What I would collect in Paris this week
And sex toys at the Louvre (yes, really)
I was in Paris a month ago, and I’m already plotting my return. This is perfect for me because now I have a “work” excuse to go: Art Basel Paris and The Salon by NADA. The photos of Art Basel Paris might be the most beautiful setting for an art fair I’ve ever seen—the Grand Palais. How do you return to a white tent or a convention hall after that?? (I wrote about art fair architecture here, if you’re interested).
Anyway, instead of having the most perfect lunch at Mokonuts and strolling the fairs in person, I am stuck in the vortex of virtual viewing rooms with a lingering cold. Here are four artworks from The Salon by NADA that I love and think you might too:
Colleen Herman at Olympia, New York ⬇️
Artist Instagram | Gallery Website
La Monte Westmoreland at parrasch heijnen, Los Angeles ⬇️
Jane Swavely at Magenta Plains, New York ⬇️
Artist Instagram | Gallery Website
Marta Nadolle at LETO, Warsaw ⬇️
Artist Instagram | Gallery Website
A few pieces of art news
Lisa Schiff Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Clients. I don’t think there’s any surprise here. Schiff’s collection will be auctioned by Phillips in November, which I will be watching closely.
London’s National Gallery is now enforcing my least favourite airline rule: no liquids. This is in response to the protests by Just Stop Oil, which involved throwing soup at paintings.
You can now buy a print at Saks (but I wouldn’t). The offerings include more than 100 limited-edition contemporary print works by notable artists, including Sol LeWitt and Alex Katz.
Tracey Emin went on The Louis Theroux Podcast and was her very honest self. Here’s a quote: “I think a lot of male artists in general, I always say this, men they sort of peak in their 40s.They have just one—it’s like one massive ejaculation,” she said. “Maybe Damien [Hirst] peaked. I don’t know, we’ll have to see, only time will tell, it’s not clear.”
Sex toys are at the Louvre! The sex toy company Maude is a co-sponsor of the exhibition “Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Two of their vibrators are on view: Vibe and Spot. There’s also a giant inflatable vibrator outside of the Louvre, a la Paul McCarthy.
Hahaha Tracey Emin always knows best!
OK, Tatum, let me list the content that I found offensive, point by point.
1) Your headline indicates that the post is about "shopping." OK, not something that interest me, but it was at an artfair.
2) "And sex toys at the Louvre (yes, really)" Granted I should have stopped right there, but I was hopeful.
3) Then there is a series of paintings by women. Some of this work looks a little too familiar, but so what. Then there is the Polish(?) artist rendition of a woman in a bathroom with what appears to be an inflatable man.
4/ Then there is the vulgar quote from Tracy Emin. Followed by sex toys at the Louvre.
Admittedly, I am impatient with the lionization of Kamala Harris, and women in general, for the sake of defeating Trump. It may be necessary, but what appears to me as abuse will be difficult to walk back.
I long for the days when art history, the history of ideas, of "marks" if you will, mattered; those days before market driven work. Where being unable or unwilling to draw competently, or learn, was not considered cool, but disingenuous. (There was a show of early Mondrian years ago. Mondrian was a talented, if conventional artist. The show did not explain sufficiently why he evolved into the artist we know today, or why neoplasticism matters, and I'm not sure that it does. And, of course, no one cares.) Not in our lifetime perhaps, but there will be a post-finance world, where private equity no longer rules and finances war capitalism. Where iconic paintings are not stored in vaults in Switzerland, like gold bars. There was a time when painting was a profession rather than a lifestyle, before artist were a brand. The good ol' days... but I digress and have spent way too much time composing this response.