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Displaying items by tag: acquavella galleries

Wednesday, 16 September 2015 12:33

The ADAA Art Show Releases Its 2016 Exhibitor List

Seventy-two galleries, including such stalwarts as Pace, Matthew Marks, Acquavella, and Sean Kelly, are among those who will show at the 28th annual Art Dealers Association of America art fair next year. Slated for March 2–6, 2016 at the Park Avenue Armory, the ADAA Art Show announced its list of exhibitors in a release today. The fair’s opening gala will benefit the Henry Street Settlement, the Lower East Side social-service nonprofit.

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Acquavella Galleries in New York is currently hosting the exhibition “Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing: Works from the Schorr Family Collection.” The show was curated by Fred Hoffman, who was introduced to Basquiat by fellow art dealer Larry Gagosian in 1982. Hoffman helped Basquiat produce five editions of prints, which were published in 1983 by New City Editions in Venice, California. Hoffman also assisted in the production of the artist’s 1984 silkscreen paintings and co-curated Basquiat’s retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum in 2005. He is the Ahmanson Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

“Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing” features 22 works on paper and two paintings from the collection of Herbert and Lenore Schorr, Los Angeles-based collectors who met the artist in 1981, before his first exhibition in New York. The Schorrs quickly became Basquiat’s devoted collectors, supporters, and friends. While the couple owns several seminal Basquiat paintings, what makes their holdings so unique is their vast collection of works on paper. Hoffman said, “The Schorrs astutely understood that working on paper was equally central to his practice as painting on canvas. The collection demonstrates both the focus and ambition that the artist invested in the medium of drawing.” Drawing is an essential component of Basquiat’s graffiti-inspired Neo-expressionist and Primitivist works. Between 1980-1988, the artist produced approximately 1,000 works on paper that exemplify his frenetic, bold, and gestural style.

The two paintings on view at Acquavella Galleries include a portrait that Basquiat painted of the Schorrs and “Leonardo da Vinci’s Greatest Hits,” which was part of an exhibition at Fun Gallery in New York in 1983. The show didn’t receive any critical attention and the Schorrs were the only people to buy a painting. “Leonardo da Vinci’s Greatest Hits” is now considered a foremost example of Basquiat’s work. Lenore Schorr said, “We had so much confidence in him from the beginning and couldn’t understand why other people couldn’t see it.”

Today, Basquiat, who died in 1988 at the age of 27, commands extremely high prices at auction. In May 2013, “Dustheads” sold for $48.8 million at Christie’s, setting the record for Basquiat at auction. His work is included in private and public collections throughout the world, including the Broad Art Foundation in California, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Museu d’art Contemporani de Barcelona in Spain, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Acquavella Galleries was founded by Nicholas Acquavella in 1921. The gallery initially specialized in works of the Italian Renaissance, but in 1960, when Acquavella’s son William joined the business, the gallery expanded to major works of the 19th and 20th centuries, including masters of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. The gallery has since expanded and the entire scope of the 20th century is now represented.

“Jean-Michel Basquiat Drawing: Works from the Schorr Family Collection” will remain on view at Acquavella Galleries through June 13.

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Thursday, 17 October 2013 22:38

Frieze Art Fair Kicks Off in London

Frieze London, the most highly anticipated contemporary art event of the year, opened on October 17 in a custom-built structure in Regent’s Park. This year’s show features 152 preeminent galleries from around the world offering works by well-known artists as well as promising newcomers.

The art world’s elite flock to Frieze to browse works being offered by established dealers including Gagosian Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, Lisson Gallery, Pace, White Cube and David Zwirner. This year’s offerings include five works by American pop artist Jeff Koons (Gagosian Gallery), sculptures by Swiss artist Urs Fischer (Sadie Coles HQ) and a monumental white odalisque sculpture by New York-based artist Jennifer Rubell (Stephen Friedman Gallery).  

Now in its second year, Frieze Masters, which presents works created before the year 2000, ranging from ancient era and old masters to late 20th century works, is taking place at the same time as its contemporary counterpart. Exhibitors include Acquavella Galleries, Hauser & Wirth and Landau Fine Art.

During Frieze’s preview on October 16, the Tate Collection acquired five works by emerging and leading international artists thanks to a £150,000 gift from The Outset/Frieze Art Fair Fund.

Frieze London and Frieze Masters will take place through October 20.

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The Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art that took place at Sotheby’s London on June 19, 2013 garnered $165.9 million, surpassing its high estimate of $164.3 million. The auction, which featured 71 works, sold 81.7% by lot and bidders hailed from 33 countries around the world.

The sale’s top lot was Claude Monet’s (1840-1926) painting of Venice, Le Palais Contarini (1908), which sold for $30.8 million after a three-way bidding battle. Other highlights included a Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) painting in the artist’s quintessential palette titled Red, Yellow and Blue (1927), which was scooped up by a telephone bidder for $14.5 million and Wassily Kandinsky’s (1866-1944) Bauhaus-era work on paper Ineinander (1928). A number of Surrealist works fared well at the sale including Max Ernst’s (1891-1976) La Horde (1927), which sold to New York’s Acquavella Galleries for $3.2 million and René Magritte’s (1898-1967) L’Idee, which features one of the artist’s well-known floating green apples and brought $7.1 million.

Helena Newman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist & Modern Art Department in Europe, said, “There was an extraordinary dynamic at play in the sale room. Established collectors – drawn out by the quality of the estate collections presented in the sale – competed with many of the new contender’s in today’s market. Record levels of participation were driven by a truly global audience.”

The evening auctions continue at Christie’s London on June 25, 2013 with its Post-War and Contemporary Art sale.

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Wednesday, 12 June 2013 17:43

Art Basel Kicks Off in Switzerland

Art Basel, the most anticipated art fair in the world, will be held from June 13-16, 2013 in Switzerland. A VIP preview and vernissage were held on June 11 and June 12 respectively and included the $12 million sale of Alexander Calder’s (1898-1976) Sumac (1961) by London’s Helly Nahmad Gallery.

Now in its 44th year, Art Basel welcomes 304 international exhibitors to Messe Basel, a venue situated at the border of Switzerland, France and Germany. The fair presents the finest works of modern and contemporary art by more than 4,000 artists. Works on view include paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, photographs, video and editioned works. The show is split into eight sectors – Galleries, Feature, Statements, Edition, Unlimited, Parcours, Film, and Magazines – and allows patrons to explore the many facets of modern and contemporary art including museum-quality paintings, curated projects, and site-specific artworks.  

The remarkable roster of exhibitors includes Acquavella Galleries Inc. (New York), Castelli Gallery (New York), Gagosian Gallery (multiple locations), Hauser & Wirth (Zurich/New York), Dominique Levy (New York), and Lisson Gallery (Milan/London).

Art Basel offers a full program of events including symposiums, artist talks, and lectures. Featured participants include Massimiliano Gioni, curator of the 55th Venice Biennale and Director at the New Museum, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, co-director of the Serpentine Gallery in London.    

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Wednesday, 05 December 2012 14:00

Highly-Anticipated Art Happenings Kick-Off in Miami

The anxiously awaited event, Art Basel, begins tonight, December 5, with a VIP preview and runs through Sunday, December 9. Now in its 11th year, Art Basel has become a defining event in the art world and each year the city of Miami is taken over by collectors, curators, artists, celebrities, and art enthusiasts as well as a host of art fairs.

Taking place at the Miami Beach Convention Center, Art Basel features over 260 big-name galleries from around the world and exhibits works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Renowned for its support of young and emerging artists and galleries, Art Basel includes performance art, public art projects, lectures, and video art installations. Some exhibitor highlights include Acquavella Galleries, Mary Boone Gallery, Gagosian Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Lisson Gallery, and White Cube, among many others.

Regarded as Miami art week’s anchor fair, Art Miami got a head start on Art Basel and hosted a VIP preview on December 4 at the Art Miami Pavilion in the city’s Wynwood Arts District. The fair, which features modern and contemporary offerings from more than 125 international galleries, runs from December 5 through December 9. While Art Basel tends to be spotlighted during Miami’s art week, Art Miami is the original and longest-running contemporary art fair to be held in the area with 23 years under its belt. Exhibitors include Douglas Dawson Gallery, Eli Klein Fine Art, Haunch of Venison, Hollis Taggart Gallery, Jerald Melberg Gallery, Michael Goedhuis, and Waterhouse & Dodd.

This year, Art Miami coincides with the inaugural CONTEXT art fair, which features 50 galleries representing emerging and mid-career artists. Located in an ultramodern pavilion adjacent to Art Miami, CONTEXT boasts indoor and outdoor projects as well as solo artist installations, curated projects, and multimedia exhibits. Between Art Miami and CONTEXT, there will be over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space and over 250 participating galleries.

Another highlight of the city’s art week is Scope Miami, which opened on December 4 with a VIP preview and will run through December 9 at a new location in the midtown arts district. With a 100,000 square foot pavilion, Scope features 20 new galleries as part of its “Breeder Program” and 85 established exhibitors. Besides modern and contemporary art, there will be design, music, and fashion offerings.

Pulse Miami opens to the public on December 6 and runs through December 9 at The Ice Palace Studios. One of Art Basel’s many satellite fairs, Pulse is in its eighth year and features 86 international galleries exhibiting works on paper, paintings, sculptures, performances, installations, and video art. Pulse also includes its signature series, Pulse Projects, a selection of installations proposed by galleries and not-for-profit institutions. This year’s Pulse Projects includes a short film by Zackary Drucker shown earlier this year at MoMA PS1, marble installations courtesy of Venske & Spanle and Margaret Thatcher Projects, and a special screening of street artist Invader’s Art 4 Space, courtesy of Jonathan LeVine Gallery.

While there are countless fairs, events, parties, concerts, and openings happening in Miami this week, one not to be missed affair is the Masterpieces from the Berardo Collection exhibit at the Gary Nader Art Centre. Opening on December 5, the show features pieces from one of the finest modern and contemporary art collections in existence. Hand-picked from the private holdings of Joe Berardo, a Portuguese mogul, the 110 works are worth $500 million. Featured artists include Francis Bacon, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Roy Lichtenstein, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and many more.

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