners, Fine Art In Stone

Art Work Partners, Fine Art In Stone originally appeared on Luxist on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Keybrid originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Phillips de Pury auction on Thursday night raked in what once would have come from a single painting. Despite parading out pieces by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Richard Prince, the sale was good for a mere $7 million, with individual lots moving for prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thirty-nine went under the gavel, and eight didn't sell.

The Chelsea auction house lacks the savvy, knowledge and reach of Sotheby's and Christie's, so it had to lean on British art collector Charles Saatchi, who has agreed to complete most of his transactions through Phillips de Pury. In trade, subsidies from the auction house help keep access to Saatchi's gallery free.

Roughly a dozen of the lots came from Saatchi, while the others are said to have been rejected by Sotheby's and Christie's. In general, the pieces were "pretty skimpy," according to Manhattan art dealer Edward Tyler Nahem, who observes that the auction house "did pretty well with what they had."

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama was the top seller, with her painting "Infinity Nets (T.W.A.)" busting past its high-end presale estimate of $400,000 and settling at $842,500 (including fees). Kusama's performance follows a well-hyped exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery this year.

Continue reading Phillips de Pury Auction Worth the Price of a Painting

Phillips de Pury Auction Worth the Price of a Painting originally appeared on Luxist on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gisele, Carla Bruni Nude & More in Photo Sale originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Christie's crowd on Tuesday may not have been ready to shell out big bucks for Andy Warhol's "Tunafish Disaster," but the crowd at Sotheby's was more than happy to by a boatload of currency. The top pop artist's "200 One Dollar Bills" found a buyer for a monstrous $43.8 million at the Sotheby's art auction in New York on Wednesday.

Pauline Karpidas, an art collector in London, offered the piece, Bloomberg News reports but wasn't able to verify with the collector herself. It looks like she scored with this one. "200 One Dollar Bills" carried a presale estimate of $8 million to $12 million, which didn't last long.

The piece consists of what its title states: 200 real-sized one dollar bills reproduced in black on grey ... and with a blue replica of the Treasury Department seal. If they were real cash, the sale price was greater by a factor of 219,000.

This wasn't the only success of the evening, and overall, the outcome was fantastic. Only two of the 54 lots failed to find new homes, and the final number, $134.4 million, thrashed the presale estimate of $97.7 million.

Sotheby's Wins with Warhol originally appeared on Luxist on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Christie's tried in New York with a 1983 piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat and didn't succeed. The auction house may have been too aggressive in estimating the 16-foot piece at $9 million. That's what's tough about the art market right now. There are signs of recovery, and it can be tempting to push for higher prices. Unfortunately, it's easy to get a bit excited. The painting had the highest estimate at the auction. The piece with the second highest presale estimate, a piece by Andy Warhol, met a similar fate.

The Basquiat piece, "Brother Sausage," was offered anonymously by a buyer later revealed by Bloomberg News to be Peter Brant, an art collector based in Connecticut. The piece may be a casualty of his divorce from model Stephanie Seymour. Well, it won't be financing post-marital discord and could remain a contested asset for a while.

Warhol's "Tunafish Disaster" was projected to move for up to $8 million and, like the Basquiat painting, didn't receive any bids. Art dealer Robert Mnuchin of L&M Arts was stuck taking it home.

Yet, some works beat the odds in an auction that raked in $74.2 million, within the presale range of $61.5 million to $88 million. Nonetheless, this was the lowest result we've seen from a Christie's New York contemporary art effort since May 2003 and down 81 percent from the top of the market two and a half years ago.

Continue reading Basquiat and Warhol Fail Christie's

Basquiat and Warhol Fail Christie's originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.