Remi/Rough and System, who collaborated on work at the Pure Evil Gallery’s most recent show, painted a really nice wall outside the Opus Store in Covent Garden yesterday.
Photo from Remi/Rough
Bonhams Auction Results
Just got home from tonight’s Bonhams Urban Art Auction. Results can be found here.
My immediate reactions can be found on the Vandalog Twitter.
In short, most work didn’t sell or was at the low end of the estimate (Banksy’s “Happy Copper” went for just above half the low estimate). The room was packed, but packed full of non-bidders interested in just seeing the results. The atmosphere was not depressing or so, but it was certainly a buyer’s market.
Surprise of the evening was the canvas by RESO which went for over £5000 (including buyer’s premium). I’ve never heard of him. To compare, two pretty good Supine pieces went unsold for much less. Anybody know about this RESO guy?
Next Week: Part2ism’s ‘Artillery for Pleasure’
Next week sees the opening of Part2ism’s solo show with Urban Angel at The Art Lounge. Sounds like there will be a lot of new work hanging, plus a book. Hope to see you there next Thursday.
Contemporary Art is a Fraud (not my words)
This article from The Independent should be read by anybody who has ever bought a Damien Hirst “spot” painting or even a crappy piece of street art by a Banksy rip-off stencil “artist.” Here’s a short excerpt:
One of the world’s leading art dealers this week launched an astonishing attack on the contemporary art market, condemning the millions charged for some works as “almost fraud”.
The comments from David Nahmad, a Monaco-based dealer who is possibly the biggest in the world, come as art buyers reel from the collapse of the contemporary market.
They echo remarks by the British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro, who last week said that “stupid outrageous values” had become more important than the work itself.
Mr Nahmad, who is reputed to have a £2bn collection of some 5,000 paintings, including 300 Picassos, told The Independent on Sunday: “There are a lot of embarrassed people who bought art that is now not worth what they paid for it. For the past three or four years it’s been a very, very thin market, with just two or three buyers pushing up prices by bidding against each other.
Pretty interesting take. It is worth keeping in mind though that Nahmad’s collection focusses on work by artists like Picasso and Rothko, so he’s obviously got an interest in people realizing that Hirst is overpriced and then having them move back to collecting Bacon.
Another choice quote: “He added that he doesn’t think any artist since Francis Bacon had pushed art forward.”
Not that I agree with Nahmad that NOTHING has pushed art forward since Bacon, but I’d say that this does leave a lot of potential for street art (if it can avoid destroying itself by becoming derivative). Street art provides the chaos that might be needed to revitalize art. Or maybe I’m doing the same as Nahmad and just talking my book.
Thoughts?
Vids: Pure Evil in Brazil and Shep Fairey on CBS
Two really enjoyable street art videos hit the blogosphere today.
The first is from Pure Evil. He’s been in Brazil for a show, and it looks like he’s having a great time checking out the street art there. Some really cool work by extremely talented artists, most of whom I’ve never heard of.
C00l Pure Evil story. The other day, my friend asked me about buying some art for her room. She’s into stuff like Rothko, but I thought I’d try to get her into street art. I sent her an email with links to about 15 street artists to try to get a feel for her taste. I figured she’d end up loving stuff by Remi/Rough or Anthony Lister for their more traditional styles. I threw Pure Evil onto the list because I have a piece by him that I really like, but I didn’t expect her to like it at all. It’s a stencil and it just didn’t seem like her taste. Turns out, Pure Evil was her favorite artist that I linked to. Now, she and I are going to stop by Pure Evil’s gallery to check out his work in person. So that’s my tangent for the day.
The other video is of Shepard Fairey on CBS. It’s a pretty good interview, though I think I caught an error or two when they talk about his original Andre the Giant campaign. Fairey mentions his problems with the AP and claims that his work falls under free speech, so he is not guilty. Can’t wait to hear how that argument plays out in court. I’d love it if he gets off not guilty with that defense.
Via The Art Collectors Blog and Hooked
KAWS’ Solo Show Opening
KAWS had the opening of his solo show “Long Way Home” at Honor Fraser this week. As usual, it sounds like it was packed with stars and KAWS superfans. @bendunn said “4 deep line for two blocks @ KAWS opening”. The work includes some of his most abstract paintings yet, Kurf paintings (KAWS + Smurfs = Kurfs), and sculptures including some life-size Chums.
Check out more photos at Arrested Motion.
Photos from Arrested Motion
Sweet Toof Reflections
Eventually, once I understand the area enough myself, I’m going to do a post about all the great work in Hackney along the river. In the mean time, check out this work by Sweet Toof. By itself, a pretty average piece for him, but the reflection really completes it. By the way, I hear Sweet Toof has some work available at Black Rat Press’ print show, which opened today.
Photo by delete08
TOAD at Opus Underground
In all honesty, I’d never heard of TOAD before I got an email from Opus Underground yesterday announcing that he had a few pieces for sale on their website. Turns out, he’s been asking for feedback on his work from the WallKandy crowd, but I missed that thread.
Anyway, I’m excited by what TOAD has for sale at Opus Underground, and I’m looking to forward to seeing more of his mixture between charcoal and spraypaint stencils. I think he’s got a lot of promise.
Photos from TOAD’s flickr
The Best Tagged Door In SF
ESPVisuals posted photos of a few doors in San Fransisco that have been abundantly tagged, and they are all pretty cool, but I thought I’d just share my favorite one.
Not only is this door completely covered in tags, but the portrait fits in perfectly with the tags. I’d love to know who painted it.
The photographer of that door, funkandjazz/Steve Rotman, just published Bay Area Graffiti, a book of his photos. I’ve just added it to my list of street art books to purchase, and though I haven’t yet read it, Steve’s photos are always impressive on flickr and I’m sure the book will but just as good.
Anthony Lister Things
One of the most talented painters/street artists around is, without a doubt, Anthony Lister. If I could have one artist paint a wall in my house, he’d be way up on that list. Unfortunately I am not a celebrity like Bam Margera. At least we can all still admire the work Lister’s doing at Bam’s house.
The other news is the Lister print that was released today at Paper Monster. Unfortunately, it has already sold out.
