Les ventes de février 2008 : le nouveau rythme de l´art contemporain

Les ventes de février 2008 : le nouveau rythme de l´art contemporain

artlover6778889999888

Les habitudes changent ! Traditionnellement, les deux mastodontes Christie´s et Sotheby´s s´affrontent ensemble sur une même semaine, en enchaînant leurs vacations d´art impressionniste et moderne avec les cessions consacrées à l´art d´après-guerre et contemporain.

Sotheby´s procédera autrement en 2008 en orchestrant ses ventes d´art contemporain les 27 et 28 février à Londres, soit trois semaines après l´art moderne. L´auctioneer ne fera cependant pas cavalier seul à Londres puisque les ventes d´art contemporain de Phillips de Pury sont prévues aux même dates.
Consacrer une semaine à l´art contemporain indépendamment de l´art moderne permet à Sotheby´s de mettre en avant un secteur en plein boom. Le marché de l´art contemporain est le secteur le plus porteur. Entre janvier 2007 et janvier 2008, son indice des prix a augmenté de +69%, loin devant toutes les autres périodes, y compris celle de l´art d´après guerre dont la progression est déjà dynamique (+22% sur la même période). Rappelons également que les vacations d´art contemporain new-yorkaises de novembre 2007 ont permis à Sotheby´s de dégager un produit des ventes record à hauteur de 315.9 millions de dollars !

Parmi les temps forts de février, les deux auctionneers proposent des œuvres majeures de Francis BACON. L´artiste fut déjà la star des ventes new-yorkaises de novembre 2007 avec Second version of study for bullfight N°1 (1969) partie pour 41 millions de dollars, soit la plus forte adjudication de deux jours de vacations d´art contemporain (Sotheby´s). La cote de Francis Bacon a largement triplé depuis 1997 et les enchères multimillionnaires s´accélèrent : sur ses 8 adjudications à plus de 10 millions de dollars, 7 furent signées sur la seule année 2007 !

Leur liste devrait s´allonger avec le chef-d´œuvre proposé par Christie´s le 6 février. Il s´agit du dernier triptyque d´une série peinte en hommage à George Dyer, amant de Bacon qui mit tragiquement fin à ses jours en 1971. Trois semaines plus tard, Sotheby´s mise sur Study of Nude with Figure in a Mirror, qui pourrait partir pour plus de 30 millions de dollars, en regard des deux adjudications à plus de 40 millions de dollars décrochées en novembre 2007 pour Bacon dans la même maison de vente !

Autre temps fort : la vente de charité (RED) organisée à New-York par le chanteur Bono du groupe U2, Damien HIRST et la galerie Gagosian au profit du Fonds Mondial de lutte contre le SIDA. Sotheby´s orchestre cette vacation d´art contemporain à une date symbolique, le jour de la saint Valentin (le 14 février 2008). Damien Hirst travaille sur ce projet depuis un an et fait don de sept œuvres sur le thème de la couleur rouge. Il a invité quelques-uns uns des plus grands artistes de la scène contemporaine internationale à donner ou créer une œuvre autour de cette couleur évocatrice. Parmi les artistes participants, citons Matthew Barney, Georg Baselitz, Cecily Brown, Douglas Gordon, Antony Gormley, Subodh Gupta, Andreas Gursky, Jasper Johns, Anish Kapoor, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Marc Newson, Tim Noble & Sue Webster, Richard Prince, Marc Quinn, Ed Ruscha, Yinka Shonibare, Sam Taylor-Wood, Keith Tyson et Bernar Venet. Parmi les œuvres phares de Hirst soumises à vacation le 14 février, deux Butterfly paintings sont attendues dont All You Need Is Love, une œuvre de deux mètres sur un châssis rouge en forme de cœur, estimée entre 1 million et 1.5 million de dollars. Le clou de la vente est Where There´s a Will, There´s a Way, une armoire à pharmacie de trois mètres remplie de pilules en référence au traitement antiviral HIV. Cette œuvre pourrait rapporter à elle seule entre 5 et 7 millions d´euros. Rappelons qu´une œuvre dans la même veine, intitulée Lullaby Spring, signait le record de Hirst en juin 2007… à hauteur de 8,6 millions de livres sterling, soit plus de 17 millions de dollars !

Max Ernst - Im Garten der Nymphe Ancolie - The Discovery of a Masterpiece artlover76655888788

Max Ernst, Design in Nature, 1947, Oil on canvas, 50.8 x 66.7 cm, The Menil Collection, Houston, gift of Alexander Iolas. Photo © The Menil Collection, Houston/Hester + Hardaway Photographers

BASEL..Sometimes the largest paintings are the least known. The mural that Max Ernst painted in summer 1934 for the Dancing Mascotte in the Corso-Theatre on Zurich’s Bellevue measures 415 x 531 cm. For decades Pétales et jardin de la nymphe Ancolie, with its flesh-red flowers on green leaves in a weightless space, provided pleasure as a background for dancing couples. Because of damage to the lower half of the painting the background was twice over painted with a muddy gray and entirely covered with varnish; later this feast of lush vegetation was removed, broken down into panels, and entrusted to the Kunsthaus Zürich. This work, which is central to the oeuvre of Max Ernst (1891–1976), and not simply because of its size, is now finally being restored. Visitors to the exhibition will find a specially constructed exposed workshop where they can follow the metamorphosis of the individual panels from gray to light blue as their appearance is transformed. The restoration will also expose those parts that Max Ernst modeled on illustrations he found in a nineteenth-century botanical encyclopedia, though extremely enlarged and turned upside down. Also revealed are a woman’s naked leg in the lower right of the painting, which is the linear pendant of a hand and figure on the “top” level that suggest Max Ernst’s alter ego: his incarnation as the bird Loplop. Lovers of gardens enter into a biomorphic event. Behind the flowers and leaves and a large, birdlike dancing element, they can make out the not yet awakened nymph Ancolie, whose “Mel-” Max Ernst nipped off in order to baptize her with a more life-affirming name. Our thematic exhibition focuses on the re-born mural, on its central feature of mixing vegetal, animal, and human creatures. Additional paintings, collages, drawings, and rubbings (from the Histoire naturelle, for example) introduce the theme, while others reveal its echoes into his late work. After the artist’s militant Dada phase in Cologne in the early 1920s and his move to Paris, the joie de vivre returned to his work, responding like a seismograph to the crises of wars and revolutions but also to the promises of Eros, the pleasure of love, peace, and the imperturbability of the history of the earth. Paradises and Downfalls - From the time he decorated completely the house in Eaubonne where he lived with Paul and Gala Éluard (1923–24), Max Ernst began his search for the goddess “Gradiva” who inspired male fantasies from Sigmund Freud to André Breton. Before the chimeras, barbarians, and angels of death returned to his work prior to the Second World War, the artist took delight in the joys of nature, in vegetal harmony, the pleasures of seduction, the nirvana of devotion. All is magic, all joyous play, “joie de vivre”. Rarely has an artist been able to give free rein to his/her unconscious. Soon, however, interlopers found their way into the idyll: carnivorous plants attack airplane parts (Jardin gobe-avions), and entire cities (Ville entière) are swallowed by rampantly grown forests. Driven from the noonday sun of the Gardens of the Hesperides and the Joie de vivre, a Swampangel survives in the undergrowth; a great Chant du soir sings in the twilight; a deep, gloomy night is falling on the Rhine (Nuit rhénane, 1944). Thus Max Ernst’s work, like his life, oscillated between metamorphoses of pleasure and the tragedy of European history; it explored associatively new experiential spaces of human existence. First Large Exhibition in Switzerland since 1963 - Max Ernst was closely connected in many ways to Switzerland (from the Giacometti family to Meret Oppenheim and the Giedions) and its river in Basel: in his last large self-portrait he merges with Vater Rhein (1953, Kunstmuseum Basel). We shall also present this side of his life, and of course his diverse connections to Jean Tinguely, an admirer of the great “Dadamax” to whom he rendered homage. Our presentation of a magician of innermost desires, the first in Switzerland in decades, was made possible by a number of works rarely lent, primarily from private collections but also from the Sprengel Museum Hannover, the Menil Collection in Houston, the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Kunsthaus Zürich, and the Kunstmuseum Basel. Above all, however, it is indebted to the aegis of Professor Werner Spies, the finest connoisseur of Ernst’s work, who wrote the introductory essay for our catalog and contributed to the project in decisive ways. Other essays in the catalog are by Julia Drost, Jürgen Pech, and Ralph Ubl. Following her previous exhibitions Duchamp (2002) and Schwitters (2004), Annja Müller-Alsbach at the Museum Tinguely was in charge of this exquisite project, with support from Guido Magnaguagno. Starting out from the large mural and a single theme, the exhibition opens up an oeuvre whose mysterious beauty, stimulating charm, and enraptured realities are like nectar. The restoration of Pétales et jardin de la nymphe Ancolie by Max Ernst, a permanent loan from the Kunsthaus Zürich to the Museum Tinguely, is supported by the Museum Tinguely, a cultural commitment of Roche, and the Foundation BNP Paribas Switzerland. The project will be documented on the Web site in three steps: www.kunsthaus.ch. Direction: Hanspeter Marty. Restorers: Kerstin Mürer, Françoise Michel.

La bulle spéculative du marché de l´art atteint son pic en novembre 2007

La bulle spéculative du marché de l´art atteint son pic en novembre 2007

artlover6677888885888

Pour 2007, le marché de l´art affiche pour la 7ème année consécutive une hausse des prix. La progression annuelle à l´échelle mondiale s´élève à +18%. Elle accompagne un produit de ventes de Fine Art de 9,2 milliards de dollars, en progression de +43,8% sur l´année, gonflé par la multiplication des enchères millionnaires. Les marteaux des maisons de ventes sont tombés 1 254 au delà du million de dollars en 2007, contre 810 en 2006. 2006 affichait déjà un niveau de transactions jamais enregistré jusqu´alors. 2007 est un millésime hors norme.

La fin d´année, ponctuée de résultats époustouflants, notamment dans le domaine de l´art contemporain, spéculatif et volatil, était pourtant incertaine eux égards à une conjoncture défavorable. Entre la crainte de la facture de la crise des subprimes dévoilée dès le mois d´août, une bourse mondiale sensible et une économie américaine inquiète, rien ne laissait présager un marché de l´art fort en novembre et décembre 2007. Tellement soutenu que Sotheby´s enregistra sa meilleure vente de tous les temps le 14 novembre avec un résultat de 316 millions de $ pour sa vente « Contemporary Art Evening », devant les 286 millions de $ pour sa vente « Impressionist et Modern Art » de mai 1990. La veille, sa rivale Christie´s enregistra un chiffre d´affaires de 325 millions de $.

Afin de profiter de cet engouement, nombre d´acteurs ont remis sur le marché des pièces acquises quelques années plus tôt à des prix très en deçà de ceux négociés actuellement. Il suffit de consulter une sélection d´allers-retours pour voir à quel point l´œuvre d´art peut séduire en tant qu´actif spéculatif. Que dire de ce portrait d´Elizabeth Taylor par Andy WARHOL vendu 21 millions de $ chez Christie´s, alors qu´il avait été acquis 3,25 millions de dollars par l´acteur Hugh Grant à peine 6 ans plus tôt ? Comment justifier, autrement que par le jeu de la spéculation, qu´une toile de Frank AUERBACH (Reclining Figure of Jym, 1985) puisse trouver preneur à 270 000 £ contre 30 000 £ en octobre 2003 ! A ce jeu, même une valeur sûre comme Claude MONET reprend des couleurs par rapport à 1990, au sommet de la précédente bulle spéculative : Waterloo Bridge, temps couvert a été adjugé 16 millions de £ (31,7 millions de $) le 18 juin 2007 à Londres à un collectionneur américain, décuplant le prix payé par son ancien propriétaire 17 ans auparavant. Ces juteuses opérations ne sont pas l´apanage exclusif des collectionneurs les plus fortunés.

Sélection de 200 peintures ayant fait l'objet de deux dispersions aux enchères

Même à moins de 10 000 euros, secteur qui représente traditionnellement 90% des transactions, de tels allers-retours sont tout aussi fréquents. Nombre d´exemples illustrent le va-et-vient spéculatif. Un simple passage de frontière permet encore de spéculer facilement d´une salle des ventes à une autre. Jeune fille avec chat et fleurs, une encre d´Odilon REDON acquise 3 200 euros chez Christie´s Paris en décembre 2006 est repartie pour 6 500 £ (9 500 €) trois mois plus tard chez Sotheby's Olympia (Londres). Relief sur l'idée du Requiem, un pastel de Jean TINGUELY, adjugé 4 500 € en 2006 chez Villa Grisebach (Berlin) a changé de main pour 10 100 € chez Piasa (Paris) en décembre dernier. Danza, danza all'erta fratellino, une toile de Mimmo PALADINO acquise 6 000 £ (8 735 €) en juin 2006 à Londres a été disputée 30 000 € douze mois plus tard chez Meeting Art (Vercelli). « Le Tir Forain » d´André LHOTE a même été adjugé trois fois en 2007 : 8 200 € à Limoges, puis 12 580 € à Londres et enfin 20 000 € à Versailles !

Ces exceptionnels niveaux de cotation prennent désormais des allures de prix plafond, surtout en ce début d´année, où le marasme économique semble se profiler. La piètre santé de l'économie mondiale ne devrait pas épargner longtemps un marché de l´art qui n´est pas immunisé contre les fortes turbulences de la bourse. D´ici quelques semaines, avec les contractions de Wall-Street, il se peut qu´il n´y ai plus autant d´argent à dépenser dans les ventes à coup de million chez Sotheby´s ou Christie´s. A analyser la récente volatilité des prix de l´art, 2008 devrait être l´année de la correction. Un plongeon des prix de 15 à 20% pourrait affecter le marché dans les prochains mois. Faut-il rappeler qu´entre juillet 1990 et juillet 1992, l´Artprice Global Index, calculé selon la méthode des ventes répétées, affiche pour la France une chute des prix constatée de –44%.

Sotheby's To Offer Three Self Portraits By Andy Warhol at Its Contemporary Art Auction

Sotheby's To Offer Three Self Portraits By Andy Warhol at Its Contemporary Art Auction artlover76668887888

Andy Warhol, 1928-1987, Three Self Portraits, each: signed and dated 86 on the overlap acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas. each: 40 by 40in.; 101.6 by 101.6cm. Estimate in excess of £10 million. © Sotheby's Images.

LONDON.- Sotheby’s announced that its forthcoming Evening Auction of Contemporary Art, to be held on Wednesday, February 27th during the company’s first stand-alone week of Winter Contemporary Art sales in London, will be highlighted by a late, rare trinity of canvases by Andy Warhol, entitled Three Self Portraits (1986). The works will be unveiled at Sotheby’s New York galleries on Saturday, January 19th. Francis Outred, Head of Evening Auctions, Sotheby’s London Contemporary Art department, said: “We are delighted to be able to handle these important self portraits by Andy Warhol which were acquired by the present owner directly from the artist’s landmark exhibition at Anthony d’Offay gallery, London in 1986. The transaction was completed the day before Warhol died tragically on 22nd February 1987. A trinity of self-portraits in the red, white and blue of the American flag, there could not be a more apt eulogy to the most important artist of the second half of the last century, the art world revolutionary who did more than any other to find a visual lexicon capable of documenting the changing landscape of post-war capitalist America. Other works from the landmark exhibition today grace the collections of some of the world’s most important institutions, such as the Tate in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.” Although Warhol made self portraits throughout his artistic life, it is the late examples and the 1966 ones which are viewed as having been groundbreaking. As Georg Frei and Neil Printz, who created the Warhol catalogue raisonné, have stated, “Warhol’s 1966 Self-Portrait is probably the most well-known of the three versions he produced during the 1960s and, with his Self-Portrait of 1986, one of the most representative and iconic images of the artist” (Georg Frei and Neil Printz, Eds., The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonné, Volume 2B, Paintings and Sculptures 1964-1969). The works represent the final, definitive self-image that Warhol left for posterity. The progenitor of Pop, the arbiter of consumerism, he depicted Marilyn, Elvis and Liz with the same dispassionate technique employed in the seminal Campbell’s Soup Cans paintings, packaged as marketable icons. However, it was Warhol who went on to become the ultimate icon, more famous than many of the celebrities he selected, and it is therefore the self portraits of his career which chart the rise of a brand in its own right. With the current works, we see the brand at the height of 1980s excess, mired in darkness. With Warhol’s skills with the silkscreen perfectly honed, these images are flawless and filled with a strong inky black surface. New York exhibition dates: Saturday, January 19th – Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008. Schedule of February Contemporary Art sales: Wednesday 27 February Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Thursday 28 February Contemporary Art Day Sale (Morning and Afternoon sessions). Viewing dates: Friday 22 February 9 am – 4.30 pm, Saturday 23 February 12 noon – 5 pm, Sunday 24 February 12 noon – 5 pm, Monday 25 February 9 am – 4.30 pm, Tuesday 26 February 9 am – 4.30 pm, Wednesday 27 February 9 am – 12 noon. Selected highlights from the Contemporary Art Evening Sale will be on view alongside Impressionist & Modern Art: Tuesday, January 29th – Tuesday, February 5th, 2008.

Asia House Gallery Will Present Modern Chinese Art - The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection

Asia House Gallery Will Present Modern Chinese Art - The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection artlover344887768888

Fu Baoshi, Landscapes of the Four Seasons, 1950.

LONDON.- Asia House Gallery will present Modern Chinese Art - The Khoan and Michael Sullivan Collection in two exhibitions: Beginnings, 1 February – 15 March 2008, and A New Generation, 1 April – 24 May 2008. This is the first showing in London of a unique collection of Chinese art formed by the great scholar and connoisseur of Chinese painting in the West, Michael Sullivan, and his wife Khoan. The Sullivans’ collection includes art acquired over a period of sixty-five years, beginning with the work of artists who were refugees in the province of Sichuan in Western China in the 1940s to contemporary artists. Most of the works were gifts from artists, whom the Sullivans came to know over the years, so that this is a very personal collection, witness to friendships going back over many decades. Their collection developed over the course of more than half a century to include paintings, prints, woodcuts and drawings by the principal artists of late twentieth century China, as well as works by a new generation. The first of these two exhibitions, Beginnings, focuses on works which are more traditional, often showing some connection with the orthodox guohua or Chinese national style. The pieces range from the 1940s through to the late 20th century. The second exhibition, A New Generation, shows works produced after the Beijing Spring of 1979-81 which released a wave of creative energy marking the art of the 1980s and 1990s. The exhibitions will be curated by Professor Sullivan, world authority on twentieth century Chinese painting. His book Chinese Art in the Twentieth Century (1959) was the first ever on the subject while Art and Artists of Twentieth Century China (1996) provides the most complete survey and includes biographies of the artists. “The collection bears witness to the generosity of our artist friends, who felt that their work, in our hands, would be appreciated and understood.” Michael Sullivan. “We began to acquire works of a more advanced kind – but nothing freakish or of mere transient interest – works that we hope a hundred, two hundred, years from now will still be as moving and as satisfying as they are to us today.” Michael Sullivan. About Asia House - Asia House is the premier pan Asian organisation in Britain, promoting a greater understanding of the rich and varied Asian cultures and economies. We run a lively programme of approximately 150 events annually, covering Asian economics, politics, visual and performing arts, literature, food, film and fashion. Situated in a beautiful 18th century listed building Asia House has a museum standard exhibition gallery and extensive facilities including fine rooms for lectures, performances and a wide range of business and cultural events

Contemporary Chinese Neo-Pop Art Being Shown At ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries

Contemporary Chinese Neo-Pop Art Being Shown At ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries artlover887668889678

Kang Can Cheers With Me, 2007, Oil on Canvas, 59x47 in.

CORAL GABLES, FL.-“Six 21st Century Chinese Neo-Pop Artists” includes oils and original works on paper by established artists such as Lu Peng and Liu Yan as well as emerging artists Li Bo, Kang Can, Xiong Lijun, and Yang Na. “Although their styles are very different, the themes of Chinese neo-pop art often refer to the materialism and narcissism of the younger generation,” noted gallery director Virginia Miller. “Some artists present their views on their society’s corruption by Western influences, or contrast the punk rock culture with traditional Chinese images.” The veteran gallerist noted that one of the frequently reported phenomena in the fine art world in recent years has been the skyrocketing demand for contemporary works from Asia, particularly China. In a typical report in Time magazine, Simon Elegant states that “contemporary Chinese art is one of the hottest genres anywhere.” He goes on to observe that “in the past 18 months Sotheby’s has created a stand-alone modern Chinese art division, and Christie’s showcases the art alongside such modern masters as Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning.” Reflecting that widespread international interest, the exhibition at ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries has attracted the attention of both collectors and the art press. The January issue of Art Premium, the leading art publication from Puerto Rico, features the show on its cover and in a heavily illustrated five-page article by staff writer Isabel Batteria. Wynwood, the hot new art magazine in Miami, gives the exhibition a six-page spread. The critic for Miami New Times, Carlos Suarez De Jesus, covered the show in the lead of his first column of the year, complete with a color photo. “We had no idea we would receive such widespread critical attention,” said Miller. “And we’ve had many e-mails and dozens of calls from as far away as Belgium, Spain, Singapore, and Hong Kong.” A virtual tour of the exhibition at www.virginiamiller.com shows that its two dozen works vary widely in style and subject matter, but several themes predominate. Canvases and paintings on paper by the two older artists, Lu Peng and Liu Yan, contrast ancient art traditions, such as personalized calligraphy, Chinese opera and court portraits, with the burgeoning nation’s contemporary culture, while the younger artists focus on social satire and political statements. “Lu Peng mines imagery from pre-revolutionary and revolutionary China as well as the consumer-oriented society of the past fifteen years,” observes art historian Lydia Thompson. “His paintings are a chaotic assemblage of people and symbols from China’s political and cultural history, evoking chaos, freedom, optimism and dismay.” “Liu Yan creates a collage-like painting surface from China’s cultural detritus: pages of old books, gold foil, mulberry paper and reproductions of famous imperial portraits of a Qing emperor and empress. She then works in a pastiche of imagery and icons from traditional China and contemporary international popular culture, revealing the tensions that lie beneath China’s integration into global culture.” Xiong Lijun’s oversized paintings with their jaunty young women rendered in fluorescent colors are described as “a masterful depiction of modern metropolitan youth culture” that “embody infinite enthusiasm, energy and imagination as well as boldness and independence of character,” according to China Daily. Yang Na’s stylized portraits of women are “a composite of a commercial visual language of what is considered ‘sexy’ and ‘trendy,’” states Dr. Thompson, adding that the young artist’s inspiration comes from “mass media, cartoons, movies, videos, Internet games and toys.” Paintings by Kang Can, another younger Chinese artist, feature an infant being crushed by a giant hamburger, drowning in orange juice, or napping atop a huge cigarette— all referring to pervasive Western influences and the Chinese edict restricting families to a single child. Still more political are the paintings of Li Bo, who discards conventions of composition and scale and simply places his realistic subject matter, all images pulled off the Internet, in equal size along a centered line placed against a neutral gray background. A thoughtful examination discloses that he is protesting such current practices as the sale of prisoners’ organs, prostitution by young girls, and government propaganda broadcasts. “Although pop-art has been historically associated with Western culture in America in particular,” noted guest curator Pierrette Van Cleve, “the political, social and artistic magnitude of the current movement continues to challenge this young generation of Chinese artists with similar momentum to forge ahead into unexplored territory.” “These are pioneering Chinese neo-pop artists,” said Virginia Miller. “Only time will tell whether this is a pivotal moment in the long history of Chinese art, but at this moment these works are a hot commodity on the market.” Located in downtown Coral Gables, ArtSpace/Virginia Miller Galleries is Greater Miami’s longest-established fine art gallery, entering its 35th year. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum to Present On the Margins

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum to Present On the Margins artlover355667788888

Martha Rosler, Red and White Shades (Baghdad Burning), from the series Bringing the War Home: House Beautiful, New Series, 2004. Photomontage, 20 x 24". Courtesy of Mitchell-Innes and Nash.

ST. LOUIS, MO.-War and disaster have profoundly shaped the opening years of the 21st century. In the United States and abroad, acts of violence and terrorism as well as natural catastrophes have resulted in large-scale destruction and displacement affecting the lives of millions. In February, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis will present On the Margins, an exhibition exploring the impact of war and disaster through the work of a diverse range of contemporary artists. Curated by Carmon Colangelo — a nationally known printmaker as well as dean of the university's Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts — the exhibition will showcase more than a dozen works, ranging from prints and photographs to video and large-scale installations, by ten artists from around the world. Several installations play against traditional approaches to war memorial. For example, Fallen (2004-ongoing), by the American artist Jane Hammond, comprises a large field of brightly colored leaves, each bearing the name of a soldier killed in Iraq. Similarly elegiac is Metal Jacket (1992/2001), by South Korea's Do-Ho Suh, which consists of 3000 dog tags stitched to the liner of a U.S. military jacket. Abidin Travels: Welcome to Baghdad (2006), an interactive video installation by the Iraqi expatriate Adel Abidin, allows viewers to become virtual tourists amidst the wreckage of his native Baghdad. Ghost Story (2007), by Ireland's Willie Doherty, and Bouncing Skull (2007), by Italy's Paulo Canevari, are both haunting videos that capture the subtle, quiet horrors of life in a war zone. The Ghost of Liberty (2004), by Mexican artist Enrique Chagoya, uses the format of a traditional Mayan codex to investigate the wake of 9-11 through a mix of political, religious and popular imagery drawn from diverse cultures. Strategic Museum Plan for Baghdad (2006) by the Cuban artist Luis Cruz Azaceta, who now lives in New Orleans, ponders the fraught connections between the arts and war. The Difference between Black and White (2005-06), by the African-American artist Willie Cole, is a strikingly formal piece, constructed from hundreds of old shoes, that subtly alludes to the meditative mandalas of Tibetan Buddhism. Layla Ali, a Washington University alumnus, explores the tension between violence and social revolution in a series of simple yet meticulously crafted gouache drawings. Finally, Martha Rosler's Bringing the War Home: House Beautiful, New Series (2004) is a suite of satiric photomontages that embed militaristic imagery within the trappings of upper middle class luxury. Support for On the Margins was provided by the Charles and Bunny Burson Art Fund and by individual contributors to the Kemper Art Museum and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. An illustrated, full-color catalogue will accompany the exhibition. The volume, distributed by the University of Chicago Press, will include a foreward by Colangelo as well as critical essays by Eleanor Heartney and Paul Krainak.

2007 Tendance

2007 Tendance

artlover7766888889868

Happy Holidays from Spencer Tunick

Happy Holidays from Artnet Magazine

The Clayton Brothers, "Patient," Nov. 17, 2007-Jan. 14, 2008, at F2 Gallery, 319 Caochangdi, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100015, China

Terence Koh screens his new film GOD on Dec. 12, 2007 at Basso in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district

Gianfranco Gorgoni, Ellsworth Kelly, 1974, in "Gianfranco Gorgoni: Icons," Nov. 8-Dec. 12, 2007, at Jim Kempner Fine Art, 501 West 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

George Condo, Ringmaster, 1996, in "Paintings from the Last Ten Years," Nov. 8-Dec. 21, 2007, at Nicholas Robinson Gallery, 535 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Artwork by Daizon Willis, Grade 4, PS 49, Bronx, N.Y., in "Open Eyes: Children’s Art from Studio in a School," Nov. 29, 2007-Jan. 11, 2008, at the UBS Art Gallery, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10019

Konrad Klapheck, Reife, 1986, in "Paintings," Nov. 8-Dec. 22, 2007, at Zwirner & Wirth, 32 E. 69th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021

Larry Johnson, Nov. 15-Dec. 21, 2007, at Marc Jancou Contemporary, 680 Broadway (enter on Great Jones Alley), New York, N.Y. 10012

Charline von Heyl, "Works on Paper," Nov. 13-Dec. 15, 2007, at Friedrich Petzel Gallery, 535 West 22nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Elaine Reichek, Ed Ruscha (detail), 2007, in "Pattern Recognition," Oct. 19-Nov. 24, 2007, at Nicole Klagsbrun, 526 West, 26th Street, New York, NY 10001

Happy Halloween by Patterson Beckwith

Bozidar Brazda, "Beat Meat Table Eat," Oct. 25-Nov. 24, 2007, at Bortolami, 510 West 25th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Neil Welliver, Couple with Leslie, ca. 1965, in "Neil Welliver, Figures 1955-1965," Oct. 10-Nov. 10, 2007, at Alexandre Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022

Lewis Stein, Cow 3, 2007, on view Oct. 4-27, 2007, at Charles Cowles Gallery, 537 West 24th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Steven Gregory, Waking Dreams, 2007 in "Bone Stone Bronze," Sept. 20-Nov. 3, 2007, at Nicholas Robinson Gallery, 535 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Tim Hetherington, "No Condition Is Permanent: Photographs from Liberia 2003-2007," Sept. 12-Dec. 2007, at the Alice Austen House Museum, 2 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, N.Y. 10305

Hubert de Lartigue, Hommage à Gil Elvgren, 2007, on view Oct. 4-27, 2007, at Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, 37 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019

Karen Finley, "Wake Up," a performance on Oct. 4, 2007, at Kim Light, 2656 S. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, Ca. 90034

Mithu Sen, Untitled, 2007, in "Half Full Part I," Sept. 28-Nov. 3, 2007, at Bose Pacia, 508 West 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

James Valerio, Comic Times, 2006-07, on view Sept. 20-Oct. 27, 2007, at George Adams Gallery, 525 West 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Anton van Dalen, "The Drawing Room," Sept. 6-Oct. 13, 2007, at Adam Baumgold Gallery, 74 East 79th Street, New York, N.Y. 10075

Peter Hugo, Steven Mohapi, Johannesburg, 2003, in "Not So Black and White: South African Contemporary Art," Sept. 4-Oct. 21, 2007, at Kyle Kauffman Gallery, 355 West 29th Street, New York, N.Y. 10018

William Wegman, End Up, 2003, in "Wegman Outdoors Photographs 1981 - 2007," Sept. 10-Nov. 3, 2007, at Senior & Shopmaker Gallery, 21 East 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10010

Willem de Kooning, "The Last Beginning," Sept. 18-Oct. 27, 2007, at Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Ann Walsh, Sit, in "Color as Structure," Sept. 6-Oct. 6, 2007, at Lori Bookstein Fine Art, 37 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019

Deborah Kass, Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner, 2007, in "Deborah Kass: Feel Good Paintings for Feel Bad Times," Sept. 7-Oct. 13, 2007, at Paul Kasmin Gallery, 293 Tenth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10001

Mathilde Ter Heijne, Mathilde, Mathilde (still), 2000, in "Body Double," Aug. 24-Oct. 2007, at Luckman Gallery, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, Ca. 90032

Pablo Picasso, Reintre, Buste de Profil (Reintre à Sa Palette), 1967, in "Modern Masters," July 7-Sept. 6, 2007, at Spanierman Gallery, in association with Jan Krugier Gallery, 68 Newtown Lane, Easthampton, N.Y. 11937

"Nest by Dan & Dash," July 26-Aug. 18, 2007, at Deitch Projects, 76 Grand Street, New York, N.Y. 10013

Mauricio Alejo, "Space That Is Time," Aug. 4-Sept. 1, 2007, at OMR, Plaza Rio de Janeiro 54, Mexico DF 06700

Indira Freitas Johnson, Holding Fast, 2007, on view July 20-Oct. 13, 2007, at Walsh Gallery, 118 N. Peoria Street, Chicago, Ill. 60607

Steve Keister, "Tollan," July 19-Sept. 20, 2007, at Feature, 530, West 25th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Patrick Grenier, The Whitney Museum Searching the Cultural Desert for Artists (2007), in "Emerge 8," curated by Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, July 19-Sept. 29, 2007, at Aljira, 591 Broad Street, Newark, N.J.

Michael Mercil, Shadows from a Dream of the 20th Century, 2003-06, oin view July 29, 2007-Apr. 6, 2008, at Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, N.Y. 11106

Josephine Meckseper, July 6-Oct. 13, 2007, at Galerie Reinhard Hauff, Paulinenstrasse 47, 70178 Stuttgart

Edward Steichen, Frances Farmer, Sept. 21, 1937, in "Bloom! Experiments in Color Photography by Edward Steichen, a Selection from George Eastman House," July 14-Sept. 3, 2007, at Mudam Luxembourg, Musée Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, 3 Park Dräi Eechelen, Luxembourg-Kirchberg

Matthew Deleget, Pink Nightmare, 2007, in "Subspecies," July 13-Aug. 18, 2007 at Tobey Fine Arts, 580 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10012

Peter Coffin, "Tree Pants," July 11-Sept. 7, 2007, at the Horticultural Society of New York, 148 West 37th Street, New York, N.Y. 10018

Dan Flavin, Monument for V. Tatlin, 1966, on view June 30-Sept. 15, 2007, at Björn Ressle Fine Art, 16 East 79th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021

John Baldessari’s Learn to Read poster (2003) in "Learn to Read," June 19-Sept. 2, 2007, works by 29 contemporary artists dealing with text, erasure and miscommunication, at Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG

Martin Gostner, "Them Powers," June 6-July 14, 2007, at Galerie Christian Nagel, Richard-Wagner-Str. 28, 50674 Köln

Luis Macias, Berlina, 2007, in "Naturally Grown," May 31-July 13, 2007, at Michael Steinberg Fine Art, 526 West 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Kent Rogowski, Bear 36, 2006, in "Bears," June 21-Aug. 10, 2007, at Foley Gallery, 547 West 27th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Scott Richter, Punchinello Goes to Texas, 2007, in "Portraits (based on the irreconcilable)," May 31-July 20, 2007, at Elizabeth Harris Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Scott McFarland, "Works on Paper," May 19-June 23, 2007, at Regen Projects, 633 North Almond Drive, Los Angeles, Ca. 90069

Alison Fox, May 31-June 30, 2007, at ATM Gallery, 619 b West 27th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

John Goras, still from Chirpy 2 (2006), on view June 1-July 6, 2007, at Triton Gallery, LLC, 10 Ioannis Kliridis Street, 1070 Nicosia, Cyprus

Olu Amoda, National Theater, 2007, on view in "Head " Tie: Fashion Architectonic," May 10-June 30, 2007, at Skoto Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Luigi Ontani, "AnamorPoses," May 10-June23, 2007, at Bortolami, 510 West 25th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Marc Quinn, Sphinx (Fortuna), 2006, on view May 3-June 20, 2007, at Mary Boone Gallery, 745 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10151

Megan Burns, "Agents of C.L.O.N.E.," Apr. 21-May 26, 2007, at the Proposition, 559 West 22nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Nicholas Krushenick, Untitled #14, 1977, on view May 4-June 16, 2007, at Marianne Boesky Gallery, 509 West 24th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Frank Stella, K3 (Large Version), 2007, in "Frank Stella: New Work," May 11-July 6, 2007, at Paul Kasmin Gallery, 293 Tenth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011

Charles Gute, Heroes of Conceptual Art, 2007, in "Conceptualism," Apr. 26-June 8, 2007, at Jason Rulnick, 547 West 27th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Doug Henders, Believe, 2006, presented by Galerie Brigitte Schenk at Art Cologne 2007

Margo Victor, The Rotten Riotous West, 2007, presented by Venetia Kapernekas Gallery, New York at Open Space at Art Cologne 2007

Agathe Snow, "Eleven New Sculptures," Mar. 11-Apr. 21, 2007, at James Fuentes LLC, 36 St. James Place, New York, N.Y. 10038

George Sanchez-Calderon, "Monument / Plinth / Stoop," Mar. 29-Apr. 28, 2007, at ZierherSmith, 533 West 25th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Michael St. John, Drawing, 2007, in "Revolution Blues," Mar. 30-May 5, 2007, at Marvelli Gallery, 526 West 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Tetsuya Yamada, Morice, 2007, on view Mar. 16-Apr. 27, 2007, at Francis M. Naumann Fine Art, 22 East 80th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021

Jason Young, Mar. 15-Apr. 21, at Cristinerose Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Aline Kominsky Crumb, Need More Love, 2006, on view Feb. 15-Mar. 17, 2007, at Adam Baumgold Gallery, 74 East 79th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021

Marcel Dzama, "Moving Picture," Mar. 8-Apr. 13, 2007, at Timothy Taylor Gallery, 24 Dering Street, London

Beatriz Milharez, Fig, 2006, in "Beatriz Milharez: New Prints," Mar. 9-31, 2007, at James Cohan Gallery, 553 West 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Greg Lauren, Jackie, 2006, in "I Do," Feb. 15-Mar. 14, 2007, at Neuhoff Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022

Nicole Wermers, Untited, 2006, on view Feb. 17-Mar. 24, 2007, at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, 521 West 21st Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Pedro Velez, "Epilepsy, Pegatina and Adult Porn," Feb. 24-Mar. 24, 2007, at Plush, 1222 Commerce Street, Dallas, Tex. 75202

Torbjørn Rødland, Cake, 2005, in "Hello, I Am Crashing," Feb. 18-Mar. 20, 2007, at Salon 94, 12 East 94th Street, New York, N.Y. 10128

A work by John Beech in "4 from New York: John Beech, Joyce Kim, Christopher Lesnewski, Michael Voss," Feb. 9-Mar. 4, 2007, at Charlotte Jackson Fine Art, 200 West Marcy Street, Santa Fe, N.M. 87501

Hope Sandrow, "Recollecting an American Dream" and "Visions of Southampton," Jan. 20-Mar. 10, 2007, at the Southampton Historical Museums and Research Center, 17 Meeting House Lane, Southampton, N.Y.

LeRoy Henderson, Anti-War, Anti-Nixon Rally, Washington, DC, 1973, in "Protest," Jan. 19-Feb. 17, 2007, at June Kelly Gallery, 591 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10012

"Serious Games," an evening of performances by Trickster Theater, directed by Papo Colo, Jan. 28, 2007, at 8-10 pm, at Exit Art, 475 Tenth Avenue at 36th Street, New York, N.Y. 10018

Richard Bosman, Ice Storm, 2006, on view Jan. 5-Feb. 3, 2007, at Elizabeth Harris Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Ariel Schlesinger, Jan. 18-Mar. 3, 2007, at Galeria Klerkx, Via Massimiano 25, Milan, Italy

Scott Teplin, Creepy Peepers Towers, 2006, in "Heavy Water," Jan. 13-Feb. 24, 2006, at G-Module, 15 rue Debelleyme, 75003 Paris

Daniel Buren, "Variable/Invariable" and "New Work," at Bortolami Dayan, 508-510 West 25th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Carrie Moyer, "The Stone Age," Jan. 7-Feb. 11, 2006, at Canada, 55 Christie, New York, N.Y. 10002

Louis Renzoni, The Other Side, 2006, at Kim Foster Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Dike Blair, Untitled, 1995, in "Dike Blair: Still Lifes from 1988 to 1997," Jan. 6-Feb. 10, 2007, at d’Amelio Terras, 525 West 22nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10001

Scott Reeder, American Dick, 2006, on view Dec. 16, 2006-Jan. 27, 2007, at Daniel Reich Gallery, 537 West 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011

Grace Graupe-Pillard, Camp Delta/Guantanamo Bay at Night, 2006

Carlos Betancourt, The Cut-Out Army (detail) (2006), presented by Diana Lowenstein Fine Arts, Dec. 1-13, 2006, at La Comunidad Agency, 175 NW 22nd Street, Miami, in conjunction with Art Basel Miami Beach

Helen Frankenthaler, Heart of London Map, 1972, in "Frankenthaler Sculpture," Nov. 2, 2006-Jan. 13, 2007, at Knoedler & Company, 19 East 70th Street, New York, N.Y. 10021

William King, The Nylon Dress, 1954, in "The Early Work of William King," Dec. 2, 2006-Jan. 20, 2007, at Alexandre Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022