Culture Label and The Tate Design Competition

My friend Florian Wupperfeld created CultureLabel along with his associates. On that site you'll find the top selling products in museum stores around the world. His blog gives info about the Tate's Design Prize. 500 pounds plus royalties if you win!

Boom Boom Room

Sometimes you just want to be one of the boys. Things might be easier, or so I think. Marc Jacobs was there on Friday in his wonderful all black caftan or skort, and Saturday was Hirst's little soiree after his End of an Era exhibition uptown. Though freezing outside it's nice when you have an "in" and can penetrate up into the fabled glass towers to look out over the whole of NYC.
Though the door can be painfully difficult for some to navigate, once you're inside the warmth is undeniable; not only warmth from the fireplace but also from the cute staff in their white dresses and the guys in brown but of course, the one and only Kamil.
And of course anyone is welcome to boom boom before 9, or rather 8.30pm when last call is made, and the doors close at 9 to reopen at 10...

Damien Hirst: End of an Era at Gagosian Gallery

Though Hirst stood for most of his time at the gallery, with his back to the crowd near the reception desk at the elevator on the 6th Floor, Emmanuelle managed to snag a photograph of herself with him. You've got to admire her chutzpah when a back-to-the-crowd is pretty clear body language saying, "I don't want to engage. Please don't approach me." Except of course, if you're a trusted friend, art dealer, advisor or Emmanuelle...


Emmanuelle Gauthier and Damien Hirst at the opening of End of an Era. Image courtesy of Emmanuelle's blackberry.









DAMIEN HIRST: End of an Era

Saturday, January 30 – Saturday, March 6, 2010
Opening reception for the artist: Saturday, January 30th, from 6 to 8 pm


Gordon Burn: If you got to make a fool of somebody, who would it be?
Damien Hirst: God.

Gagosian Gallery is pleased to present “End of an Era”, an exhibition of new paintings and sculpture by Damien Hirst.

The exhibition takes its title from the central sculpture in the exhibition, a severed bull’s head with golden horns and crowned with a solid gold disc. Suspended in formaldehyde and encased in a golden vitrine, this totemic sculpture acts as a powerful coda to The Golden Calf (2008). End of an Era proffers a sacrificial head, here dismembered from the majestic body of the earlier sculpture. While The Golden Calf symbolized the worshipping of a false idol, with End of an Era (2009) Hirst demystifies the biblical tale and, by extension, debunks his own myth-making.

Also included in the exhibition is Judgement Day (2009) a thirty-foot long gold cabinet filled with close to 30,000 manufactured diamonds. A series of photorealist paintings of famous diamonds including The Golden Jubilee (2008) The Agra (2006) and The Premiere Rose (2006) are shown together here for the first time.

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DAMIEN HIRST
Painful Memories/Forgotten Tears, 2008
Gold plated, glass and Cubic Zirconia
Diptych: 72 3/16 x 108 3/8 x 4 inches each (183.3 x 275.3 x 10.2 cm)

Future Generation Art Prize: For any artist from anywhere in the world

The only restriction: AGE!

The Future Generation Art Prize established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation is a worldwide contemporary art prize to discover, recognize and provide long-term support to a future generation of artists.

Artists around the world, without restriction of gender, nationality, race or artistic medium may enter the competition through online application.

20 shortlisted artists will be selected to show their work in an exhibition at the PinchukArtCentre (Kiev). These artists will be judged by an international Jury who will award one main prize and up to five special prizes.

The first prize will receive $100,000. Apply now!

B&A present Erwin Olaf opening at Hasted Hunt Kraeutler

B&A is a fabulous company in which my friend Louisa is a partner. I love what they do. Last night, with baby in tow, she was out to support one of her artists Erwin Olaf.

Panda: A new cafe/bar/artspace

I went to the opening of this space this week and it was a truly cool LES vibe. Most times I'm not impressed by the small spaces on the LES but every now and again someone does something big and here's one of them. Remy Amezcua is featured prominently in the space, so they've started well with the art too...

Let's get excited about...Marina Abramovich at MoMA!

One of my all time favorite artists; Marina Abramovich. Here we will have another chance to see her live and direct at MoMA in March!

Image: Marina Abramovich. Portrait with Flowers. 2009. Black-and-white gelatin silver print; photo: Marco Anelli. © 2010 Marina Abramovich. Courtesy the artist and Sean Kelly Gallery/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Ace Hotel

My only question is why can't all these multi-million dollar luxury residences be so beautiful inside as this hotel? With its high ceilings, wonderful antique lighting and art everywhere, perhaps developers think such beauty is just too expensive and too much to live with on a day to day basis. Right?
Ace gets it right with a Warholesque photo booth in the lobby!
Image: Metropolis magazine courtesy of http://www.acehotel.com/newyork/press

The Spirit of Deitch lives on in NYC: No Longer Empty at the old Tower Records

With Deitch quitting his gallery everyone's wondering what now? Who's going to represent the downtown art scene? Well there are many candidates and No Longer Empty is pretty high on the list. With lines around the corner to get into the openings one has to wonder who else is a contender. Manon Slome definitely knows how to pull it together, and with the help of her co-curators and NLE staff, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the art world pays attention.

Philippe Jacquet at Axelle Fine Arts

L'abri-cotier, 31½" x 31½". Courtesy of Axelle Fine Arts.

My friend Derrick H has been asking me to visit this gallery with him for ages. Finally I went yesterday because, coincidentally, someone else who knows the owner asked me to stop by an opening with him. I liked the work of this French artist named Philippe Jacquet. The prices are very reasonable and the gallery makes it easy for you to start collecting. The skill of this artist is apparent from the first view and what I like especially is that he seems a spiritual heir to Magritte.