SPREAD | ArtCulture » Richard Prince

Working Class Nobility

KisaLala — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:05:18 +0000

Scott Campbell, Noblesse Oblige, 2011, Cut uncut US currency sheets, copper box, 21 x 25 x 18.75 inches

Tattoo artist Scott Campbell has migrated his etchings from skin to galleries – OHWOW inaugurated their new space yesterday in Los Angeles with a show of Campbell’s new work inked on the insides of ostrich eggs and stacks of paper money, using styles of vanitas imagery traditionally associated with the arena of tattooing.

Campbell, who is probably making a mint through his recent collaboration with Louis Vuitton, had enough currency on hand to carve a skull from $11,000 of uncut sheets of US dollar bills. The show, titled Nobelesse Oblige, signifies the artist’s pride in his blue-collar heritage, and plays with the idea of what is precious by removing value from social currency or placing value on the artefacts of common trade (by gold plating copper plates made with his tattoo gun).

This Spring Campbell lent street cred to the more up-market LV luggage with delicate Asian style renderings of figurative dragons on bespoke leather bags. His collaboration though with LV began long before on the supine back of its Creative Director, Marc Jacobs on whose skin he’s etched such endearing icons as bull terriers and the face of Elizabeth Taylor.

Louis Vuitton and Scott Campbell inspirations for 2011 Spring Collection

The LV brand motif on a pig hide - © Wim Delvoye - Art Farm, Yang Zhen, 2005, 140x100-cm, tattoo on pigskin-tanned

LV has also collaborated with Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami, and designers Lisa Farmer and Stephen Sprouse, and Campbell’s etchings bring a more unique aesthetic to a commodity whose value is otherwise excessively psychological, based on notions of brand opulence. While Campbell has inscribed his proletarian craft onto luxury hides the artist Wim Delvoye brands the filthy and squalid, elevating hogs, warts and all into luxury accessories.

This will be the third space opened by OHWOW founders Al Moran and Aaron Bondaroff’s following Miami and New York, where they had also opened a soho bookshop.

Scott Campbell speaks on his LV collaboration (below):

Scott Campbell, Noblesse Oblige, March 19, 2011 – April 22, 2011, OHWOW, 937 North La Cienega, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Simon Says, It’s Open House

KisaLala — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:37:22 +0000

By Kiša Lala

Simon de Pury, turning law and reason on its head, in front of Maurizio Cattelan's Frank and Jaime, 2002. Edition of 3. Estimated at $1-1.5 million. Photo credit:Kisa Lala

Let the drum-rolls begin – Simon dePury, the market-savvy chairman of Phillips de Pury & Company, was at hand to christen the new Park Avenue location for the inaugural preview of the Part 1- Contemporary Art Evening Sale. The collection, entitled ‘Carte Blanche,’ curated by Phillipe Segalot, former international head of Christie’s Contemporary Art, is scheduled for auction November 8, 2010, with a low-estimate of $80,000,000.

Richard Prince, Untitled (Cowboy) 1998-99.Ektacolor photograph. Edition of 2 plus artist proof. Estimated at $1-1.5 million

Phillips’ move uptown to the new 25,559 square feet space at 450 Park Ave will extend their buyers’ circle beyond the Meatpacking District, and bring them closer to their bidding rivals Sotheby’s and Christie’s. “The sale will be a game-changer in the way auctions are being prepared,” said Simon de Pury.

Simon de Pury looking pleased in front of the inverted cops' of Maurizio Cattelan's Frank and Jaime. Photo credit: Kisa Lala

Paul McCarthy, Mechanical Pig, 2005. Edition of 3 +1 AP. Estimate $2.5-3.5 million

Though the collection contains some gems, the higher-estimate values will test the market’s demand for contemporary art, which in today’s moody climate can turn south on a dime. Some of the highlights include Maurizio Cattelan’s delightful roving robot Charlie, and Stephanie (commissioned by Stephanie Seymour’s on-and-off again husband Peter Brant; a true trophy-wife’s bust, the pride of any collector’s), Koons’ Caterpillar Ladder, Paul McCarthy’s Mechanical Pig, worth its pork in gold, and Richard Prince, who is in the exclusive club of upper-tier artists whose photographs sell for over a $1 million.

Takashi Murakami, the poster child for the show, is his own best salesman. Riding high on his Versailles exhibition, he currently commands high prices (listed estimate of $4-6million for Miss KO²), but his work, though astonishing at first, can quickly turn dreary on the twentieth reiteration. It’s unfortunate for Warhol that his career ended before the Age of Reproduction fully took hold, because with the multiplicity of editions that abound, even Walter Benjamin would be baffled by the soaring and undiminished value of an ‘original’.

But sometimes, a reproduction, as in the case of Cattelan’s Stephanie, maybe a better bargain than its original.

Maurizio Cattelan, Stephanie, 2003. Edition of 3 + 1 AP Estimate: $1-1.5 million

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #153, 1985. Edition of 6. Estimate: $2-$3 million

View of Phillips de Pury's space at 450 Park Avenue with upper tier skyboxes for premium clients. Photo: Kisa Lala

New York Armory Week 2010

Jonathan — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:58:29 +0000

By JRS

Sunday marked the closing of another successful Armory Week in New York. Following the trend of Art Basel in Miami, the aisles were teeming with enthusiasts, artists, collectors, and dealers who seemed not to be aware in the least about our turbulent economic climate. Damien Hirst prints had five and six stickers next to them, denoting sales. It truly was a collector’s fair.

Photo by Stacy Kimball

Made up of the Park Avenue Armory show, Scope, Fountain, and Piers 92 and 94, this was the most important week in New York for collectors and gallery-owners alike.

Mike Bevilacqua

James Casebere

James Nares

It seems to be a good rule of thumb to not expect to meet any artists when making your way around art fairs. As one fantastic art—who will remain nameless—told me: “Why do I want to walk around an art show? I’m just going to get frustrated looking at all the crap that’s selling and wonder why mine isn’t up there. It’s very hard to get inspired that way.” As I’ve come to understand it, art fairs are another way for big-budget galleries to boast to one another about who has the most fabulous pieces in their collections and who has the biggest artists in their respective stables. Deitch is always certain to have at least a few Warhols, Basquaits, Harings, Barry McGee installations, ad infinitum. Tony Shafrazi usually counters back with a fantastic collection of David LaChapelle, Dennis Hopper, and Jasper Johns. Expect to see Richard Prince, Picasso, Ed Ruscha, and a handful of other A-listers at Larry Gagosian’s monolithic booth.

Regardless of what you think about the fanfare behind the art fairs, they’re enjoyable to peruse. Until December’s Basel in Miami, stay tuned for more about these cultural instigators.

Photo by Stacy Kimball

Sven'tgolle Sven'tolle. Photo by Stacy Kimball.

Photo by Stacy Kimball

Mel Bochner. Photo by Stacy Kimball

Jacob Hashimoto. Photo by Stacy Kimball

Art Basel Miami 2009: A Week in Review

Jonathan — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 06:25:02 +0000

By JRS

Nothing could stop Art Basel from having another successful year in Miami. Not a recession, not adverse conditions—though heavy rain and flooding destroyed a few works of art—could keep the droves of people from returning to south Florida and jamming the aisles of all participating spaces and the streets of the Design District.

What felt like most of Miami—and New York, LA, and Europe’s art communities—flocked mostly to the Miami Convention Center in search of fine art and design. The more adventurous patrons made their way across the causeway and back to the mainland.

Comparing SCOPE to Art Basel at the Convention Center is like comparing the Uptown and Downtown scenes in New York; they’re total opposites. For those who have never been, Art Basel is made up of several different parts: Art Basel, SCOPE, Pulse, Art Asia, and the bevy of neighborhood galleries that fling open their doors during the week and curate exhibitions of their own. Truth be told, these are often the most interesting shows to experience, as they have no preconceptions and are akin to Dash’s old shows at Deitch circa 2005: completely uninhibited.

New York Street Artist Judith Supine's Newest Work

One such show was “Art Whino,” which was held at Charcoal Gallery on 1st Avenue in Miami. A somewhat industrial and raw space, the exhibition was curated with the likes of Barry McGee and early Shepard Fairey in mind. Silkscreens as far as the eye could see, paired with stencils on canvas…on top of other stencils on canvas, chunky oils, and collages. Paired with knowledgeable curators and the artists themselves mixing with their constituents, it had a refreshing absence of the structured art-fair feeling.

"It's Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away," at Charcoal Gallery's Art Whino

In the big top, Gagosian and Deitch were the undisputed heavy-hitters. Jeffrey brought out his customary big guns—Julian Schnabel, Barry McGee, Shepard Fairey, Keith Haring, Swoon, and Ryan McGuiness—while Gagosian countered with the likes of Richard Prince, Basquiat, Warhol, and Jeff Koons.

Barry McGee's "99 Bottles on the Wall"

"Aung San Suu" by Shepard Fairey at Deitch Projects

Jeff Koons at Gagosian

Stay tuned for more Art Basel updates throughout the week.