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The Headlines
A HAT TRICK IN MANHATTAN. With this wild auction week nearing its conclusion, Sotheby’s offered up not one, not two, but three auctions last night: a contemporary art sale, a sale titled “The Now” (for art made since 2000), and—why not?—a one-off sale of one of the first 13 copies of the 1787 edition of the U.S. Constitution. At ARTnews, Angelica Villa has a full report from the auction, which totaled $200.6 million before fees, just above the $199.8 million high estimate placed on the 59 lots. The Constitution accounted for $41 million of that hammer price, making it one of the priciest historical documents ever sold. (It was $43 million with fees.) A 1996 Yoshitomo Nara painting hammered for an above-estimate $13 million, and a 2018 Matthew Wong night scene went for $4.9 million with fees. “It was hit after hit—collectors willing to fight for what they consider best in class,” the house’s David Galperin said in a post-game interview.
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ADVENTURES IN THE CULINARY ARTS. After 38 years in business, JoAnn Clevenger is shuttering Upperline, the storied, art-filled New Orleans Creole restaurant she owns with her husband and her son, the New York Times reports. Writer Brett Anderson took a tour through the space, whose highlights include a portrait of artist Sister Gertrude Morgan by Noel Rockmore . The plan is to sell the building, and the art, but Clevenger said she will consider offers for the restaurant if she believes the buyer “will carry on what we built.” Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times has a primer on the Hammer Museum’s new resto, Lulu, from chefs Alice Waters and David Tanis , who are running the kitchen. They are laser-focused on sustainability: the tabletops came from a lone fallen tree. As for the food, Tanis said, “There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles; if it’s a kale dish it won’t be kale cooked three different ways with a little kale powder on top.”
The Digest
With her New York gallery, Metro Pictures, closing at year’s end, artist Camille Henrot is joining the 15-location-strong Hauser & Wirth. Henrot will continue to be represented by Kamel Mennour (who operates in London and Paris) and König Galerie (Berlin, London, and Seoul). A pretty serious trifecta! [ARTnews]
Abu Dhabi plans to build two more museums in addition to those already announced as part of its Saadiyat Museums project, the chairman of the emirate’s Department of Culture and Tourism, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, said at the fair Abu Dhabi Art. (Tessa Solomon has a report from the aisles in ARTnews.) Construction has begun but details about the institutions have not been revealed. [The Art Newspaper]
Justus Rosenberg, a New York literature professor who was involved in journalist Varian Fry’s famed efforts to help cultural figures like Marcel Duchamp and Max Ernst flee Europe during World War II, has died at 100. Born in what is now Gdansk, Poland, he fought in the French Resistance later in the war. [The New York Times]
The legendary photographer Mick Rock, who captured famous images of superstar musicians like Queen, Blondie, and David Bowie, has died at 72. Rock’s work graced numerous magazine and album covers, and he provided videography for many pioneering music videos. He was known as “The Man Who Shot the ’70s.” [Rolling Stone]
The delay-plagued fair Art SG, which was originally slated to debut in Singapore in November of 2019, has been delayed once more. It has pushed its January 2022 debut to 2023. [The Straits Times]
Photographer Texas Isaiah received the profile treatment from critic and ARTS.BLACK cofounder Jessica Lynne. In “Isaiah’s images,” Lynne writes, “sitters are not simply placeholders for a vague nod to representational politics. They also inform, and contribute to, the emotional and formal registers of the photograph as co-conspirators.” [BlackStar]
The Kicker
‘THIS IS HOW MY BRAIN WORKS,’ artist Jonas Wood says in a kind of behind-the-scenes exhibition trailer that he just shared on Instagram. Popping open a series of computer windows on the screen (there’s a little Camille Henrot Gross Fatigue energy), Wood narrates how his reacquaintance with a particular painting in his 2019 Dallas Museum of Art show led him to a new series of works, including wallpaper that includes “a double basketball orchid,” among other things. “I put it in my studio, and I said, Oh, this looks pretty good,” Wood explains. He hung some paintings atop it, and said to himself, “I think I want to do a show in Hong Kong with Gagosian.” (A very cool thing to be able to say and then do.) That show opens November 23. [@jonasbrwood/Instagram]
Source: artnews.com