From Basquiat to Damien Hirst: The Best and the Worst of the Art World

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Jean-Michel Basquiat. Courtesy Sotheby's.

BEST

Positively dotty! How Kusama helped the Hirshhorn to infinity and beyond.

Christie’s started off gigaweek strong with a $57 million-dollar bronze head, and kept up the momentum at the Postwar/Contemporary evening sale, although fireworks were lacking.

Basquiat is our $100 million-dollar-man, after a record-breaking night at Sotheby’s Evening Sale; also, despite the withdrawal of Egon Schiele’s cover lot, the auction house still netted a solid Imp/Mod evening sale, and a tepid Modern Contemporary African Art sale in London.

Cheyenne Westphal spoke to artnet News earlier this week with optimism, and it paid off after Phillips delivered a “white-glove” auction. The two power-houses better watch out.

Combining G.O.A.T.s, money, and rum, we’ve got nary a bad thing to say about Nari Ward.

 

French Culture Minister Françoise Nyssen. Photo: Wikimedia Communs.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

France has a new cultural minister, appointed by newly elected Macron.

Advertising his new gallery in East Hampton, Joel Mesler is endearing in his new promo video.

 

Jason deCaires Taylor with Damien Hirst's The Collector, a self-portrait of Hirst. Image courtesy Jason deCaires Taylor.

Jason deCaires Taylor with Damien Hirst’s The Collector, a self-portrait of Hirst. Image courtesy Jason deCaires Taylor.

WORST

Seeing double in Venice? The similarity between Grenada’s Jason deCaires Taylor’s nautical work and Damien Hirst’s shipwreck of a show is frankly unbelievable.

Trump-ed up accusations by Time magazine: Don’t blame contemporary art for the follies of voters.

Its expensive to be creative. A survey from NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs gives some troubling insight.

So apparently love isn’t blind—artnet News delves into the murky waters of nepotism in the art world.

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