RUDOLF STINGEL is in the news regarding his participation in ‘SEQUENCE 1’ – a FRANCOIS PINAULT presentation of contemporary art (from his personal collection) that just opened, in his PALAZZO GRASSI exhibition hall in Venice. The exhibit was curated by ALISON M. GINGERAS, and focuses on 16 artists, Mr. Stingel being one of them. Some of the works were reportedly commissioned just for the show, including a pavilion-like structure within which one can find a silver-paneled room and chandelier installation by Mr. Stingel. Besides being an avid art collector and exhibitor on a grand museum quality scale, Francois Pinault owns CHRISTIE’S AUCTION HOUSE.
RUDOLF STINGEL has recently presented 2 installations in New York City that really caught our imaginations. The first was a very striking installation of one large single painting – a portrait of his NYC dealer, PAULA COOPER, in the large and beautifully designed gallery space in Chelsea that bears her name. The exhibit opened on Feb 12, 2005, PAULA COOPER GALLERY, (Chelsea), NYC.
RUDOLF STINGEL at the opening of his installation,
PAULA COOPER GALLERY, NYC
FEB 12, 2005
RUDOLF STINGEL, large painting, PORTRAIT Of PAULA COOPER,
PAULA COOPER GALLERY, FEB 12, 2005
PAULA COOPER, photographed at the opening,
RUDOLF STINGEL installation, PAULA COOPER GALLERY,
FEB 12, 2005
ABOVE PHOTOS: Nancy Smith
A VIEW OF THE RUDOLF STINGEL INSTALLATION,
PAULA COOPER GALLERY, FEB 2005
PHOTO: COURTESY PAULA COOPER GALLERY
The second installation, presented a year later, was even more intriguing, and very different.
Mr. STINGEL installed a complete gallery floor of ‘mirror-polished aluminum’, in
the aptly and poetically, wonderfully named, ‘Hiding in the Light’, a small group exhibit, curated by NEVILLE WAKEFIELD, at MARY BOONE GALLERY (CHELSEA), that ran from Jan 12 – Feb 25, 2006.
Looking back at the photos, it still resonates as one of the most beautiful and critically awesome exhibits, ever. Resonates is the perfect word, for this exhibit, in more ways than one, and the RUDOLF STINGEL floor certainly contributed greatly. Sublimely invisible and reflectively dynamic all at once, it was installed in a seemingly seamless effort, from wall to wall, creating a 4th dimension that could be there, or not. You felt something magical happening the minute you walked in, but the effect was so sublime, you didn’t always realize you were actually walking on a perfectly reflective surface. It was curious, beautiful.
in the foreground, CAROL BOVE, ‘YSL’ (hanging lines of crystal-like beads)
reflected in the RUDOLF STINGEL mirrored floor, note the gallery-goers,
considering the ‘properties’ of the floor underfoot . .
a bronze, life-size, ‘Lifeboat’ by JEFF KOONS, adrift on the RUDOLF STINGEL
mirror-polished aluminum floor,
with a reflection of ALEKSANDRA MIR’S ‘Beauty Free’ canvas.
‘Hiding in the Light’, curated by NEVILLE WAKEFIELD,
MARY BOONE GALLERY (Chelsea), Jan 28, 2007
PHOTOS: Nancy Smith
see: more photos of this exhibit: posted 2006-05-12
RUDOLF STINGEL, ‘Untitled’, dimensions variable,
mirror-polished aluminum, 2004
PHOTO: COURTESY MARY BOONE GALLERY
There are no images of the present RUDOLF STINGEL installation at
PALAZZO GRASSI posted on their website.
IT’S got a lot of not very impressive web glitz & flash – BUT its not very generous with the images. not very functional at all. after all, M. Pinault, we can’t all get to Venice, it would sink. is your exhibit archival in spirit, or just another artworld touristas destination ?
. . but anyways, with the words..”silver paneled room and a chandelier” one might imagine it to be reflective and sublimely magical, if it is at all, even remotely, a close cousin to these 2 pieces/installations, above..
palazzograssi.it
~RUDOLF STINGEL/VENICE/PAULA COOPER/MARY BOONE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 14th, 2007, 3:09pm
LOT 4
RUDOLPH STINGEL, b. 1957
Untitled, 2002
Celotex insulation board, wood and aluminium in two parts.
overall 94-1/4 x 67-1/8 ins.
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
ESTIMATE: $60,000-80,000
SOLD FOR: $734,000
PART I
CONTEMPORARY ART
MAY 17, 2007 NEW YORK
PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
~RUDOLF STINGEL/PHILLIPS/MAY 17 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 14th, 2007, 2:10pm
DAMIEN HIRST diamond encrusted skull – ‘For the Love of God’,
image: courtesy White Cube, London
DAMIEN HIRST, . . . For the Love of Money or (Bad) Art Marketing 101.
Damien Hirst & White Cube have put forth an “extraordinary diamond skull,
‘For the Love of God’, a life-size cast of a human skull in platinum, covered entirely
by 8,601 VVS to flawless pave-set diamonds. They want $100,000,000, YES!! that’s
100 million $$ US !!, for it. the story goes something like, its got $30 million worth of diamonds, and therefore the artist and the dealer get to split the remaining 70 million, left over. As of this posting – they haven’t found a taker, yet.
(well, at least the new owner doesn’t have to hire a scuba diver to jump in and clean it, once a week, which Damien’s ‘aquarium/fish tank’ pieces require.)
They have also made available, for the lesser pocket-booked, a series of silkscreens depicting the skull, cutely titled: ‘For the Love of God, Laugh’ !
These silkscreens are in an edition of 250, and they are sprinkled with real diamond dust !! These prints are going for: 10,000 British pounds+VAT
you can see pictures of the skull & prints on the White Cube, LONDON website:
LAUNCH VIEWING ROOM
and for the data, check here:
VIEWING ROOM/data:
bad enough as that is, a young and slightly eccentric, or is it obsessive, collector,
down in Tribeca – is telling anyone who will listen, the unsubstantiated claim that: ” . . Damien Hirst is the world’s richest living artist, having amassed a personal fortune that clocks in at over: 250 million pounds (US$500 million)”.
to celebrate this top tier OCEANS 11 heist of the artworld:
here’s some never-before-published artlovers photos, from 2005:
DAMIEN HIRST opens, ‘THE ELUSIVE TRUTH’ at GAGOSIAN GALLERY, CHELSEA, NYC. (24th STREET), MARCH 11, 2005
The show ran from March 11 – May 21, 2005
Photos: Nancy Smith
DAMIEN HIRST opens ‘THE ELUSIVE TRUTH’, GAGOSIAN GALLERY, 24th STREET, NYC.
DAMIEN HIRST greets some fans at the opening.
STEVE BUSCEMI makes the DAMIEN HIRST opening.
MAURIZIO CATTELAN also dropped by the DAMIEN HIRST opening.
one of the paintings in the show. DAMIEN HIRST, ‘ Minerals’, 2000-2003,
oil and acrylic on canvas, 72 x 89 ins.
large painting, DAMIEN HIRST, in ‘THE ELUSIVE TRUTH’, GAGOSIAN GALLERY,
24th STREET, NYC, MARCH 11, 2005
see more: DAMIEN HIRST – ‘THE ELUSIVE TRUTH’ (2005), GAGOSIAN GALLERY
~DAMIEN HIRST/$100 million/man |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 13th, 2007, 4:37pm
LOT 31
DAMIEN HIRST b. 1965
Naja Haje, 2000
Gloss household paint on canvas. 60 x 52 ins.
ESTIMATE: $800,000-1,200,000
SOLD FOR: $846,000
PART I
CONTEMPORARY ART
MAY 17, 2007 NEW YORK
PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
~DAMIEN HIRST/PHILLIPS/MAY 17 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 13th, 2007, 3:44pm
LOT 30
DAMIEN HIRST b. 1965
Loss of Memory is Worse than Death, 1994
Painted steel cage, formaldehyde containers, mask, gloves, and syringe.
42 x 84 x 30 uns.
ESTIMATE: $300,000-400
SOLD FOR: 600,000
PART I
CONTEMPORARY ART
MAY 17, 2007 NEW YORK
PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
PHILLIPS de PURY & COMPANY
~DAMIEN HIRST/PHILLIPS/MAY 17 |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 13th, 2007, 3:37pm
JEFF McMILLAN – ‘Some Dispute Over the Color of Hats, and How Outsiders Cope’
opens to-nite – SATURDAY – JUNE 9, 2007 – 7-10pm
FUSE GALLERY – 93 2nd Ave (btw 5th & 6th Sts)
the show will run from June 9 thru July 14, 2007
Rock posters, album art, comics, music, comedy and cartoons influence this Los Angeles
based artist. Claiming as inspiration artist/illustrators such as FRANK KOZIK, PHIL HALE,
and ROBERT WILLIAMS, JEFF McMILLAN “plays close attention to the drawing and execution
of his work. The juxtapositon of a rendered painting with subtle humor as a subject fascinates him most.” (press release)
FUSE GALLERY
~JEFF McMILLAN/FUSE/opens to-nite: SAT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 9th, 2007, 10:02am
IMAGE: COURTESY CINDERS GALLERY
CINDERS – THE PORCH SHOW – the PARTY is To-NITE !! FRIDAY JUNE 8, 7-10PM
THE PORCH SHOW will run: JUNE 8 – AUGUST 5, 2007
featuring work by:
George Ferrandi, Zachary Rossman, Suzanne Sattler, Kyle Field, Ryan Jacob Smith,
Julianna Bright, Mel Kadel, Rich Jacobs, Erika Somogyi, Sean Samoheyl, Monica Canilao,
Kelie Bowman, Florencio Zavala, Caroline Hwang, Brendan Monroe, Julie Morstad,
Saviour Scraps, Jenny Hart, AJ Fosik, Jeana Sohn, Eric Beltz, Jacob Mickelson, Sto,
the Polaroid Kidd, Matt Leines, Julien Langendorff, Tim Harrington, Ryan Woods,
Matthew Feyld, Amanda Barr, and Richard Colman.
CINDERS GALLERY – 103 HAVEMEYER ST (btwn HOPE + GRAND) – BROOKLYN
Cinders
~THE PORCH SHOW/CINDERS/opens FRI |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 8th, 2007, 1:53pm
IMAGE: COURTESY COMMUNITY OUTREACH
* BEN JONES * ROBERT PIMPLE * TAYLOR McKIMENS * MATT LEINES *
* 4 LARGE WORKS * OPENING TODAY – FRI JUNE 8, 2007 * 8PM *
* COMMUNITY OUTREACH * 101 STANLEY ST * LONDON, ONTARIO * CANADA *
* the show runs from: JUNE 8 – JULY 13, 2007
PAUL BRIGHT of COMMUNITY OUTREACH (in the van), picks up a large painting from
TAYLOR McKIMENS (right), last week, for the show. Taylor’s studio is in BROOKLYN, NYC.
JUNE 1, 2007
(yep. that’s a glimpse of a NECKFACE scribble on the van’s door..)
PHOTO: Nancy Smith
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
~BEN JONES/ROBERT PIMPLE/TAYLOR McKIMENS/MATT LEINES/Community Outreach/London,ONTARIO/opens FRI |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 8th, 2007, 1:35pm
PHOTO COURTESY PERES PROECTS/BERLIN
. . . if you happen to be in BERLIN, you can catch the tail end of the JOE BRADLEY installation at PERES PROJECTS. the show is up thru: SAT, JUNE 9, 2007
it ran from APRIL 27 – JUNE 9, 2007.
the same show, was apparently also up, previously at PERES PROJECTS/LOS ANGELES,
where it ran from MARCH 3 – 31, 2007
PERES PROJECTS
JOE BRADLEY, ‘KURGAN WAVES’, CANADA, JAN 2006
~JOE BRADLEY/PERES PROJECTS/BERLIN/last weekend |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 8th, 2007, 1:05pm
DONALD BAECHLER at the recent booksigning/launch for BRIAN BELOTT’s first printed book,
‘Wipe That Clock Off Your Face’, a PICTURE BOX ‘artist book’ publication,
PRINTED MATTER, Chelsea, NYC, May 24, 2007
Brian Belott is a studio assistant in the Donald Baechler studio, in Chelsea.
bottom photo, from left: BRIAN BELOTT, DONALD BAECHLER
Photos: Nancy Smith
DONALD BAECHLER, the new ‘Godfather’, re-visited . . .
Although Donald Baechler has been a pretty successful artist, ever since he first arrived in New York, (in the late 70’s), he sort of existed as the ‘man without the big myth’, in contrast to many of his contemporaries, who went on to become larger than life: Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Julian Schnabel, to name a few . . .
Asking SIMON CERIGO, our artlovers critic-at-large for a few early recollections, he said:
“Looking back, Donald was pretty hot pretty much from the moment he hit New York City, must have been late 70’s, .. 78-79. By early 1980 he was a bonafide presence on the
NYC art scene, in great part because of his connections to the hot German painters of that time, especially WALTER DAHN and DOKOPIL. In fact, Donald achieved critical cache at the time, by spending a year in COLOGNE, probably 1980. One of his early successes, was his exhibit at the RED BAR, in January of 1982. Donald was one of the first artists to show with TONY SHAFRAZI in his seminal gallery on Mercer Street, in Soho, even before KEITH HARING. He wasn’t really known as a ‘generous’ or gregarious out-going type – but he was respected for his career skills, business sense, and ‘real estate acumen’ – being one of the first of the downtown crew to actually buy his East Village apartment, and, to go on to make money off his successive residence/studios consistently”.
His 2nd floor residence/studio on CROSBY STREET, became notorious in the late 90’s when one of his assistant/entourage players, CHRIS KELLEY, a young art historian and fledgling curator, fell to his death from Donald’s balcony. Chris Kelly was fooling around, mugging for a documentary film camera, that was pointed at him, from the street, supposedly held by a SURFACE-TO-AIR principal, when he basically leaned over into a dive, that landed him head first into the concrete sidewalk below. The story goes that he was later found to have had the equivalent of 5 bags of heroin in his system.
It was about the same time, the late 1990’s, that Donald’s studio assistants really began to make a name for themselves – mostly through the antics, and big mouth – of ALFREDO MARTINEZ, who worked for Donald, at this time, mostly stretching canvas, and gessoing down his large fabric collaged paintings. As well, Alfredo and the afore-mentioned Chris Kelly had begun curating shows for the nascent JOSH HARRIS/Pseudo.com organization, and that scene really mushroomed, as one might imagine, when Josh began to put his dot.com millions behind the productions. MARTINEZ really made a big bang, when he returned one season from Donald’s summer house in Amagansett, almost blown to pieces by a handmade explosive device, he had set off on the beach one night.
Now, back in the present – in 2007, curiously, the one thing that is really setting Donald apart from his early 80’s contemporaries, and creating a very distinct aura around him, is the increasingly independent successes, and diverse artworld paths & ambitions of his key studio ‘alumni’. As these artists continue to become increasingly full time players on the scene – the DONALD BAECHLER ‘myth’ that never was, suddenly comes alive, out of nowhere. There really is no other artist on the scene, going way back, or at least within ‘living memory’ – whose assistants have gone on to become so dynamic, in their own right. The ways things are going, the effect is just going to keep on snowballing.
BRIAN BELOTT is a case in point. . In fact, he still is one of Donald’s main studio assistants. ALFREDO MARTINEZ, and CHRIS KELLY, as mentioned, worked for Donald for several years. BRENDAN CASS worked for Donald for many years, and is now represented by the same Swiss dealer that reps Donald’s work in Europe. TAYLOR McKIMENS also worked for Donald, for many years. When he first stepped foot in NYC, (from the California/Arizona desert), the first thing he did, was look up Donald, whose work he admired, and he immediately landed his first break, a job in the Donald Baechler studio.
In a recent studio visit with Taylor, we spied several Donald Baechler pieces on the walls. (as we did when we visited BRIAN BELOTT recently). Taylor pointed out that many of the young NYC artists currently dominating artlovers pages, had passed through Donald’s artworld domain. He also told us … “it would be a big mistake to think that Donald let his assistant crew do much more than execute his thought-out pieces, and that in fact, Donald was relatively speaking, a pretty much hands-on artist within the studio.”
Even THE ENGER BROS, art twins Matt and Mark Enger, of EXPLODING SKY, who often grace artlovers reports, have been doing for custom silk screen work for Donald, going way back, and still get commissions from his studio. A new addition to the Donald Baechlor studio crew, is Lance de los Reyes (aka Rambo).
No matter what else is said about Donald, you can’t deny his eye for talent. and he must somehow turn loose the inner individual talents and ambitions, of his artist/helpers, rather than squish them down. Its a very unique situation – one, that is, I believe, going to lead to an increasingly positive in-depth re-evaluation of his art.
see more pix of DONALD BAECHLER at: BRIAN BELOTT’S RECENT BOOKSIGNING
see pix of DONALD BAECHLER’S work, spied on the walls: BRIAN BELOTT STUDIO VISIT
visit: DONALD BAECHLER’S STUDIO/website !!
DISCLAIMER: yours truly, NANCY SMITH, sold several archival quilt & embroidery pieces to DONALD BAECHLER in the late 1990’s, and sometimes acted as a freelance archival quilt/fabric/remnant consultant/evaluator. Donald would pay premium prices for top-notch pieces, and respected all archival advice, such as, which pieces were too valuable to gesso onto paintings. ALFREDO MARTINEZ introduced me to DONALD on this professional level.
~DONALD BAECHLER/the ‘GODFATHER’/re-visited |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | June 6th, 2007, 9:41pm
