DAMIAN LOEB, Little Miss Pink Tomato, 1995

UNDER THE (FIGURE) INFLUENCE @ PHILLIPS NEW YORK

August 24, 2014

September in New York is of course, back to school, Fashion Week, the fall season of Broadway, Chelsea gallery openings and art auctions, among other things. Philips‘ Under the Influence is a catch all name to sell some art. Not as blue chip as Christie’s and Sotheby’s but nonetheless a player, it’s always fun to see Phillips catalogue and estimates (and then check back to see what sold for what and what failed to sell at all.) I’ve cherry-picked my favorite figurative works from the latest hodgepodge collection of well-known (and lesser-known) names to make my own little curated exhibit that only exists here (…and The Wow Report) Although you won't see the uncensored Wolfgang Tillman's "Spitting on Dick" there.) You can see lots of other non-figurative (and non-pornographic) work, all 257 lots, here. What else do you have to do on a Sunday? OK, well then, get going.

ALEX PRAGER, Untitled (Face in the Crowd) Box Set, 2013

MATTHEW BARNEY, Cremaster 2: The Ballad of Max Jensen, 1999

DEBORAH KASS, 2 Silver Barbras (Jewish Jackie series), 1992

ANDY WARHOL, Self-Portrait (in Fright Wig), 1986

KEITH HARING, Two works: (i) Untitled (Zena at 17 Years), 1985; (i…, 1986

MIKE KELLEY, Untitled, from the Sublime (Study for Headache Napki…, 1983

WOLFGANG TILLMANS, spitting on dick, 1997

Hirst's new manse has a half acre garden, which in Central London is HUGE

CHECK OUT HIRST'S ($57,000,000) CASTLE

August 23, 2014

Well, it’s not really a castle but I like the headline pun – so sue me. Yes, the richest artist in the world ($300+ million) just bought this five-story, 18 bedroom manse for $57 million. Commissioned by the Prince Regent, and considered one of the finest examples of its kind, it was built by the architect John Nash in 1811. Its imposing facade and half-acre garden make it one of the most unique houses in Central London. It was owned for nearly 50 years by Anne Van Lanschot and her businessman husband, Ian Mackeson-Sandbach. They bought it soon after they were married, but after Ian’s death in 2012, Anne had decided it was time to move on.

“When we bought it, my only condition was that it had a garden. We were at a party – the Queen Mother was there too – and noticed a For Sale sign outside the house, and bought it. Crazy, really.”

Hirst already has an extensive property portfolio. His main residence is a 300-year-old farmhouse in Combe Martin, North Devon, on 24 acres, but he has also has a beach home in Mexico and Toddington Manor, the magnificent 300-room mansion in the Cotswolds. It was designed by Lord Sudeley and built in 1820 with a style later echoed in the Houses of Parliament. Poverty forced the fourth Lord Sudeley to sell it in 1894. A retired businessman, David Wickens, bought it in the early Seventies and ran it as a school for foreign students. But after the school closed, it stood empty for 20 years, falling into disrepair, before it was bought by Hirst for around $5 million in 2008. It will no doubt take tens of millions to restore and renovate. According to Hirst it will house his ever-expanding blue chip art collection (Warhol, Bacon, Freud and likely some Hirst too) and be open to the public “sometime toward the end of my life.”

The massive 300 room Toddington Manor has been under renovation and restoration since he bought it

GREAT ART IN UGLY ROOMS, REVISITED

August 17, 2014

The fantastic Tumblr Great Art in Ugly Rooms, which I’ve posted about in the past, has been around over a year now. I like to go back a visit every so often to see what they’ve been up to. If you are unfamiliar, GAIUR is literally great art photoshopped into hideous or unremarkable spaces, but with irony, wit, humor and sharp knowledge of art and the art world. Lately, they’ve starting using less familiar work to great effect. But no more words, just look (…and enjoy more here.) You may need to Google a few names, if art history wasn’t one of your strong subjects.