As you know, Vince’s Ear has never been an art news blog. In fact, if you look at the Artists page you’ll see that a great majority of the artists covered are deceased. I’d say it’s more of an “art history” blog, but that just sounds boring. It’s all about art from the past and present, including art ideas, themes, techniques, specific paintings, artist personalities and lives, and news when necessary. They say “today’s news is tomorrow’s fish-wrapper,” so forgive me if you’ve already heard these tidbits and have already wrapped your salmon in them.
Recession woes notwithstanding, there have been some record sales at Sotheby’s Auction this week with one of our favorite masters of the macabre Francis Bacon fetching $83 million for a triptych (seen above). The Irish-born figurative painter used the tri-paneled triptych frequently as a favorite method of conveying his creepy figures with nightmarish distortion. Each panel measures 6½ feet by 5 feet making this an unusually large and frightening Bacon, with his typical self expressed angst.
Takashi Murakami was pleased to see his My Lonesome Cowboy statue bring in $15.1 million, four times its expected value. Another copy of The Cowboy is also on view in Murakami’s retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum which opened last month. Takashi was present at the auction when his piece sold to a telephone bidder.
Yesterday’s post was about Robert Rauschenberg, who recently passed away, and how his unconventional methods (Erased De Kooning, etc.) had made him one of the most important American abstract and pop artists of the mid-20th century. Several Rasuchenbergs sold, one of which was expected to bring in $10 to $15 million and sold for $14.6, a record. After an artist dies, the work becomes more valuable (i.e. rare) because obviously there can be no more works created. Yet, soon after the artist’s death the art market is expected to be flooded with works, thus lowering the price. However, we can see there is an exception here for an exceptional American artist.
A Chelsea dealer who was seen leaving the salesroom commented on the success of the show, “Recession, what recession?”
by JAMES, on May 17 2008 @ 09:28
I WISH SOMEONE can MAKE STATUE OF ME AND SHOW IT OFF .
If any one like to do that I want know who can do that of me in the nude.I”m serious about what I”m saying .
by admin, on May 17 2008 @ 12:59
Hey, James. That is a pretty neat statue isn’t it? That would be interesting to have the artist (or any artist) make a custom one. Imagine getting $15 million for it, too!