Daily coverage of Art by Vulture

Art

  1. the comics page
    Exclusive Comics Excerpt: ‘The Museum Vaults’Commissioned by the Louvre, The Museum Vaults is a darkly cheeky look at museum culture and the business of history.
  2. art candy
    Artist Elena Willis’s Cloudy ClassroomInspired by a 1966 tragedy in which coal waste trickled down a mountain in a Welsh mining town, engulfing a nearby school and killing 144, Elena Willis’s Aberfan 1966 seems an exercise in surrealist photographic technique.
  3. art candy
    Artist Barbara Bloom Comes to CollectOne has to figure that photographer and conceptual artist Barbara Bloom, whose collection-themed survey opens today at the International Center of Photography, has a basement full of stamps, coins, and collectible spoons.
  4. the early word
    ‘Art Star’ Vanessa Beecroft: Slammed at SundanceA new documentary shows the art provocateur at her worst.
  5. art candy
    Artist Jay Batlle: World’s Best Doodler?All of us doodle, but not all of us do so in the form of Géricault’s Raft of Medusa.
  7. the early-evening news
    Stephen Colbert Immortalized, At Least for Six WeeksThe pundit’s portrait finally makes it to the walls of the Smithsonian.
  8. art candy
    Artist Oscar de las Flores Says Only Dinosaurs Still Own Standard-Definition TVsRecalling Dinosaurs (TGIF circa 1991), Salvadorian draftsman Oscar de las Flores’s Preludio Paleontologico pictures a dino-man with Michelangelo-esque bulk, seated next to his boob-tube-loving dino-lady.
  9. art candy
    Artist Ray Smith Rewrites the Ending to ‘Sweeney Todd’Maybe we have last night’s non–Golden Globes on the brain, but up close, Ray Smith’s angelic Ballerina Without Lines looks a whole lot like Helena Bonham Carter.
  10. art candy
    Artist Bwana Spoons’s Bad OysterThe paintings and illustrations of Portland-based, early-nineties ‘zine-ster Bwana Spoons look like something out of an indie children’s book — the kind embraced by the spawn of Brooklyn-based aesthete parents.
  11. art candy
    Artist Travis Somerville Has the World’s Creepiest BasementIn what may be the most frightening faux-bunker of all time, Atlanta-born artist Travis Somerville riffs on past southern trends (Confederate flags!), icons (KKK babies!), oddities (blackface Kennedy!), and, well, blaring bigoted missteps.
  12. news reel
    Julian Schnabel, AscendantLast night was sweet revenge for the portly painter.
  13. art candy
    Artist Joyce Pensato Hits a HomerPop in subject, Pollock in form, Joyce Pensato’s renditions of animated icons are PG-rated cultural relics gone wild.
  14. the take
    A Fellow Museum Director Remembers Working for Philippe de Montebello: ‘Lose the Earring’“Working at the Met under Philippe was like having been a minor courtier in the palace of Louis XIV.â€
  15. the take
    Jerry Saltz on What the Met’s Losing in De Montebello and What It Needs From Its Next DirectorThe ruby-throated voice of Patrick Stewart, the even-handed temperament and patrician air of a seasoned diplomat, and the ideals and ethics of a philosopher.
  16. the take
    Who’s Snooty Enough to Replace Philippe de Montebello?Introducing Vulture’s Snootometer™!
  17. art candy
    Artist Molly Springfield Is a Human PhotocopierNope, not a shoddy photograph. The above work, D.C.-based artist Molly Springfield’s A Translation, is a meticulously rendered drawing based on a photocopy of pages from Lucy Lippard’s 1973 text, Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object From 1966 to 1972.
  18. art candy
    Artist Michael Anderson Discovers the Albert Einstein–Regina Spektor ConnectionMichael Anderson’s densely packed, manic collages address media violence in both style and substance
  19. art candy
    Artist Tamir Sher Says There’s Life on Mars, But It’s Kind of DullTamir Sher imagines a slightly off-kilter homecoming, modeling photographs of her native Tel Aviv after shots taken on an expedition to Mars.
  20. art candy
    Artist Koren Shadmi Makes Love, Not War — Well, Maybe a Little WarIsraeli illustrator Koren Shadmi’s macabre take on Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famed shot of an overeager sailor’s post-WWII celebratory smooch, Tasting Victory, is a not-so-subtle glimpse into the artist’s own feelings on the war.
  21. art candy
    Artist MBW Is Selling the Mona LisaNothing says Christmas like bar codes and pastiche.
  22. countdown
    Michel Gondry Bringing ‘Be Kind Rewind’ to Life at Deitch GalleryThis is a totally great idea, and we plan to be first in line.
  23. art candy
    Artist Carey Young Makes for an Ineffective Speed BumpIf this were where we worked, we’d probably feel like that, too.
  24. art candy
    Artist Jim Shaw Pulls Off Quite a FeatWhat do buxom beauties, a pastoral settings, and dismembered feet have in common? Jim Shaw, apparently.
  25. art candy
    MoMA Goes Shopping for a Tongue, a Trailer, and AmoxicillinOn Friday, MoMA’s opening a show of recent acquisitions to the permanent design-collection.
  26. art candy
    Artist Julien Friedler Sinks His Teeth Into PicassoThis year, MoMA, and just about everyone else in this city, commemorated the 100-year anniversary of the completion of Picasso’s masterpiece, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. 2008 is rapidly approaching, but the celebration isn’t over just yet.
  27. art candy
    Artist Michael Bevilacqua Says BYOBWe’re not entirely sure how Micahel Bevilacqua’s How to Disappear Completely fits into the Chelsea Art Museum’s postmodern-themed group show “The Incomplete,†but we thought it might be a nice complement to Daily Intel’s office-holiday-party coverage.
  28. art candy
    Artists Margot Herster, Francesco Simeti, and Guerra de la Paz Get Their War OnExit Art’s “Love/War/Sex†exhibition, up at the gallery through January 26, paints quite the chilling wartime image/S&M fantasy complete with real-life weaponry, netting, video works, and submissive statues.
  29. art candy
    Art Collective Makes Shakespeare More Like ‘The Bachelor’“In Pursuit: Art on Dating,†a new group exhibition at Soho’s small but curatorially interesting ISE Cultural Foundation tackles dating in the 21st century (i.e. MySpace, Facebook, JDate, eHarmony, random encounters on the subway, I Love New York, etc.).
  30. art candy
    Artist Kehinde Wiley Will Keep You Dry at the BeachIf you joined the jet set down in Miami last week, you might have seen these towels floating around Art Basel (they were the official towels at Balazs’s posh Raleigh Hotel, meaning guests likely scored on the stolen-amenities front), but if you, like us, were stuck here in the ambiguously seasonal weather, amid sinus-infected friends and co-workers, fear not: They’re available online for a pretty reasonable $50.
  31. art candy
    Artist Xiaoze Xie Won’t Be Getting Much Money Back From His College BookstoreChinese artist Xiaoze Xie’s photographs lie somewhere between a frustrated poli sci major’s pre-midterm dreams and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
  32. apropos of nothing
    How Well Did Beck Know Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake?Almost besting Morgan Spurlock’s supposed discovery of Osama bin Laden as 2007’s most insane pop-cultural crossover, Vanity Fair is reporting that Beck might’ve have played a tangential role in the double suicide of artists Theresa Duncan and boyfriend Jeremy Blake.
  33. basel blog
    Art Basel Probably Not Coming to Brooklyn Anytime SoonReaders of this blog who want New York to get its own Art Basel — sorry. The Swiss company that owns the fair announced last week that it is shopping other towns, but they’re in Asia.
  34. basel blog
    Art Basel Miami: Brought to You by These SponsorsIn one sense, it’s a very good time to be an artist. There’s a lot of money out there, collector and corporate, to fund new work. Companies are using art to get publicity for their business ventures; the overwhelming memory of Art Basel 07 is one of corporate logos, hard-sell pitches and luxury branding.
  35. art candy
    Artist Tom Sanford Gets His Christmas Cheer From a CanTom Sanford’s Ornaments shows what happens when you let artists decorate your Christmas tree. Or, you know, Kid Rock.
  36. basel blog
    Who Bought What at Art Basel Miami?With Art Basel Miami over, and satellite fairs finishing up, the work begins of figuring out who bought, who sold, and what does it mean for contemporary art now.
  37. art candy
    Artist Jansson Stegner Paints Guns and Roses“Make love, not war,†suggests Jansson Stegner’s The Rosebush.
  38. basel blog
    Baby Basquiats Storm Art Basel MiamiEven copies of Basquiat’s work are flying off the walls.
  39. the take
    Meet the New Titans of Contemporary Chinese ArtChinese contemporary art has been an up-and-coming market the past few years, and the heady Christie’s International auction that happened earlier this week in Hong Kong underscored that, bringing in $108.3 million in one day.
  40. basel blog
    Art Basel Miami: Where’s All the Cheap Stuff?“BEST ART DEAL IN MIAMI. NOTHING OVER $250,†reads the sign in one booth of the upstart Geisai Art Fair in Miami.
  41. art candy
    Artist Bharti Kher’s Sculpture Has Junk in the TrunkBharti Kher’s The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own (2006).
  42. basel blog
    Big Paintings, Big Sales, and Big Dinners at Art Basel MiamiAt Art Basel Miami, where lobsters at the UBS dinner on the beach are as big as cats, the overwhelming trend this year is size.
  43. basel blog
    Who’s Inspiring Booth Envy at Art Basel Miami?“It’s too early to tell,†says bewhiskered Upper East Side art dealer Robert Mnuchin, a little more than an hour into the blockbuster and busy Art Basel Miami fair. But, in one sense, it isn’t too early; a quick sprint across the floor of the Miami Convention Center shows some artists who’ve already hit the jackpot because powerhouse dealers are displaying them alongside bigger names.
  44. art candy
    Artist Rona Yefman Advises You to Take the ElevatorIn Two Flags, Israeli artist Rona Yefman reimagines conflict in the Middle East as a Capture the Flag–like game. We’d imagine whoever is standing at the bottom of this stairwell is, well, totally screwed.
  45. basel blog
    Art Basel Miami Kicks Off With Corporate Sponsors, Lenny Kravitz“Here we go again!†Sam Keller, impresario of Art Basel Miami, cries out to a friend on a Miami street late last night. And, as if on cue, the double doors of a giant geodesic dome swing open over his shoulder to reveal millions of dollars’ worth of glittering jewels.
  46. art candy
    Artist Marcus Tremonto Can See Inside Your Chandelier’s SoulMarcus Tremonto’s BaRoke (2006).
  47. art candy
    Artist Iona Rozeal Brown Wigs OutBritney, be warned. Iona Rozeal Brown’s Weave Attack may, on an aesthetic level, harken back to classic Japanese prints and Pam Grier circa Foxy Brown, but our Afro-ed heroine seems to be slowly overpowered by the strands of synthetic hair around her.
  48. announcements
    It’s Coming: Art Basel Miami!On Monday, 50,000 artists, buyers, celebrities, and fashionistas are expected to hit Miami Beach for Art Basel Miami, the U.S.’s largest contemporary art exhibition and sale. And if it weren’t already crowded enough, we’ll be there!
  49. art candy
    Artists Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard’s Foggy IdeaWe like to think of Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard’s The Valley Beat I (Remise dalen I) as The Mist II, where (in an ironic twist!) these Danish hunters (surreally photographed prowling the countryside by this Danish husband-and-wife team) become the hunted.
  50. art candy
    Chinese Artist Su Xinping Gets That Sinking FeelingIn case you haven’t heard, Asian art is totally hot right now, and when you talk about “up-and-comers,†Su Xinping is bound to be mentioned.
  51. art candy
    Artist Tara Donovan Wakes Up the NeighborsTara Donovan is the latest contemporary artist granted tenure in the Met’s Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery (past recipients include Neo Rauch and Kara Walker) to do, well, whatever she damn well pleases.
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