While many folks think modern and contemporary art — or at least the prices paid for it — is ridiculous, there are some artists who hope that you will laugh along with the absurdity and irony implied by their work. Humor was a prominent trait in the work of the Dadaist, Surrealists, Pop Art artists, and Fluxists, and it’s still prevalent in the work of the pluralist practitioners active today. The New York exhibition Knock Knock: Who’s There? That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, on view at the Upper East Side’s Armand Bartos Fine Art through April 9 and Chelsea’s Fred Torres Collaborations through April 24, assembles a playful mix of historical and contemporary artworks, which are certain to leave you in stitches.
Earlier this month, Gagosian Gallery London debuted Crash, a group exhibition that includes pieces from Francis Bacon, Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst, and Andy Warhol, among others. It takes its title — and theme — from the controversial auto-accidents-are-sexy novel by J.G. Ballard. “Crash is an autobiographical novel in the sense that it is about my inner life, my imaginative life,” the British writer, who died last spring, once explained. “It is true to that interior life, not the life I have actually lived.”
Those who have seen David Cronenberg’s 1996 film adaptation of the book know just how deeply disturbing — and oddly compelling — the Ballardian point of view can be.
During its 30 years in business, well-known artists and cultural heavyweights designed over 65 menu covers for New York City restaurant Chanterelle. Now owners David and Karen Waltuck have put dozens of menus from their archives up for sale to help pay off creditors. Visit their website to scoop up one by Cy Twombly for $3,000; Robert Rauschenberg for $1,000; and Marcel Marceau for $400. But hurry — two by Kiki Smith have already sold for $3,000 a pop.
View some arty menus — including a few that are really cool, but not for sale — after the jump.
Further fanning the flames of anticipation surrounding their recently-bumped-up forthcoming album, Spoon has released the cover art for Transference, which is due out January 19, 2010 in the US. Finally. The photograph itself is one from 1970 taken in Mississippi by renowned photographer William Eggleston, a photographer accustomed to having his work featured on an album cover or two. It was originally published in Eggleston’s Guide back in 1976.
It’s lovely and it makes us a bit nostalgic for other great album art that came out of the gallery world as opposed to a record company’s art department.
As Andy Warhol famously declared, “Good business is the best art.” Taking Warhol and his maxim as its point of departure, Pop Life: Art in a Material World presents a selection of international artists who have followed in his footsteps. Organized by London’s Tate Modern and co-curated by Artforum editor-at-large Jack Bankowsky, François Pinault Collection curator Alison Gingeras, and Tate Modern curator Catherine Wood, Pop Life explores the relationship between art, commerce, and celebrity in the post-Pop era.
1. Richard Prince’s Spiritual America, a nude portrait of a then 10-year-old Brooke Shields, has been pulled from a show scheduled to open tomorrow at the Tate Modern after the museum had a visit from the obscene publications unit of the Metropolitan police. [via The Guardian]
2. Contrary to previous reports, Comcast is not in talks to buy NBC-Universal from General Electric. This is good news for Jack Donaghy. [via Philly.com]
3. Paramount has shifted the release date of Up in the Air, hopefully avoiding a George Clooney vs. George Clooney showdown at the box office. [via THR]
4. Flavor Flav — who dropped out in the 10th grade — is shopping around a new reality series that would send him back to high school to receive his diploma. [via THR]
5. Download “Scoff,” an unreleased Nirvana song from Sub Pop’s upcoming Bleach reissue. [via Pitchfork]
When it comes to the business of selling art, no one rivals Gagosian Gallery. The gallery boasts five beautifully designed New York locations; two well-appointed London spaces; a stylish Beverly Hills gallery, which will soon be expanded; galleries in Athens and Rome; and offices in Hong Kong and La Jolla, California. And, lately, rumors have been flying about possible future spaces in Paris and Geneva. While most museums, and many galleries, are cutting staffs and expenses, Gagosian’s empire is growing. Read More »
As Lance Armstrong cycled toward the finish in the Tour de France, his foundation, in conjunction with Nike, mounted a benefit art exhibition, STAGES, to engage the creative community in the fight against cancer. Taking place at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, one of Paris’ premiere art venues, STAGES — whose title references both the daily parts of the race and the phases of cancer — offers a lively group of artworks by 20 established and emerging artists.
Employing watercolor, heavy oils, and spray paint, LA-based artist Cole Sternberg blends mediums to produce visually striking works. Paint often obscures text in his compositions, which at first glance may appear messy, but are in fact laid out to convey detailed narratives, be it a representation of Bob Dylan’s Masters of War, an infamous Hunter S. Thompson episode or a particularly unforgettable break-up.
On a recent Saturday, Sternberg arrived at Culver City’s Kinsey/DesForges gallery riled-up from an earlier meeting with Los Angeles Art Association’s board where the debate got heated over how to best help the city’s emerging artists. After walking Flavorpill’s Jane McCarthy through his current exhibition, Sternberg chatted about celebrity culture, spray paint, and how he’d like to get his hands on a Monet (for the second time). Read More »
The knowledge that François Pinault — owner of Christie’s, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Puma, Chateau-Latour, and other major brands — is one of the richest men in the world doesn’t make his art collection any better than the next guy with deep pockets; but the fact that he has impeccable taste in art and design certainly makes his collection, and the buildings that house it, stand out. Read More »
