“T E G E L,” sound sculpture based on biodata. All images © Love Hultén, shared with permission

Whether ocean-themed, compact with a slide-out keyboard, or installed vertically on the wall, Love Hultén’s elaborate custom synthesizers (previously) are one-of-a-kind. Combining a love for woodworking and sound art, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based artist and designer merges electronic elements with a wide range of console designs evocative of early computers and mid-century industrial control systems. Incorporating playful elements from video games or aesthetic themes—”C O U S T E A U” features oxygen tank details and a custom MIDI crab—Hultén activates each sculptural instrument into original audio-visual experiences.

Explore many more of Hultén’s musical creations on his website and Instagram.

Detail of “C O U S T E A U”

“W A L L S Y N T H,” Waldorf String Machine, Waldorf Blofeld, C&G Video Scope, Hologram Microcosm, Tape Echo, Waldorf Pulse 2, Strymon BigSky, Korg SQ-64, Korg Minilogue XD, Erica Synths Matrix Mixer, Arturia MiniFreak, and a custom MIDI patchbay

“O S M O S E,” custom-made Osmose synth with stereo looper and tape echo

“A T O M – I C,” Syntrx2, LXR-02 and Fusion Delay from Erica Synths, Moog Theremini, Arturia Keystep, T-Rex Replicator, and Befaco Spring Reverb

Detail of “A T O M – I C”

“C O S M,” Mother-32, TR-08, Microcosm and a pull-out keybed

Detail of “C O S M”

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Coming up, on December 16 and 17, from 10am to 3pm both days, Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA) school will be hosting its second annual Art Market. For those interested in giving the gift of art, while supporting local artists this holiday season, this Art Market is a sensational way to source a wide variety of handmade goods.

“BICA School’s Art Market is the perfect spot to shop small and buy local this holiday season,” said Wavy (way2wavybaby), one of the show’s avid supporters. “Jewelry, prints, paintings, apparel, pottery, vintage, and more hand crafted by Buffalo’s cutting edge artisans- all under one roof.”

Altogether, there will be over 20 vendors and artisans at this year’s Art Market, which supports BICA’s mission to support contemporary artists and artisans by providing them with studio and gallery space that allows them to promote their projects.

BICA is located inside the historic Essex Art Center at 30d Essex Street, Buffalo, NY, 14222.

“I really had no idea how it was going to go,” said the gallerist Xavier Hufkens of this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach fair, echoing the uncertainty of many at this last big art event of the year. Global political tensions have dented art-market confidence for weeks, while the economic downturn has weighed on it throughout what Hufkens describes as a “very strange year”. As such, he felt “relieved” at Wednesday’s opening of the fair — the largest of its kind in the Americas, with 277 exhibitors — describing business as “really good”. Sales included a 2023 painting by Tracey Emin for £1.2mn and an edition of a new bronze and wood sculpture by Danh Võ, which went early on to an American collector for €240,000.

The crowd was “more subdued” this year, noted art adviser Morgan Long, but this, she added, is not such a bad thing: “People used to be in town for parties, now they are here to buy art.” Organised into more distinct zones this year, there was praise from many for the revised floor plan. “I would never normally talk about a new layout, but the fair feels airier and much easier to navigate,” Hufkens said.

The highest reported sale price by far was $20mn for Philip Guston’s “Painter at Night” (1979) through Hauser & Wirth, though most other transactions were made between $50,000 and $500,000. These included Thornton Dial’s “Birds See What the Tiger Can’t” (1991, David Lewis gallery, $275,000) and 2022 canvases by Lonnie Holley for up to $130,000 (Edel Assanti). The much-discussed first Black Painting work by Frank Stella, “Delta” (1958), offered by his family and with an asking price of $45mn at Yares Art, remained unsold after the first day. 

Female Old Masters are out in force this winter. In New York, Robilant+Voena has opened a show dedicated to “pioneering women from the Renaissance to the 20th century”, including a work recently attributed to Artemisia Gentileschi, the posterchild for this field in recent years. Her work here, “Penitent Magdalene” (c1625-30), was bought for $129,150 in 2021 from a Florida auction house, catalogued as “After Artemisia Gentileschi”. Subsequent research has confirmed the painting as an autograph Gentileschi and it is offered here for more than $5mn, a level that the artist can now command. Other artists from this period among the 21 on show are Fede Galizia and the lesser-known Orsola Maddalena Caccia, who — like Gentileschi — were trained by their artist fathers. 

Virginia Brilliant, the gallery’s director of Old Masters and the show’s curator, says that “all I have heard from museums and collectors since 2019 is that they are really, really keen [to acquire] under-represented artists. The challenge is that good-quality material, backed by scholarship, is hard to find.” A former museum curator, Brilliant is conscious that many institutions “have an annual acquisition budget of about $250,000” and confirms that some of the works, including allegories by Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), fit that bill.

Female artists held their own at Sotheby’s Old Masters auction in London on Wednesday, where a 1615 still life by the Antwerp painter Clara Peeters sold for £550,000 (£698,500 with fees, est £500,000-£700,000). Next month, the auction house will offer 12 works by French artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), from the collection of the art historian Joseph Baillio (total estimate $2.4mn-$3.5mn).

The estate of American artist James Rosenquist, who died in 2017, will offer about 50 of his prints at Phillips in New York on February 15. The works have a combined estimate of $265,000-$410,000 but “are not being sold as a moneymaking situation”, says Cary Leibowitz, worldwide co-head of Phillips’s editions department. Rather, he says, the estate “felt it was an opportunity to capture a new generation of collectors”. There are, he says, “25-year-olds who don’t know Rosenquist’s name, while he is one of the most important artists of the 1960s”, alongside the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

As with many of his contemporaries, printmaking was core to Rosenquist’s practice and he continued with the medium beyond the 1960s, later working with Ken Tyler of Tyler Graphics to make challenging, often enormous works. The Phillips prints encompass earlier Pop works, with everyday images such as tinned spaghetti strands and the GE logo, and his later, more surreal series, including Welcome to the Water Planet (from 1987). The latter, Leibowitz says, should resonate with a younger audience: “Rosenquist was thinking about the relationship of man and nature, and the precariousness of our planet.” 

“We want to de-dust auctions and make them sexy again!” is the manifesto of the Filthy Fox Auction Club, which runs its second sale of work by art students and recent graduates this weekend. It was co-founded by multidisciplinary artist Paula Parole, recently graduated herself, and design manager/fashion model Alexandra Hochgürtel after the pair noticed that “the auction process is underrated by students, who think it is just for the most prestigious collectors to buy secondary-market art,” Parole says. “We want to use it as an exciting tool to support our community.”

Working with an initial £1,000 from a University of the Arts London award, the pair now charges a 20 per cent buyer’s premium to cover costs. These include the hire of a gallery in east London to show the work, host some “surprise performances” and conduct the live sale, also streamed on Instagram.

Last year’s auction of 32 works went down well, with the majority sold, so this year the offering has expanded to 44 works by 14 artists, chosen by Hochgürtel and Parole from art schools including Central Saint Martins, Goldsmiths, Slade and the Royal College of Art. Parole’s work is in the mix this year (from £200), while bidding will start at the lowest possible level for a work by Goldsmiths student Michelle Lee Johnson. The website explains: “To experiment with putting the decision of value on to the audience/viewer, Michelle has decided to start the auction with the minimum bid of £0.”

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Next year marks the 100th anniversary of surrealism, an enduring movement the poet André Breton sparked in 1924. Countless artists across disciplines have been inspired by the uncanny, unconscious, and fantatstic, a few of which are celebrated in a forthcoming book written by Robert Zeller.

New Surrealism: The Uncanny in Contemporary Painting, published by Monacelli later this month, chronicles the history of the artistic and political movement from its birth amid World War I to more contemporary interests. Featuring major influences like the aforementioned Breton, Sigmund Freud, and the Dadaists, the 336-page primer travels through the century to highlight the artists, exhibitions, and events that profoundly impacted the genre. The book highlights surrealist icons like Remedios Varo, Salvador Dalí, and Leonora Carrington, along with artists working in the tradition today, including Arghavan Khosravi, Miles Johnston, and Ewa Juskiewicz, whose portrait of a swathed woman graces the cover.

An insightful survey that illuminates the connections between art and politics, New Surrealism is a valuable overview of one of the most influential movements in Western art history. Pre-order your copy on Bookshop.

Arghavan Khosravi, “Ascension.” Image courtesy of Rachel Uffner Gallery

Miles Johnston, “The Would”

Lenz Geerk., “The Game.” Photo by Robert Wedemeyer, image © Lenz Geerk

Alessandro Keegan, “Lumen”

Pierre Roy, “Danger on the Stairs.” Image © MOMA, Artists Rights Society, New York

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A Trippy New Book Surveys 100 Years of Art Since the Birth of the Surrealist Movement appeared first on Colossal.

Today’s rapidly changing world is swiftly replacing the traditional rules of a decade ago with a new order.

When we examine the issue holistically, we encounter social media with enormous power. A brand new order has been established as a result of the combination of consumer preferences, people’s desire to be active or on the agenda, easy accessibility, the desire to be more courageous in participation and the desire to exist alone. The inevitable development of social media and the mutation it experienced in a short time are also factors. As in every medium, social media has caused some values to change and the rules to be rewritten in art. Of course, the pandemic that affected the whole world is also responsible.

To delve into the subject a bit more, until very recently, collectors purchased works of art from famous galleries and auctions organized by traditional auction houses, either directly or by representatives they assigned. Today, the situation has partially changed. Moreover, this change is not limited to experienced collectors, but has also impacted those who had never considered collecting. Just a short while ago, many people who had never thought of becoming collectors started participating in online auctions through social media, a concept that is quite new.

Looking at the big picture, this situation could be perceived as a positive development for the art market. Of course, nothing can replace the desire to own a work of art by seeing it in person, liking it and feeling the meaning of it. Nevertheless, this forced change may have brought some positive results. For instance, collaborations between artists, museums, galleries and auction houses have overcome the barrier of geographical boundaries. A second-hand market for some artists has emerged and people’s awareness of investing in art and creating collections has increased.

Despite these positive aspects, it is noteworthy that in the realm of social media’s influence on the art scene, individuals who may not have had the chance to attend exhibitions or auctions in major cities can now start buying paintings through the increasing number of online auctions, without knowing whether the paintings they purchase have been appraised, without seeking expert opinions, without being dependent on a gallery or art consultant and without knowing whether the works of the artists they buy will hold value in the future.

It is necessary to distinguish between those making decorative purchases and collecting art to decorate their homes, and those who want to create a genuine collector’s consciousness. People who want to become collectors should still follow classical methods.

When I asked Yahşi Baraz, the founder of Galeri Baraz, one of Türkiye’s first private art galleries, established in 1975, for his opinion on the matter, he made the following comment:

“Artists can achieve success with their creativity, but they always need a gallery to introduce them, support them and follow them. This is how the system works all around the world. Purchases made without questioning the artistic value of things that appear on social media have the potential to end in disappointment.”

Imagine, not every work of well-known painters with famous names is extraordinary. Over time, the performance of painters can vary; they can experience ups and downs. In this case, the key individuals are professional gallery owners. Gallery owners, being both at the center of the event and having an objective eye, shed light on painters with their guiding aspect.

A gallery that can anticipate the audience for artists’ works and establish connections, both domestically and internationally, plays a pivotal role in shaping the art market correctly.

In short, the commercial aspect of the job requires a collective effort. This collective effort achieves success through the combination of creativity and commercial experience. This success is, in fact, the correct identification of the value of an art piece considered as a commercial object. After all, this piece should preserve its value for generations, even multiplying it.

May the legacy of art endure and inspire generations to come.

ON SUNDAY, an arts venue in Reading was lit up with Christmas cheer for its Christmas art market.

Makers, creators, and artists joined together and set out their stalls at The Rising Sun Arts Centre, stocking seasonal products from Berkshire businesses.

Among them were Martina Hildebrandt, who stocked prints, artwork, and Christmas cards; printed work and postcards from ZAP poetry; and assorted accessories and art supplies from Lycomorpha.

Alex Ashley’s range of leather wallets and accessories were also on sale, alongside clothes and fabric work from Wendy.

The Rising Sun also offered a range of homemade cupcakes, Christmas cake, and snacks alongside mulled wine and tea from Brahm Glorious Tea.

Details of upcoming events at The Rising Sun Arts Centre are available via: risingsunartscentre.org

In years past, art advisor Wendy Cromwell would have to lock down her most significant purchases for clients during the first hour at Art Basel Miami Beach. This year, while she made several quick acquisitions within the $100,000 range at the VIP opening, she didn’t have to pull the trigger on larger and more expensive artworks.

The pace is indicative of a new market, dealers said midway through the first day of the biggest contemporary art fair in the U.S. Fresh works from the studios of in-demand artists like Issy Wood, Bisa Butler, and Flora Yukhnovich could have been sold dozens of times over, they said. Large canvases by Albert Oehlen, A.R. Penck, Alex Katz, El Anatsui, and Georg Baselitz lingered—as did blue-chip trophies by Andy Warhol and Francis Bacon priced between $10 million and $20 million.

“Everyone is saying slower but steady,” said art advisor Lowell Pettit, whose clients bought works up to €70,000 (around $75,000), but were still on the fence about a $7 million purchase.

The stakes were high heading into the fair. Art Basel Miami Beach arrives at the end of a volatile year, which has seen a market contraction at auctions and galleries.

“The pace of sales has declined and prices have come down,” said Thomas Danziger, an attorney, who counts galleries among his clients. “Even the top galleries are bringing more things that are priced to sell than in previous years.”

The vibe is markedly darker, colored by anxiety over the war in the Middle East and Ukraine, high interest rates and slower cash flow. Some collectors skipped Miami this year because they were simply not in the mood given the art world’s rift over the events in Israel and Gaza, dealers and advisors said.

Frank Stella, Delta (1958). Image courtesy Yares Art.

Consider that the most expensive work at the fair, Frank Stella’s 1958 painting, Delta priced at a whopping $45 million at Yares Art, was a somber black canvas. Many galleries scaled back on parties. Auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips axed their annual client dinners and parties in Miami. Alan Faena’s typically over-the-top art installations on the beach gave way to a minimalist, AI-designed labyrinth by Sebastian Errazuriz.

“People are not being as lavish with their expenditures,” said art advisor Todd Levin. “They are being thoughtful about whatever funds they have available to get the best result.”

By mid afternoon, dealers appeared visibly relieved and began broadcasting a litany of sales. “I feel very confident,” said Vincenzo de Bellis, director of Art Basel’s fairs and exhibitions platforms. “The show is very solid. The quality is very high.”

Hauser and Wirth got the bragging rights for the most expensive reported sale of the first day: Philip Guston’s 1979 canvas Painter at Night, priced at $20 million. It had been previously sold for $12.6 million in 2017 as part of the collection of Emily and Jerry Spiegel at Christie’s.

“People are buying,” said Gordon VeneKlasen, a partner at Michael Werner gallery, which placed works by artists including Wood and Peter Saul.

“If you price reasonably, you sell immediately,” said Alberto Mugrabi, a scion of a major art collecting and trading family.

Proyectos Monclova. Courtesy of Art Basel.

Vito Schnabel Gallery, a first time participant to the fair, dedicated its booth to 1970s paintings by Ron Gorchov, and four of six sold with prices in the range of $200,000 to $350,000, according to the gallery. But the two most expensive works on the booth, priced as high as $750,000, were not sold.

Jeffrey Deitch placed a $6.5 million painting by Barkley L. Hendricks, the subject of a solo show at the Frick in New York. (Only one painting by the late artist has sold for more than that at auction: Yocks from 1975, fetched $8.4 million last month at Sotheby’s.)

The slower pace was a function of fewer speculators, who have fueled the market since the pandemic.

“They hardly look at things,” said Bennett Roberts, whose Roberts Projects gallery sold multiple works under $120,000. “This is better. It’s more considered.” A $350,000 painting by Amoako Boafo, a darling of speculators since 2019, was yet to be sold.

On the other hand, committed collectors were looking for opportunities. Those who showed up at the VIP opening on December 6 included local collectors Don and Mera Rubell, Marty Margulies, Beth DeWoody and Jorge Pérez. West Coast collectors Steve Wynn and Pamela Joyner made the rounds, as did celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio, Serena Williams, and Jared Leto.

“People with lifelong interest in art stay committed,” said Blaize Lehane, partner at François Ghebaly. “They are here. They are buying.”

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By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Salina Post

Soft holiday music played as residents and visitors milled around tables filled with local artisan goods at the Salina Art Center Warehouse for the second Holiday Art Market.

Salina Downtown Inc. and the Salina Art Center hosted the event for 22 local vendors on Saturday, Dec. 2, allowing new, hobbyist or seasoned artisans to sell their artwork.

The market included jewelry makers, wood carvers, leather workers, ceramic artists, sculptors and visual media artists — all selling their handmade works of art.

Dex Umekubo, a local singer and guitarist, sang Christmas songs between the classic holiday radio hits.

Behind the craft of handmade goods

One of the almost two dozen artisans at the market included Nicholas Pahls, the owner of NAPCraft, who uses hand tools to carve wooden spoons, boxes and decorations.

Photo by Olivia Bergmeier”>

Pahls was born and raised in Salina, where he grew up alongside the city’s art community. Today, he teaches first grade at Coronado Elementary. 

While chatting with visitors to his booth, Pahls would continue carving some works in progress with a widdling knife.

“I do that so people can ask questions about the process,” Pahls said. “I think if they can see what you’re doing, they’re a lot more interested in one — buying something but two — just knowing what you’re doing.”

Photo by Olivia Bergmeier”>

Often, customers don’t understand the process of handmade goods, which Pahls said he enjoys taking the chance to educate.

Behind the finished works displayed on the NAPCraft table, tools like chisels, small adzes and wood planes decorated his station to show customers the process of wood carving.

“My favorite part is people who ask questions about what I do,” Pahls said. “When you come to something like this [the Holiday Art Market] where it’s all handmade stuff, it’s important for people to see what that looks like when it’s getting made.”

READ MORE: 43rd Santa’s Gifts and Goodies Christmas market in Washington

Photo by Olivia Bergmeier”>

Anita Specht, a patron of the Holiday Market and neighbor to Pahls, said she enjoys seeing the community’s creativity and supporting local artists.

As Specht approached Pahl’s booth, he joked that she wasn’t allowed to buy anything as neighbors. Specht assured him she was buying gifts for friends.

“Anita gets to hear me in my garage at 12 a.m.,” Pahls said. “Anita’s gifts come from her just allowing me to do that without complaining.”

Specht laughed as she responded, “I don’t know how he does it. Well, he doesn’t complain when I don’t rake my leaves.”

“It’s okay because I don’t do it either,” Pahls replied.

Specht heard about the Holiday Art Market through some friends attending the event, so she wanted to take the opportunity to support local artists.

The market allowed shoppers to find unique gifts for friends and family for the holidays, offering a memorable experience for Salina residents and visitors.

“I think it’s wonderful. It opens up a lot of opportunities, especially for single people to get out and meet other folks,” Specht said. “I think it makes life in Salina more pleasant and enjoyable.”

Photo by Olivia Bergmeier”>

Some of the vendors at the market include members of the Salina Art Center Warehouse, who visit to use ceramic and other art equipment.

Eddie Cheremond, a regular ceramic artist at the Warehouse, decided to take his hobby to the vendor stage, selling some of the artwork he made in the Warehouse.

LISTEN: 🎙Leslie Bishop shares details for Salina Downtown holiday events

His hobby began small, starting with the goal to make a few personal items before he became hooked on the craft.

“I wanted to replace all the bowls and cups I have at home with my own handmade,” Cheremond said. “I started doing that, and it was very calming and soothing — so I kept doing it.”

After replacing the store-bought ceramic items in his home and his stockpile of artwork grew, he took the opportunity to sell some of his work at the Art Market.

Photo by Olivia Bergmeier”>

Salina Art Center Director of Education Darren Morawitz encouraged him to have a vendor table at the event, and Cheremond said he was glad he took the chance. 

“Throwing, in general, for me, is a way to de-stress,” Cheremond said. “To not think about anything else besides the work, for me, it’s just really calming.”

The Holiday Art Market concluded at 2 p.m., with the Salina Art Center Warehouse clearing for Tuesday’s flow of local artists.