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Critic, Francine Miller, Reviews the Recent Work of Contemporary Boston-Area Sculptor

Tory Fair, In the Wall I (2010), Resin, mica and foam, 43 x 36 x 24"

Forty-one year-old, Boston-based sculptor Tory Fair likes to think of herself as a “late bloomer,” and the evolution of her artistic career is allied with her varied experiences as an athlete, environmentalist, traveler and spiritualist dreamer. [1] For her second solo show at South Boston’s, La Montagne Gallery, in spring 2010, Fair created three life-sized, self-portrait figures designed (literally and metaphorically) to look beyond the conventional boundaries of the white walls. The ‘In the Wall’ figures—cast in resin from Fair’s own body and seen from the rear—appear to be in the process of submerging their heads into the wall or floor. Sensual and strong, these hybrid figures are animated with hundreds of hand-designed and hand-cast resin flowers. fine arts magazineMore

Soft Sculpture Artist, Ed Bing Lee, Explores Modern World with Time-Honored Technique

Ed Bing Lee, BURGER 2 (2006), 5x5x5”, waxed linen, linen, cotton floss, cotton. All photo credits in this story: Ken Yanoviak

When a Pittsburgh gallery representative asked Ed Bing Lee if he could create a teapot for an upcoming exhibition he thought, “of course, that’s child’s play.” Then his imagination went to work. “I like the idea of taking an art form that already exists and then reinterpreting it,” Lee says. “I knew I could do a regular teapot, but if you look at something and it leads you to something else, that’s what I like.” Leafing through reproductions of “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji,” by the Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, Lee found a favorite, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” created during the 1820s. Lee envisioned the great wave washing up over the top of the teapot and a fully-occupied fishing boat projecting underneath as the spout. Four and a half months and countless knots later, Lee completed the 8”x 8”x 8” teapot (see the video story, below).fine arts magazineMore

Versailles, Home of the Sun King, Hosts Contemporary Art of Murakami

Takashi MURAKAMI, Oval Buddha Silver (2008) Salon De L’Abondance, Château de Versailles, 18.6 x 10.5 x 10.2’, photo:Cedric Delsaux, ©2007-2010 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Once again the battle between preserving classical French culture from the ugly claws of globalization has been making headlines in France. This time around it is provocateur-artist Takashi Murakami’s, Japan’s answer to Andy Warhol, recent exhibition of comic-based manga and anime-inspired paintings, sculptures, one rug and a film, at the Château Versailles and its gardens (September 14–December 12, 2010), that raised the hackles of Prince Sixte-Henri de Bourbon-Parme, a descendent of the Louis XIV, as well as the Coordination de la Défense de Versailles, an organization specifically formed to prevent artist, Jeff Koons from exhibiting at the palace in 2008. Aimed at giving Koons and his giant metal dog the boot, a lawsuit initiated by the prince’s nephew, was dismissed by the court.

Condemning Murakami’s “veritable ‘murder’ of our heritage, our artistic identity, and our most sacred culture”, de Bourbon-Parme claims that the artist’s work disrespects the glory of Versailles. “There are puppets in that exhibition that are frankly grotesque. These works undermine the unity-of-style of the museum.” According to the CDV it also, “violates the harmony of the palace itself which is a symbol of French history and culture.” fine arts magazineMore

Norwegian Architects, Jensen & Skodvin Create Woodland Escape with Minimal Environmental Impact

ARTES: This is such an unusual structure, projecting so much of the natural beauty of its surroundings, that it attracted my attention at a recent Scandinavia House exhibition in New York. I just had to contact you. Tell me a bit about the inspiration for the Juvet Landscape Hotel.

J&S: The Juvet Landscape Hotel is located at Valldal, near the town of Åndalsnes in north-western Norway. Passing tourists are attracted by a spectacular waterfall, in a deep gorge near the road in Gudbrandsjuvet. The client, Knut Slinning, is a local resident. The idea emerged as an opportunity to exploit breathtaking scenery with minimal intervention, allowing locations which would otherwise be prohibited for reasons of conservation. fine arts magazineMore

New Delhi Critic, Sushma Bahl Examines Link between Art and Applied Design

Shilpa Chavan, Headgear, mixed media (2010)

Is art a part of life, or does it, in certain ways, stand apart from other forms of expression? Though sometimes challenging to categorize, broadly and philosophically- speaking, artistic expression deals with constantly evolving notions of aesthetics and rasa (taste), that is, varied ways of seeing and perceiving life and the surrounding world, but always with creativity as the central axis. More specifically, the distinction between art and craft, or between fine art and design/ fashion/applied art is equally disputed. All creative endeavors, in any form of visual art or the performing art or literature, epitomize a given time and space. Artists of all genres and designs- painters, sculptors, designers, illustrators, craftsmen, architects, fashion designers and new media practitioners, individuals or groups, in a juxtaposition of art and artifacts represent the vision, vitality and plurality of the cultural matrix in which they exist. Resulting from a cross fertilization of ideas and experiences, immersed in aesthetics as well as some form of functional value- may be just visual or sensual stimulation, each art form with its distinct characteristics, in whatever genre, color, style or media; involves cerebral and emotional inputs as well as skills, materials and a play of creative energies as a complete human activity.fine arts magazineMore

A Random Walk Down Art Basel/ Miami Beach*: A Financial Advisor Considers Art as Investment

Tony Oursler, H2Out (2006) Fiberglass, projector, speakers, flash media player 55"x42"x32". Lehmann Maupin Gallery, NY

New England’s harsh winds and beating rain seemed to be conspiring against me as I rushed to the airport, for a flight that I hoped would not be cancelled or delayed. My ultimate destination was 1200 miles away and much warmer—opening night of Art Basel/ Miami Beach. Carried up by a gust of wind, my umbrella turned inside out, as if to punish me for not wanting to remain and enjoy Mother Nature’s celebration of the changing seasons. Determined, and with 100,000 square feet of art awaiting me, I braved the elements, a crowded and chaotic scene in the New York airport where I transferred to another flight; ultimately stepping into the sultry air of Florida, my art fair destination the only thing on my mind. fine arts magazineMore

A Conversation with Duke University’s Neil De Marchi on the Economics of Art-as-Asset

Jim Dine, Viennese Hearts V (1990)

Experts who deal regularly in the art world, as auctioneers, appraisers, dealers or collection consultants share a common assumption that is not widely recognized in the extended world of art appreciation: that is, that art is a commodity like any other (oil, precious metals, corn, etc.) and, in certain broad terms, that it will behave on the open market like any other commodity—responding to the exigencies of supply and demand. Among a number of the components that separate art markets from commodities or financial securities markets, however, is the subjective element of emotional or aesthetic appeal. Art is viewed as an ‘investment’, of sorts. But for most buyers, the long-term value of the purchase will be measured by the pleasure of waking up each morning to see a painting, print or sculpture adorning the walls of one’s home. “What I did for love” is a phrase that won’t apply to too many decisions we make in our lives, but art purchases (with abject disregard for monetary appreciation of the object) is often and repeatedly, one of them. fine arts magazineMore

U. Florida’s University Gallery Featured Historical Circus Banners

Fred Johnson, Bearded Lady (c. 1930). Collection Howard and Robin Marks

Twenty-one paintings were featured in Sideshow, an exhibition that highlighted a traditional piece of Americana – circus sideshow banners. The exhibit, co-curated by Dr. Amy Vigilante for the University of Florida’s University Gallery, included the work of legendary banner painters Fred Johnson, Snap Wyatt, Jack Cripe, Jack Sigler and Johnny Meah. 

Sideshow banners and their creators have long been excluded from discussions of art; a primary dilemma has been the inability to fit them neatly into any category of art making. Though they are, in fact, oil paintings on canvas, banners were not created to be and are not embraced as fine art, and are most often described as American self-taught or folk art. fine arts magazineMore

Art Market News

October 12, 2010

Hirst out, Mehretu in

Prior to the Lehman collection sale, Skate’s predicted that if the work, We’ve got Style, (the Vessel Collection – blue/green), right did not sell, it would be a nail in the coffin of Damien Hirst’s art market. Nailed in he is—the failure to find a buyer for Hirst’s work, number one for the auction in terms of estimate range, is a spectacular end to the change in demand for Hirst’s artwork over the last decade. This market, which was estimated at a value in the hundreds of millions of dollars, is now officially illiquid for prices over $1m (and probably over $400-500k) apiece. Skate’s thinks it was a big mistake by Hirst and his dealers/advisers not to support Sotheby’s auction on Saturday and to let the headliner lot go unsold. The auction has brought opposite fortunes to, Untitled 1, the work of Julie Mehretu. (below)

In anticipation of the auction Skate’s wrote:

“Forty-year-old Julie Mehretu is among the youngest represented in the sale, yet her work is priced next to Hirst’s as the most valuable lot of the sale, with a Sotheby’s range of $600-800k. Should it get sold within this range that will constitute an enormous success story for a piece of art created as recently as 2001 and immediately sold to the Lehman collection from the primary market. Going forward, it will also probably make Mehretu the most interesting and value-creating artist to watch.”

Well, Mehretu’s work outperformed and has become the most valuable lot based on auction results. Skate’s welcomes this new queen of the contemporary market and perhaps the hottest star to watch during the coming art-market season. We can already imagine the sale of her multiple works at Frieze and Art Basel Miami.

Read the complete analysis of results from the Lehman collection auction and predictions for coming auctions in our October newsletter: www.skatesartinvestment.com

Modern Art Collectors Take Fresh Look at Western Painter, Maynard Dixon (1875-1946)

Maynard Dixon, Cloud World (1925), o/c. Courtesy Arizona West Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

 Lafayette Maynard Dixon always claimed that he had little interest in fabricating visual fiction. For him, his Native American West had been needlessly over-romanticized by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran and George Inness. They had been mere interlopers with brushes and tourist visas in hand. “Painting, as I see it, must be human rather than arty,” Dixon once said. “Painting is a means to an end. It is my way of saying what I want you to comprehend. It is my testimony in regard to life, and therefore I cannot lie in paint.” 

The ‘truth,’ as known to Dixon, remains a larger-than-life dreamscape, girded by stark geometric landforms; surreal tracts of cumulous sky; diaphanous atmospherics; and common, ungaudified Indians, gauchos and migrants who haunt our collective imagination, in ways that seem more relevant than ever. Fine Arts MagazineMore

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