Filed under: Events, Art, Sports

In the buildup to London’s hosting duties of the 2012 Olympics, the city’s planners have created a “Cultural Olympiad” to generate buzz, highbrow British style. Twelve new public works of art are slated to open, the Royal Shakespeare Co. will produce a Shakespearean festival, a film competition will inspire the next wave of British filmmakers and Windsor Castle will be illuminated by a dazzling light show. The city plans to invest around $70 million in the project.

Lord Sebastian Coe, the chair of London’s organizing committee for the 2012 Games, will even participate in Martin Creed’s conceptual piece of moving sculpture currently on exhibit at the Tate, a piece featuring a runner sprinting across the museum galleries every 30 seconds, followed by an equivalent pause. The museum is calling it the “purest expression of human vitality.”

The hope, organizers say, is to connect sports and the arts and provide a major injection of culture that will inspire young artists the way Michael Phelps makes you want to don a Speedo.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art

Steve McQueen is the art world’s new King of Cool. The British filmmaker whose recent project Hunger won the prestigious Caméra d’Or award at Cannes, adds another prominent award to his collection: Gucci Group’s annual recognition of an international artist who makes a significant contribution to film. And this year’s group of nominees — Julian Schnabel, Isaac Julien and Adam Yauch — provided staunch competition indeed.

Robert Polet, Gucci’s CEO and President, presented the award to McQueen during the 65th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy. The committee included some of the world’s greatest arbiters of style, Italian Vogue’s Franco Sozzani, the artist Jeff Koons, actress Isabelle Huppert, Yves Saint Laurent’s creative director Stefano Pilati and the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, Marco Muller.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Auctions, Art

British art world bad boy Damien Hirst, probably the world’s most successful living artist, says he’s getting sick of his own work. Hirst says the upcoming major auction of his work at Sotheby’s in London later this month, which is expected to bring in about $120 million, will mark the end of some of his signature techniques, including ones that brought him fame and fortune in the first place. (Some cynics say the pieces aren’t selling as well as they used to).

Except for a few pieces he’s currently finishing up, Hirst says he will no longer be producing any of his famed formaldehyde works, such as the shark and cow series, nor will he continue with the spot and spin paintings he’s so well known for. Explaining the change, Hirst credits his friend Joe Strummer, late frontman of The Clash: “It’s like [Joe] once told me about writing songs,” the artists says. “If you can guess what the rhyme’s gonna be in the next line, then it’s shit and you’ve gotta change it.”

%Gallery-30899%

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art

British artist Marc Quinn has cast a life-size solid gold statue of Kate Moss, valued at $2.7 million and said to be the world’s largest gold statue made since the days of Ancient Egypt.

The statue, entitled Siren, is a larger, golden version of his 2006 marble statue of Moss, Sphinx, in a provocative yoga pose. Sphinx weighs in at 110 pounds, which is probably quite close to Moss’ actual weight.

Quinn’s work “deals with the distanced relationship we have with our bodies,” according to his gallery’s bio, “highlighting how the conflict between the ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ has a grip on the contemporary psyche.” Moss is “the ideal beauty of the moment,” the artist tells Vogue UK.

Siren will be on display alongside works by Damien Hirst and others at the British Museum in London for its Satuephilia show running from Oct. 4 - Jan. 25. See the gallery for more examples of Quinn’s work.

%Gallery-30892%

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art, Wealth

Profligate Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is bankrolling a major Francis Bacon exhibition at his gorgeous 27-year-old girlfriend Dasha Zhukova’s new Moscow art gallery in 2010. The show at the luxe gallery, called the Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and also financed by Abramovich, will be entitled Death Shadowing Life: Francis Bacon: The Late Paintings, 1971-92, and will subsequently travel to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, The Art Newspaper reports. The announcement would seem to explain Abramovich’s astounding $86.3 million acquisition of a Bacon triptych at Sotheby’s in May. Zhukova’s gallery officially opens on Sept. 16 with an Ilya Kabakov retrospective.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art

Last year, artist Damien Hirst exhibited his diamond skull piece “For the Love of God” while he was shopping for a buyer. Hirst eventually bought the piece along with a group of investors for its $100 million asking price. Now the piece is on the road again. The Netherlands’ national museum will exhibit the diamond and platinum skull for six weeks starting November 1. The piece is decorated with 8,601 diamonds and allegedly takes its name from Hirst’s mother’s exclamation when she heard what her son was up to.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Auctions, Art

On September 18, Sotheby’s will auction 118 lots of rare (and rarely at auction) Indian and Southeast Asian paintings, miniatures and objects. The group is expected to fetch a total of between $2.3 and $3.2 million. Sotheby’s has experienced unusually high prices for traditional Indian art in recent years, as economic growth in India appears exponential, and young collectors turn from modern pieces to those artists’ historical roots.

One highly anticipated lot is a museum-quality illustration that depicts a pair of ardent lovers, Krishna and Radha, characters from a 12th century poem. The illustration, seen above thanks to ArtDaily, is estimated at between $200,000 and $300,000.

Read | Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Auctions, Art

British painter Lucian Freud - whose portrait Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (above) sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for $33 million in May, setting a new world record for a living artist - has just been informed that one of his subjects destroyed a similar portrait because he found the work “unflattering”. Millionaire Bernard Breslauer, a famed New York rare books dealer who once bought a Gutenberg Bible, destroyed the painting because of Freud’s “unsightly depiction of his double chin,” the London Daily Mail reports.

The destruction of the multimillion dollar painting by Breslauer, who died at the age of 86 in 2004, was discovered by a curator researching works painted by Freud between 1939 - 1954 for a retrospective exhibition taking place in London next month. Freud is reportedly extremely distraught at the discovery - as are Breslauer’s heirs, no doubt.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art

Teddy bears are such a universal item its hard to make one someone wouldn’t adore. Growing up there was the Paddington Bear, then Build-A-Bear came along, but the most recent creation, which makes a truly unique (and expensive!) mark on the history of stuffed bears, is the Karl Lagerfeld teddy bear made by Steiff. Touted as a ‘master of luxury’, Karl Lagerfeld may be seen by many as the quintessential choice for a luxury bear that costs upwards of $14,000 and will be sold at Neiman Marcus this September in NYC. I think the bear could be mistaken as one of the Men In Black if you don’t follow the design industry but either way it is cool, chic, and totally original.

%Gallery-30311%

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art

Paul Mawhinney has a big problem — his enormous collection of records that exceeds the interest of most wealthy, potential buyers. Appraised at $50 million Mawhinney is only asking for a mere $3 million hoping to sell the collection before his blindness and diabetes make life any more difficult. Sure, iPods are fantastic and digital music is a great addition to our ever more tech-driven lives but a historic collection of this magnitude belongs with another true music connoisseur or in a museum. Anyone with the means and a passion for tunes should consider making Mawhinney an offer — it is most likely the only collection of its kind.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Auctions, Art, Charity, Big Givers

Travel + Leisure has announced its collaboration with 18 prominent artists including Maya Lin, Manolo Blahnik and April Gornik, to create specially-commissioned pieces to be auctioned as part of its second annual Project Globe event. Following the auction, the magazine will donate all proceeds to Future Generations, a non-profit conservation and community development organization. The online auction starts today at tlprojectglobe.com, where bidders are swiftly staking their claims.

The diverse group of photographs, sculptures and jewelry, all of which aim to celebrate travel’s positive impact, will be shown at GlassHouses in New York City on September 19 and 20. Photographs from the auctioned items will be featured in Travel + Leisure’s October Style + Culture issue, on newsstands September 23. See the gallery for a selection of items at auction.

%Gallery-30086%

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Art

Shepard Fairey has already turned his artist’s eye toward the political with his art for Barack Obama but now he’s embracing the voting process as a whole. Today at 11:00 am PDT, CafePress and Rock the Vote will start selling 100 exclusive framed prints created, signed and numbered by the popular artist. This limited edition art was designed by Shepard Fairey for Rock the Vote to get those youngsters out there voting. The print measures 18″ x 24″ and comes framed. It sells for $250 and only on per customer will be sold until they are sold out . All proceeds will got to Rock the Vote. CafePress will also make all Shepard Fairey/Rock the Vote merchandise such as T-Shirts, prints, stickers, buttons, etc. available for purchase.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Decor, Art

If summer holidays have kept you out of the city, you may have a treat waiting for you upon arrival in New York: the pietre dure (Italian for “hard stones”) exhibit at the Met. The museum’s second floor galleries are filled with ornately designed furniture, vases, and various objêts d’art all featuring hand-carved pietre dure that could take artisans years to complete for just one piece. As highly valued now as then, one recently auctioned example of pietre dure was sold for $36.7 million in 2004.

The exhibit will run until September 21. If your travels won’t take you down 5th Avenue by then, see the gallery for stunning examples of this painstakingly rendered art.

%Gallery-29582%

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Decor, Art

If you fancy yourself a Frank Lloyd Wright fan and wish to emulate his designs in your backyard or patio this Oak Park Studio Vase may be of interest. The vase is a cast stone replica of the very object which decorated his Oak Park residence in Chicago. Illustrating one of his classic designs, the cross within a circle within a square, this strapping vase is available in three sizes with prices starting at $1,350. I imagine this would serve well as a plantar, birdbath, or decorative piece holding its own along a path or strategically placed on a patio.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Artnet recently launched an online art auction (still in beta mode), featuring photography, prints, works on paper, sculpture, and paintings. At a glance there were several hundred works posted, and there’s info on the home page for art dealers on how to become an authorized Artnet seller. The site is straightforward and seems to work much like any online auction — place a bid (U.S. dollars or euros) or just add to your watch list. There are starting bids, estimates, and end times. While the site is just getting started, I bet that with people shopping more and more from home (saving gas), even shopping online for art will become commonplace.

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The honor of auctioning off the private art collection of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge, shown above at Saint Laurent’s funeral, is a huge get for Christie’s. Christie’s will work with the auction house Pierre Berge and Associates on a planned February 2009 auction. The items to be sold will be announced in September. The collection is composed of several hundred pieces including Renaissance jewelry, paintings by Picasso and Matisse and manuscripts by authors such as Gustave Flaubert and Andre Gide. Experts say the auction could bring in close to $800 million.

Read | 

Filed under: Decor, Art, Charity

Designer Harry Allen crafted his resin cast gold finished piggy bank as part of his series, Reality. And in our current economic climate, everyone wants to look more penny pincher than spendthrift, whether you are truly concerned about your investments or have conscientiously decided to be a happy person just one-Birkin-fewer. With this piece on a shelf somewhere, your frugal side makes its subtle yet cheeky appearance and your charitable side does too: Allen will donate 5% of proceeds to The Humane Society. Available in gold or chrome finish at Moss online for $195.

Read | 

Filed under: Water, Art

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko’s long-awaited yacht is getting some pricey decoration. The wildly distinctive yacht, known simply as “A” named after Melnichenko’s wife Aleksandra, was designed by Philippe Starck. The Times Online reports that the $400 million megayacht recently motored to Norway to pick up three Monet paintings. It is believed that Melnichenko chose Norway to avoid EU import taxes.

The 390-foot ship was built by Blohm & Voss and features details including a glass roof looking up into one of the two swimming pools. It has six guest cabins but room for 42 staff members.

Check out more pictures of this incredible yacht at Monaco Eye.

Read 

More:

Filed under: Auctions, Celebrity Shopping, Art, Charity

When contemporary art cult fave Shepard Fairey started “campaigning” for Barack Obama, he created original collages assembling inspiring portraits of Obama above titles like HOPE, PROGRESS and CHANGE. We saw them silkscreened on tee shirts worn by the likes of Ryan Phillippe that soon became impossible to get, selling for thousands on eBay. Now for the true connoisseur — of politics and art — the rare opportunity exists to bid on one of the original three pieces, OBAMA HOPE. Currently at $60,000, the piece is being auctioned by Westport, CT-based CharityBuzz, which will donate profits to the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, providing access to the arts to disadvantaged urban youth. CharityBuzz will accept bids until July 24, but if you miss this potentially revolutionary piece of art, you can at least order the sticker version online at Sticker Robot. Big spender yours truly just snagged ten of them.

Filed under: Art, Real Estate Developments

The Sapphire Tower condominium project in downtown San Diego takes a unique approach to attracting attention by using public art. While most public art is at the base of a structure, the Sapphire Tower’s Borgonovo sculpture will stretch 80 feet from tip to tail. The design from artist Betsy Schulz is a modern metal and glass structure with two different textured glass colors set as the shimmering gemstones. Borgonovo will be made of two-tiered mesh, aluminum panels, textured and laminated blue and clear glass, and blue-LED string lights to illuminate the glass at night. Borgonovo is one of two major art pieces being installed at Sapphire Tower both designed by Schultz and costing just under a half a million dollars total.

Sapphire Tower is a 32-story project located on the southwest corner of Kettner Boulevard and A Street in downtown San Diego. The project will include 97 units in one and two bedroom, loft and penthouse layouts. Building amenities include a pool, hot tub, sundeck and gym. The building is set to be finished by the end of the year and prices start in the $600,00s with penthouses starting at $2.5 million.

Read 

More: