NEW YORK — The summer hiatus allows many habitués of the art world to escape for vacation, and to absolve themselves of art world responsibilities. The endemic fear of ‘missing out’ is allayed for a few short weeks. This comes to an abrupt halt at the end of the Labor Day weekend in early September, which marks the beginning of the Fall art season. Experienced by many in the art world as a ‘back to school’ moment, friends and colleagues reconvene at innumerable openings, dinners and drinks to celebrate new exhibitions and get up to date on recent gossip. While the heavy schedule of events can appear daunting, the flood of new art and ideas makes the effort well worthwhile.

Every two years, Norah and Norman Stone organize a new exhibition of artworks selected from their private collection to be shown in a specially designed ‘Art Cave’ on their Napa Valley property, Stonescape. In addition to the ‘Art Cave’, an exhibition space excavated into the side of a hill, the property includes a farmhouse from the 1880s, a vineyard, a grove of redwood trees and other art works such as a sound piece by Alex Waterman and a Log Cabin sculpture by Cady Noland. This year saw the fourth exhibition since the space was inaugurated in 2007. Curated by Thea and Suzanne, Revealed is the title of the current installation and it focuses on an expanded understanding of portraiture in art. Showing the Stones’ preference for collecting artists in depth, terrific groupings of works by Ai Wei Wei, Henrik Olesen and Theaster Gates were highlights. The majority of the works on view were made within the last ten years, though a number of 20th century masterpieces are included as historical precedents, for example a rare edition by Marcel Duchamp and an Oxidation Painting by Andy Warhol.

The opening of the exhibition is celebrated with an elaborate event that combines the Stones’ enthusiasm for art and the friends and colleagues who are drawn to their vision. A casual dinner was held outdoors and a pool party followed. The pool is another special feature of the property and was designed around an installation by the highly regarded artist James Turrell, who was in attendance at the event. Turrell is currently the subject of  three concurrent exhibitions at the Guggenheum Museum in New York, LACMA in Los Angeles and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and is one of the most lauded of the so-called Space and Light artists who came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. Following the dinner, a musical performance was given by ‘The Black Monks of Mississippi,’ a group formed by Theaster Gates, which finds inspiration in the histories of gospel, spirituals, blues and jazz. The event is always a wonderful opportunity to celebrate art collecting at its most extraordinary and stands as testament to Norah and Norman Stone’s ongoing commitment to contemporary art and the artist’s who create it.

One of the most striking changes in the art world over the last forty years has been the rise of the art fair. From humble beginnings with the first ‘Cologne Art Market’ in 1967, the situation today makes an accurate count almost impossible, with certainly more than 200 art fairs, and probably many more. Within this storm of increased competition, Art Basel has maintained its importance and is still regarded as the most important art fair in the world. A huge array of satellite events cater to the enormous influx of art lovers that descend on this modestly sized Swiss city. Even Zurich, an hour away by train, capitalizes on the fair, hosting a Contemporary Art Weekend that precedes Art Basel by only a few days.

Highlights from Art Basel were many. As part of Art Unlimited the London based gallery Cabinet showed a fantastic installation by Marc Camille Chaimowicz and in the Art Features section another London gallery Herald St showed a performance by Pablo Bronstein. In the main fair, continental European dealers including Galerie Daniel Buchholz, Galerie Neu and Galerie Micheline Szwajcer all showed fantastic works drawn from the artists that constitute their extremely strong programs. Experimenter Gallery from India showed three intriguing artists new to our eyes and Andrew Kreps showed beautiful new photographs from Annette Kelm and a new painting by Frederic Vaerslev that was compelling and convincing. On the lower level of the main hall, extraordinary secondary market works were available from established dealers including Richard Nagy who displayed beautiful Egon Schiele drawings, treasures were replete as always at Galerie 1900-2000 and a beautiful Albert Oehlen painting and work on paper was on display at Max Hetzler.

Opening alongside Art Basel each year is the Liste Art Fair, a breeding ground for young galleries working with artists who are emerging or less visible in the commercial arena. Highlights here were from galleries based slightly outside the main cities of the international art markets. For example Merlin Carpenter showed impressive works at the booth of Brussels based Galerie Dependance and Emily Sundblad and Jose Rojas had works in the booth of Mexican gallery House of Gaga. Rodeo Gallery from Istanbul also had a notable presentation at the fair.

Basel has a fantastic array of museums and they always plan stunning exhibitions to coincide with the influx of art connoisseurs to the city in June each year.  A Max Ernst exhibition at the Beyeler Foundation, Picasso at the Kunstmuseum Basel, and a retrospective of British video artist Steve McQueen at the Schaulager were well received by the assembled audience. Although 2 hours drive from Basel, a small contingent also ventured to Kunsthaus Bregenz to view the exhibition of Wade Guyton and Kelley Walker that also included a number of their collaborative artworks. The beautiful architecture of Peter Zumthor who designed the Bregenz museum, helped show the work of these artists to its best possible advantage.

A short visit to London following the Art Fair capped off a long and extensive trip. An exhibition of work by Jutta Koether at Campoli Presti was a fantastic way to round out a stimulating and productive tour of some of the best art in Europe.

Travel has long been a valuable tool for the research undertaken by Art Advisory Services. To cover the European art scene, it is essential to meet with gallerists, curators and artists wherever they are based. With this in mind, Thea and Ethan spent time in Paris and Oslo before joining Suzanne and Ashley at the Venice Biennale.

Paris is no longer the center of the art world, yet the high concentration of first class museums ensures its status as an important destination for art. At the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris there was a beautifully installed survey exhibition of work by Danh Vo. Displaying pieces from all bodies of Vo’s work, the exhibition reiterated his status as an artist of great importance. The Centre Pompidou had brilliant exhibitions of the works from French abstract painter Simon Hantaï and American artist Mike Kelley. These historically important artists were given the careful consideration they deserve and it was especially illuminating to have the opportunity to see such an expansive and complete exhibition of the French artist’s formidable work. Visiting the Paris commercial galleries with close friends and colleagues, including Clement Dirier and Michele Barré, highlights included a group exhibition at Galerie Chantal Crousel , sculptures by Italian Arte Povera artist Giuseppe Penone at Marian Goodman and a wonderful small group show at Campoli Presti, a gallery that seldom disappoints.

In the past decade, a number of Scandinavian artists have emerged as leading voices in contemporary art. Many of these artists live and work in Oslo. During a brief two-day visit to the city, Thea and Ethan met with key protagonists in the Norwegian scene. A dinner organized by eminent dealer Eivind Furnesvik of Standard (Oslo) provided the wonderful opportunity to hear from artist and learn of their future plans. Matias Faldbakken talked about his upcoming exhibition at Le Consortium in Dijon, and dinner was accompanied by lively conversations with young artists including Fredrik Vaerslev and Torbjørn Rødland. Exhibitions of interest in Oslo included Antoine Catala at the non-profit space UKS Oslo and a new exhibition at the recently opened Astrup Fearnley Museum. More time with Eivind Furnesvik allowed for a truly in depth look at the dealer’s wonderful program which includes exciting new work by New York based artist Josh Smith.

The Venice Biennale has an impressively international focus and the proliferation of national pavilions, in combination with Massimiliano Gioni’s “The Encyclopedic Palace,” was ample reminder of the expansive nature of contemporary art today. Standouts from the national pavilions included Jeremy Deller’s work at the British Pavilion, Anri Sala curated by Christine Macel for the French nation who were occupying the German Pavilion, an off-site project featuring the dancer Maria Hassabi curated by Raimundas Malasauskas for the Cyprus Pavilion, and works by Hito Steyerl, Rossella Biscotti, Camille Henrot, Melvin Moti, Danh Vo, Helen Marten, Ed Atkins, and Mark Leckey in the Arsenale. Opening alongside were two major exhibitions from the François Pinault Foundation. Rudolf Stingel occupied the Palazzo Grassi with wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling carpets, along with a presentation of paintings from a time period spanning two decades. At the Punta della Dogana was a group exhibition that included works by many of the most important living artists today, including Bruce Nauman, David Hammons, Theaster Gates, and Philippe Parreno.

Bergdorf Goodman hosted a dinner celebrating Frieze New York, Dries Van Noten and the launch of Thea and Ethan’s book “Collecting Art for Love, Money and More” recently published by Phaidon. The event included a diverse group of people from the worlds of art and fashion and included many artists with whom Thea and Ethan have had longstanding friendships.

Images courtesy Benjamin Lozovsky/BFAnyc.com

Frieze New York returned for its second appearance on Randall’s Island – a small strip of land in the middle of New York’s East River rarely visited even by the most intrepid natives. The giant white tent especially built for the fair provided an open and airy space resplendent with natural light. With over 180 galleries it was inevitable that the quality would vary, but solo and two person presentations stood out. Roe Ethridge and Pae White were exhibited together in a booth shared by Greengrassi and Andrew Kreps. Murray Guy showed a remarkable series of photographs by Zoe Leonard that were paired with works by the young sound artist and sculptor Sergei Tcherepnin. Marian Goodman, with a booth dedicated to the performance work of Tino Sehgal, 47 Canal Gallery, showing work by Stewart Uoo, and Real Fine Arts, showing work by Antek Walczak, also made an impact with their solo presentations. Standard Oslo, Galerie Buchholz, Esther Schipper and Gisela Capitain, who also had excellent works by Zoe Leonard, all presented exciting material from the artist’s they represent.

Many galleries in New York timed openings to take advantage of Frieze New York excitement. The momentum seemed to have turned in favor of some of the city’s most established artists, with the most hotly anticipated exhibitions of the moment coming from art world veterans Jeff Koons and Ellsworth Kelly. The title to Kelly’s exhibition heralded this fact, stating the remarkable achievement of producing recent work of astonishing quality: “at 90”!
Frieze New York was squeezed between the Impressionist & Modern and the Post-War & Contemporary auctions, forcing those who covered all areas of the art world to run at full pace for almost three weeks. The Impressionist & Modern sales showed spirited bidding, with strong works fresh to the market regularly exceeding their high estimate. A fantastic collection of works on paper from an important estate also saw prices far exceed estimates, showing that high quality works will find enthusiastic buyers regardless of the work’s size or medium. In the Post-War & Contemporary auctions provenance and condition remained a decisive factor, and large scale paintings and strong works on paper that were indicative of the artist’s most recognizable style were in high demand. The outstanding Barnett Newman painting Onement VI sold for almost $44 million including buyers premium at Sotheby’s evening sale and Jackson Pollock’s Number 19, 1948 which had originally been exhibited at Betty Parson’s Gallery in 1949, sold for $58 million including buyers premium.

With the opening of Frieze Art Fair this week, Thea Westreich Art Advisory Services had the great opportunity to preview the upcoming Jeff Koons shows at David Zwirner Gallery and Gagosian Gallery. Thea, Ethan, Suzanne, and clients of the firm visited the shows during installation. The visit proved to be very informative, with new works and an in-depth conversation with the artist. It is an exciting new body of work that heightens the anticipation for the upcoming Koons retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 2014.

Please join us tomorrow for a panel discussion between Thea, Ethan, Amy Capellazzo, and Stefan Kalmar. The event takes place tomorrow, April 24th at 6:30 PM at 92Y Tribeca.

COLLECTING ART FOR LOVE, MONEY AND MORE
Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner have been art advisors and collectors for more than two decades. Recently, they pledged to donate over 800 works from their own collection to the Whitney Museum and Pompidou Center.

Joined by Amy Cappellazzo, Christie’s International co-head of postwar and contemporary art, and Stefan Kalmar, Artists Space executive director, Ethan and Thea discuss the complexities of the art world.

They’ll reveal the secrets of successful collectors—from discovering new talent to getting the highest returns on investment—as well as present an overview of the great private collections of the past. If you’re interested in buying art, but worried about making an expensive mistake, or looking to take a collection to the next stage, this talk can’t be missed.

Q&A and book signing to follow.

For more information and tickets please refer to the 92Y Tribeca website: http://www.92y.org/Tribeca/Event/Collecting-Art-for-Love-Money-and-More-1.aspx

Text by Stefano Cernuschi for Mousse:

Works of James Beckett with constant interjections by Frank Key.

Westreich Wagner Publications, New York, 2013

There is one thing that makes this voluminous tome special. It’s easy to predict you may want it, because it look amazing; designed, printed and bound with great care. And of course you may want it because you like James Beckett. His work is all here, in lavish chapters, with a wealth of accompanying contributions. (The chapter format here is not a forced upon structure as often with art books. It actually works very well for Beckett’s art, which develops bodies of works – species, almost – originating from particular objects, occasions, or findings.) But it would be just too bad to overlook the second part of the plainly descriptive title, those “constant interjections by Frank Key,” a British radio commentator, whose absurd notes, infused with skepticism, irony, and nonsense, (or given the sometimes cryptic turns of the work they share the page with, commonsense) are an exhilarating ingredient to the whole. The book truly comes to life through this tension.

To those with the time, energy and desire to learn, museums are an invaluable resource for the savvy collector.  Whether one’s focus is cutting edge contemporary art, modern masters, or anything in between, New York’s museums are a treasure trove of information and aesthetic seduction. In recent months one had the chance to see exhibitions of extremely high caliber – Yayoi Kusama, Richard Artschwager, Jay de Feo retrospectives and the Blues for Smoke group exhibition at the Whitney, the young British video artist Ed Atkins at PS1, a group show of photography at the Museum of Modern Art that included Anne Collier and Michele Abeles, and 1993 at the New Museum which included works by Cady Noland, Zoe Leonard and Mike Kelley.

Museum exhibitions are often a moment to take stock of different art movements or individual artists, and allow one the chance to assess their overall importance. For instance the Guggenheim recently opened a large survey exhibition of the Japanese Gutai group, who were founded in 1954 by the painter Jiro Yoshihara. This terrific survey confirmed that many Gutai artists, including Shiraga Kazuo, Atsuko Tanaka and Tsuruko Yamakazi, are of the highest quality and equal in interest and importance as many of their American Abstract-Expressionist peers. An interesting correlative was the Museum of Modern Art’s recent Tokyo 1955-1970 exhibition, which took a broader survey of Japanese art from the same time period and included a number of similarly high quality works by Gutai artists. Danh Vo’s exhibition at the Guggenheim provided an introduction for many people to the Chinese-American painter Martin Wong. In this case, rather than offering a definitive overview, the museum show is perhaps the beginning of a revival of interest in this intriguing artist.

At the other end of the spectrum, young and emerging galleries provide essential opportunities for a new generation of artists. To this end, it is sometimes necessary to depart from one’s usual routine of gallery visits. For instance, Soloway Gallery in Brooklyn had a group exhibition curated by the Austrian born artist Josef Strau that included works by Henrik Olesen, Jose Rojas and Nora Schultz. Similarly off the beaten path is Real Fine Arts, another Brooklyn based gallery, who had an exhibition of collaborative work by Manuel Gnam and Taslima Ahmed. Many out of the way spaces in Chinatown and the Lower East Side also provide opportunities for discovering new and exciting art. P! is a gallery just of the Bowery founded by graphic designer and curator Prem Krishnapurthy that focuses largely on group exhibitions. 47 Canal and Reena Spaulings Fine Art, both located on the second floor of walk up buildings on the edges of Chinatown, have numerous promising young artists that in all likelihood will be the art stars of tomorrow.