On this special date—the Monday after Frieze Week LA—I would like to extend my best wishes to all, even the haters and losers. We made it through. I did it all this week, or as close to all of it as I could with merely a press pass.
Here are my final stats, which I think are not too shabby for someone with nothing to buy or sell:
(3) Art fairs
(3) Press previews
(1) Artist talk
(7) Parties
(3) “Let’s just grab a drink/coffee” meetups—and we actually did it
(4) Deleted drunk Instagram posts made from various bathrooms
(2) Of the biggest boobs I’ve ever seen in my life*
(15-20) Deitch sightings
That was too much! I’m so tired! But I went as hard as I felt obligated to—as someone who was not cool/hot in high school and has to get it all in now. I can’t offer any wisdom, but I do feel I have the authority to create a definitive top ten list:
10) Wristbands
Maybe you hate wristbands, especially if you need one to gain access to somewhere and don’t have one. But in an age of face/eyeball scans, can we give it up for good, old-fashioned wristbands at events? Seeing Tim Cook and his bodyguards hobnobbing around Frieze reminded me that we are probably on the event horizon for the disappearance of any old-school security tech. Honorary mention: A printed-out list (so if I’m not on it, you can write down my name!).
9) Watching Brad Troemel get told off by Gen Z at Hop Louie
If you, like me, were a culturally oriented millennial in NYC during the Bernie Sanders era, you know who Brad Troemel is. He’s our generation’s top anti-art-world art-world poster. He’s still out there doing meme critique, and on Friday night, he was at the bar at the party at Hop Louie. I happened to overhear a very cool-seeming 25-yeard-old woman say, “Is that fucking Brad Troemel? I fucking hate Brad Troemel,” and then go up and yell at him that she thinks his content isn’t shit while he was waiting in line for his drink. It healed a vibe within me that has been harshed since 2016. Also, why was Brad Troemel dressed like my cousin who owns a speedboat in Alabama? Like I said, happy Frieze Week to both haters and losers.
8) The Brazzers security guy at the Raw Talent x Rosie Marks x Brazzers party
Photographer Rosie Marks released a book of photos on the subject of Brazzers, the iconic porn production house, and there was a party in the penthouse of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday night honoring the book’s release (for which the absolutely iconic Kelly Cutrone did the PR!!!). There, I saw the biggest boobs I’ve ever seen. It was cool.
I also interacted several times with the bodyguard for the porn stars in attendance, who was straight out of a noir film. In my memory, he was wearing a fedora and a pinstripe suit. The hotel security seemed afraid of him.
7) Crying
I cried four times. Mostly out of exhaustion, but also out of the deep, abiding knowledge that almost no one to whom I spoke this week would care if I lived or died. Also, a lot of the art was bad. But that’s Tinseltown, baby…
6) On a happier note, there was a Merlin James painting of boats at Frieze
If you are a painter and you’re not already Merlin James-pilled, you need to be. Merlin James is one of those painters whose combinations of poeticism, humility, light, and air manages to single-handedly blast away all of what is bad about the art world.
In a sense, it might be easy to miss Merlin James’ work at the fair. Its lack of flash is actually the quality that makes it so obvious amidst halls of large-scale, high-finish artworks. I loved his painting of boats in a grey ocean at Maureen Paley’s booth at Frieze.
5) Asking every brunette man I met at a party if he was Daniel Radcliffe
Doesn’t Daniel Radcliffe come to Frieze? Like, where was he? Are you him?
4) Pictures
You heard it here first—pictures/imagination are in for painting, and the body/pure abstraction are out. Maybe it’s a sign of the times…we’re going cerebral, retreating to the imagination to avoid the misery of experiencing the here and now.
3) The Derek Eller Gallery booth at Felix
Archival drawings by Joseph Yoakum, some truly very weird paintings by Clare Grill, a top-tier bathroom hang that included a lovely acrylic painting by Areum Yang…I have been impressed by this gallery’s program before, but I feel like they were one of the only ones at Felix this year that got really weird with it, and I appreciated that a lot.
2) Harry Gould Harvey IV’s drawings at Post-Fair
With the tech right so ascendant and the tech left doing Zizian stuff, it seems like a good moment to remember that computer interfaces didn’t have to be the way they are today…cybernetics and systems theory once offered a way that thinking-about-thinking might be beautifully reflected in our technology.
Perhaps that is why Harry Gould Harvey IV’s tentative, exploratory, spiritual drawings of systems spoke to me at Post-Fair.
1) Gallerists showing art they actually like
This is just off the cuff, and I have no definitive proof for it, but I got the impression that, with all the ups and downs of the economy in recent years, the formula for what works at these fairs is sort of breaking down, and lots fo dealers were simply showing things they like.
The result was that the quality of work across the board felt rather higher than it has in recent years (which isn’t to say there wasn’t some bad art), and that felt good.
If you’re an art dealer—trust your instincts. You’ve got great instincts.**
**This is a great thing to say to people at parties.
Was 2022 a blur? It feels like it went by very quickly, too quickly, as we transitioned into the New Normal. People have returned to indoor dining, theaters are open and museums and art fairs are back—though some museums still recommend reservations. The galleries are doing business, but many of them stayed open throughout—were they considered “essential” businesses? In any case, they were essential for me, as they gave me a chance to see art throughout the last two-plus years. Clearly, artists didn’t stop producing work, which is a good thing. Some had to move to different types of work or were inspired to do different kinds of projects.
New buildings or renovations give us a sense of progress and, after years of construction, the revamped Hammer Museum will finally be completed next March. The change has happened incrementally, so there have been no shutdowns, other than for COVID. The Hammer will have a better-defined entrance on the corner of Wilshire and Westwood, a new outdoor sculpture terrace and will make the entire ground floor along Wilshire added gallery space. From street side, the building will be more clearly an art museum. Sanford Biggers’ 25-foot-tall cast bronze Oracle, previously in New York’s Rockefeller Center, will highlight the sculpture terrace. In the last two decades a total of 40,000 square feet of additional space has been added, made possible by the 2015 acquisition by UCLA (the Hammer’s parent) of the adjoining building on the Glendon Avenue side.
All this allows more space to display the Hammer’s own collection: drawings, prints, photographs, artist books from the Grunwald Center Collection and the contemporary art it has been collecting recently. Several new sections are already open, including the spiffy new gift shop with windows overlooking the street and a dedicated space for prints and drawing, curated by Cynthia Burlingham and her staff at the Grunwald Center. (As mentioned in my last Shoptalk report, the inaugural show in that space, “Picasso Cut Paper,” was a gem, and what a beautiful installation.) The new restaurant Lulu is open, developed by one of America’s great chefs, Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley and one of the founders of the farm-to-table movement.
Many kudos to Hammer Director Ann Philbin, who’s had the vision and the drive to make this all happen!
The stalwart LA Art Show returns to the LA Convention Center Feb. 15–19, with its educational division, DIVERSEartLA, presenting works that focus on the global climate crisis. There will be eight interdisciplinary projects including artist Alfredo De Stefano and The Italian Cultural Institute presenting artists Pietro Ruffo and Elia Pellegrini. The fair will continue its recent focus on Asia and will feature a new Japanese Pavilion with over 15 galleries, plus more South Korean galleries participating in their own section.
This year’s Frieze Los Angeles (Feb. 16–19) moves to the Santa Monica Airport, with some 120 galleries plying their wares. If you want to go, buy tickets NOW, especially as this year they’re selling tickets with timed entry, and I see that some slots are already sold out! You can also buy a parking pass at the same time, but these are timed also, so be sure to read the fine print. https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-los-angeles/tickets.
In addition to that venue, we can enjoy Frieze Week in various parts of the city, starting February 13, at galleries, museums and other spaces. Highlights include “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971” at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures; “William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows” at The Broad; “Alicia Piller: Within and Strings of Desire” at Craft Contemporary; “Bridget Riley Drawings: from the Artist’s Studio” at the Hammer; “Milford Graves: Fundamental Frequency” at Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; “Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952–1982” and “New Abstracts: Recent Acquisitions” at LACMA; “Henry Taylor: B Side” and “Simone Forti” at MOCA Grand. Well, that’s basically the terrific exhibitions we have on in Los Angeles now and upcoming! I highly recommend “Regeneration” at The Academy, and “Kentridge” at The Broad, both exhibitions rich in content and wonderful in presentation.
I have my own addition for those seeking art and inspiration—”Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts” (through March 27) at The Huntington in San Marino. This is a fascinating show, very much about the wonderful animators of the early Disney studio who brought life and wonder to furnishings, architecture and inanimate objects. Lots of concept and preparatory drawings, plus some of their inspirations in European porcelain and decorative arts.
An Ephemeral History of High Desert Test Sites: 2002-2015. Image courtesy of High Desert Test Sites.
Desert News
Not long ago, artist Andrea Zittel said she was stepping back from High Desert Test Sites (HDTS), the biennial of desert-sited artworks and installations that I’ve always found a wonderful mix of experimentation and artistry, if a bit unecological for all the driving we had to do. She was letting HDTS and A-Z West, her studio complex, be run by a team. However, in November she sent out a public statement saying she would take back the reins of HDTS as artistic director. This isn’t too surprising, as HDTS and especially her studio A-Z seem to me to be so much a part of her. Not only did she set up the studio when she moved to the desert decades ago, but the design and development of the different components, and the art production that continues there, are part and parcel of her art practice.
Also, they will be turning away from the biennial model they’ve had for 20 years and cutting back to concentrate on their core projects. “I have formally assumed the role of
artistic director of HDTS,“ writes Zittel in the announcement, “both to oversee the grounds and artworks and to help ensure the long-term viability of A-Z West and HDTS. I also remain an active member of the HDTS Board.” New programming will be announced in the new year, but in the meantime they need to raise new funding. To that end, Zittel told me recently, they’ll be having their first fundraising event in Joshua Tree this spring.
What a roller coaster we’ve been on these last three years.Hard to believe how the world shut down in March 2020, and now California’s Governor Gavin Newsom announces that our State of Emergency will be over next Feb. 28. The museums have largely reopened—one in a brand new space, see below—and the art fairs are back in business. (The galleries stayed open throughout, due to some fortunate glitch.) During this time the rich got richer, and now have a lot more money to buy a lot more art. While some scramble to make ends meet, the art business is big business, and record prices for the works of living artists are being set.
The new Orange County Museum of Art building in Costa Mesa opened to the public on October 8 with a 24-hour event that brought people in droves. Designed by the architecture firm Morphosis and costing a cool $94 million, the tile-clad building has an undulating surface, matte beige in color. Director Heidi Zuckerman was hired in January 2021, and has given us a taste of the programming she is prioritizing—curating one of the three main opening exhibitions herself, “13 Women.”
“Something that I’ve been talking about as an overall mission” she says, “[is] this idea of looking back to look forward, and recognizing where we’ve come from, where we are currently, and where we hope to go.” “13 Women” is a show from the museum’s own collection—13 featured artists to honor the 13 women who founded the museum in 1962 in Newport Beach. The first round of artists include Joan Brown, Vija Celmins, Catherine Opie, Barbara Kruger and Agnes Pelton. With periodic rotations of work during the next year, the exhibition will feature as many as 100 different artists. The two other main exhibitions are the relaunch of the California Biennial 2022 and “Fred Eversley: Reflecting Back (the World).”
It’s great to see the Biennial back—we do need it—this time curated by former OCMA Chief Curator Liz Armstrong, with co-curators Essence Harden and Gilbert Vicario. They met on Zoom and visited some 100 artists, both well-known and under-the-radar, such as Sharon Ellis, Raúl Guerrero and Ben Sakoguchi—okay, nix Sakoguchi who was disinvited after museum staff objected to the appearance of a swastika in his painting, Comparative Religions 101. The swastika references Nazi Germany, with which Japan was allied during World War II, and it appears in a section about the rise and fall of Emperor Hirohito as a revered figure. It’s regrettable that the museum decided to eliminate his work, rather than provide material that would put the work in context. Others in the Biennial include Alex Anderson—whom I’ve written about before in Artillery—Alicia Piller and Clare Rojas. The 20 selected artists work in a gamut of media including ceramics, painting and assemblage. Congratulations!
The 24 hour opening at the Orange County Museum of Art on Oct. 9, 2022 in Costa Mesa, California. (Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)
Museum Highlights
At the Academy Museum “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971” (through April 9) is a true delight, and a real learning experience for most of us. The large exhibition explores the contribution of Black directors, actors and other talents to American cinema, from silent film days to the Civil Rights era. I was especially intrigued by the early all-Black-cast movies illustrated with posters and photographs, including Richard E. Norman’s Regeneration, an attempt at a swashbuckling “romance of the high seas” in 1923. As racial barriers began to fall after World War II, Black participation in narrative cinema increased.
“The White Album: California, 1964–1988”: Noah Purifoy, Watts Uprising Remains, ca. 1965–66, found-object assemblage. 24 x 24 x 6 in., photo by Karl Puchlik.
The Hammer Museum recently opened two shows that are exceptionally interesting, and quite smartly curated. “Joan Didion: What She Means” (through Feb. 19) is a tribute from one writer, New Yorker contributor Hilton Als, to another. It’s also a tribute to the extraordinary times through which Didion lived—most vividly the ’60s, with its hallucinatory combination of sex, drugs and revolution. The exhibition uses memorabilia, photography and video, and art—including works by Betye Saar, Vija Celmins, Maren Hassinger, Ed Ruscha, Pat Steir. The exhibition was organized by Als with Chief Curator Connie Butler and Ikechukwu Onyewuenyi, curatorial assistant.
While there, don’t miss the smaller “Picasso Cut Papers” (through Dec. 31), a delightful exhibition of about 100 of his paper works—torn, cut, folded, painted, inserted into other work—in a specially designed gallery that has a box within a box. This is an original exhibition from the Hammer’s Grunewald Center, curated by Cynthia Burlingham and Allegra Pesenti, and won’t be traveling, so be sure see it here.
Get ready for the fairs coming up early next year. In February we’ll see the return of Intersect Palm Springs (Feb 9–12) to the Palm Springs Convention Center, the LA Art Show (Feb. 15–19) to the LA Convention Center, and Frieze LA (Feb 16–19) moving from Beverly Hills to the Santa Monica Airport. I for one applaud the latter move—it was doggone hard to park in Beverly Hills.
Next March photoLA (March 2–5) returns after a hiatus—this time to the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport. Welcome back to our longest continuing art fair! No word about another homegrown fave, Felix, however. Let’s see if they survived the return of Frieze last year, which had terrific art and appeared to be very successful sales-wise.
Ten years is quite a milestone for art projects, especially one tied to a residency. But Bernard Liebov has stalwartly carried it through, and at times the projects I’ve seen at the Joshua Treenial which he curated were better than the ones in Desert X. To celebrate he’s selected 10 artists/artist teams from the residencies at BoxoPROJECTS for a tenth anniversary show and celebration, Boxo10x10 (November 19 through December 31), at his space in Joshua Tree.
The residency program began in 2012 with Gosia Wlodarczak’s Frost Drawing for Joshua Tree, for a total this year of 46 residencies. During this time there were also 15 exhibitions and three editions of the Joshua Treenial, which brought together area, national, and international artists.
Kelly Berg, Cholla Sunset, 2021
On November 19 there will be anopening day celebration and events at Boxo. Artists Jim Toia and Eli Hirtle will present two new outdoor installations, while Kelly Berg, Ben Cuevas, Megan Evans, Heather L. Johnson, William Lamson, Ana Sanchez-Colberg and Gosia Wlodarczak will have work in the studio and house. In the evening Caroline Partamian and Ethan Primason will present The Golden Density at the Integraton (tickets required).Here’s more info about the selected artists—https://boxoprojects.com/boxo10x10-artist-projects/
Hey, it’s a lovely time to be out in the desert! And maybe bring your hiking boots for a visit to Joshua Tree National Park nearby.
Lastly, Happy 10th Anniversary, Shulamit! I remember visiting the Shulamit Nazarian gallery when it was still in Venice, in a gallery/house space—but the larger new La Brea space has enabled full-scale exhibitions of such emerging and mid-career artists as Annie Lapin, Bridget Mullen, Fay Ray, Charles Snowden, Michael Stamm, Cammie Staros, NaamaTsabar and one of my favorite contemporary artists, Summer Wheat. It’s an impressive list. This summer they celebrated a 10th anniversary show, co-organized by Nazarian and gallery co-owner Seth Curcio.
The art fairs have returned, and with such a burst of optimistic energy! Maybe they’re signaling the lifting of the curse of COVID—or our fervent hope for its end. And maybe artists, during all the imposed quarantines and self-isolations, have devoted themselves to making work that requires concentration, time, and thoughtfulness. For an artist, turning inward can be a very good thing.
During my walkthroughs of Frieze Los Angeles (Feb. 17–20), I was thoroughly enchanted by beautiful, and beautifully made, art. First the number of galleries has jumped from 70 to 100—with the tent in three parts, not just one. The location has changed to Beverly Hills, in a lot across from the Beverly Hilton, and I have to compliment the logistics people for keeping Merv Griffin Way flowing all the time — quick drop-offs, holding the traffic for pedestrians, with pickups in the Hilton driveway. Also thankful that the fair remained COVID-cautious, checking vaccinations and insisting on masks upon entry. Parking was a bit of a pain — you didn’t really want to park in the hotel lot for $65—but if you were willing to walk 15 or 20 minutes, you could park in city lots for a reasonable fee.
Here were a few of my favorites—Mindy Shapero’s hypnotic paintings made with spray paint, acrylic, copper, gold and silver leaf on Belgium Linen at Nino Mier. A recreation of Betye Saar’s mural from 1983, “L. A. Energy,” on the outer wall of Roberts Projects, a playful array of the letters “L” and “A” and colorful, curved shapes. Julie Roberts told me that Betye herself, at 95, came to the fair to supervise.
Gagosian Gallery exhibited only one art piece, but it was a showstopper—the 2010 installation “Dreamer’s Folly” by Chris Burden, never before seen in the US. Three cast-iron gazebos brought together under a draping of diaphanous lace with a “tree of life” pattern occupied their booth, inviting visitors to sit, pause, take Insta photos—which they did in droves. The work seemed remarkably gentle, even sweet—in a good way—compared to Burden’s best-known works, such as the “Urban Light” installation at LACMA’s entrance. “Dreamer’s Folly” sold during preview to a European institution. Of course, I’m sorry it couldn’t stay in the U.S., but I assume the price (which is undisclosed) would have been in the low millions.
In the Focus LA section were terrific selections coming from “emerging” spaces or, basically, smaller and younger galleries such as Charlies James, Luis de Jesus, Marta, and Parker. I was especially drawn to the work of Ben Sakoguchi at Bel Ami, with his suite of paintings showing the bleak dwellings and landscapes of the 10 concentration camps Japanese-Americans were sent to after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In the center, the largest painting is a group portrait of those who lived in Block 13 at Poston, Arizona — adults and children making the best of their imprisonment. In 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, sending more than 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to these camps, in the belief that they were a real security risk. German-Americans and Italian-Americans were not subject to the same abusive treatment—go figure.
Reportedly, over 30,000 people came to Frieze LA over its four-day run. Thursday and Friday were preview days, with Saturday and Sunday regular days. I went on a preview day and a regular day—and both were jammed, especially the Saturday. Interestingly, the announcement for Frieze New York just came out, and they’re holding it again at The Shed, as they did last year—that’s the multipurpose art space in Manhattan — and they’re keeping their galleries to “over 65.” Take note, that means Frieze LA has become larger than Frieze NY.
The LA Art Show (Jan. 19–23) seemed remarkably quiet when I went by to visit on a Friday afternoon, staying till evening, but this was after the winter holidays Omicron surge. Intersect Palm Springs (Feb. 10–13) debuted a few weeks later, an extension of an art fair that has already had some success in Aspen and Chicago, and which basically replaces Art Palm Springs which had been struggling. Lots of exuberant, fun work there, quite suited to the whimsical mood of Palm Springs.
Qiu Anxiong, The Doubter, 2010
LACMA gets a major gift
Recently the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has had a run of remarkable exhibitions of Chinese contemporary art—The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China (2019), Ink Dreams: Selections from the Fondation INK Collection (2021), and Legacies of Exchange: Chinese Contemporary Art from the Yuz Foundation (through March 13). On March 7 they announced that seven artworks in the current exhibition will enter their permanent collection — a generous gift from Budi Tek, one of the world’s leading collectors of Chinese contemporary, and the Yuz Foundation.
The works are by artists among the best known in China and internationally. They include Qiu Anxiong’s installation The Doubter (2010), three works from Shi Jinsong’s Blade series (2003), Yu Youhan’s painting Mao in New York (1995), Zhou Tiehai’s painting Venus and Cupid (2006), and Ai Wei Wei’s celebrated installation Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads (2011). All, except for Ai Wei Wei, will be new to LACMA’s holdings.
“Twenty Years of Painting: 2001-2021” at the historic Santa Monica Post Office last January.
Comings, goings and pairings
More New York galleries are moving into Los Angeles. In November Vito Schnabel launched a new gallery in the Old Santa Monica Post Office, with a major show of Francesco Clemente, “Twenty Years of Painting: 2001–2021.” The space is huge—15,000 square feet—with a double-height ceiling, and some nice 1930s details. I’m told they’ve rented the space for a year.
Pace is merging with Griffin Kayne, with gallery founders Bill Griffin and Maggie Kayne becoming managing partners of Pace. The two will continue to run the gallery, with its enclosed grassy courtyard, which will take on the Pace name in April. Thus the New York mega-gallery regains an Angeleno presence again after parking in Beverly Hills from 1995 to 2000.
The ever-popular The Other Art Fair (March 31–April 2) returns this spring, but is leaving Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and moving East. Their new address is an event space at 4317 Beverly Blvd, near Western Avenue
California Institute of the Arts has announced the next dean of its School of Art, Steven Lam, who takes over from Tom Lawson on July 15. Lam leaves his post as associate vice president of research and dean of graduate studies at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. Before that he worked at the School of Art + Design at Purchase College, State University of New York, and Cooper Union in New York. Tom Lawson has been art dean at CalArts for the last 30 years.
The secret to a successful trip to Art Basel Miami is not the fair itself, but getting in on the hoopla created by the other events that surround it. Artillery did just that when invited to join an exclusive BMW art caravan—the purpose of which was not divulged to us until two days in. All we knew as we left home was that the car company was to launch a new initiative, the scale of which had not been tested before.
The junket opened with dinner at the Metropolitan, one of Miami’s recently refurbished Art Deco hotels. Here, we met Dr. Thomas Girst, an actual Bavarian appointed to lead our group of international art and auto writers. He may have one of the best jobs ever—Head of Cultural Engagement at BMW; he’s also a doctor of art history, a Duchamp scholar and author of four books. Girst is an enthusiastic host and generates genuine excitement as he lays out an itinerary of art-related tours, learned speakers and fancy receptions for the next few days. Girst jokingly makes a point to assure us that this is not philanthropy; BMW gets plenty of brand placement and visibility for their initiatives.
Members of the Miami Beach jury for BMW’s Art Journey, Juan Gaítan (Curator based in Mexico City, left) and Victoria Noorthoorn (Director Museo de Arte Moderna, Buenos Aires, right) speak with BMW’s Dr. Thomas Girst about their involvement with the new program
Yes, BMW considers art as part of its corporate pedigree. In fact, BMW Art Cars are a 40-year tradition that actually originated on the racetrack. The first BMW art car was painted by Alexander Calder in 1975. To date, 17 art cars exist and reside in the BMW Museum in Munich. Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Jenny Holzer, Olafur Eliasson and, recently, Jeff Koons have all had a hand in their creation.
Cut to Art Basel Miami 2014, and we get to see the Roy Lichtenstein car from 1977, the third in the art car series. The BMW 320i is unveiled at night in a botanical garden, amidst cocktails. The design depicts “the countryside, what the car would see, sun and trees,” in Lichtenstein’s signature comic book style. The next day we find Michael Jagamara Nelson’s M3 inside the Art Basel convention center, on display in the U.S. for the first time. The esteemed Australian Aborigine artist created his car in 1989 with Papunya shapes and patterns, including mystical renderings of water, opossum and kangaroos.
Michael Jagamara Nelson’s BMW M3 Art Car, seen for the first time in the U.S. at Art Basel Miami 2014.
By the fourth day we have listened to artists and curators talk about “art and place,” seen some of the most significant art of the 20th and 21st century, rolled the Miami streets in style and finally, power-boated through wind and a brief rainstorm to Stiltsville in Biscayne Bay, our destination being one of seven Prohibition-era forts amid the waves. Here, surrounded by turquoise skies, a glittering ocean and a flock of seabirds, we finally get down to why we’re really here. In 2015, Art Basel and BMW will recognize emerging artists with the BMW Art Journey. Structured a bit like a Ted Prize, the loosely defined offering invites an emerging artist to propose a trip of a lifetime. Artists who are exhibiting in Art Basel’s “Discoveries” sector in Hong Kong, and the “Positions” sector for emerging artists in Miami are eligible for one of the two journeys presented per year.
The Van Dutch speedboats that ferried Artillery to BMW’s Art Journey adventure press breakfast were works of art as well.
Perhaps most impressive is the lineup of jurors who will select the winners. Included among the judges are the directors of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong; the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich; the Artistic Director at New York’s New Museum; the director of the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin; and the director of Museo de Arte Moderna in Buenos Aires.
When pressed for specifics, Dr. Girst explains that there is no timeline, and “if an artist wants to take 10 years to create something from their experience, they can.” The work is sold, or not, again at the artist’s discretion, with BMW claiming no ownership of it after the trip. BMW will be satisfied with documenting the journeys and promoting the venture via social media and other outlets, Girst promises.
On the plane back to LAX, we ponder the confluence of creativity and corporate sponsorship. There is an opening quote on the cover of BMW’s Zagat-like art collections guide, set in stark black Helvetica and printed on white, velvet toothed paper, that asks, “If no one ever looked at art, would anybody even create it?” The automakers have done all they can to make sure we’re looking, even if the circular blue and white logo looms quietly in the background.
The hoopla at Art Basel Miami is winding down. Whew. What a week of VIP this, VIP that, gale force rain and untold millions of dollars of museum quality art being sold from inside tents. If you tire of the big mama fair, there are others to discover, depending on your stamina and your taste: Art Miami, slightly more inventive than Basel, but just as pricey; Concept, a new event held on a yacht; Aqua, for those who prefer their art in a hotel; Pulse on the beach; or Scope, a fair for emerging artists. Even skipping the madness of the fairs and going to the parties/ galleries/ private collections seems like a good idea after the second day. And, it is noted, for some reason, this year Dubuffet is everywhere. Is there an anniversary we’re missing? Good to see he’s enjoying a renaissance.
Dubuffet at Art BaselOne of the favorite media events of Art Basel was the 50th anniversary booth from Gallerie Gymurzynska in Zurich. Curated by filmmaker Baz Luhrman, costume designer Catherine Mann and Composer Nellie Hooper, the gallery drew works from its history and concentrated on 20th-century masterworks, avant-garde and classic modern painting. The title of the exhibit, “A Kid Could Do That,” reflects on the concept of memory, and when and how true talent is defined. During a quick chat with Hooper, he disclosed the examination behind the concept for the show. “Are you born with an eye,” he asked, “that later gets poisoned? I found that my 6-year-old and I were attracted to the same kind of art.”
P.Diddy contemplating a Picasso purchase at Art Basel?This Picasso?There is a sudden buzz in the room and it’s because Sean Combs, aka P.Diddy has walked into the display and is studying a Picasso fresco, Vénus Et Amour, from 1918. Rumor has it, he has always wanted to own a Picasso piece, and this may be the one. (ArtNews reports that the Gallerie sold a million dollar Picasso on the first day of the fair.) It is beautiful, but only one of the pieces in a sublime collection of not-so-often seen work by Basquiat, Miro, Twombly, Bacon, Schwitters, Kandinsky and Indiana, to name a few. Rediscovered film footage from the ’30s featuring Miro’s “Juex d’Enfants” stage set for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was reinterpreted by Luhrman and greeted its audience at the front, presented with the original painting. A coffee table catalog is available for those who missed it.
Jason Rhoades, “Costner Complex (Perfect Process)”Basquiat
Off the beach and the beaten track, is Wynwood, a Miami neighborhood where there is art all year round, alive with murals and warehouses that store private collections. The Margulies Collection was open for viewing, and we were wowed by a solid collection of photography and contemporary abstract sculpture, including some amazing Anselm Keifer work, a couple of early George Segal sculptures, and an interesting contemporary Jason Rhoades piece, “Costner Complex (Perfect Process),” which consists of a wall shelf stacked with jars of pickled vegetables, labeled with the Kevin Costner movie that they “watched.” Also notable was the Library Street Collective pop up gallery show, which showcased a group of hipster favorites, including affordable work by street art heroes Shepard Fairey, Cleon Peterson, HowNosm, Dave Kinsey, Revok and Swoon.
George Segal, Red Line.
It’s astounding how thick the air is with competition. Serious and not so serious art collectors all vying for the work, not just a work. There are lots of red dots at this point in the week, some of them surprising choices, lending to the reports circling that this was Art Basel Miami’s best year yet. But that’s what the champagne carts are for. See you next year, Miami. We wouldn’t miss it.
I’m sitting in a media booth at an art fair on a sweltering late August afternoon writing this editor’s letter. It’s not working because I keep getting interrupted, but there’s air conditioning, so I’m not complaining.
Even though fair-goers tend to have a glazed look on their face by the time they wander into the magazine section of an art fair, they somehow come to life when they get to Artillery, tethering me to the booth with their many questions. I did manage to get away toward the end of the day however, and go see some art. Since so little time was left, I made sure to visit Co/Lab this time, a section that mainly features nonprofit and artist-run spaces. I knew this was where I would most likely see fresh work as opposed to the obviously market-driven art so often exhibited at fairs.
Now that the fair is over (and on to the next!), most of the art I saw is just a blur. But there was this one piece, a plastic fork—apparently used—hanging on the gallery wall just like another piece of art, even though it was clearly just an ordinary plastic fork, perhaps at one time accompanied by some take-out food. The flimsy cheap white tongs were even stained an orange-brown, seemingly glistening from a recent meal.
I didn’t pay much attention to the fork the first time I saw it. I progressed swiftly to the next piece, which I found to be much more interesting (even though I can hardly recall it now). I was ready to move on when the artist stopped me and wanted to know what I thought of his fork piece.
I told him that I had in fact seen it, but it hadn’t interested me enough to ponder its significance. The artist promptly launched into a spiel about the symbolism of the used plastic fork, how it represented artists and poverty and how Top Ramen noodles were the only meal starving artists could afford during their student days. I listened to him for a while then asked, “How much?” He told me $1,000. I flinched at first, but then decided that that was probably a good price. (Why not ask $1,000?) But mainly—the artist made sure I knew—the fork was in honor of a now successful friend who still eats Top Ramen to this day, even though he could easily afford a daily diet of Lobster Bisque.
It wasn’t until after the fair, however, that the plastic fork really began to resonate for me. It wasn’t because it was a sublime piece of art, (okay, it’s a little silly to suggest that it’s sublime); rather, it was the artist, that continued to fascinate me. Whether he had just finished a bowl of Top Ramen and decided at the last minute to put the fork on the wall and call it art really doesn’t matter. What matters is how much he wanted to tell me, his audience, why it was important to him.
Or was he just playing with my mind? Whatever the case may be, I felt like he was making art, right in front of me, and that that’s what creating is all about. And that’s what this issue is all about. The artists. No fairs, no biennials, no auctions. Just the artists, the ones who really make this big, expansive art world go ’round, and are probably eating Top Ramen noodles right now.
I’m sitting in a media booth at an art fair on a sweltering late August afternoon writing this editor’s letter. It’s not working because I keep getting interrupted, but there’s air conditioning, so I’m not complaining.
I’m sitting in a media booth at an art fair on a sweltering late August afternoon writing this editor’s letter. It’s not working because I keep getting interrupted, but there’s air conditioning, so I’m not complaining.