whatcha gonna do with all that art you made

"...Something much more subtle than a classic boom-bust cycle is going on. The art world is punishing the overly prolific, those artists who responded (in retrospect, perhaps too hastily) to stiff demand by upping supply. “There’s a winnowing,” says artnet.com critic Charlie Finch. Who was especially productive before the recession hit? Murakami and Hirst, still both under 50, get singled out by critics, as do Cecily Brown, Dana Schutz, and a host of contemporary Chinese artists. Artists whose work is plentiful or sells in editions—including many photographers—are now seeing softer numbers than those for painters like John Currin..." ///Alexandra Peers, Little Warhols; NY Mag

A UAM WIDE ANGLE Art Auction

pics:tryharder
A UAM WIDE ANGLE EVENT
Art Auction curated by Michael + Sirje Gold
(lot details)
PR: The Gold’s are curating the WA3 auction with a novel approach by pairing 31 exciting established artists with 31 artists having great promise, but little establishment. Items are sold in pairs, 2 for 1. Artists are to receive 50% of the proceeds from the auction.

just a preview to come?

yeah and did you still think the art economy is fine? or is that just in NY/euro? LA celebs still hold buying rights...right? did you see all those pre-auction bids? oh yeah...was 4k for the Kienholz, OK, let's not think about that one. well I hope collectors are classier than to come to this event anyway.

more pics/video to come.
uam wide angle auction

jerry, you still make the art world fun and exploratory, kudos!

What’s Selling (or Not) at the Armory Show /// Jerry Saltz

Best Saltz line: "...don't leave a brother hanging..." and with a high-five! totally lovely!

economy let down: why can't an artist working in solid gold get a break?

Gagosian LA

new levels of art market delusion

"...Unfortunately, most of what I’ve been hearing has been only a slight variation of the above 'pretzel logic.' It’s kind of like someone who has their home on the market and refuses to adjust his price to the new reality. The seller has an emotional attachment to his property, leading him to believe that his home is different. It hasn’t gone down in value because it’s such a beautiful house, while his neighbors’ homes have declined in price because they’re not as nice as his..." THE PRICING ISSUE by Richard Polsky

oodles and oodles of ART LA pictures coming...

photo: tryharder

peres projects has moved to the burbs

source Culver Peres above

Well, not really, but they are soon to completely close their Chinatown location and fully settle in to their new spot where the traffic and money flows (or at least still gets attention despite this art market dip): the Culver art district. This is an easily foreseen move for the gallery and should pay off for Peres, but it does pose an interesting question to the remaining galleries of Chinatown.

The move, good for Peres might ultimately be bad news for the rest. Peres, a global gallery star with another prized location in Berlin, carries heavy cred within the Chinatown community. This could mean less draw to Chinatown to see/purchase art or just add to the fading confidence in the gallery longevidy within the fickle district. (More examples of galleries coming and going HERE). Chinatown, less shmoozy and more home to an art-grady crowd, probably could be comparied to NY's lower east side/Bowery part of town. I personally would have liked to have seen Peres stay in Chinatown because it feels an appropriate parring with their edgy/underground/street roots but others, like newish the the block, Sister Gallery can now step up and inherit big "sister" status.

source Chinatown Peres above

Please come visit us for our last exhibition in Chinatown:
"Sack of Bones"
Group Exhibition
Curated by Blair Taylor and Ellen Langan
November 20 - December 20, 2008

red light specials /// art miami

...It’s Kmart special time at Art Basel Miami and its satellite fairs. With collectors being “outright ruthless” in their negotiating, complains one dealer sourly, and sellers in a mood to comply, it’s all about markdowns and modest expectations. Art worlders who believe “Go big or go home” didn’t come this year...At many booths, $30,000 seems to be a magic number, as if all the art dealers in the world had met secretly at Sant Ambroeus to decide that would be the starting price point of the year for wealthy collectors... And Miami pioneer art dealer Diana Lowenstein, who opened twenty years ago, this year is offering three exhibitions, one featuring all artworks priced at $999 — her gallery was packed.

Alexandra Peers/Vulture

uh oh news /// MOCA needs more money

LA Times /// Mike Boehm :
Los Angeles' prestigious but chronically underfunded Museum of Contemporary Art has fallen into crisis. Museum Director Jeremy Strick said MOCA is seeking large cash infusions from donors, and this week he did not rule out the possibility of merging with another institution or sharing its collection of almost 6,000 artworks...
Unlike the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is partly controlled by the county, MOCA receives minimal government funding. Its annual budget has grown to exceed $20 million, but it relies on donors to pay about 80% of its expenses. When the gifts have fallen short, as they have more often than not during Strick's nine-year tenure, the museum has gone into its savings...
This month, in a bid to shave 10% off operating costs, the museum announced a six-month closure of its Geffen Contemporary exhibition space, which is leased from the city for $1 a year...
Strick said it's not unusual for business-minded members of any museum board to ask about selling art to relieve a cash crunch. But the unchanging answer, he said, is that it can't be done because "our mission is preserving and protecting this collection..."

more cutbacks

Sources say Pace Wildenstein, one of the largest contemporary galleries in city, let go 18 of its 146 employees Friday (12 percent of its staff). source artfagcity

art (economy) watch //mathieu bernard-reymond

Your investment can only grow, monuments series

Dowjones 2005-03-08, monuments series, 2005

Interest income comparison 4% - 8%, monuments series, 2005

Total operating profit, monuments series, 2005

I saw this artist featured here: iheartphotograph (great blog)

in other news

...About 50 works by around 40 art students and recent graduates had been selected via an open competition and then purchased for ¥100,000 a piece by Mitsubishi. After being displayed at the company's offices in Marunouchi (japan) for a few of months, they were being auctioned. "The first ¥100,000 raised by each work will go to a scholarship fund, which will be made available to young artists. If the hammer price goes above that, the proceeds will be split — half to the artist and half to the scholarship," explained Shinji Shimada...japantimes

saltz on the economy + *frieze*

Today's story is from Mr. Saltz. Go here for to read the full story, excepts below:

from - At London’s big art fair, signs of financial trouble abound. But maybe that’s okay.

...In fact, though, things were different. Those of us who have frequented Frieze could see that something was off. Dealers and assistants who in recent years were always busy with clients now stood or sat quietly... Although the megagalleries like Gagosian and White Cube teemed with moneyed types and very tall women in very high heels, many younger dealers looked perplexed.

...If the art economy is as bad as it looks—if worse comes to worst—40 to 50 New York galleries will close. Around the same number of European galleries will, too. An art magazine will cease publishing. A major fair will call it quits—possibly the Armory Show, because so many dealers hate the conditions on the piers, or maybe Art Basel Miami Beach, because although it’s fun, it’s also ridiculous. Museums will cancel shows because they can’t raise funds. Art advisers will be out of work. Alternative spaces will become more important for shaping the discourse, although they’ll have a hard time making ends meet.

...As for artists, too many have been getting away with murder, making questionable or derivative work and selling it for inflated prices. They will either lower their prices or stop selling. Many younger artists who made a killing will be forgotten quickly.

...The good news is that, since almost no one will be selling art, artists—especially emerging ones—won’t have to think about turning out a consistent style or creating a brand. They’ll be able to experiment as much as they want.

...With luck, New Museum curator Laura Hoptman’s wish will come true: “Art will flower and triumph not as a hobby, an investment, or a career, but as what it is and was—a life.”

jerry saltz, nymag
***
I gotta say that as far as art criticism goes, I always manage to fully read his reviews without skimming or falling asleep. If only more critics would get to the point without jacking-off to art-speak and description.

auction shopping and russian buy-outs

...and a related story:

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Moscow-based Mercury Group has bought control of Phillips de Pury & Company, the New York and London- based auction house said today...

i think we need to talk

Dear Art World,
I don't think this is working anymore. I wish this was the case where I could say it's not you, it's me - but I can't. Let's be honest this hasn't been working for some time. It all started when you starting hanging out with those druggy-egotistical-guy friends of yours. You started saying things without concern or care and never took my feelings into consideration. Let's face it, you just got too big. How many times did I have to listen to that speech about how the blanket was representative of our whole life together. None of my friends understood that at all. And I have had enough of all your street friends too. Your parents should have been stricter with you! They gave you too much attention and let you run amuck, only inflating your ego! You started wearing expensive hipster clothing and then acting like you didn't even notice yourself. You think you are so special and original, it is just darling. Your game has been played before. I don't even know if you know why you are doing what you are doing but I can only assume you will keep on doing it!
I hope we can be friends, but it's seeming less and less likely.
xoxo
TRYHARDER