You
are looking at one of Bill's Target paintings. We have two of
them.
We
were right there when he was doing these paintings; in fact we
were there pretty much from the beginning of Bill's Marvelous
New York Art Adventure.
There
was his famous Green Street Studio; not much for amenities...but
huge, cheap space... when loft spaces like that were still available
here in Manhattan.
Amazing
things happened there. And we have the photos from the period
to prove it.
Check
out the Italian Stallion from back in 1965. Wow. Some attractive
dude, huh?
Bill's
mind was racing; "What is Art?" "Who was Duschamp?"
"What is MY message?"
Bill
is a polymath. (To save you looking it up, Bill is a Thinker,
Reader, and Idea Person. He does not accept limitations...and
he's open to New Ideas. He is also poised to leap at his own New
Ideas.)
It
will be beyond the scope of this brief bio to go into all the
complexities of Bill's creative breakthroughs...but suffice it
to say, that, as a young (maybe the youngest) painter in the Mythical
Virginia Dwan Gallery...Bill was a veritable fount of New Ideas.
Bill
was literally a Foundation Stone of the Conceptual Art movement.
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and we can arrange to meet and discuss What's Hot and What's Not
and What WILL BE...in a season or so.
This
is a magic moment in American Art.
Chelsea...heir to the nearly defunct SoHo (OK...there's still
OK Harris and a handful of other survivors)...is where much of
the action is these days. Chelsea, no matter what snarky comments
you read about it being "like a meatpacking district"...is
now a bona fide DESTINATION for Collectors...and this includes
large numbers of monied people from outside the U.S.
Gallery owners tell me that collectors sit quietly at home, which
might be on the Cote d'Azur or Hanoi (really!) or even Caracas...clicking
around the gallery scene here, and then fly in to buy.
We are especially interested in Young Collectors looking to put
together intelligent Collections...with one eye on appreciation
over time. Let us hear from you and we can arrange to meet and
discuss What's Hot and What's Not and What WILL BE...in a season
or so.
Lauder’s
Klimt
This
astonishing portrait is the quintessential image of decadence.
Adele’s face says it. The "garment/mosaic" surrounding
her says it. It was painted when Austria was at the peak of its
powers. Now, in our new, modern era of Opulence, it’s not
unfitting that a family fortune based on cosmetics, would provide
the necessary $135 million to acquire this masterpiece.
The
buyer, Ron Lauder will have to pay more for insurance on his new
treasure than most collectors will spend in a year on lesser works
of art. Enjoy, Ron.
Sold
@ Sotheby’s London for $135,000,000.
Buyer: Ronald Lauder
If
you missed this show...you missed one of those quiet, marvelous,
IMPORTANT shows that so often can only happen in New York. Dove’s
work...often no larger than a postcard, are more original, fresher
and more alive than much of the uninformed art on the walls of
many "hot" galleries.
Only
a gallery steeped in quality art, like Alexandre, has the knowledge
and connections to stage such a show. There is a catalog, which
we highly recommend.
For
Hamptonites...the show will be on view July 11 to Sept. 3, at
the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington, NY.
Christie's
Los Angeles is offering, among other things, this Maynard Dixon
(1875-1946).
This
may not be the finest Dixon, but you get the palette and the flat
texture he's famous for. All for a mere $700,000 to $1,000,000.
Snooty New Yorkers may pass on Dixon, but
in Palm Springs it will be smashing.
Powers
is the Master of Milk; his subtle compositions are based on milky
whites; his arcs and marks are graceful and controlled. This work
is in perfect harmony with Today’s Cool...there is nothing
shrieking and garish here. He is always in perfect control of
his minimalist palette. Modestly priced paintings you can live
with for a long, long time.
Prices
upon request.
Gallery:
Margaret Thatcher Projects
511 West 25th Street, Suite 404
Size: Varied
See
this show if you want to see superb sculptor Middlebrook is marvelously
gifted; he’s a draftsman, a sculptor, a ceramist...and an
engineer. His works are masterpieces of shapes, colors and structure.
As lovers of antiquity, archeology and fossils, we are enamored
of these harmonious conceptions.
The
best drawing we saw in Chelsea this weekend. This gem was behind
the desk; we ran over to check it out. Beautiful! The color, the
fluid flow of shapes. A gem! (We went through lots and lots of
galleries and this leapt out at us.)
Best
of all: The Price: $1,000.
Gallery:
Baumgartner Galley
522 West 24th Street
212.242.4514
If
you want Young and Exciting Art...drop by Thursday from 6 to 8
and see the work of 6 young, exciting artists. You will see some
terrific art and meet...some fabulous people. See ya there!
547
West 27th Street (btw. 10th & 11th Aves.)
5th Floor
William
Anastasi is one of the original Conceptualists, right up there
with the Biggest Names from the early ‘60s, shown at Dwan
when Virginia was at the very leading edge of Contemporary Art.
There
are several shows coming up in New York; later this year Anastasi
will have a show at Baumgartner Gallery. Current show at Ressle
includes his Stack O’Bricks (1964).
That’s early in the Conceptualist Movement. The original
silica bricks have been replaced by concrete bricks.
Anastasi's
prices: Rising Steadily
Gallery:
Björn Ressle Fine Art
16 East 79th Street
Jose
Luis is right on the cusp of discovery by top collectors. An outstanding
Architect in Spain, as well as a painter with a unique, fluid
and highly appealing Lyrical Abstract body of work, here is a
painter whose upward trajectory is going to be superb.
Best
of all are the prices: <$10,000 ±
Gallery:
By Appointment; Gallery Show to be announced soon.
Dove
is perhaps the most gifted woman artist of our time. Did you know
that? You MUST see her next show. In the meantime, check out her
website... and look at her ouevre. (Ouevre is fancy art talk for
her Life’s Work.)
If
you are at all interested in a Big Star like Helen Frankenthaler,
we urge you to get a look at Bradshaw’s fluid paintings.
They literally ARE created with fluids...that interact and involve
actual chemical changes until they are fixed. Superb.
Or
you might want to own her precious Golden Eggs; these are utterly
charming and HIGHLY collectible.
Now
you can see a huge show of his work... plus works on paper, that
will remind you why Smith is one of our most highly regarded sculptures.
Displayed in the always impressive Gagosian Galleries, it’s
a smashing display.
Prices?
You need to ask Gagosian; nothing is cheap but everything is worth
every penny.
Eric
is fun. This multi-faceted artist can "do" any artist
living or dead. In small canvasses that "quote" the
artists. You can have a small (around 12" square) Memo Painting
that is a snippet of... well, you name the artist: Picasso. Basquiat.
Warhol. Whoever.
Eric
makes his living off the street; he sets up on West 24th Street
on a sunny day, and sells enough to live on.
We
admire Eric and wish him well with his future work.
Trend
Line: Up
Big
Red
Big
and bold...this painting would dominate the wall of a corporate
headquarters. Note the subtle contrast between the background
and the splash of (dirty) crimson.
Not
For Sale.
(Gotcha!
This is a wall in Manhattan. It’s a natural abstraction...done
by a repair man, not something you can collect. We were just seeing
if you were paying attention).
We
find these spontaneous works of art from time to time and capture
the digital images.
Pablo,
how could we?
Somehow, we began to think less of Picasso. It was a lot of little
things; yes, the Late Work can be morbid and have a dashed off feel
to it.
And even
some of the most famous work can look tired after all this time.
But Saturday
we grabbed a VERY old and quite tattered Skira (remember them when
they were literally the Kings of Art Publishing?) book on Picasso...
looking for a particular image.
And we
were shocked again by how simply incredible this artist was.
We admit
it; in this UberSnarky environment (we're talking about NYC here)...it
is Oh, So Easy to slip into glib put-downs and snide asides.
Pablo...you
were simply Something Else. Whew! What a painter. What a sculptor.
What a...Genius.
Enuf.
We'll watch it from now on.
The
Auction Scene
In case
you haven't been watching, the numbers are through the roof. Again.
Christies is the big winner.
What
matters is that the Iconic Work is being snapped up by various Hedgies
(Hedge Fund Operators, to you) plus Oligarchs and others who are currently
awash in money.
You KNOW
it can't last. "Too Hot Not To Cool Down..."
Meanwhile,
if you want to grab some emerging artists who can barely get a glass
of wine without being carded...let us know.
They
are NOT all Americans, btw.
As readers
know, we have gone to the big auction houses to see first-hand what's
for sale at this moment in time. The high prices have scared up some
brilliant work.
Astonishing
as the sales figures are...we also have to retract a couple of enthusiastic
comments we made last week.
Let's
start with the Hans Hoffman shown here. Hey...it's a major piece and
historically important. But the painting in real life is not nearly
as impressive as it appeared to be online. Lifesized... it is strangely
"patchy." (We noticed the same thing about a large Clifford
Still.) The price is fine, at $800,000. But we are simply less than
thrilled at the painting when we stood in front of it. Sorry.
It is
still a 1960 Hans Hofmann masterpiece...by one of the MOST influential
artists in the Modern Era.
Hans
Hofmann (1880-1966) The Cliff, 1960
+/- $800,000
Christies
is packed with paintings. This Warhol was featured on the cover of
the Catalog. We'd been seeing huge images of the painting. Including
in Christies' window. Then we got to the actual painting.
What
a letdown. It is quite small. It totally lacks "painterlyness."
It's got a "dry" feel to it. If you want an Early Icon,
grab it. You will NOT be getting a Great Warhol, only an Important
Warhol. We were bothered by the feeling, looking at this and other
Warhols...that he didn't love his subject. Including sometimes Jackie
and Marilyn. We'll have much more to say about Mr. Warhol in the future.
Andy
Warhol (1928-1987) Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot), 1962
20" x 16"
$10,000,000 plus
Let's
start with the Hans Hoffman shown here. Hey...it's a major piece and
historically important. But the painting in real life is not nearly
as impressive as it appeared to be online. Lifesized... it is strangely
"patchy." (We noticed the same thing about a large Clifford
Still.) The price is fine, at $800,000. But we are simply less than
thrilled at the painting when we stood in front of it. Sorry. 
Christies
is packed with paintings. This Warhol was featured on the cover of
the Catalog. We'd been seeing huge images of the painting. Including
in Christies' window. Then we got to the actual painting.