- How a Restored da Vinci Became the Most Expensive Artwork EverWhat does it really take to create a $450 million painting from Leonardo “Dough” Vinci? “Salvator Mundi,” the most expensive painting ever sold at auction, was hammered… Continue reading How a Restored da Vinci Became the Most Expensive Artwork Ever
- The Art World’s Biggest Lie: A Dealer Apologizes for Collecting as InvestingThe last several years have brought nosebleed prices for works of art, auction records that seem to be broken almost as soon as they are made. With endless media coverage of $100… Continue reading The Art World’s Biggest Lie: A Dealer Apologizes for Collecting as Investing
- Why I’m Worried About the Art World: Adam Lindemann on the Sizzle vs. the SteakAs the year begins, I’m troubled, worried, confused and concerned about the art world: Are we treading on thin ice, or can this bull market just charge along for over a decade?… Continue reading Why I’m Worried About the Art World: Adam Lindemann on the Sizzle vs. the Steak
- The Art World’s Instant Grammification – Taking the bull(#@!%) by the hornsYou might have heard that Instagram has taken over the art world. Yes, I’m on it, and I follow several people, not because I want to, but because I feel… Continue reading The Art World’s Instant Grammification – Taking the bull(#@!%) by the horns
- One for the Flippers: Buy Now! Liquidate! I’d SellYouLater, but It’s Already Too LateSellYouLater.com is the best art website to come along in some time. Since starting in early February, it has been rebranded as ArtRank.com, but the old name seems more appropriate. They… Continue reading One for the Flippers: Buy Now! Liquidate! I’d SellYouLater, but It’s Already Too Late
- Barbarians at Sotheby’s Gate?: Activist Investor Daniel Loeb Is Shaking Up the Centuries-Old Auction HouseLast week, Daniel Loeb’s activist hedge fund, Third Point Partners, which weighs in at a hefty $15 billion, increased to 9.3 percent its share in Sotheby’s (aka BID) stock. Another… Continue reading Barbarians at Sotheby’s Gate?: Activist Investor Daniel Loeb Is Shaking Up the Centuries-Old Auction House
- Art’s Celebrity Obsession: How Many Movie Stars Does It Take to Make a Basquiat Record?What’s the hottest thing in the art world today? Forget the artists and the famous dealers. Today, it’s the celebrities. The art world has officially joined the rest of… Continue reading Art’s Celebrity Obsession: How Many Movie Stars Does It Take to Make a Basquiat Record?
- Small Time: Revisiting Jeff Koons vs. Paul McCarthyIs bigger art always better art? Certainly in the age of Instagram, anything monumental is hard to discredit; people are easily impressed and love to obsess over questions like “How… Continue reading Small Time: Revisiting Jeff Koons vs. Paul McCarthy
- La Serenissima’s Circus of Art: Milla Jovovich in a Box Took the Tiramisù, but Manet Beat the BiennaleThe opening of the 55th Venice Biennale two weeks ago was the third leg of a month-and-a-half-long art marathon that started with the young and fun Frieze New York in… Continue reading La Serenissima’s Circus of Art: Milla Jovovich in a Box Took the Tiramisù, but Manet Beat the Biennale
- Inside Out, Round and Round…: From Out-of-Whack Values to Artist Defections, This Art World Is Looking Topsy-TurvyHey, do you feel like the art world is upside down? In her disco standard “Upside Down,” Diana Ross sings about how her boyfriend is unfaithful, but she looks the… Continue reading Inside Out, Round and Round…: From Out-of-Whack Values to Artist Defections, This Art World Is Looking Topsy-Turvy
- The Art World Game Changers of 2012Bogie knew, “you must remember this …” Here are a few art world surprises to remember, and some we’d rather forget. The Chelsea Flood: Who could ever have… Continue reading The Art World Game Changers of 2012
- He’s Baaack! Adam Lindemann Visits Art Basel Miami Beach and Its SatellitesTo boldly go where I have never collected before As in years past, my trepidations about Art Basel Miami Beach began days before my departure. This time it started… Continue reading He’s Baaack! Adam Lindemann Visits Art Basel Miami Beach and Its Satellites
- Writing About Not Writing About the Art MarketNOT PUBLISHED BY THE NEW YORK OBSERVER Auction season is once again upon us, time to write about the weighty volume of art for sale, and wonder what… Continue reading Writing About Not Writing About the Art Market
- Sneak Peek at my catalogue essay for Richard Phillips’s recent show at Gagosian 24th StreetCharm, Beauty and Creativity, The Three Graces of Richard Phillips Corneille peint les hommes comme ils devraient être, Racine les peint tels qu’ils sont. “Corneille depicts man… Continue reading Sneak Peek at my catalogue essay for Richard Phillips’s recent show at Gagosian 24th Street
- Frieze Has the Art Fair Mastered: The British Brand Hits a Home Run With a New Event for Older ArtLast week, London hosted three major art fairs and several smaller and younger ones, enough to make any sane person wonder: have we reached the point of art fair overkill?… Continue reading Frieze Has the Art Fair Mastered: The British Brand Hits a Home Run With a New Event for Older Art
- An improbable dyad of Peter CoffinsThe Catalog essay for Peter Coffin’s show, A, E, I, O, U at Venus Over Manhattan This past summer a fifteen-foot Franz West sculpture appeared on the bluffs in… Continue reading An improbable dyad of Peter Coffins
- Mmm, Meh, Not So Good: The Met’s ‘Regarding Warhol’ May Help Pry Open a Can of Patron DollarsThe Metropolitan Museum’s “Regarding Warhol” exhibition groups artworks by 60 artists around works by Andy Warhol, as an homage to his far-reaching influence in the art world. The result is… Continue reading Mmm, Meh, Not So Good: The Met’s ‘Regarding Warhol’ May Help Pry Open a Can of Patron Dollars
- Deitch-quake in Los Angeles: Jeffrey Deitch Has Become a Lightning Rod for Criticism of MOCA but Is the Former Dealer Really to Blame?In early 2010, when the news broke that a respected art dealer, Jeffrey Deitch, had been named director of the financially struggling Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the museum’s… Continue reading Deitch-quake in Los Angeles: Jeffrey Deitch Has Become a Lightning Rod for Criticism of MOCA but Is the Former Dealer Really to Blame?
- How Paola Pivi Rolls: Her Spinning Airplane Is the Most Daring Public Artwork New York Has Seen in YearsNew York is, famously, a city whose seen-it-all citizens are above doing double takes when celebrities walk by. Neither, as it turns out, do some of them raise an eyebrow… Continue reading How Paola Pivi Rolls: Her Spinning Airplane Is the Most Daring Public Artwork New York Has Seen in Years
- Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Journalists Brood on an Art Market CrashOn the eve of this summer’s annual Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland, I’ve noted that some art writers have eagerly predicted the demise of the so-called “art bubble”; a… Continue reading Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble: Journalists Brood on an Art Market Crash
- Karen Kilimnik’s Teenage DreamI’ve always favored macho art, art that packs a solid dose of testosterone. My art collecting alter ego, whom I’ve dubbed Duc Jean des Esseintes, and who has curated the… Continue reading Karen Kilimnik’s Teenage Dream
- Who Is Alex Israel, and Why Should I Care?Alex Israel is a youngish L.A. artist whose pastel-color panel paintings look like the sets of ’80s porn flicks; they’ve been selling like hotcakes at chic galleries in Paris and… Continue reading Who Is Alex Israel, and Why Should I Care?
- Is It the Art or Is It the Hype?“Is it the art or is it the hype?” I’ve been asked this question so many times it makes me ill. It always comes from those who don’t look at… Continue reading Is It the Art or Is It the Hype?
- All Hail Cindy Sherman! Once Again, Unanimity Rules Among New York’s Longtime CriticsI will never cease to be amazed by how much consensus I find among New York’s leading art critics as they all hail and salute the same things, or for… Continue reading All Hail Cindy Sherman! Once Again, Unanimity Rules Among New York’s Longtime Critics
- Sushi in the Desert: Takashi Murakami Brings His ‘Ego’ to QatarIt was a long 15-hour flight to Doha, Qatar, to see Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s latest mega show. Why would I bother flying all the way around the world to… Continue reading Sushi in the Desert: Takashi Murakami Brings His ‘Ego’ to Qatar
- A Real Cut-Up: Bjarne Melgaard’s Novella Is Shocking, Gory, Thought-Provoking and HilariousOften, you just can’t put a book down, because you can’t escape the cheap thrill of wanting to know what happens next. As you plunge into Alarma! BOYFRIENDS, the Norwegian… Continue reading A Real Cut-Up: Bjarne Melgaard’s Novella Is Shocking, Gory, Thought-Provoking and Hilarious
- Put Me in the Zoo: Thinking about Damien Hirst, as a Bedtime StoryPut Me in the Zoo is a famous children’s book by Robert Lopshire, originally released in 1960 on Dr. Seuss’s publishing imprint. It tells the story of a spotted leopard… Continue reading Put Me in the Zoo: Thinking about Damien Hirst, as a Bedtime Story
- The End of the Art World in 2012Let’s humor the doomsday prophets: what if the art world ends in 2012? The web has been rife with Mayan predictions of a 2012 doomsday on Dec. 21. This… Continue reading The End of the Art World in 2012
- Remembering John McWhinnie: A letter to a great dealer and friendThe relationship between a dealer and a client is sometimes all business, but it can also be about friendship. John, you were one of the most interesting friends anyone could… Continue reading Remembering John McWhinnie: A letter to a great dealer and friend
- Auld Lang Syne: The Best Exhibitions of 2011 and a Resolution for 2012As 2011 grinds to a halt, it’s time again for the ol’ “top of the pops” list. Here are five great shows, some special mentions and my personal New Year’s… Continue reading Auld Lang Syne: The Best Exhibitions of 2011 and a Resolution for 2012
- Response to the Critics of “Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!”My recent New York Observer article “Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!” has upset some people in the art world, including certain dealers, collectors, writers and especially the Art Basel… Continue reading Response to the Critics of “Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!”
- Read the Press for “Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!”Read the waterfall of press for my article: “Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!” Read the good, the bad, and the indifferent from The New York, Times, The Wall Street… Continue reading Read the Press for “Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!”
- Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!I’m not going to Art Basel Miami Beach this year. I’m through with it, basta. It’s become a bit embarrassing, in fact, because why should I be seen rubbing elbows… Continue reading Occupy Art Basel Miami Beach, Now!
- The 1% of the 1%: Stratospheric Prices at Auction Mask the Teeth Grinding of the Real Art MarketLast week’s outrageous auction results have left dealers and savvy collectors giddy, puzzled and mentally exhausted. A number of works soared to stupefying heights, defying the gravity of the euro… Continue reading The 1% of the 1%: Stratospheric Prices at Auction Mask the Teeth Grinding of the Real Art Market
- Cattelan at the Guggenheim? Are They Kidding?I don’t get Maurizio Cattelan’s work. It’s not that I don’t have a sense of humor. I just have never found him funny. His art, which comprises Madame Tussaud’s-style wax… Continue reading Cattelan at the Guggenheim? Are They Kidding?
- Never Mind the Griping, Here’s the Art MarketLast week it was time once again for the Frieze Art Fair, London’s annual, thoroughly exhausting week-long art-viewing marathon. Everywhere I went I felt the presence of the 10,000-pound elephant… Continue reading Never Mind the Griping, Here’s the Art Market
- Do I Need to See a $4 Billion Willem de Kooning Show?It sounds terrible but I really didn’t like the de Kooning show. Perhaps one shouldn’t admit to such a thing in public, and yet I feel someone has to come… Continue reading Do I Need to See a $4 Billion Willem de Kooning Show?
- What Ever Happened to Tom Krens?Last fall it was reported that the great Tom Krens was off the Guggenheim’s Abu Dhabi project, which seemed like big news because Mr. Krens was the creative mind and… Continue reading What Ever Happened to Tom Krens?
- Gold Is Up, But What About Art?Back in early June I wrote a piece for the Art Newspaper in which I predicted that bad news would drive the price of gold, then at $1,500 an ounce, substantially… Continue reading Gold Is Up, But What About Art?
- Out With the NewI spent almost a decade chasing the new new art but for the past year or two I’ve felt that there is less and less there there. What do I… Continue reading Out With the New
- Charles Saatchi’s Highs and Lows Revisited by Reissued BookCharles Saatchi is the most influential collector of the past 25 years, and one of the most controversial. Notorious for never appearing at his own openings and for not granting… Continue reading Charles Saatchi’s Highs and Lows Revisited by Reissued Book
- European Pilgrimage: On the Well-Worn Art Route, from Paris to BaselThe annual summer art tour is finally over. It was bookended by the Venice Biennale and the mega-fair Art Basel and included a few stops in between. Basel was packed… Continue reading European Pilgrimage: On the Well-Worn Art Route, from Paris to Basel
- The Venice Biennale: New, But Not Necessarily ImprovedThe Venice Biennale, which opened last week and runs through November, is titled “Illuminations,” but its Swiss curator, Parkett magazine founder Bice Curiger, might as well have called it “The Phoenix.”… Continue reading The Venice Biennale: New, But Not Necessarily Improved
- Why Are All the Dealers Flocking to Hong Kong? A Visit to the Fortune Cookie Art FairLast week the massive Hong Kong Exhibition Center hosted a triple header–the four-year-old art fair Art HK; a luxurious Christie’s auction preview; and a Christie’s-sponsored exhibition of new work by… Continue reading Why Are All the Dealers Flocking to Hong Kong? A Visit to the Fortune Cookie Art Fair
- Regulate the Art Market? Don’t Even Think About ItLast November, Andy Warhol’s 1962 painting “Men in Her Life” sold for over $60 million at Phillips de Pury & Co. It went for well over its high estimate, and… Continue reading Regulate the Art Market? Don’t Even Think About It
- My Artwork Formerly Known as PrinceIt wasn’t all that long ago that Richard Prince was an artist respected by curators and a few collectors who was largely overlooked by the art market. (He was best… Continue reading My Artwork Formerly Known as Prince
- Aiming for Art Immortality, John Chamberlain Swaps GalleriesThe sculptor John Chamberlain has been around since the early ’60s. He had a corrugated-steel piece sitting on the floor of Andy Warhol’s original Factory, and he had one prominently… Continue reading Aiming for Art Immortality, John Chamberlain Swaps Galleries
- A Strange Anomaly: David Hammon’s ‘Homeless’ Art on the Upper East SideIn 2003, artist David Hammons presented “Which Mike Would You Like to Be Like,” three vintage microphones standing alone in a room, representing three Michaels: Jackson, Tyson and Jordan. It… Continue reading A Strange Anomaly: David Hammon’s ‘Homeless’ Art on the Upper East Side
- Outwit, Outpaint, Outlast: George Condo and the Back-Burnered 1980s Art StarsI was just in Paris, visiting a painting I had loaned to the wonderful Basquiat show at the Musee d’Art Moderne and marveling at the two-hour-long line to get into… Continue reading Outwit, Outpaint, Outlast: George Condo and the Back-Burnered 1980s Art Stars
- Art Intel, 2011Times like these can turn art buying into something akin to stamp collecting. What do I mean by that? The unfortunate consequence of our new economic reality is conservative and… Continue reading Art Intel, 2011
- Why the Art Market Is RisingThe art market is rolling along with plenty of momentum, while the rest of the world still feels pretty shaky. Although I cannot fully explain this phenomenon, there are number… Continue reading Why the Art Market Is Rising
- Land of 1,000 Air Kisses: Art Basel Miami Beach, With Regrets“It’s the best game you can play in the world,” said Jonathan Meese, the sculptor whose show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami was one of the hits… Continue reading Land of 1,000 Air Kisses: Art Basel Miami Beach, With Regrets
- A Bronze Meddle: Doing the Math on Buying a Matisse SculptureI keep an eye on the Impressionist and Modern art auctions because they’re thought to be an early indicator of the contemporary art sales that follow. But talking to Impressionist… Continue reading A Bronze Meddle: Doing the Math on Buying a Matisse Sculpture
- The Adman’s Promise: The Persistent Myth of Charles SaatchiI owe a lot to Charles Saatchi. Most contemporary art collectors do. Though he’s hard to find, and almost impossible to gain access to, his influence has been felt everywhere… Continue reading The Adman’s Promise: The Persistent Myth of Charles Saatchi
- All Mixed UpThere’s a fashion in the art world these days for shows that mix the old with the new, a vogue for hanging contemporary art in Venetian palazzos or Old Masters… Continue reading All Mixed Up
- The Last Word on Dan ColenDan Colen’s new show at Gagosian on West 24th Street is, by far and without reservation, the hottest spectacle of the fall season–not because of the show, but because of… Continue reading The Last Word on Dan Colen
- Built for Speed? The Collector Chats With Marc Newson About His New Gagosian ShowTruth be told, I’ve been a Marc Newson fan for years. He holds a special place in the world of design: He’s famous, good-looking, represented by the biggest art gallery… Continue reading Built for Speed? The Collector Chats With Marc Newson About His New Gagosian Show
- Viewer as Voyeur: A Short History of Perfectly Dirty ArtMark Twain described it as “the foulest, the vilest, the obscenest picture the world possesses.” I discovered it by chance one rainy weekend in Florence on the perfunctory visit to… Continue reading Viewer as Voyeur: A Short History of Perfectly Dirty Art
- The ’80s, Through Warhol’s EyesI knew Andy Warhol for a short but lively stint in 1984 and ’85, while my then-fiancée was one of his best friends. We were out every night, all night.… Continue reading The ’80s, Through Warhol’s Eyes
- The Grand TouristIn the art world, summer is the time to make the pilgrimage: Events in Europe, public and private, afford much to marvel at, to think about-and, possibly, to buy. … Continue reading The Grand Tourist
- Betting on ChinaIn December of 2008, sitting on an art collecting panel at Art Basel Miami Beach, I was asked what I thought of Chinese contemporary art. My sarcastic response was that… Continue reading Betting on China
- Secrets of the Star Art CollectorsClichés die hard and slow, mainly because most people simplify things in order to process them. When it comes to art collecting, people love to talk up the storied collectors… Continue reading Secrets of the Star Art Collectors
- Schooled by the ScullsThe new show “Robert and Ethel Scull: portrait of a collection” at Acquavella Galleries is a must-see, not only to marvel at some of what the Sculls once possessed, but… Continue reading Schooled by the Sculls
- Art Critics: Get Real!Last week, the New Museum opened its new show, “Skin Fruit: Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection,” curated by mega-art-star Jeff Koons. This show has prompted a huge amount of… Continue reading Art Critics: Get Real!
- Artless in MiamiWant to know what the scene was like at Art Basel Miami Beach this year? The answer can be summed up in one word: bloated. The fair has been… Continue reading Artless in Miami