Art Basel 2018

This is the 12th season for Art Basel, which is held in the Miami Beach Convention Center.

This year there were 268 galleries from all over the world participating.  Prices for

works ranged from $10,000 to $50 million.  The $50 million painting sold in two days.

In this gallery are a gold sculpture by Brancusi, a large painting by Frank Stella, and

a tall walking figure in bronze by Joel Shapiro.

Constantine Brancusci.  "Torso of Young Woman."  Roumanian / French.

No museum would show this work for 50 years after it was created in 1925;

it was considered "obscene" by politicians.  Polished bronze.

John Wesley.  "Bulls and Bed."  British.

Jean Dubuffet.  "Standing Figure."  French.  Concrete.

The statue is meant to stand outdoors in front of a building, as in new York.

Mark Rothko.  "Oranges and Yellows."  U.S.

This is the $50 million prize.  Unfortunately Mr. Rothko committed suicide in 1970

believing he had no talent and nothing to say in his art.  The work was originally bought

by Bunny Mellon, the society grande dame in Washington, where she hung it in her

library of horticulture books.  She wanted something bright and cheerful.

Her children/estate sold it three years ago for $36 million, when she died.

Alexander Calder.  "Mobile."  U.S.  Kinetic Sculpture.

There were many, many works by Calder for sale; this small one was listed for

$685,000.

Alexander Calder.  "Mobile."  U.S.

David Smith.  "Parrot and Circle."  Welded Steel.

Mr. Smith was the first artist to follow Abstract Expressionism in sculpture, following

Jackson Pollock and others who painted.  Smith worked in a foundry during WWII, and

he was allowed to pick up scraps from the floor.  Otherwise you could not purchase metals

for anything other than defense.  He learned to create by welding, not casting or carving.

He freed up sculptors as they had never been before.  Today, any student in art

learns how to weld, not to carve a piece of marble, thanks to David Smith.

Antoine Pevsner.  "Open Column."  Bronze. Russian/French.

Pevsner was one of the great Russian art innovators who created Abstract Art

at the beginning of the 20th century.

Fernand Leger.  "Le Grand Dejeuner."  French Cubism.

This work is particularly fascinating because of the many studies which Leger made

before he created the final masterpiece, which is in Minneapolis.  He began with a

quite literal and realistic view of three models in a room.  He gradually simplified,

moved objects around, flattened objects and people, and finally arranged all

the forms in a great composition.  This is a small study, but a finished painting.

Marino Marini.  "Horse and Rider."  Italian.

Marini was greatly affected by WWII.  He began a series of statues with horse and

rider.  The figures gradually are torn apart, both horse and man screaming in horror at

what was happening to Europe and humankind.  He did many versions in many sizes.

One of the great, large examples is at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice.

Alberto Giacometti.  "Caroline."  Swiss.

David Hockney.  "Pink Flowers."  British.

Hockney today is the most famous artist in Britain.  One of his works

just sold for $91 million, the highest ever paid for a living artist's work.

Hockney.  This is a detail of the above painting, showing how he uses brushstrokes to

actually create and shape the flowers.

Agustin Cardenas.  "The Little Window."  Cuban.  Marble.

Francois Lalanne.  "Sheep."  Mixed Media.  France.
Collectors usually order several of these as a set.

Alexander Calder. "Stabile and Mobile."  This sold for $6.4 million.

Cesar.  "Compressed Silverware."  French.

Lynn Chadwick.  "Seated Couple."  Britain.

Man Ray.  "Mr. Knife and Miss Fork."  Dada / Surrealism.

Leonora Carrington.  "The Prison."  Surrealism.  British/Mexican.

Marc Chagall.  "Lovers on Yellow Horse."  Russian/French.

Alexander Calder.  "The Equestrian."  U.S.  Watercolor.

There were also many, many paintings by Calder, who was very prolific.

Robert Indiana.  "Marilyn Monroe."  U.S.  Pop Art.

David Hockney.  "Two Sunflowers." British.

Louise Nevelson.  "Wallpiece Collage."  Russian / American.

Louise Nevelson.  "Moon Phase III."  Russian/American.  Assemblage.

Nevelson took found pieces of wood and scraps and formed them into large compositions, 

which she then painted a single color.  The forms, the lights and shadow, the echos of

shapes are endlessly delightful.

Tom Wesselmann.  "Seated Nude."  U.S. Pop Art.  Laser-cut Steel.
He invented drawing literally in steel.

Jeff Koons.  "Magenta Egg with Orange Bow."  Polished Stainless Steel.  $2.6 million.

It is seven feet long; there are five in the series, in various colors.

Tom Wesselmann.  "Sun, Nude, and Wesselmann."  U.S.  Pop Art.

Andy Warhol.  "Bald Eagle."  U.S.  Pop Art.

He began with an image from a magazine, took a photo of it,

and then made a silk screen stencil.  He could then paint/print

as many copies as he wanted.  He later went in with a brush

and added some lines.  He believed artists should be like machines,

the gods of the 20th century.

Beatriz Milhazes.  "Bouquet."  Brazilian.

Roberto Matta.  "The Black Object."  Chile.  Surrealism.

Matta was interested in dreams and the subconscious, rather than reason and matter.

Robert Motherwell.  "Arabesques."  U.S.  Abstract Expressionism.

Motherwell is one of the most important members of the group.

David Hockney.  "The Studio Expanding."  British.  Digital Print.  8 x 22 feet.

Hockney is very interested in technology and how an artist can use it.  He has assistants

in his studio who are tech specialists who help him.  In this case, each object was

 photographed separately and entered into the computer.  A software program allowed

him to move objects wherever he wanted and to turn them in space.  The paintings are

all actually his work and were in recent shows.  Finally, he printed out the result in a

special digital printer, in Medium, Large, and Jumbo sizes; this is a jumbo print.

Hockney.  Close-up.

Hockney.  Close-up.

Painting by Willem DeKooning.  Sculpture by David Smith

entitled "Voltri XXIV," part of a series.  The work is welded from

scraps at a foundry.

David Smith.  "Raven."  U.S.  Welded Steel.

Jaume Plensa.  "Self-Portrait."  Cast Black Marble.  Spanish.

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