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

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

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

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

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

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

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.