Boston Print Collectors

Picasso and Warhol - biggest print revenue generators

2010-01-09T07:38:00.002-05:00

Not too surprising, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso generated the most print revenue in our times. Interesting data on print prices and appreciation on artprice.com article.

2009-10-22T10:27:00.001-04:00

I think it is quite interesting that the VC community is showing an interest in art. It is not just by way of collecting; rather, the following link discusses VC involvement as investors.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/for-online-art-gallery-20x200-an-unlikely-investor/

Rimaldas Viksraitis

2009-08-13T08:46:00.002-04:00

Interesting commentary on the photography market in the August Art Market Insight. Prices edgine down for Nan Goldin and Andreas Gursky, with Martin Parr remaining very affordable. Parr's protege, Rimaldas Viksraitis, won the Discovery Award at July's Photo Arles. From Lithuania, Viksraitis does not seem to be widely represented -- I've tracked down very few images on the web.

Verge Art Fair - Coming to Miami

2009-07-31T08:45:00.002-04:00

A new fair coming to Miami's Catalina Hotel. Well, maybe not new, perhaps rebranded. Some quick sleuthing uncovered that the Bridge Art Fair web site is now the Verge web site. Any change in exhibitors is unclear.

From Verge:
THE DESTINATION FOR EMERGING ART ON MIAMI BEACH
This December during Art Basel Miami Beach, the inaugural Verge Art Fair will premier at the Catalina Hotel and Beach Club on Collins Avenue. Verge will advance the tradition of the Catalina Hotel as an oasis only steps away from hustle and bustle of the ABMB art market, providing the only show in Miami with a focus solely on emerging art. Located between the Miami Convention Center and the Art Positions converted shipping containers, Verge will enjoy the central position on Collins Avenue. OVER 12,000 visitors over the last three years have attended this must-see event destination on South Beach, where enterprising young galleries have raised the visibility and established the starting provenance of their artists over an intense four days of international attention by a never-ending stream of art lovers, curators, collectors, and press. Adjorn after closing time to the Red Bar at the Catalina for a Happy Hour from 7pm for complimentary mixed drinks, to the rooftop pool, or cross the street for an evening with collectors at the scenic Delano.

Summer Party Silent Auction Teaser

2009-05-08T08:59:00.006-04:00

If you haven't boght your tickets to the MFA's Summer party on 6/13, you need to do so ASAP. The benefit print by David Hilliard looks like it will be selling out very soon. Also, last night was the jury meeting for the silent auction. Approximately 30 pieces were chosen from almost 300 submissions. It was a hard process to deliberate and narrow the selections down to a size that could be shown in the MFA's rotunda. However, I think people will be very pleased with the results. There are a variety of media including painting, prints, photographs, and jewelry and a price range that goes from about $250 to $4,000. Starting bids are either half of the retail price or $1,000, whichever is less. You may be hearing more about specific pieces over the next few weeks, but that's it for now- the selected artists haven't even been notified yet!

Spotted: New Art on Gossip Girl

2009-05-05T09:51:00.002-04:00

Although having Georgina back on the show (in her own words, "You can tell Jesus that the bitch is back") is quite exciting, so are Lilly Bass's new art purchases each week. A few weeks ago she was buying a Cecily Brown for her bedroom. This week a new piece by Doug and Mike Starn appeared on the wall that separates the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. It is one of their snowflake pieces, with three snowflakes vertically. I wonder how Rufus feels that she uses an art consultant, when he is in the art business himself, owning a gallery in Brooklyn...

Thesis Show Part II at MassArt

2009-04-22T09:38:00.004-04:00

Starting on Monday, 4/27, you can see the new work of graduating MFA student, Brian Glaser, at the Bakalar Gallery at MassArt. His show is entitled, "At Least Try to Settle Down," and the accompanying promotional image is of several blocks of wood with what looks like Pinnochio heads on top. (As an aside, the DVD of "Pinnochio" was "released from the Disney vault" this year and, as a father of two toung boys, I have been watching it multiple times over the last few weeks. Pinnochio is actually a really interesting story about morality and what it means to be a "real" boy. I am wondering of those themes will be present in Glaser's show.) Glaser is a thoughtful young artist who has created pieces out of found materials which as an assemblage have a greater social resonance. One example is a large, fluid metal piece that looks like a waterfall which was made out of paperclips that he collected door to door in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The paperclips weren't just any paperclips, they were the paperclips sent by FEMA to fasten the checks to the other claims paperwork. The scale of the piece, which weighs about 300 lbs, gives a sense of how many households were affected. His thesis show runs from 4/27 until 5/9, with a closing reception on Thursday, 5/7, from 6-8 PM.

Show Me the Muniz

2009-04-17T08:52:00.003-04:00

Vik Muniz is a genius (hint to anyone who may be on the nominating committee for the MacArthur Foundation). His talk at the MFA last night was one of the best artist talks I have ever attended. Although the talk was structured around his work, it was really about perception. For him, the cross-over from seeing an overall image (which is something your brain constructs) to seeing what it really is really is (for example, a photo of twisted wire instead of a pencil drawing) is magical.
However, what struck me most was the underlying social aspects to his work. Not social in a conventional sense, but social in terms of making art accessible to everyone. He recalled some of his most cherished memories, which were bringing people to museums who had never been before and of cab drivers talking about his work to him. Muniz said that the best art appeals to the most people, which is so true but often forgotten in an art world full of inside jokes. He even has a project in Brazil in which he creates work with impoverished garbage dump workers and gives them 100% of the proceeds. Being able to actually create a better life for someone is really the best art.
After the talk, we took him and his son out to dinner. While he didn't create any works from the food left on his plate, he told many stories that we will never forget. Art is about the stories. Art is about the people.

Evening of Art (Sheffield and Muniz)

2009-04-16T12:11:00.004-04:00

Looking forward to an evening of art.

First stop is the opening for an exhibit by Stephen Sheffield at The Achilles Project in Boston, entitled "A new look at some past & present work." Note: if you are reading this before the opening tonight, you have to be on the guest list. Video of the installation of the works is located at: http://stephensheffield.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/install/

Stephen's work can be seen around the Boston area in different venues. Judi Rotenberg gallery represents him and he has a great installation at Eastern Standard.

Then, I am lucky enough to be able to attend a talk being given at the MFA by Vik Muniz (http://www.mfa.org/calendar/event.asp?eventkey=35610). As many know, Vik Muniz often uses somewhat unconventional materials to recreate well-known works of art or images, often of historical images. Some of my favorites are the pictures of pigments and pictures of chocolate (e.g., I especially like how the name Chocolate Pollack sounds).

Call Me

2009-04-14T15:02:00.003-04:00

If you thought xeroxed prints were pushing the boundaries of contemporary printmaking, then today's offering on Jen Beckman's 20x200 is going to interest you. Jorge Colombo has done a series of drawings on his iPhone, using the Brushes app (one is shown here). These drawings remind me of impressionist pictures, even though the production methods differ considerably. The Impressionists would lug a canvas and paint to an outdoor site to paint the light, later showing their work in a salon. Colombo is making these pictures with light on a tiny glass screen, printing them out with a computer and showing them on the internet.

It's a Sign

2009-04-07T14:59:00.006-04:00

Printed Matter just announced the release of a fund-raising edition by Jack Pierson (shown here). Pierson works in many media including photography, painting, and sculpture. Although some may know him from his portraits of young men, his imagery also spans the gamut. His work is in major museum collections, including the MFA, Boston. In writing the entry, I realized that the title of the piece I bought by Brian Glaser at the MassArt Auction in 2008 (a portrait of a man constructed from cigarette butts entitled, "I Will Leave Less Than This Behind," shown in the blog entry from 10/21/08) references a 1994 work by Pierson, "What You Take With You and What You Leave Behind." Pierson's piece is a photograph of a shirt draped over a chair with cigarette butts on the floor.
Anyway, Pierson has done an 8x10 C-print photograph in an edition of 100 (plus 10 APs) for $100. While the image may suggest caution, you shouldn't wait too long to buy it. You can buy it online at www.printedmatter.org or by phone (212-925-0325).

Mass Confusion

2009-04-05T20:23:00.006-04:00

I left the MassArt Benefit Auction on Saturday night a little bewildered. It wasn't because of the art, it was because of the attendees. Whatever I thought I knew about the market, went totally out the window. An unlimited edition by Julian Opie went for four times its price on Opie's webstore (to multiple high bidders!), while amazing pieces, like David Ording's portrait of Lady Agnew (shown here) went for almost half-price. There were no surprises with the usual crowd pleasers in the live auction- Laura McPhee, Abe Morrell, and Ambreen Butt, but downstairs was literally a bargain basement with the exception of a (very) few works that seemed to have been originally priced too low. These included a couple of interesting student works by Jonathan Lewis and Lisa Foti, which were both bought at 150% of suggested price through the "buy it now" option. Many really good pieces that should have easily sold closed without any bids. Some of us got great deals on specific pieces that we had targeted (like the Michael Mazur print I won), but the best strategy would have been to bought in volume, picking up all of the decent work that didn't have bids. How could the same audience overbid for an Opie wall sticker and not place any bids on paintings that could have been won for a fraction of those bids. Were they just unknowledgeable buyers? Is there some twist on charity that I am missing?

Mike + Doug Starn

2009-03-30T19:36:00.004-04:00

First stop on last weekend's trip to New York was a subway ride to the South Ferry stop at the tip of Manhattan to see Mike and Doug Starn's permanent installation. If you go, note that the South Ferry stop (1 & 9) and Winterhaven stop (R&W) are connected underground, so you can take any of the lines. The art itself is in the South Ferry stop and is inside the the turnstile, so you'll want to go in.

The installation reflects many of the Starn's photography styles, translated into industrial strength materials appropriate for high traffic.

There is a piece using translucent decaying leaf as the subject that is similar to the Starns' Black Pulse series.

The largest installation is similar to the Starns' Structure of Thought series. The originals are created by layering wax, encaustic and varnish. The subway version gives a similar feel (noted in the close-up photo), complete with the layering effect, though in this case under layers of some type of acrylic (my guess).

Not everything is familiar. The Starns include mosaic work and cut metal walls -- all tied together by the theme of nature.

The Starns were also featured in yesterday's New York Times Sunday magazine, where you can read about their huge contruction, Big Bambu, at Talix in Beacon, NY. We know Talix best for their works casting sculptures -- especially very large scale.

You Probably Think This Blog is About You

2009-03-26T13:52:00.008-04:00

After our friend, R, recently asked a prominent photographer if he could commission a portrait, the photographer asked him, "What do you collect?" I (half-)joked that he should have said, "Images of myself." Vanity and narcissism have always been driving forces in the production and collection of art over the ages, so why not continue in the grand tradition? Is it really so bad to be self-centered if the universe is benefiting? Isn't that actually being kind of altuistic in a way?
Anyway, you all have the opportunity to have your portrait done by an artist that I really like, Futoshi Miyagi. Miyagi completed a project entitled, Strangers, in which he photographed himself with gay men who were strangers, posing in their homes. For his latest project, You Are There in Front of Me, he is taking portraits of people he meets in internet chat rooms via web-cams (one is shown here). This extends the concept of Strangers to people that he has never even met in person, but also plays with the ideas of anonymity on the internet and loss of privacy. I like that he is capturing an electronic image, something that is transient and mundane, and turning it into something tangible, enduring, and precious- all this from accross the globe (he lives in Japan). If you are interested in having your portrait done as part of this project, you can arrange it with Miyagi at futoshi.miyagi@gmail.com.

Josh Smith

2009-03-24T11:25:00.005-04:00

Painter Josh Smith had a recent show at Luhring Augustine in NYC that art critic, Jerry Saltz, described as a "rush" and one of the bright spots in the current state of the arts. Smith's paintings are semi-abstract and often have primitive looking figures or even fish. While his paintings might be out of your recession/depression budget, you can pick up one of his limited edition artists books from Printed Matter for $300-$400. Usually done in editions of 30, the books are photocopies of sketchbooks. He also made a brilliant artist book last year that was a photocopy of the gallery sign-in book from his 2007 show at Luhring Augustine. The book is an interesting narrative of the art world told through signatures and comments, who came to the show and what they had to say. There is a deluxe version of this book in a signed edition of 100 plus 20 APS which includes a note by the gallery's associate director for $70.

When Graffiti Becomes Art, Does it Still Look Like Graffiti?

2009-03-22T18:11:00.006-04:00

There's certainly no shortage of controversy around Shepard Fairey. Arrested the day his exhibition opened at the ICA, many wonder whether it was just a promotional stunt.

Another question, which has been less discussed, is now that his works have been publicly and critically accepted as legitimate art, would you want one in your neighborhood? That question came up recently, as one of the outdoor works that was placed by the ICA in conjunction with the exhibition resulted in a hearing with the South End Landmark Commission.

This work was placed on a residential townhouse with the permission of the owner. The South End is a very diverse neighborhood and one that has its own battles with graffiti on a daily basis. Does showing this work, as graffiti, promote art in the community or suggest that graffiti is acceptable?

The South End Landmark Commission voted 3-1 to allow this temporary art, so long as something is posted to indicate that the work is art (though, we note that this had not been done two weeks later).

The work is shown in the photo above. What do you think?

Don't miss the Kara Walker in today's NY Times OpEd

2009-03-22T15:37:00.001-04:00

Kara Walker's interpretation of spring.

Andrew Raftery Gallery Talk at Davis

2009-03-17T20:48:00.005-04:00

We've been watching Andrew Raftery for the past year. An Associate Professor at RISD, Andrew produces striking images of contemporary life using the very traditional medium of engraving. We saw his series of open houses at Mary Ryan at IFPDA in November.

This week, Andrew gave a gallery talk at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College. The lecture was a discussion of etching and engraving techniques showcased in the Davis' current exhibition, Prints in an Age of Artistry. It is a wonderful exhibition that lets you compare and contrast how artists were using the various printmaking techniques in 16th and 17th century Italy.

Comparing printmaking to painting, Raftery, who had just visited the MFA's Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese exhibition noted that much within a painting is hidden, as the artist builds up layer and layer of paint. With prints, "it's all right there, nothing is hidden".

The exhibition, containing fine impressions and many rare working proofs, are all part of single private collection and are definitely worth a trip to the Davis.

Art in Aspen

2009-03-15T18:41:00.004-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to visit Aspen, Colorado for the first time. The cute, but tourist-oriented downtown boasts over 20 galleries in a few square blocks. Seeing the really bad Rembrandt etching was almost a relief after looking at what seemed to be several galleries worth of "starving artist" works. These galleries made you yearn for a velvet Elvis.
After a little research, we did discover 2 galleries -- that in their ads at least --appeared to carry many of the artists that we know and love. In one, we were excited to find an Oldenburg drawing dated 1968. We inquired about the drawing and were disappointed when all the gallery rep could tell us was the date of the work, stating, "lot's of things come in and out of here". OK, but we expect a little bit more....

All was not lost. We did have a great conversation with Albert Sanford, the owner of Galerie Maximillian. He had just recieved some new monoprints by Mel Bochner. We've enjoyed seeing his Strong Words series and this year at ADAA the various Blah, Blah, Blahs. These new monoprints were very strong impressions with raised pulp -- almost a reverse embossment. Each letter is injected with pigment individually. These works may be seen on the gallery's site and also at Two Palms.

Rachel is ...

2009-03-15T12:21:00.003-04:00

Boston artist, Rachel Perry Welty (represented by Barbara Krakow Gallery), did a really interesting performance piece last week (3/11/09) on Facebook. She updated her status almost every minute for 16 straight hours. Although this is similar to Kenneth Goldsmith's "Fidget," in which he transcribes every movement that his body made one day in 1997, Rachel Perry Welty has made a much more culturally relevent work. I have often joked about some of my Facebook friends who constantly update their status, saying that it's nice to know when they are using the toilet. If you would have been Rachel's Facebook friend that day, you would have been bombarded by updates, most of which were mundane and not really worthy of a status update. It brings up several questions: Why do some people feel the need to post updates that would interest nobody? How much information is too much? Where is the line between caring about soneone's update and wanting to remove them as a friend because they abuse updates? Do we really feel like the details of our daily lives are important enough to post publically? Is Facebook really a narcissistic activity instead of social networking?
If you are interested in checking out the piece, you have to become a friend of Rachel Perry Welty on Facebook.

Childs Gallery & L'Espalier team up

2009-03-12T14:42:00.012-04:00

The latest issue of Design New England is out featuring our favorite traditional art gallery, Childs Gallery, and their collaboration with newly relocated Back Bay restaurant L'Espalier to the Mandarin Oriental space.

With the vision of NY based designer Martin Vahrta and sensibilities of restaurant owner and long-time Childs Gallery client Frank McClelland, they created a beautiful space to showcase art, drink wine, and of course, dine!

If you haven't yet checked it out, be sure to get over there soon.

Apenest

2009-03-11T19:50:00.004-04:00

A few days ago I stumbled upon something that has me excited- Apenest. A collaboration between Brian Willmont (MassArt alum represented by Lamontagne Gallery) and Cody Hoyt, Apenest is described as an experimental publishing/printmaking project that publishes an annual book of artist contributions. It reminds me of the serial, Aspen (I think the similarities in names is probably intentional), published between 1965 and 1971, that contained items by artists such as Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, and John Cage. There have been two issues so far, each only $15, hand-numbered in editions of 1,000. The issues contain extra goodies inside the book such as prints, stickers, and a bandana. They have also published two prints, one a silkscreen shown here by Willmont and Hoyt (26"x40") in an edition of 55 for only $25! I would much rather have one of those than the stuff 20x200 has been putting out lately. Sorry, Jen Beckman...

David Hilliard Benefit Print on sale now

2009-03-04T18:48:00.004-05:00

We've previously blogged about the awesome David Hilliard benefit print for this years Summer Party at the MFA. Well, the link is up and you can buy it now before it runs out!
Ticket levels which include the print are as follows:

Oro Guest: $525 (Museum Council members receive a $50 discount, limit one per member)
Benefits include:
Two tickets to the Party, including VIP lounge access
One exclusive limited-edition benefit print by David Hilliard*
Individual recognition on event program (listing deadline, May 15)
$250 is not tax deductible
Argento Guest: $375 (Museum Council members receive a $50 discount, limit two per member)
Benefits include:
One ticket to the Party, including VIP lounge access
One exclusive limited-edition benefit print by David Hilliard*
Individual recognition on event program (listing deadline, May 15)
$150 is not tax deductible

All indications are that we will sell out again this year. Don't miss out!

South of the Border

2009-03-01T09:09:00.003-05:00

Although Cambridge really isn't south, it does seem so far away to many Bostonians (including me). The drive across the Harvard Bridge is a much bigger obstacle than it should be. Whenever I'm in Cambridge I feel like I am on vacation, in another city with great things to do and where English is the primary language.
Yesterday, I checked out the List Center at MIT (which is in Cambridge). Right now there is a show by Melanie Smith, who lives in Mexico City and creates works about the city. The central piece in the exhibit is called "Spiral City," which is a grainy balck and white aerial video of Mexico City taken from a helicopter. The city becomes abstract patterns and it made me think about Mesoamerican hieroglyphics. Even more successful than this video is a series of gorgeous paintings that seem based on the video- abstract cityscapes from above done in tones of gray. The most beautiful painting was obstructed by a concrete wall built in the gallery in front of the painting- recreating the boundaries in Mexico City, keeping people out. If you go, make sure you also see the video playing across the hall. I won't tell you what it's about...

Vik Muniz gives us a Rube Goldberg experience at MOMA

2009-02-28T17:42:00.008-05:00

Four of the Print Collectors managed to make the final weekend of MOMA's Artist's Choice + Vik Muniz = REBUS (and we even managed to get one of the MFA's curators to take the spin with us). What fun! We're all Muniz fans, but this exhibition did not contain any of Muniz' art, rather it consisted entirely of pieces chosen by Muniz from MOMA's permanent collection. The individual pieces -- all interesting -- were not the point; rather the relationship between one piece and the next (and the next) created a logical adventure.

As an example, a photograph of a man on a subway holding a goldfish by Philip-Lorca di Corcia, was followed by a yellow-gold hued painting, by Ellsworth Kelly, followed by a "Yolk" sculpture by Kiki Smith, then an egg timer designed by Rodolfo Bonett0 -- (Goldfish -> Gold -> golden egg yolk -> egg timer).

Some of the transitions were easier to guess than others and I'll admit it took me a while to realize that Vija Celmins stone sculpture, followed by a pair of Henckels shears, then Martin Creed's sheet of paper crumpled into a ball translated to: rock, scissors, paper!

Muniz managed to keep us guessing through 82 works ending finishing up with Ed Ruscha's "The End" and finally an EXIT sign designed by Wamble, Finley and Thorne.

David Hilliard

2009-02-24T11:46:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, the blog has been dark the last couple weeks, but hopefully the posts will start being more frequent and regular again. If art imitated (my) life, I certainly wouldn't want to buy it right now.
Anyway, some big stuff has been happening this month. David Hilliard, who currently has a show at Carroll and Sons in the South End, will be doing the Benefit Print for the MFA Summer Party in June (shown here). Although Hilliard's photographs are in major museum collections across the US (including the MFA, Boston), I was most impressed when I went to an Elton John concert in Boston about 5-6 years ago and Sir Elton John himself gave him a big shout out, saying that Hilliard was a "brilliant" Boston-based photographer and that he collects his work.
At the opening at Carroll and Sons last week, Hilliard said that he studied film and video at MassArt as an undergrad, but was drawn to photography because the images are longer lasting and viewers can look at them as long they like. He feels that his film background influences his photography, in which he creates multiple images to be shown together as diptyches, triptyches, etc. Each photo is taken separately and they can be separated by distance, time, and/or perspective. The result does seem cinematic- and quite beautiful.
If you are interested in buying the Benefit Print, do so ASAP. Last year the print sold out.

Shepard Fairey at the ICA

2009-02-04T16:31:00.006-05:00

(Images from: www. images.google.com)

The ICA opened its Shepard Fairey exhibit last night and despite the snowstorm, hundreds of people were in attendance to hear him talk about his work at a standing-room only packed auditorium. Shepard has been an artist for the past 20 years, even though he appears to be no more than 30 years old. Shepard began his public style of street art while still a student at RISD; he has a strong belief art should be a part of the public landscape. He indicated his roots are humble, being a poor student, he had to buy rolls of discontinued wallpaper sheets to use as the background for his street art. His first iconic image was of a stamp of Andre the Giant. Since then, 20 years later, his style has evolved into what we recognize today (President Obama's official portrait is one that Fairey did during the campaign and the Smithsonian's National Gallery acquired the portrait). Something Shepard said about the nature and style of his work really resonated with us and that is that he utilizes the highly recognized Communist-style propaganda look for its easy visual identity and imagery. Given that his street art needs to compete with other bold advertising, he prefers this aesthetic which allows him to deliver benevolence in a sinister looking package, which he believes invokes a cautious cynicism for his audience to be wary of the sinister in a benevolent package. Take a close look at the pretty female images where there is a military element in the background or read the fine print in some of the more benevolent looking imagery and you'll see what he means. This is a "must-see" show for the art aficionados among us.

Given his show at the ICA opening this week, he has been in the Boston area creating new works. With the snow from the past 2 weeks, he indicated it was nice to be back in New England, snow at all..and that it was just like in the old days, the cold and possible police intervention, had him working at a faster pace again. For a map of where his outdoor works can be found, here is a link:

http://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/exhibit/fairey/outdoor/

As an aside, he also has an image on the 2004 Kenwood Vineyards 30th Anniversary Artists Series bottles , which they served at the reception (2,100 cases made and the wine retails for about $70)- this guy is H-O-T right now!

Given his overall success and hotness factor right now, I decided to ask a Curatorial friend at the MFA his thoughts and he replied he liked the artist's work but wondered if it was the artwork or the images that would have the staying power... an interesting question to ponder, as we all race to get a limited edition of Shepard's book and 4 signed prints....

Wow! Researching Prints in the MFA's Morse Study Room

2009-02-03T19:49:00.002-05:00

The MFA's Morse Study Room for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs is an absolutely amazing resource available to collectors eager to learn more about their collection or potential acquisitions. When working with a dealer, it is often possible to have a print sent to the MFA on approval to allow you to compare the work to one or more similar ones at the MFA. Older prints in particular vary widely in terms of impression quality and condition -- which greatly impact value. Even prints within the same edition may have been produced inconsistently.
We had an appointment yesterday with Stephanie Stepanek, an expert in the area we are researching; and we were also lucky to have a chance to chat with the head of the department, Cliff Ackley.

We started our research with the catalogue raisonne, which describes what is known about each print -- typically listing trial proofs, working proofs and each edition -- documenting what is known about each round including paper, changes to the plate, number in the edition, etc. The MFA is a great resource for these are dealers and even the Boston Public Library. (Although...they are not always in English). (although we did benefit from additional hand annotations by MFA researchers). These books help you to identify the edition of the print you are researching.

The really amazing part of our visit was the fact that the MFA had 6 different versions of the print we were comparing to our potential acquistion, which they had out on display for our examination. In this case, we were able to see several that would be considered to be better, one worse and a few that would really depend on your personal preference.

Cliff mentioned that many people tell him that they don't stop by because they don't want to "bother" the staff, but that they really hope people utilize their resources so that they can make educated purchases.

The Printed Picture

2009-02-03T13:04:00.003-05:00

Ever wonder what a rotogravure is? Or how to do a pantograph etching? MacArthur Fellow and former Dean of the Yale School of Art, Richard Benson, published a book this fall that is a must have for print collectors, The Printed Picture. This book is a series of one-page essays on the techniques of printing reproducible images along with pictures of examples. MOMA in NYC also currently is doing a show based on this book, so you can go there are see actual examples up close (instead of looking at reproductions of reproduced images). The book retails for $60, but is only $37.80 on Amazon.

Visit to the Rose

2009-01-31T18:41:00.002-05:00

We (and the rest of the greater Boston area) rushed out to Waltham today to visit the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis. I'd heard that they typically get about 30 visitors today and there were definitely over 100 people there while we were there this afternoon. We enjoyed our walkthrough, but were dissappointed in how few of the museum's own works were on display. We saw one classic example by Lichtenstein, Ruscha, Rauchenburg, Oldenburg, Warhol and Picasso, but did not see any works by de Kooning, Johns nor Magritte. With most of the space dedicated to shows which featured borrowed works, I felt we saw only a fraction of the over 8,000 pieces that they apparently own. Let's hope they mount a greatest hits show before they shutter the museum.

(The latest scuttlebutt is that Brandeis may or may not sell any/some/all of the art, but closing the museum gives them more flexiblity because they will no longer have to follow the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) guidelines for deaccessioning art.)

Selling Art for Operating Expenses?

2009-01-28T16:51:00.004-05:00

Just read that the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University plans to sell off the ENTIRE holdings of the museum to raise money for the University (their endowment has been badly beaten of late). Many museums' charters don't let them sell art for operating expenses for the museum itself (much less for a parent organization like a university). Where not specified, it is generally frowned upon. It raises the question of the intent of the donors, for one thing. Brandeis is currently sorting through the wills and other legal agreements to see how it can proceed. I would expect that if most donors wanted their money to go to operating budget, they would have made a general donation. (for more info, see article in today's New York Times).

Time for a trip to Rose before it's gone!

Track Lighting (for museums and the rest of us)

2009-01-27T17:11:00.010-05:00

I get a lot of questions about lighting both artwork and interiors in general, so I want to share some very useful info. I sent this article to J & E a while back when I was helping them redesign their space and in turn maximize their lighting story for their art. I referred to it recently for another project I am working on because I find it very handy - especially the section in determining the proper location for the tracks. For instance, to avoid glare and shadows, lights should be angled between 30 and 45 degrees.

I think the example they give in the picture sets the viewing level a bit low (5'), but you can easily recalculate the "adjacent" distance from wall to track by remembering your trig ratios for right triangles (math geeks unite!):

where a = ceiling height
and A = angle in degrees

The article goes on to discuss the steps museums take to avoid prolonged exposure of art and artifacts to ultraviolet radiation, the need for UV filters, and profound (positive) effect dimmers have on contributing to the long-term preservation of art and objects.

Part One
Part Two

Archiving a collection

2009-01-27T12:20:00.000-05:00

Following up on R’s nice blog about the value of cataloguing a collection, I want to reiterate, from a practical perspective, the value of doing this; it really brings into a nice, neat place, the archive of what a collection looks like that you have probably spent a good deal of time, energy and resources on. I’m not a big database creator, but recently I have taken on the project of creating the archive of our art collection for our own personal information, and more importantly, for insurance purposes for the select “top 20” (now we know that a dealer can really benefit from a glimpse into a personal archive to determine the interests of the collector). But as I mentioned, for now, the project is just practical in nature, as it has been on our “to-do” list for quite some time and it was time to just get it done. Let me tell you, it’s a HUGE job, but so worth it!It’s daunting, so take it in stages.

First, we created a notebook with the receipts which we had over the years just mashed into a file and thrown into the fireproof safe. After sorting them and uncrinkling them, flattening them out in the transparent dividers and creating a semblance of order, I started to file them. Doing this, I embarked on a pretty fun walk down memory lane as I remembered the where, when and with whom we acquired the pieces and if we had an “unveiling” party or not after their hanging.
Next, with the handy Excel program, I listed the artwork we have in each of the homes with the artist name, pertinent information, purchase price, present value and where it was acquired. The big surprise is that we have 70 pieces of artwork – no wonder the walls look like they do and we’re starting to hang ‘salon-style’ all around!

With the contact information now at my fingertips, I started to email the galleries where the artworks were acquired (yes, you along with us will likely have some pieces that have no gallery representation, and will be filed without all the information) and mentioned the need for insurance valuations. Fortunately, the gallery owners are VERY responsive and prompt in their replies, sending formalized documents by mail and email. It’s terrific! And in the end, the great thing is that with the art work in the collection collection, there are bound to be a few fun surprises. We buy because we are moved by a piece, but let me tell you how moved you will be when a piece here or there appreciates significantly in value since the acquisition. Makes you feel good! So, go forth and start to gather your data… it’s a good project to remind you of what you own, and if you go to the end goal of determining what to insure as a result of it, the icing on the cake is peace of mind!

Notes on Collecting

2009-01-26T23:01:00.010-05:00

I often joke that art dealers are collectors that cannot afford the collection, or frustrated artists that lack real talent. Art dealers, we are taught to believe, are gifted in their ability to influence tastes and trends, and to guide collectors to that special work that "just fits" within their collection. As many a curator has said before...it is often the collector that guides market, which in turn influences the dealer to seek out that special thing. Every now and then, through my position as a dealer (if you hadn't already guessed), I am struck by the degree to which collectors drive the market. I have just acquired the exclusive rights, as agent, to a remarkable art collection, assembled over a 50 year span, of paintings, prints and drawings...that in so many ways reflect all that is wonderful about the true joy of collecting - something that I think all readers and posters to this blog share. The most remarkable aspect of the collection, works aside, is the extent to which the couple catalogued their own collection. Each work has its own notecard (pre-excel days), that lists all of the relevant catalogue information, including source, acquistion date, price and subsequent offerings of the same or similar work on the market. This information has given me a tremendous insight into the market of their interests, which in turn has given me countless ideas of how to market their work. Indeed, there are already three gallery shows planned around the "r" collection. I hope that this re-presentation of the collection, seen through the dealer's eye, will enhance the stature of the collection, make their children proud, and share with other collectors the great joys that this couple so cherished. To learn more about another great collector, please click here. r

Conceptual Artist Books by Women

2009-01-26T20:25:00.004-05:00

As wall space and the economy become even more difficult, I have retreated to artist books, which is what I started with as a collector. This week I bought a first edition copy of Yoko Ono's Grapefruit (the US version published in 1970) from a bookdealer in VT through Amazon. The book is a series of instructions, which in concept, would create works of art. For me, the concept is so much more interesting than the product anyway.
Three of the most interesting artist books I own are by women artists. Although putting the term "women" before the word "artists" is sometimes considered bad nowadays, I use the term deliberately because these books play with gender and its stereotypes.

Take Care of Yourself by Sophie Callie (shown here). This book is a compilation of Calle's piece(s) for the French Pavillion at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Her boyfriend broke up with her over e-mail and she had 107 different women interpret the e-mail for her. The 107 women ranged from police officers to psychiatrists and all had their own perspectives. This book is a limited edition of 4,000 copies in English.

Jens F. by Collier Schorr. In this strange, but beautiful book, Schorr attempts to replicate some of scenes of Andrew Wyeth's Helga using an adolescent German boy- who seems to be going through puberty over the years in which the photos were shot. This book is a signed limted-edition of 1,000.

The Nam by Fiona Banner. Banner is a British artist known for her text-based works, drawings of punctuation marks, and more recently figher planes. In this unpaginated book, she describes in detail what happens during every Viet Nam movie of the 1980's as if it were happening as one seemless scene. The hardcover version of this book is a signed limited edition of 250.

Sol Lewitt at MASS MoCA

2009-01-25T18:49:00.003-05:00

The Sol Lewitt wall drawing retrospective is a massive installation of 1005 wall drawings which span a large exhibition of spaces on 3 floors of MASS MoCA. One of the interesting aspects of owning a Sol Lewitt wall drawing is that you actually buy the plans for the drawing and then you have someone, perhaps someone form Sol Lewitt's studio, or an art student actually put the art on your wall. This gives you the opportunity to move it to a new location (provided you paint over the exisiting image). The instructions are part of what you buy and the installation at MASS MoCA had some nice works where you could see how Lewitt specified the different shapes in the piece, the different combinations that are used in the piece and then a grid for how the combinations of shapes are used.

Facebook

2009-01-25T15:08:00.003-05:00

Today we are trying to integrate this blog with Facebook, hoping that new posts can go out as e-mails through the system. Once we have 10 official followers through Facebook, it should be searchable on that page. If you would like a personal invitation to join the blog group on Facebook, please send us an e-mail.

Take Your Place in History

2009-01-22T09:55:00.004-05:00

Another one of my favorite artists, On Kawara, currently has a show at David Zwirner Gallery in NYC. Kawara is famous for making paintings of the date and sending daily postcards to friends stating, "I am still alive." The show at Zwirner focuses on his 20-volume book series, One Million Years, in which he lists, year by year, one million years before 1969 (when the project was started) and one million years after 1969. I bought an hour-long recording of an excerpt of the book being read about 10 years ago (and S hates it so much that I am not allowed to play it at home). As part of the show, Zwirner is producing a CD recording of all of the books being read and you can sign up to be a reader. There are two recording booths in the gallery to immortalize your recitation of years for years to come. Information to do this is available on the gallery's website: www.davidzwirner.com.

Eastern Standard in Western Mass

2009-01-21T14:30:00.006-05:00

Went to MASS MoCA this weekend for the first time (glad I finally made it there). If you have not been there yourself, it is definitely worth seeing if you can arrange a weekend in the Berkshires and get over to MoCA for 2-3 hours. Very cool gallery space (located in a complex of renovated 19th century factory buildings). Saw a number of interesting Burtynsky pieces in the exhibit "Eastern Standard: Western Artists in China." However, I think I still prefer more of the images from the Quarries series and Breaking Ground series.

Even Though You Aren't Into Posters

2009-01-16T19:48:00.006-05:00

The magazine, Art on Paper, edited by the duo from Triple Candie in NYC, has commissioned a series of limited edition posters. Before you start associating to your Shawn Cassidy (or Farrah Fawcett) poster from childhood or those "fine art" posters that are reproductions of Impressionist paintings, STOP and think "small limited edition" and "established contemporary artists." The first in the series is by Polly Apfelbaum and is shown here. (When I think about Apfelbaum, I think of our friend E who not only owns one of her cheery multi-colored flower prints, but is the human equivalent of that work. We love you, E!) Although the posters can be ordered in one of 3 sizes for $200, $400, or $1,000, the total edition size is 50. If you can get past the idea of poster, these are amazing prices. Her prints go for ten times as much. The posters can be ordered by phone at (212) 675-1968.

Look at Me

2009-01-15T13:06:00.003-05:00

Recently I have become interested in portraiture, especially photographic portraits. Two things have been contributing to this interest: having my portrait taken by Martin Parr last month and seeing the Karsh 100 show at the MFA, Boston. While a portrait presents information about the sitter, it also conveys information about the artist: technical skills, perspectives, and the editing of reality. There are two upcoming courses on portraiture in Boston. One is a one-week intensive course at the SMFA in March called, Identity: The Contemporary Portrait, taught by Sean Johnson. The other is a 4-week seminar at the Photographic Resource Center, Contemporary Trends in Photographic Portraiture, taught by Roswell Angier (2/17-3/10/09). If you can't do either, Roswell Angier has a book about taking photographic portraits, Train Your Gaze, available on Amazon.
I especially like portraits in which the artist inserts him/herself. Christine Rogers, a SMFA alum who is now on faculty there, did a series in which she had her photo taken with other families having their portraits taken at a commercial studio. Futoshi Miyagi did a series of photos of himself with gay men who were strangers, in their apartments (shown here). These photographers play with the ideas of insertable intimacy and the deconstruction of relationship images.

Bridge on the Verge

2009-01-11T10:57:00.003-05:00

Yet another sign of the soft economy. I have received several emails in the past few weeks from Bridge Art Fair, extending their deadline for exhibiting in at their New York fair in March. The most recent mailing was promoting a new, lower cost option in their "Verge" section. These "booths" are 100 sq feet and cost $5,000 -- half the size and price of a regular booth. It was an interesting fair last year. Hopefully it will manage to fill the space by March.

Lalla Essaydi at MFA

2009-01-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Lalla Essaydi, a SMFA alum, will be giving a visiting artist lecture on Thursday, 1/22/09, at 12:30 PM in the Riley Seminar Room at the MFA. She also currently has work on view in the new Herb Ritts Gallery at the MFA. She is known for her staged photographs of Moroccan women covered with calligraphy. While they may seem to be simple images at first, they are actually quite radical. Supposedly in Islam, women are not allowed to write using this calligraphy. A few years ago we bought one of her photographs of 3 women writing on each other, a very defiant act. I especially liked the performance aspect. In Boston, she is represented by Howard Yeserski Gallery.

Road Trip: LaMontagne Gallery

2009-01-04T09:48:00.000-05:00

There are even more reasons to check out the LaMontagne Gallery in South Boston. The one that I am most excited about is a new sound piece by Benjamin Chaffee that was created specifically for your ride to the gallery on the MBTA bus, from Copley Square to Fort Point Channel. You can download it and listen to it on your own personal audio equipment. It can be downloaded at www.musicforcircumstances.com, but it's not up yet. I am expecting it to be up by the opening of Andrew Witkin's new show at the gallery on Saturday, 1/10/09, from 6-8 PM.

According to the press release, Andrew Witkin's project is a companion presentation to the one he currently has on view at Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art as part of the ICA's Foster Prize Exhibition. For this exhibition, he will be showing a group of 144 t-shirts, each with a different text (by various people) on them, each hung on a hanger, ready to be read. There will also be a group of pieces surrounding the shirts, ranging from a stereo playing an ever-increasing number of versions of the American traditional song, "Stagolee", to an arrangement of mirrors, to a check-list as study guide as notebook, among other found, altered, designed and organized objects.

The gallery is also having a series of talks on Wednesdays in January and February.

Manuel de Santaren (Wednesday, Jan 28, 7pm) will present a talk on his current interests, as pertaining to engaging a hypothetical space.

Daniel Scholnick (Wednesday, Feb 4 7pm) bought a ramshackle building in Philadelphia four years ago and has, by hand, been renovating it with the goal of helping his local community, becoming a resident, creating a quality art creation space, all in a sustainable and affordable manner. Scholnick will talk about having a project that's simultaneously a performance, the building of one's home and an act of entrepreneurialism (a performed act of artistic applied political economy).

Andrew Witkin (Wednesday, Feb 10, 7pm) will give a walk through of "Others Among Others" and will discuss related projects, among other topics.

Stopping and Starting Animation

2008-12-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

I was recently introduced to the animated street art work Muto, by graffiti artist Blu. I couldn't help but notice the similarity to the works by the South African artist, Robin Rhode. We ran across Rhode's photos in a private collection in Miami last year and were taken by them. Often in a series, they appear to be individual cells of an animation, partially drawn on urban walls and other surfaces. It is as if Muto added the animation to Rhode's images.

DIY

2008-12-24T12:03:00.000-05:00

With frugalism becoming fashionable, consider participating in the trend (as painful as it is) by making your own art. For $30 and the cost of a box of crayons, you can have 72 works by Richard Prince with his recently produced coloring book, 3rd Place. If you want a more diversified collection, you could get another coloring book, Between the Lines: A Coloring Book of Drawings by Contemporary Artists (2007). Between the Lines contains drawings by Julian Opie, Sol Lewitt, Vito Acconci, Rita Ackermann, John Baldessari, Jeremy Blake, Will Cotton, R. Crumb, Keith Haring, Robert Longo, John Lurie, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jason Middlebrook, Laura Owens, Alexis Rockman, Kenny Scharf, William Wegman and John Wesley, among others.
If you don't want to invest in crayons and are more interested in three-dimensional works, you should get The Paper Sculpture Book (2003). Originally a show at the Sculpture Center in NYC, this book is essentially the exhibit. 29 artists created sculptures that could be created from sheets of paper and provided detailed instructions on how to recreate them yourself. Sarah Sze, Fred Tomaselli, David Shrigley, and Glen Ligon are some of the artists. I received that book as a Christmas present in 2003 (thanks, S!) and love it.
All of these books are available on Amazon.

Surprise

2008-12-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

The latest issue of Visionaire (#55, Surprise), the limited-edition art and fashion luxury publication, is a set of pop-up books by artists including Sophie Calle (one of my favorite artists), Andreas Gursky, Cai Guo-Qiang (who, in 2008, did the fireworks for the Olympics and a Gap t-shirt), Steven Klein, Yayoi Kusama, Alasdair McLellan, Steven Meisel, Guido Mocafico, Nicola Formichetti/Gareth Pugh, Sølve Sundsbø, and Mario Testino. You can watch a movie of all of the pop-ups here. The movie may not be available to watch when the next issue is released (most likely, 4 months from now). The books are contained in a cloth-covered case with a metal plaque engraved with the number of the edition. You can order this issue for $250, or subscribe to Visionaire for a year at $675 (plus shipping).

They're Copying!

2008-12-19T11:19:00.000-05:00

Another trend I noticed at the fairs in Miami was Xeroxing. There were a few works by Ari Marcopoulos, including one of a machine gun and one of his son, Cairo (shown here). Marcopoulos' use of the Xerox technique creates soft, velvety images that seem like they would stain your fingers if you touched them. He also recently had a show in NYC where he presented large-scale Xeroxed images.

White Columns, NYC's oldest alternative art space, has been producing a benefit print portfolio for the last couple years. This year, it doesn't look like there is a 2008 portfolio. Instead, there are a number of limited edition prints, all printed by Xeroxing. You can view them here. I am not sure yet what I think about Xeroxing as a printing technique. Initially, I thought it was ridiculous- that you could just take a print to your own copy machine and expand the edition size by 10, 50, or even 100. However, Xeroxed prints would still need to be signed and numbered, increasing the importance of that act in identifying the "original" prints from the "copies." Xeroxing does have some visual similarities to silkscreens, though, and could be considered, in some ways, as a technological advancement. Xeroxed copies each have some subtle variations and I can image Warhol creating a suite of Jackies using a copying machine. The use of the Xerox machine also further blurs the line between art and everyday life, elevating a banal clerical task to art production. It makes you think more about pressing that green button...

Contemporary Art in Boston

2008-12-18T13:08:00.000-05:00

Last night, WGBH's "Greater Boston" focused on contemporary art in Boston. Russell Lamontagne of the cutting edge Lamontagne Gallery in South Boston and Andrew Witkin, ICA Foster Prize nominee and director of Barbara Krakow Gallery (but represented as an artist by Lamontagne Gallery) were interviewed.
You can watch it (the 12/17 episode) by clicking here.

Holiday Cards

2008-12-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

I have always been envious of the people on the Peter Norton Christmas card list who get the annual limited edition multiple made specifically for that Christmas. Kara Walker and Vik Muniz have done editions. I've thought about sending Mr. Norton a card one year to see if, in the spirit of holiday reciprocality, he'd feel obligated to put me on the list. I've also thought about creating my own tradition of sending out Christmas multiples instead of holiday cards. Because I don't have the funds to commission an established artist to create a special edition, here are some possibilities for limted-edition "holiday cards."

Crown Point Press is selling sets of playing cards by Jockum Nordstrum in an edition of 500 for $14.95 (shown here above left). Nordstrum, represented by David Zwirner in NYC, has works in the collection of MOMA, SFMOMA, the Whitney, and the Guggenheim. How about adding him to yours?

For something edgier (and more expensive), there is David Shrigley's small letterpress playing card, "Fucking Ace," in an edition of 250 at $50 at Printer Matter. Shrigley is known for his witty doodle-like drawings, some of which, by the way, are owned by MOMA. He is also represented by Yvon-Lambert in Paris (the same dealer as Jonathan Monk). I had trouble linking the page from Printed Matter to show the image on the blog, so you have to go to their website to see it (search "shrigley").

A final option is Christian Marclay's "Shuffle," a deck of 75 cards that are music-related images. Marclay's work has focused on images of sound and music. His recent large photograms of unravelled audiotape, which were at IFPDA and at the Miami fairs this year, are amazing. Although I haven't been able to confirm that "Shuffle" was printed as a limited edition (some info says yes, some info doesn't say anything), it would still make a great gift. You can check out the press release from Aperture here. Marclay is represented by Paula Cooper in NYC.

Jehad Nga

2008-12-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

Another photographer under 40 to follow is Jehad Nga. The Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the MFA, Boston purchased one of his photos last year. He has done series of arresting photos of Somalia and Darfur. Originally from Kansas (!), he trained to become an EMT (emergency medical technician) while he interned for Magnum Photos. Although that may seem to be an odd combination, his medical training may have helped him gain access to some of his sites. He was also an embedded photojournalist for the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

He is represented by M+B Gallery in LA and Bonnie Benrubi Gallery in NYC.

More of his work can be seen on his webiste:

http://www.jehadnga.com/

20x200: What have you done for me lately?

2008-12-15T13:09:00.000-05:00

This past spring I was OBSESSED with Jen Beckman's 20x200. (For those who haven't heard, new editions of 200 selling for $20 over the internet, http://www.20x200.com/.) I managed to get both of the special editions by the Starn Twins and re-arranged my schedule so that I was available to buy immediately when the e-mails went out announcing new works. It seemed like back in May, all the new editions were selling out quickly, some in a matter of minutes.

However, over the past month, it seems like the new prints haven't been selling that well and very few editions sell out. Even I, the 20x200 addict, stopped buying. What has happened?

I think several things:

1. While the ecomony has collapsed, I am not sure how much of an impact this has had on the market for $20 works of art. Although if people are now bringing their lunches to work, a $20 print might be considered a luxury item.

2. The birds. You all know what I am talking about. For a while, it seemed like EVERY print was somehow bird-related. If you are not a complete bird fanatic, this becomes a stale self-parody pretty quickly.

3. Quality of the work. While there have been a few good works recently, including "Hank Williams' Bed, Georgiana, Alabama" by Scott Eiden (shown here), I haven't found many things that seemed as interesting as earlier editions.

4. Enough is enough. Honestly, how many 8x10 artworks can you have? We have sort of reached our limit.

5. Larger editions. I think this is the beginning of the end. If editions of 200 have not been selling out, why do editions of 500 for $50? Although I didn't take any economics in college, this doesn't make any sense to me.

Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. Next!

The Impossible Collection

2008-12-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

Looking for a cool gift - well, one that will set you back $500? Assouline's The Impossible Collection: The 100 Most Coveted Artworks of the Modern Era curates the ideal contemporary collection and puts together the 100 most sought after works (at least authors Philippe Ségalot and Franck Giraud think so).

Here they are:

Picasso, Pablo Yo Picasso 1901 Private Collection.
Claude Monet, Le parlement, reflets sur la Tamise, 1905. Musée Marmottan, Paris.
Derain, André, Charing Cross Bridge, 1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Picasso, Pablo Les Demoiselles d’Avignon 1907 MoMA, NY.
Klimt, Gustav The Kiss 1906-07 The Belvedere Museum, Vienna.
Matisse, Henri Back/Dos I 1913-30. Pompidou, Paris.
Braque, Georges Le Pont De La Roche-Guyon 1909. Private Collection.
Matisse, Henri Dance 1909-1910. The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
Delaunay, Robert, Disque, 1912-13. Private Collection.
Kandinsky, Wassily Komposition VI 1913 The Hermitage, Leningrad.
Leger, Fernand Contraste de Formes 1913. Private Collection.
Matisse, Back/Dos II. 1913. Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
Picasso, Pablo Guitar 1914. MoMA, NY.
De Chirico, Giorgio Mystery and Melancholy of a Street 1914.
Malevich, Kasimir Black Cross 1915. Pompidou, Paris.
Chagall, Marc Birthday 1915. MoMA, NY.
Matisse, Back/Dos III. 1916-1917. Centre Georges Pompidou.
Schiele, Egon Self-portrait with Checkered Shirt 1912. Private Collection.
Duchamp, Marcel Fountain 1917. Tate, London.
Picabia, Francis Parade Amoureuse 1917. Private Collection.
Ernst, Max Paysage en Ferraille 1921. Private Collection
Mondrian, Piet Tableau II 1921. Private Collection
Soutine, Chaim Side of Beef and Calf’s Head 1923. Orangerie Museum.
Miro, Joan Carnival of Harlequin 1924-25. Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo NY.
Brancusi, Constantin Bird in Space 1925. National Gallery, Washington D.C.
Giacometti, Alberto Spoon Woman 1926. MoMA, NY.
Magritte, Rene The Treachery of Images 1929. LACMA, Los Angeles.
Matisse, Back/Dos IV, 1930. Centre Georges Pompidou.
Dali, Salvador The Persistence of Memory 1931. MoMA, NY.
Klee, Paul Ad Parnassum 1932. Kunstmuseum, Switzerland, Bern.
Gonzalez, Julio Petite Danseuse I 1934-35. Pompidou, Paris.
Calder, Alexander Standing Mobile 1935. Private Collection
Picasso, Pablo Weeping Woman 1937. Tate, London.
Bonnard, Pierre NU 1932. Private Collection.
Kahlo, Frida The Two Fridas 1939. Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City.
Leger, Fernand La Belle Equipe 1944-45. Private Collection
Dubuffet, Jean Fautrier Araignée Au Front 1947. Private Collection
Pollock, Jackson One: Number 31, 1950 1950. MoMA, NY.
De Kooning, Willem Woman, I 1950-52. MoMA, NY.
Rothko, Mark No 2, 1951. Private Collection
Matisse, Henri Memory of Oceania 1952-53. MoMA, NY.
Bacon, Francis Pope Innocent X 1953. Des Moines Art Center.
Burri, Alberto Sacco 1953. Private Collection.
Johns, Jasper Target with Plaster Casts 1955. Private Collection.
Kline, Franz Monitor 1956. MOCA, Los Angeles.
Twombly, Cy The Blue Room 1957. Private Collection.
Manzoni, Piero Achrome 1958-59. Private Collection
Rauschenberg, Robert Canyon 1959. Sonnabend collection.
Stella, Frank The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II, MOMA, NY. 1959.
Newman, Barnett White Fire II 1960. Kunstmuseum, Switzerland, Basel.
Giacometti, Alberto Walking Man, 1960. Beyeler Foundation, Switzerland.
Klein, Yves Anthropologie (ANT 78) 1960. Private Collection
Martin, Agnes The Dark River 1961. Private Collection
Oldenburg, Claes Pastry Case, I 1961-62. MoMA, NY.
Warhol, Andy, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1962. MOMA, NY.
Lichtenstein, Roy Eddie Diptych 1962. Private Collection
Raysse, Martial Seventeen (titre journalistique) 1962. Private collection.
Flavin, Dan 25th (to Constantin Bracusi) 1963. Dia Art Foundation, NY
Warhol, Andy Eight Elvis 1963. Private Collection
Fontana, Lucio Concetto Spaziale La Fine di Dio 1963. Private Collection.
Smith, David Cubi VII 1963. The Art Institute of Chicago.
Andy Warhol, Red Explosion (Atomic Bomb), 1963
Rauschenberg, Robert Retroactive I 1964. Wadsworth Atheneum.
Kawara, On Title, 1965
Ryman, Robert Windsor 6 1965. Private Collection
Ruscha, Ed Los Angeles County Museum on Fire, 1965-68. Hirschhorn Museum, Washington D.C.
Richter, Gerhard Woman Descending Staircase 1965. The Art Institute of Chicago.
Joseph Beuys, Infiltration homogen für Konzertflügel (Homogeneous Infiltration for Piano), 1966, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
Polke, Sigmar Bunnies 1966. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C.
Judd, Donald Untitled 1966, Private collection
Hesse, Eva Untitled or Not Yet (nine nets) 1966. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Nauman, Bruce My Name As Though it Were Written On the Surface of the Moon 1960. Private Collection
Baldessari, John What is Painting? 1966-68. MoMA, NY.
Nauman, Bruce Henry Moore Bound to Fail 1967-70. Private Collection
Mario Merz “Objet cache toi”, 1968. Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (Dr Broeker).
Serra, Richard Prop 1968. Whitney Museum, NY.
Andre, Carl 37th Piece of Work 1969-81. Private Collection
Richter, Gerhard 1024 Farben 1973. Private Collection.
Gilbert and George Dusty Corners No.13 1975. Private Collection
Sherman, Cindy Untitled Film Still #7 1978. Editioned work
Basquiat, Jean-Michel Notary 1983. Private Collection
Koons, Jeff Rabbit 1986. Editioned work
Kelley, Mike More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid and the Wages of Sin 1987. The Whitney Museum, NY.
Kippenberger, Martin Self-Portrait 1988. Saatchi Collection
Wool, Christopher Apocalypse Now (p.50) 1988. Private Collection
Noland, Cady Oozewald 1989. Private Collection
Prince, Richard Untitled (Cowboy) 1989. Metropolitan Museum, NY.
Gonzalez-Torres, Felix Untitled (USA Today) 1990. MoMA, NY.
Gober, Robert Untitled 1991. Private Collection
Hirst, Damien The Physical Impossibility of Death In the Mind of Someone Living 1991. Private collection
Tuymans, Luc Der Diagnostische Blick IV 1992. Private Collection
Koons, Jeff Puppy 1992. Germany.
Ray, Charles Family Romance, 1993. MoMA, NY.
Gursky, Andreas Paris Montparnasse 1993.
Cattelan, Maurizio Bidibidobidiboo 1996. Private Collection
Viola, Bill The Crossing (still from video projection) 1996. Editioned work.
Murakami, Takashi My Lonesome Cowboy 1998/ Hiropon 1997. Editioned works
Hammons, David Untitled 2000. Private Collection
Fischer, Urs Jet-set Lady 2000. Private Collection
Stingel, Rudolph Untitled 2000. Private Collection

"To whom belong the one hundred most remarkable artworks of our century?"

Catherine Opie Photo Opp

2008-12-10T17:44:00.000-05:00

We had an opportunity to check out the Catherine Opie's at Regen Projects at Art Basel Miami Beach last week. MFA Boston has a couple from the series above.

Thanks to MAO for pointing out the photo and limited edition book available from the Guggenheim book store (only 100 copies). As we say...Always buy the benefit print.

Jody

Brief thoughts on Art Basel

2008-12-09T16:15:00.000-05:00

This was my second year at Art Basel Miami. I felt more comfortable walking the different fairs than I did last year. Gallery owners/representatives seemed less imposing to me and I felt much more comfortable engaging with them. Arguably, some of this may be because there were fewer people buying. However, I think that some of it just has to do with the fact that the more you learn about art (and the art world in general), the more comfortable you get. I have also previously experienced this over the years at IFPDA. And, keep in mind, I did not have much if any exposure to art in college (my own fault of course).

Dylan Vitone

2008-12-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

I always like to keep an eye on what the MFA, Boston is collecting and their annual report (which came yesterday in my mail) lists their acquisitions over the last year. This year it looks like they acquired four works by a young photographer, Dylan Vitone, including the image shown here of a Homeland Security drill (you can click on the image to see it larger). Dylan Vitone is a MassArt alumnus and he currently teaches photography at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I first saw (and bought) his work at the annual MassArt auction this past April. He makes long panoramic documentary-style pictures by digitally "knitting" individual photos together. There seems to be a narrative (or narratives) in the photos and the process reminds me of a very high tech version of Hockney's photo-collages, except Vitone's work is seemless. He did a series of scenes of South Boston and more recently has been documenting Pittsburgh.

His work was at Photo Miami this year, but the booth's installation was really lackluster. On the outside wall (prime real estate), they enlarged one of his photos (actually of the image we own) and broke it into three separate pieces- totally destroying its impact.

Dylan Vitone has a great website:

http://www.dylanvitone.com/

He is represented by the Oswald Gallery in Jackson Hole, WY and DNJ Gallery in LA. The prints are done in two sizes, a smaller version in an edition of 30 (currently priced at $1,800) and a larger version in an edition of 5 (currently priced at $4,000). You might also be able to pick up his work at the next MassArt auction on 4/4/09.

Artist as Shaman- A New Trend?

2008-12-08T20:51:00.000-05:00

This year at the art fairs in Miami, I noticed a trend emerging among a few different artists. Although these artists are from very different backgrounds, they are either fully trained shamans or perform shamanistic rituals. In a world that has become increasingly technological and further removed from the natural world, these artists attempt to reconnect us with the earth, the animal and spirit world, and ourselves. At Art Supernova, Jose Alvarez was showing psychedelic works on paper and mica that incorporated porcupine quills and feathers. He also had a video piece that was to simulate the experience of taking natural hallucinogens used in shamanistic rituals. At the Rubell Family Collection and at Art Basel Miami, there were several sound suits by Nick Cave (shown here).

However, my favorite, my personal BEST IN SHOW for all of the Miami art activities was Marcus Coates' 14 screen video installation, Dawn Chorus, at Workplace Gallery in the NADA fair. Coates, a trained shaman who lives in Britain, selected a chorus of birdcalls indigenous to Britain and taught singers to sing as individual birds in the chorus, but at a much slower speed given the human voice. He then filmed these singers in their natural habitats, such as their bedroom or office, singing their call. Finally, each video was sped up to have the singing sound like the actual calls and the video monitors and speakers were installed in the round. Miles Thurlow of Workplace was nice enough to send me some links to Coates' work. The two videos require Quicktime.

Dawn Chorus
2007
HD Video Installation
Edition of 3 (& 2 AP's)
Duration: 18 minutes (looped)
MC0015
Installation view: Dawn Chorus, BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art, UK
http://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/Coates/Media/MarcusCoatesDawnChorus.mov

Radio Shaman
2006
HD Video Installation
09:31 mins, Edition of 5 plus 1 artist's proof
MC0016
Courtesy of the Artist and Workplace Gallery, UK
https://phsexchweb.partners.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/radioshaman.mov

You can also read more about his work here:

Marcus Coates Selected Portfolio 2008 (6.7MB)http://workplacegallery.s3.amazonaws.com/Coates/Coatesportfolio/MarcusCoatesSelectedPortfolio08(6.7MB).pdf

Here is going to have a solo show at Workplace Gallery in 2/09 and is going to be part of the Tate Triennial, in case you will be going to the UK in 2009.

Have a flat Christmas

2008-12-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

We picked up a few editioned Christmas trees at the ARTWARE booth at pulse. For $100 you can get an artist designed sticker that you put on your wall (and peel off). We liked the Minter and the Tomasellis the best.

Jody

Martin Parr at the Wolfsonian

2008-12-06T10:29:00.000-05:00

Last night as part of a benefit, several of us had the opportunity to have our portraits taken by Magnum photographer, Martin Parr, at the Wolfsonian in Miami. Martin Parr is a key figure in the world of photography, widely recognized as a brilliant satirist of contemporary life. He is the author of over 30 photography books, including Common Sense, Boring Postcards, and Think of England (the image above right is the cover of that book). His photographs have been collected by museums worldwide, including the Getty, The Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern. Parr was featured in Cruel and Tender, the Tate Modern's major survey of photography in 2003, and a retrospective of his work that opened at the Barbican Art Gallery in London in 2002 continues to tour major museums around the world. His most recent work, Luxury, has focused on the photography the "ostensibly wealthy of the world" and can be seen on his website: http://www.martinparr.com/.

We were expecting him to quickly snap our photos in one shot, but he spent time with each of us, directing our posture and pose ("No smiling!") and taking several shots (as many as 10-15) before he was satisfied with the image. We haven't picked up the prints yet, so we can't tell you how they look.

I first heard of Parr's work when he published his book, The Phone Book, in 2002. The book was comprised of photos from around the world of people talking on their cell phones. Although that book wasn't available on Amazon when I last checked, several other of his books are.

Jumping at Scope

2008-12-04T18:27:00.001-05:00

Who says art collectors are sophisticated? The Scope fair catered to the kid in us, with a bouncy castle for adults. That said, we didn't find much to jump up and down about at Scope today. For the second year in a row however, we all found a lot to like at Art Miami. (More about that to come)

Jody

Rubell Family Collection

2008-12-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

Spent the morning at the Rubell Family Collection. The current exhibition entitled 30 Americans features works by 30 African American artists. A few, including Mickalene Thomas were in attendance. The exhibition included many large scale works including ones by Kara Walker and Kahinde Wiley.

Even breakfast was a work af art (sort-of) incuding piles of bananas. Once again, we bumped into the twins--performance artists from Germany.

Jody

Spotted: Julian Schnabel

2008-12-03T14:45:00.001-05:00

Just brushed by Julian Schnabel browsing at Luhring Augustine booth at Art Basel. We are not very good at taking high quality clandestine photos.

Jody

A Visit to RISD

2008-11-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

We had the opportunity to meet Cade Tompkins of Cade Tompkins Editions at the Editions/Artists' Book Fair in New York in November. We were quite taken with works by Enrique Chagoya and Serena Perrone. Cade has worked with many of the visiting artists at RISD. We were lucky enough to meet up with Cade for a long overdue visit to the RISD Art Museum. In the newly opened Chace Center addition to the museum, we checked out the Dale Chihuly exhibition which featured not only works by the artist, but in a separate exhibition, 9 of his students. The most spectacular portions of the Chihuly exhibition were the oversized installations featuring blown glass images "growing" out of the floor -- in on case looking like giant kelp in an ocean setting.

Cade made sure that we didn't miss the Beth Lipman installation: After You're Gone. Beth also works in glass. The centerpiece of the installation is a large dining table, jammed with clear glass objects which evoke the scene of a baroque still life painting with a variety of food and serving pieces. The installation is at the same time whimsical (which snails crawling up the side of the table) and morose (with dead animals and broken goblets). The walls of the room included glass "wallpaper" -- inspired by wallpaper in one of the historic rooms elsewhere in the museum. Cade explained that Beth also photographs her work and we are looking forward to seeing some of the limited edition photographs.

Overall, the RISD Museum was quite impressive and we know we'll be back to further explore the strong permanent collections (and hopefully make our way into the print room)!

Collect(ive/ions)

2008-11-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

As we are gearing up for Art Basel Miami, I started to think about our collective buying patterns and how much overlap there is in our collections. Although none of us have the same image of an editioned print or photograph (except for benefit prints), we often buy work by the same artists, sometimes even part of the same series. It actually gives some depth to our personal collections, and the collective collection would probably make an interesting show- as much about the art as the social connections. Here is a list of artists that are in the collections of more than one of us (again, benefit prints aren't represented here). (If I left any out, please add them in the comments.)
Christiane Baumgartner
Erik Desmazieres
Lalla Essaydi
Claes Oldenburg
Julian Opie
Judy Pfaff
Stephen Sheffield
Doug and Mike Starn
Kate Sullivan
Kara Walker

InsideOut at the SMFA

2008-11-19T10:07:00.001-05:00

Today is the official opening of the annual art sale at the SMFA, now called "InsideOut." The sale includes works by current students, faculty, alumni, and "affiliated artists" (like Kiki Smith, who was given the Medal Award by the SMFA). Some of us were able to preview the sale a couple times over the past week. Highlights in the sale include photographs by Esteban Pastorino Diaz (priced around $3800). The scenes in these large photographs look like they were made out of toy models, but they are of actual places taken by a camera flying on a kite. At least one of these photos sold during previews and there is a rumor that the MFA might have acquired one. Other things that I noticed missing (i.e., sold) at my second preview were a punched paper piece by Rachel Perry Welty and a painting of elephants by Meryl Blinder, both Boston-based artists. Lalla Essaydi photographs, a fixture at the sale, were $18,000 this year- and selling. In terms of prints, there were some interesting works by Mary Heilmann (who we were advised to buy last year, when her prices were cheaper and before her current show at the New Museum in NYC) and Chagoya, who some of us "discovered" at the Editions Fair in NYC this year. The image shown here is from SMFA advertisements for the sale and is done by recent SMFA grad, Nicole Kita (represented by Rotenberg Gallery in Boston).

You Know You Love Me

2008-11-17T21:30:00.001-05:00

Several of us are serious Gossip Girl fans. On tonight's episode of Gossip Girl (11/17), I noticed a Marilyn Minter painting (a close up of an eye with glittery make up) hanging on Serena's bedroom wall. At first I thought it might have been the painting that sold at Sotheby's Day Sale on 11/12 for $122,500- but that painting was of a closed eye. After doing some research, I think it is the same image as the Marilyn Minter limited edition beach towel by Works on Whatever from 2006- which sold out. It also turns out that the Art Production Fund, which is responsible for the towels, has been curating the art on the Gossip Girl set this season! Some of the towels from 2007 are still available, but the new 2008 towels have been released. This year, there are limited editions by Ruscha, Kilimnik, Pettibon, and Schnabel for $50 each at Target (http://www.target.com/gp/search/187-3817741-8900650?field-keywords=artist+beach+towels&url=index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1). Compared to works on paper by these artists, the towels are not only much, much cheaper- they are also much, much bigger and are machine washable. XOXO.

Suara Welitoff

2008-11-17T11:40:00.000-05:00

One of the great advantages to collecting the works of living artists is that sometimes, if you're lucky, you can spend some one-on-one personal time with them. It's a terrific opporunity and way to watch the growth of the artists, firsthand. This past weekend, the Boston Print Collectors and friends, were able to enjoy a Friday night cocktail reception with Suara Welitoff in attendance. Suara creates stills from video for prints as well as digital videos, this last form of art was unveiled at the home of private collectors. Suara was gracious is talking about her work and seemed to enjoy spending time with young collectors. She is currently represented by the Barbara Krakow Gallery on Newbury Street.

Platemark Design in the Boston Sunday Globe Magazine

2008-11-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

Our own Platemark Design was featured in the Sunday Globe Magazine here. Good tips for designing around your art collection.

Printmaking techniques

2008-11-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

For anyone interested in collecting prints, as I am, taking an introductory class to printmaking materials and methods, as offered by Liz Shepherd, artist and teacher at the SMFA and Mass College of Art, is a fun and interesting way to enhance your passion for them.

For a ½ day, a small group of people were able to participate in making prints from woodcuts, linoleum blocks, copper plates, silkscreen and lithography. We learned that most prints fall into one of five categories: relief, intaglio, planographic, stencil and digital. Attempting on one’s own to be the next Rembrandt gives a lot of meaning to how hard it really is to do his work….it’s a lengthy process to prepare the metal plate and a challenge to sufficiently and artistically engrave the plate. I have much greater appreciation for his work now as a result.

The class is offered in the Cambridge studio of Liz Shepherd, and small, private classes may be scheduled among friends. Definately recommend it!

www.lizshepherd.com

Judith Larsen

2008-11-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

On election night, courtesy of a friend of artist Judith Larsen, several Boston Print Collectors had the good fortune to be able to visit with Judith (along with her artist husband, Peik) in her Cambridge studio. It's an impressive space with lots of wonderful pieces hanging on the walls. Some of us had seen her works at the Colin Rhys Gallery before he left for LA and we wanted to know more about her and her style. In her wonderful, gracious and articulate manner, she provided us with insights about her work and explained her technique; how she projects historical math and science formulas onto photographs of nudes. It is a process she said can be very time consuming, as she is working with live models who she needs to direct into specific poses. She explained that sometimes she needs to take 500 pictures to get one good one. Asked how she decided upon this type of photography, she indicated she was always good in math and science. Well great for us, as we see her as an artist producing gorgeous small, medium and large-scale engaging and captivating prints. She also showed us an incredible video piece. She is currently working on a project for the Sao Paulo biennale.

As Judith explains it: "my work incorporates the figure as an empty vessel or blank slate, which is then infused with a series of images from the history of Art and Science. The projected images examine various organizing systems, including language, mapping and microscopy, as shadowed testimony to an unknown light source. The viewer or audience is invited to look beyond the ‘apparent’ and imagine the implications of these symbolically clad vessels. As the figure and imagery merge, the body begins to shed its epidermal shield and inhabit its own metaphors.This figurative work is as much about stillness as it is about the constant metamorphosis of possibility. It dwells in suspended opposition between the enduring vitality of the flesh and its fragile impermanence."

Her website is: http://www.judithlarsen.com/

Julian Opie, Everyday Art?

2008-11-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

I just recieved a notice from Alan Cristea Gallery about the newly launched Julian Opie Online Shop and I'm torn. Many of the Boston Print Collectors are fans and I've certainly envied the nifty postcards and invitations, designed by Opie and sent to those who collect his work. But putting that same invitation (for a long past event that you weren't invited to anyway) on sale to the public, seems a bit odd. That said, there are many fun items on the site like refrigerator magnets and a flip book, that for only about $15, lets you experience the movement inherent in his installation pieces.

It will be interesting to see the reaction, as merchandising by artists is a slippery slope and sometimes negatively influences critics perception of the "real" art (though Murakami, seems to have made it work financially, if not always critically).

Sara Sze, An Artful Lodger

2008-11-09T22:34:00.000-05:00

Before you throw out today's NY Times, make sure you check out the Design and Living special section. The Artful Lodger piece has photos of several artists in their homes. We're big fans of Sara Sze who had a multi-level sculpture at the MFA Boston in 2002-2004, and who was nice enough to have lunch with the MFA Council Fellows when we were in New York last November. We saw a really interesting sculpture last week at the Editions/Artists' Book fair -- complex cutouts from a pad of writing paper that include several ladders stretching down from the piece. So look closely in the NY Times photo -- that piece is on the wall, just over her shoulder.

Print Market Update

2008-11-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, artnet.com online magazine (which everyone should read at least weekly) had an interesting article on the current print market (11/5/08). The link to the full article is below. Briefly, prices for prints are down at auctions and many lots are going unsold. Reserves and estimates have been really lowered. Collectors are holding out for the best examples of artists' works and are keeping a look out for works that rarely come to auction. Contemporary artists are not selling as well. However, in contrast to auctions, print dealers haven't seemed to have adjusted their prices yet.
http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/ripley/ripley11-5-08.asp
What does this all mean for collectors of contemporary prints buying newly released editions?

Reflections on Culture

2008-11-03T08:59:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, as a part of the Museum Council Fellows trip to New York, we visited several galleries on the Lower East Side. Stephan Stoyanov, the founder and director of LUXE Gallery hosted us for the current exhibition, Black Mirror/Espejo Negro. We were lucky to meet the artist, Pedro Lasch. The exhibition features a series of photograhs, which examine several aspects of another of Lasch's exhibitions by the same name, currently at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke.

The exhibition is a commentary on the relative neglect of pre-Columbian art at museums in the US -- even top museums which have deep holdings. The photographs depict the sculptures at the Nasher which turn their backs to the audience, facing instead, the wall on which hangs black mirror-like rectangles. Upon closer examination, these are not merely black mirrors, but include within images of classic hispanic paintings in pale, ghostly images. The pre-Columbian status exchange glances with the classic paintings, while we look at them both. Finally, we see that in fact we are a part of the art, as we see ourselves in the reflection as well. Lasch's photographs at LUXE are lit such to encourage these reflections, so that the total effect is constantly changing. As a final piece of the installation, Lasch includes a black reflective section in the Gallery's street-level window. Like the others in the exhibition, the work includes a faintly visible image of a historic work. This exterior-facing piece is able to include reflections of the historically hispanic, but now diverse neighborhood.

Editions/Artists' Book Fair

2008-10-31T09:24:00.001-04:00

Attended the opening of the Editions/Artists' Book Fair last night. The name is somewhat misleading. Although they do have books (or more often portfolios) of artist's works, the fair is more a showcase for contemporary prints. In many cases, the print presses themselves are there representing their artists. Many of these print centers like Tamarind Institute, Dieu Donne, and Cad Tompkins invite artists to come in and do special projects.

Last night we had the opportunity to meet the artist, Christiane Baumgartner who produces large scale woodcut prints. Christiane explained to us that she is working with video and transferring the image ultimately to a woodcut -- which she finds interesting because video is one of the most contemporary forms of media, whereas the woodcut is the orginal message of printing. The sort of blurryness of the image and the reference to video remind us of the Suara Welitoff prints and videos we've posted about previously.

Vrrrooom! IFPDA Print Fair Opens

2008-10-30T08:22:00.000-04:00

Stealing a quote from Cliff Ackley, "Vrrroom!". There was no doubt that the IFPDA members were trying to leverage the exhibition Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914-1939currently at the Met and previously at the MFA Boston. At the IFPDA Print Fair which opened last night at the Park Avenue Armory, we spotted two entire booths dedicated exclusively to these British Modernest style prints, with several other booths also including a few prints by Cyril Power, Paul Nash, David Bombert, C.R.W. Nevinson and Sybil Andrews.

This was our first time at the opening night preview. It is definitely a much less crowded time to visit. There is a sliding scale of ticket prices, with the priciest tickets offering earliest access. But even at 7:30, the latest entry time, there was still plenty of opportunity to talk to dealers. Despite economic fears, we did see several red dots early in the evening.

Stay tuned for more posts as we return to the fair. See you tonight at the opening of the Editions/Artists' Book Fair!

Jonathan Monk

2008-10-28T20:44:00.000-04:00

I like Jonathan Monk. Period.

He is a young British artist working in Berlin, who creates conceptual works that play off classic conceptual works. If a concept can be art, what about a concept about a concept? He has turned artists books by Sol Lewitt into movies and made a few artists books poking fun at the books of Ed Ruscha. While it may all seem like a joke, he is in the collection of MOMA and had his own show at the ICA in London. He is represented by Yvon Lambert (http://www.yvon-lambert.com/).

He also does prints. Over the last 10 years has been creating prints that are of the image of the wrapper in which the blank paper was sold (shown here above). He has also done a series of "meetings" that are limited edition text pieces that announce a specific date and time at a specific location, written in the native language of location- sort of like invitations. I have 3 of his meeting editions, including one to meet at sunrise in Luxor, Egypt (in Arabic) and, on the reverse side, to meet at sunset at Luxor in Las Vegas (in English). I have been trying to collect his prints and artist books in depth.

Most recently, he has created a benefit edition for Printed Matter for this year's NY Art Book Fair. The print is white with a Braille transcipt of Monk talking about making the piece. It is only $20 and can be purchased through Printed Matter (http://www.printedmatter.org/).

Edward Burtynsky

2008-10-27T17:57:00.000-04:00

(left to right: two Burtynsky's and a McLean)

A recent trip to Toronto allowed for a pleasant morning in the Mira Godard Gallery in the fashionable Yorkville district. The goal of the visit to the gallery was to view and learn more about Edward Burtynsky, a Toronto-born photographer. The Mira Godard Gallery was first to represent him in his early days, in the 1960’s. It was not clear for what reason, but apparently, Burtynsky has left the Godard Gallery, and although they seem to have swallowed that bitter pill, they still have some amazing large scale photographs for sale, for USD $19,000! Apparently, Burtynsky style is to step up to an imaginary line of life and subject matter to capture a moment in time. The photographs we saw represent and focus on the ideas of deconstruction, recycling and living life in the midst of both. For the 3 Gorges Dam piece, snapshop depicts the Chinese workers who were paid very little to disassemble their own homes, to pile the bricks neatly into organized piles, to retrieve and save the rebar metal ropes which held the structures together again for future use while at the same time people are continuing to live in the village, hanging their laundry out in the dirty air and trying to get by in the middle of this controversial and major re-location project of 1,000’s of people. For the Shipbreaking piece, Bangladesh workers were paid about $.10/day to disassemble an aging, out-of-commission ship and to recycle the metal for scrap. You see workers, obviously poor, in bare feet or flimsy sneakers, walking over the dangerous area with metal on the ground – they too, are going to melt and recycle the ship’s metal for more rebar for a future-use project. While the images are so overwhelmingly industrial and dirty they are both ‘green’ recycling projects on an awesome scale. Close inspection of both really puts you at the line of viewing life and being viewed by it.

As we were leaving, we noticed another photographer: Melville McLean, based out of Maine. His work is amazing, even a little overwhelming. Landscapes are not a favorite of ours, but the quality of the photos is extremely eye catching and almost surreal looking, as the technique he uses is the layering of transparencies over each other (each focuses on a particular aspect, element or color) to bring out the most heightened color and vividness possible for the works he makes. Stones have a luminescent tonality, not because of the light of day, but because of the technique. He also focuses on nature/nurture, for example in Rocks, Plants, Sea and Fog 2007, below, the centuries old rock formations are the life line of the very healthy and living seaweed attached and living on it. We are wondering if he will be the next Edward Burtynsky – so someone to keep an eye on, especially with his large scale works priced at a third of Burtynsky’s. A trip to Toronto to the Gallery could be a beneficial and fun excursion.
The Mira Godard Gallery is located at 22 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto. http://www.godardgallery.com/.

Artcetera 2008

2008-10-24T14:56:00.000-04:00

For those who won't be at the IFPDA Print Fair in NYC on November 1st, that Saturday AIDS Action in Boston is presenting Artcetera 2008. The live and silent auctions at this event can be a good place to see and buy art made in Boston and beyond- sometimes with really good deals. Michael Mazur and Judith Larsen (both mentioned in this blog) have prints in the auctions. There is also a Laura McPhee benefit print (shown here) for Patrons at the $2,500 level and above. To view the available artwork and purchase tickets, click on the link below.

http://www.aac.org/site/PageServer?pagename=events_artcetera

2008-10-23T08:42:00.000-04:00

Interesting statistics on year over year price changes in the contemporary art market just came out (link below). It's only through mid-year so it doesn't include the most recent data. Amazing how many Chinese works are listed.

Artprice and the Fiac publish an exclusive report on the 2007/2008 contemporary art market, in partnership with Axa Art http://web.artprice.com/AMI/AMI.aspx?id=NjQ1NTM3MDAwNTk4Njk=

Michael Mazur claims "I'm definitely not a purist"

2008-10-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

Michael Mazur was a guest this evening of the MFA's Print and Drawing Club. Michael took the group of about 25 of us through a variety of print-making processes that he uses. He showed proofs along the way to making several prints. For one of the prints in his Dante's Inferno series, he had one of the original mylars that was used to make the metal plate, the copper plate itself, which had been reworked several times (but before the steel electroplated layer was added). For that work he also share a working proof, the B.A.T. (Bon a Tirer -- meaning "good to pull"), and final edition print.

He also walked us through a series of 5 proofs starting with the first flat produced with a "rainbow roll" (a method where one or more colors are literally rolled on the paper to create a colored stripe), new images were superimposed in additional colors and then finally a wood block was used to print a wood-grained texture onto the final image.

In another interesting example of using different printing techniques, Michael showed us to very different prints of the same image. One was made as an etching and the other produced with an inkjet printer. "No one should be frightened by injet prints" he advocates. After the lecture, I shared my skepticism of injet prints with Michael. Think about the image - don't worry about the process he said.

In Boston, you can find Michaels work at Barbara Krakow Gallery.

Prints Only?

2008-10-21T15:27:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been struggling with the concept of "focus" in a collection. I started out collecting artist books and prints, but have found it difficult to stick with one medium or even a theme. In the last year or so, I have been buying drawings, sculpture, and some excellent work that defies categorization, such as rising art star, Brian Glaser's peice entitled, "I will leave less than this behind," made out of over 5,000 found cigarette butts.

In a kind of organic process, I think a focus has been slowly evolving out of my art purchases- artists in the early phase of their careers. It has been really fun to buy without a safety net, following my own instincts and tastes. In fact, some of my biggest art buying regrets have been not following those instincts and not buying Tara Donovan and Judith Larsen years ago.

Rachel Whiteread at MFA, Boston

2008-10-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

When I lived in NYC in 1999, I would make special trips to SoHo just to see Rachel Whiteread's Watertower piece. It is a clear resin cast of the inside of one of the ubiquitous watertowers in Manhattan, installed on a watertower base on the top of a building. Amidst all of the bustle and commotion of the street below, it was like a secret oasis of calm, still water- frozen. It could also be quite spectacular when hit by the sun.
Last week, Rachel Whiteread opened a show at the MFA, Boston and gave two lectures about her work. Although her work looks very simple, it is deceptively thoughtful and emotional. Everyone needs to go see her installation, Village, as soon as possible. It is an arrangement of hand-made dollhouses that she has been collecting over the last 20 years. The room is dark and each dollhouse is lit from within, resembling a village at night. You might at first associate to a Christmas display in some shop, but when you stand there in the dark and reflect on the fact that each house was made by an individual- the piece represents the lives of possibly hundreds of people- it can give you goosebumps.

Bruce Yonemoto gets Ironic at MassArt

2008-10-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

We first discovered Bruce Yonemoto at Art Miami last December. His striking portraits of Asian-American men dressed in Civil War costumes posed in classic poses of the era. (Bruce is represented by Alexander Gray Associates in New York)

Having attended the Mass College of Art's benefit auction the past few years, we are on their mailing list and were surprised to recieve an inviation to their visiting artist speaker series -- which featured out favorite Yonemoto photograph as the main image!

We attended the lecture on Wednesday. Hey, this is a great opportunity! We were expecting crowds, but discovered about 25 attendees -- almost entirely students. Bruce spoke for just over an hour and we discovered that he is first and foremost a video and installation artist. Some of his early works consider the materiality of the film screen itself. He has art created out of the material used to make movie theater screens. He also uses a variety of portable movie screens to create a layering effect upon which a movie is shown. Another issue that Bruce examines is the passage of time. He had an interesting piece where he projected a video up into a glass of water. Inside the glass is a sugar cube upon which you can see the video. Of course, as you watch the video, the sugar cube is disolving, becoming increasingly noticable.

I would say that the most common theme throughout Bruce's work is irony. Bruce creates a "screen" made of chopsticks, made supposedly from trees from the rainforest -- upon which he projects images of the rainforest. In another installation, he uses globes, inside which he projects the movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

Back to his Civil War series, Bruce lives near a major costume company in California. He rented Civil War costumes which thought might have been used in the Movie "Birth of a Nation" -- a film which is considered to have re-started the KKK. Using costumes which may have been involved in such a racially controversial movie, Bruce places non-white models. Another interesting irony that Bruce points out is how the entire racial discussion around the Civil war is around black and white -- leaving no room for any discussion of other races. In fact, Yonemoto states, that Asian-Americans fought in the Civil War and there is nearly no discussion of this in history books. Beyond the political underpinnings, the photos are quite striking. Although the costumes and poses are quite traditional, your eye is somewhat jarred because it is not expecting to see the Asian-American men in the Civil War costumes, nor are you expecting the vivid color. The strong background colors together with the patterns of the painted floor clothes contribute to a strong graffic impact.

Suara Welitoff at Barbara Krakow

2008-10-12T13:22:00.001-04:00

On October 2, the Barbara Krakow Gallery held a special event for those of us who had supported the MFA Counsel’s Summer P(art)y by purchasing the benefit by Suara Welitoff. Suara, who we had a chance to see last year at Alston Skirt Gallery, has been picked up by Barbara Krakow. We had the opportunity to hear from Suara and view a dozen of her video works. Her

works include videos that she shot herself, as well as works based off of found footage. Her works were included in the MFA’s exhibition War and Discontent in 2007. In fact, Suara’s works make up 3 out of the 6 video works in the MFA’s contemporary collection. One of the MFA works, “Say Yes” was a crowd favorite. Some of her works are entirely silent. Several of these which include war or military images are especially eerie without sound. Suara has paired others, including “Tell Me” with music which in some cases makes them seem overly sentimental. Suara explained that she doesn’t start out with a plan for including or excluding sound or music, but rather experiments with several options to determine if the audio adds to the composition. Another crowd favorite was Lasts Longer, 2008, which although only 1 minute 46 seconds, includes a complexity of motion and design which makes it feel substantially longer. The scene -- a photographer shooting photos of a model-like women invokes a feeling of being in Warhol's Factory. Not surprisingly, Wharhol is one of Suara's inspirations

Thanks to Suara, William Stover and the Barbara Krakow gallery for this amazing opportunity.

Wall Street Journal Discusses Handmade Paper Works

2008-10-04T18:48:00.000-04:00

I got an email from Dieu Donné today with a link to an article in Friday's Wall Street Journal (Dieu Donné is a non-profit non-profit artist workspace dedicated to the creation, promotion, and preservation of contemporary art in the hand papermaking process.) Stay tuned for more about Dieu Donné in a later post.

The article was interesting from several perspectives. It featured some nifty manipulated paper pulp works by Chuck Close (we're big fans) Louise Bourgeois, Ellsworth Kelly and Kiki Smith. The article discussed artists' works on handmade paper as a more affordable way to acquire unique or semi-unique pieces by top artists. I was surprised though that the article suggested that some critics consider these paper works to be "crafts". (And Chuck Close was quoted as saying that artists refer to the term as "the C word".)

Print Week in New York

2008-10-03T09:11:00.000-04:00

Print week is coming up in New York. You'll hear a lot about the two major fairs: IFPDA which has it's opening party on Wednesday, October 29. The Editions/Artists' Book fair opening is the following night. I just read that on the same night, Art on Paper magazine is having a party to kick off their annual print issue -- which includes their choice for the top new print editions.

Since it is near the EAB fair at the Tunnel, we should be able to knock them both off that night.

5TH ANNUAL NEW PRINTS REVIEW ISSUE RELEASE PARTY!

artonpaper magazine and the
International Print Center New York
invite you to the unveiling of this year's
New Prints Review issue

Be the first to see artonpaper's selection of the best editions of 2008 on Thursday, October 30th, from 8 to 10 pm

The party will be held at IPCNY
526 West 26th Street #824

Boston Common Magazine includes the MFA Summer Party

2008-10-02T17:30:00.000-04:00

Lookout for the Late Fall issue of Boston Common magazine. Several great photos from the MFA's Summer Party (including a shot of one of the BostonPrintCollectors).

When I was checking out the online edition (still Early Fall edition photos), I discovered that the publisher, Niche Media, also puts out a special Art Basel Miami Beach edition. Web site currently links to the main ABMB website (http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/ca/cc/ss/ ), but I'll be checking back before I head down to Miami.

The Fall Art Season is in Full Swing

2008-09-29T21:37:00.000-04:00

After a brief experiment last year, we've decided to get this blog back off the ground. Fall brings the start of many art-related activities, so now seemed like a good time. The MFA Museum Council kicked off its season with Art and Empires: Treasures from Assyria on September 20th. As usual, we had quite the crowd for cocktails, a lecture from the curator, a private viewing and dinner.

That same weekend, South End Open Studios featured over 200 artists. Before the event, I had been asked for advice about the best strategy. Hard to say. This year I optimized around convenience since I was bringing my parents for the first time. We focused on 450 Harrision, which had around 75 studios (and an elevator). I haven't been to South End Open Studios in a couple of years and I was impressed with the overall quality of the art (high) and prices (affordable). With the broad range of media and styles, there was something for everyone.

Sperandio and Grennan

2007-12-29T14:10:00.000-05:00

I just bought a signed copy of the book, Kartoon Kings, at the Carnegie Art Museum in Pittsburgh. "Kartoon Kings" is the name of the collaboration between two artists, Christopher Sperandio and Simon Grennan, who create site specific-comic books as art.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston commissioned their first work for a musuem in 1998. They created a comic book based on real Bostonians' brushes with celebrity entitled, Dirt: The Essence of Celebrity. Malcolm Rogers, the Director of the MFA, is featured in the comic. Dirt is now part of the permanent collection of the MFA and is an affordable way to add something that the MFA owns to your own collection.

Three years ago, I started collecting their comic books. Although the comics are usually distributed at the site of the project for free or at the cost of a standard comic book, they can also be purchased from time to time at Printed Matter in NYC.
http://www.printedmatter.org/

More information about Kartoon Kings can be found on their website:
http://www.kartoonkings.com/

Corporate Art Collections

2007-12-27T15:52:00.000-05:00

It is always interesting to see what experienced collectors are buying. Likewise, many corporations have deep pockets and employee experienced curators to help them build their collections. Deutsche Bank has a leading collection and focuses on emerging artists.

See this article
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=ankPqintmGO0&refer=germany
And the link to their website
http://www.deutsche-bank-art.com/new/en/

First Post

2007-12-19T12:47:00.000-05:00

This blog will chronicle the research, travels and collecting interests of a group of avid print collectors.