Heir to Marcel Duchamp https://youtu.be/X-HI9Kl7qAA He’s one of the most natural heirs to Marcel Duchamp. Rirkrit Tiravanija (born in 1961) is an extraordinary free and playful artist. Dematerialization of art In a world overwhelmed by...
Up to more than 5 million dollars for an etching. And Picasso was a prolific creator of prints
https://youtu.be/T43ZyK5DrCM The visionary Ambroise Vollard Art history is fuelled by certain myths that ignite collectors’ imaginations. One of these is the “Vollard Suite”. The visionary Ambroise Vollard, one of the great dealers in the...
Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza has created a new frontier for art: the Ocean
https://youtu.be/XPCRNcp-bh4 Seal levels One of the barrage of threats to contemporary mankind is the threat of rising sea levels. Threat in Venice They say this will be such that by the end of the century it is due to trigger the...
From the Whitney in New York to the Pompidou in Paris: the delicate yet significant marriage of art and politics
Cancel culture At a time when art which addresses societal issues has never been so relevant, exhibiting it in institutions has never proved so difficult. In late August in New York, at the epicentre of what is known as “cancel culture”, a...
Bernar Venet: the artist whose work has been blessed by the pope
From a little village In a little village in the Alpes de Haute Provence called Château-Arnoux, the ten-year-old son of a school teacher once had the wild dream of becoming the pope. Tens of tonnes of steel Fast-forward 69 years and...
Le Petit Palais in Paris: the far-reaching project of a private collection of French drawings
Drawing specialist Louis-Antoine Prat is a drawing specialist who happens to be very French. Firstly because the Parisian taught the subject of French drawings at the École du Louvre for no less than 40 years. And secondly because he decided...
Centre Pompidou: Why did Christo wrap things?
Thanks a to a hairdresser There are many smaller stories within the larger sweep of history. Christo, the Bulgarian-born artist who died on 31 May 2020, famous for his gigantic wrapping works at the scale of Paris’s Pont Neuf in 1985 and the...
Pinault Collection: When the most magical parts of Los Angeles meet Venice
No longer accessible The hazards and disasters of the coronavirus crisis mean many countries and artists that once seemed to be within reach are no longer accessible, and will apparently remain that way for some time. Excellent exhibition This is why we should...
Charles Stewart CEO of Sotheby’s: “reinventing the auctions model”
https://youtu.be/e94QGzpYduU Patrick Drahi It’s been 12 months since Sotheby’s was bought by the French businessman Patrick Drahi. It’s been 9 months since he appointed a new head of the auction house, former investment banker at...
Murakami’s bankruptcy: the first art market corona shock
Heartbreaking story “This is Takashi Murakami. I’m a contemporary artist. Today’s story is my very heartbreaking story.” At the end of June Takashi Murakami uploaded a 15-minute video to Instagram that had been filmed at his studio on 23...
The Palais du Facteur Cheval: an art brut marvel rediscovered by André Breton
https://youtu.be/Y73YWHsMoc8 Absolute masterpiece It’s a small museum that contains an absolute masterpiece. Located at Hauterives, in a commune of 2,000 inhabitants not far from Lyon, Saint Etienne and Valence, it is home to a complete...
Christie’s: around the world in a single 250-million-dollar sale. The new ONE concept
When the sun never set In a past now relegated to the history books, the English used to say that the sun never set on the British Empire. On 10 July 2020, Christie’s will be able to use the same slogan for their auction. On that day...