5 Questions About the Fast-Changing Auction World With Phyllis Kao
From Artnet
‘The auctioneer and Vice President for Client Strategy at Sotheby’s reveals how the house is dealing with the downturn.
How is Sotheby’s navigating the more subdued art market?
I think it is easy to sometimes get caught up in top-line narratives. But if you consider all the incredible artworks and objects we’re seeing come through our doors daily and what we have to look forward to, the outlook feels just as vibrant as ever.
That’s not to say that this year hasn’t been without its challenges, but over the course of our 280-year history, we have always found ways to adapt. Innovation has always been a part of our DNA. Even in the midst of a changing market recently, for instance, we introduced a lower buyer’s premium, and we are already seeing a positive impact—strong demand, high sell-through rates, and increased auction participation. There are so many exciting things coming, too, especially with the opening of our new buildings in Paris, Hong Kong, and New York. We are no strangers to having to innovate to thrive.’
What Does It Take to Be an Auctioneer at Sotheby’s? | Meet the Auctioneer: Phyllis Kao
From Sotheby’s
‘Almost by definition, there is no role more central to an Auction House than that of an Auctioneer. Despite being the most publicly facing individuals at Sotheby’s, their jobs are often a bit of a mystery. How is it, for instance, that one becomes an auctioneer in the first place? What kind of education and training is required? How do auctioneers prepare for their auctions? In this video, Phyllis Kao takes us behind the rostrum to reveal what being an auctioneer at Sotheby’s is really like.’
How Elizabeth Catlett Went From Exile to Artist for Our Times
From Artnet
‘The story behind “Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” at the Brooklyn Museum.
Elizabeth Catlett once told an interviewer that one of the biggest public misconceptions about her is that she’s a great artist.
She was “just lucky,” she said, to come “at a time when it’s fashionable or necessary to do something about a Black person and about a woman.”
Catlett made this comment in 2002, a few years after her 50-year retrospective at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York. Twenty-plus years later, the Brooklyn Museum has organized another. “Elizabeth Catlett: A Black Revolutionary Artist and All That It Implies” features a staggering amount of Catlett’s work, nearly 200 pieces ranging from the mid-1930s to the aughts. It demonstrates not only this artist’s remarkable versatility, but also how her lifelong devotion to issues much bigger than herself may have prevented her from quite seeing it.’
Subversive holiday snaps: the travels of Luigi Ghirri – in pictures
From The Guardian
‘The pioneering photographer was often inspired by tourist destinations – yet his images never resorted to cliche, as a new exhibition shows’
Thinking With Images: The Photography of Luigi Ghirri
From Blue Map Essays
Oscar Wilde Monument Panned by the Playwright’s Grandson: ‘Absolutely Hideous’
From ARTnews
‘A large sculpture of Oscar Wilde’s head that’s slated to be unveiled in a public garden in southwest London has been panned by the late poet and playwright’s grandson, Merlin Holland.
The six-foot-tall sculpture by the late Scottish artist Sir Eduardo Paollozzi depicts Wilde’s head lying on its side with his face sliced into segments. It’s been called “absolutely hideous” by Holland.
“I’m all for any sort of innovations in modern art,” he told the Observer. “But this does seem to me to be unacceptable.” Holland added that the work looks nothing like Wilde and fails to convey his grandfather’s brilliance as one of the greatest English playwrights.’
Defaced Banksy gets ‘anti-graffiti’ protection
From BBC
‘One of London’s recent animal-themed Banksy artworks, vandalised shortly after being discovered, has been restored and will now be protected by an "anti-graffiti solution".
The work - of two elephants poking their heads out of blocked-out windows - was painted on the side of a house in Chelsea, before it was defaced with white stripes.
Council workers removed the unwanted additions and added a special coat to protect the artwork.’
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