What was good for the Medicis is good for banks

Global companies with an eye on the bigger picture invest in contemporary creations.  Just beyond the turnstiles of Deutsche Bank’s London reception sits a large object resembling several huge dollops of creamy Plasticine. As the viewer comes close, it turns out to be a sculpture made entirely of dice. “Secretions” (1998) by British artist Tony […]

Theaster Gate’s Ambitious New Chicago Arts Centre

In October 2012, Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates bought a 70,000-square-foot building from the City of Chicago. Constructed in 1923, the building was previously Stony Island Trust & Savings Bank, located between Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing and South Shore neighborhoods. The city was ready to demolish it; Gates couldn’t let it go. The cost for this fixer-upper, […]

Instagram Takes on Growing Role in the Art Market

Anyone in the art market who was not already paying attention to the social media platform Instagram had to sit up and take notice in April after the actor Pierce Brosnan visited the showroom of Phillips auction house in London. Mr. Brosnan snapped a selfie in front of a work he admired: the “Lockheed Lounge,” […]

James Lee Byars “The Figure of Death and The Moon Column” at Micheal Werner Gallery, New York and “The Diamond Floor” at Micheal Werner Gallery, London

Throughout his prolific career Byars pursued with tireless curiosity his life-long obsessions with ideal form and a personalized notion of “perfect”. Death and the eternal are related concepts Byars explored in several important performances and sculptures. These recurrent themes are given particularly poignant expression in the works on view at Michael Werner. The Figure of […]

An Introduction to Process Art (Or, How Minimalism Went From Pretty to Gritty)

The common refrain, “It’s the journey, not the destination,” could make a perfect catchphrase for Process Art. A movement that arose in the 1960s and ’70s and has since expanded in definition to describe a general philosophical approach to making art, Process Art places its emphasis on the process and act of artistic creation rather than the […]

100 Antony Gormley Bodies Take Over Fort in Florence

Brunelleschi’s Dome, the architectural marvel that is in Florence’s Piazza del Duomo, may be one of the most breathtaking sights you’ll ever encounter. Staging an art exhibition that can successfully compete with a view of that iconic building is a tall order, but Antony Gormley‘s current show, “Human” is up to the challenge. Perched on a hill overlooking […]

8 Secrets to Larry Gagosian’s Success Revealed

Larry Gagosian has built a veritable art sales empire. From humble beginnings as a poster salesman in 1970s Los Angeles, Gagosian has climbed his way to the top. He currently operates 15 spaces in New York, London, Los Angeles, Rome, Athens, Hong Kong, Paris, and Geneva, where he represents some of the biggest names in contemporary […]

At Seattle’s First Art Fair, Dealers Chase Elusive Tech Money

BAC’s last posting re the Seattle Art Fair … Seattle has suffered an inferiority complex and craved a place at the international — or even national — art world table for as long as I’ve been here, and both Seattle Art Fair and Out of Sight stepped up, with remarkable esprit, to finally do something […]

Why do so Many Art Galleries Lose Money?

The art business is booming, but many galleries are barely getting by. One German expert thinks he knows the answers. On Tuesday, the highly respected Wallspace gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood announced it would close its doors permanently on Aug. 7. The lease was up, and “it necessitated a reevaluation,” said Jane Hait, who co-founded the space with Janine […]

The Seattle Art Fair Arrives, with Dealers on the Hunt for Tech Money

A giant beach ball, a pink ice cream truck, and a winding line of people waiting to see art are not sights that people usually associate with perennially gray Seattle. But on Thursday night, most of the 4,000 people who visited the opening night of the inaugural Seattle Art Fair got to experience all three. […]

Australian gambling millionaire acquires acclaimed oil installation

Richard Wilson’s 20:50 work will leave the Saatchi Gallery in London, and head for David Walsh’s museum in Tasmania—but may go on a world tour first. The Australian collector David Walsh has bought the oil installation 20:50 by the UK sculptor Richard Wilson, one of the most talked about art interventions of the past 25 […]

7 Reasons Why the Seattle Art Fair Is Important for the Art World

Amid the seemingly endless schedule of international art fairs that take place around the world each year, all art world eyes will be on Seattle this week, where the inaugural Seattle Art Fair, opens on Thursday July 30 and runs through August 2. Previous attempts at organizing fairs here have never really gotten off the […]

7 Reasons to Celebrate Marcel Duchamp on His Birthday

Marcel Duchamp was a prankster, a rabble-rouser, and an envelope pusher. Over a century after he plunged a bicycle wheel into a four-legged stool, artists are still paying homage to his life and work. The artist, who passed away in 1968, always had a sense of humor about his work and ensured that no one could […]

Yoko Ono’s Market Is A Mystery Despite Her Superstar Art World Status

After 40 years of neglect from critics and abuse from Beatles fans, Yoko Ono, over the past decade, has risen to an almost untouchable position in the art world. In her 2000 show at New York’s Japan Society, Michael Kimmelman writing for the New York Times called her “a mischievous, wry conceptual artist with a […]

Europe’s Top 55 Galleries You Need To Know—Part 2

Artnet News Part Two of the top 55 European Galleries is below, including Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the UK.   Pictured is Nicholas Logsdail, Founder and Director of London’s Lisson Gallery, representing a wide range of significant conceptual artists including: Marina Abramović, Ai Weiwei, Allora & Calzadilla, Art & Language, Cory Arcangel, Broomberg […]

Europe’s Top 55 Galleries You Need To Know—Part 1

According to Artnet News, Part One of the top 55 European galleries is below: Europe’s cities offer a wealth of contemporary art galleries, making the continent an important destination for art lovers across the world. Those looking to admire both established and leading artists, as well as seek out new and emerging talent, flock to Europe’s top […]

Yvon Lambert Moved to Tears At Inauguration of Collection Lambert Museum in Avignon

It was a visibly emotional event for veteran art dealer Yvon Lambert. On July 10, Lambert celebrated the long-awaited inauguration of the newly-expanded space of the Collection Lambert in Avignon with high-profile guests and politicians in attendance, including French culture minister Fleur Pellerin. The permanent hanging of Lambert’s contemporary art collection in the newly-acquired Hôtel de […]

Artist Imi Knoebel: ‘If you want to stay alive, you have to do something radical’

He kickstarted German punk, went on a mission to rescue Joseph Beuys and escaped the eastern bloc pursued by guard dogs. In a rare interview, one of Germany’s leading artists relives his extraordinary adventures. Imi Knoebel is surrounded by so many colours he has lost count. “I have 600, maybe 700,” he says. They hang […]

Art Basel Hires Armory Show Director to Run Its Miami Fair

Art Basel is appointing Noah Horowitz, currently the executive director of theArmory Show in New York, to be its new director of the Americas, running Art Basel Miami Beach. Mr. Horowitz’s job will be to oversee and lead the development of Art Basel’s outpost in the United States, which takes place each December. He will […]

Why Are Gagosian, Pace, and Zwirner Signing On for the Seattle Art Fair?

A triumvirate of the world’s biggest galleries—Gagosian, Pace, and David Zwirner—is headed to the Pacific Northwest this month for the debut Seattle Art Fair. Debut fairs are not always expected to be big sales events, dealers often say, but rather opportunities to start to build relationships with new clients. Goff’s expectations are higher than that. […]