Alexandra Peers
It's fitting that Ellsworth Kelly looks like a mathematician. Poised, appearing younger, easily, than his 87 years, dressed as sharply as the lines that cut his steel and aluminum sculptures, he has a kind of preppie geometry. The black-eyeglass-wearing acolytes who flanked him at his Matthew Marks Gallery opening did a little nerd dance at the edges of his entourage, approaching and scurrying away, scared to talk to him but eager to brag later... MORE >
Dear Julie, So we just saw Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Paid $79 a ticket, mezzanine seats. It was, how to say this? Breathtakingly bad. That said, you didn't force us to see it. You haven't even opened the thing yet. You're in beta still, busily untangling the crossed wires and retooling the show for a new March 15 opening (the "Ides"? really?). Which means it's not too late to turn it around. We're on your... MORE >
A triumvirate of art collectors, along with Philippe de Montebello, who served as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a generation, gathered at the Frick last week to talk art. Old Masters to the present. But they wandered far afield into such issues as thorny conflicts of interest, stepping on museum curators' toes and the (unfortunate) social aspects of big spending on contemporary... MORE >
If New York is the center of the art world—and it is—these are the buyers and collectors who run it. With input from top dealers, auction house officials and museum curators, The Observer has identified the 50 people in (and around) the city with the power to move the market. Which isn't to say they necessarily own the biggest collections, though many of them do. We made our picks based on influence, taste and how... MORE >
The first-ever online art fair debuted Saturday at VIPArtFair.com, but the launch, by and large, went haywire. Delays and error messages greeted Web surfers during the keenly awaited venture's initial hours. Yet the news wasn't all bad: Even some of VIP's (for Viewing in Private) rivals and skeptics granted that the tremendous interest generated by the launch indicated that the business model might be successful when the kinks are worked... MORE >
To everything there is a season, and winter is antiques-buying season among the folks who do such things. A slew of shows, big and small, inexpensive and not, are crammed into the next few weeks. Winter Antiques Show Park Avenue Armory 67th St. & Park AvenueJan. 21-30; $20The high-society grande dame, now in its 57th year. Not cheap, the event is strong on Shaker furniture, classic American folk art, globes, gilt-edged mirrors, 18th-century clocks... MORE >
A chef for Upper West Side 'Tuscan tapas' eatery Salumeria Rosi has won best pesto sauce in New York. Chef de Cuisine Aaron Oster gets to present his recipe at the World Championship of Pesto in Genoa in... MORE >
How do you get diners to pay $20 for a dessert during a recession? Get art superstar Marina Abramovic to design it. The Museum of Modern Art's performance-art queen has entered into an artistic collaboration with Park Avenue Winter restaurant chef Kevin Lasko. In a deal brokered by the consulting arm of zippy public art behemoth Creative Time, starting tonight the East 63rd Street restaurant will present her Volcano... MORE >
The art world has a reputation as free-thinking and tolerant, if not overly so. But in recent weeks, there have been several instances, far more than usual, of alleged censorship involving some of the bigger names in the field. What's going on? To... MORE >
On Tuesday, Dec. 14, the Arabian nation of Qatar opened Mathaf, the huge new 59,000-square-foot Arab Museum of Modern Art. The nation's emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, hosted the ceremonies at Doha's Education City... MORE >
The decades-old rivalry between Gagosian Gallery and Pace Gallery is being fought in new arenas: in London and at the poker table. Pace Gallery earlier this month announced that it will open a space in London, where its rival has long had a thriving space. And last week, Pace director Marc Glimcher sat down across a poker table facing Gagosian's Sam Orlofsky, among other players. Real money was on the table: The Texas hold 'em... MORE >
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Art Awards were given out last week at Webster Hall. Artist Rob Pruitt's witty, performance-art pastiche of an Oscars-style awards ceremony, now in its second year, began to look a bit like a run-of-the-mill awards ceremony, though with perhaps a more insular guest list. Imagine the Oscars, for example, if only one studio gave them... MORE >
The Brooklyn Gallery scene has long seemed like a noisy teenager--energetic, loud, a little unreliable. But 2011 marks the 24th anniversary, by some accounts, of its Williamsburg hub. (Marcin Ramocki's documentary Brooklyn DIY: The History of the Williamsburg Art Scene dates its birth to 1987, although a structured gallery environment came later.) So, for those who know Chelsea by heart but have never trained across the way, it's time. Art 101 101 Grand Street Through Dec.... MORE >
"I'm not someone who does Facebook," Peter Eleey told The Observer. "And something about it has always kind of bothered me." Mr. Eleey, who recently became the chief curator at MoMA P.S.1, was talking about his first show there, "The Talent Show," which opened Sunday and arose in part out of the curator's dislike--and suspicion--of the popular social network. "I'd also been thinking about other things unrelated to art: For more than five years we've known... MORE >
At Art Basel Miami Beach, partying was an extreme sport. Mojito-fueled mingling aside, no one was kidding around. The ability to throw a good party in the art world is rewarded with critical-mass attendance, good buzz and increased respect. It's a competition, just with catering. With the glitter-dust finally settled, we decided to highlight the folks who pulled off the best... MORE >
