Gagosian Shop opens in Paris with grand eclat, thanks to rare book specialist Doug Flamm.

Doug Flamm
Gagosian Gallery

“Blue…is beyond dimensions, whereas the other colors are not. All colors arouse specific ideas, while blue suggests at most the sea and the sky; and they, after all, are in actual, visible nature what is most abstract.”

Yves Klein

Yves Klein
Anthropometries

ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND BRILLIANT ARTISTS OF ANY TIME IS YVES KLEIN (1928-1962). ALTHOUGH HE DIED AT THE VERY YOUNG AGE OF 34, HIS UNIQUE ICONOCLASTIC ATTITUDE CONTINUES TO BE AN INFLUENCE TODAY. IN 1957, KLEIN ENTERED HIS BLUE PERIOD. HE BEGAN USING NUDE MODELS AS “LIVING PAINTBRUSHES”, COVERING THEM IN PAINT AND DRAGGING AND PRESSING THEIR BODIES ACROSS PAPER AND CANVAS. IN 1960, HE PATENTED INTERNATIONAL KLEIN BLUE, A COLOR HE CREATED WITH THE HELP OF A CHEMIST, A PIGMENT HE APPLIED TO SPONGES ATTACHED TO CANVAS AS RELIEF ELEMENTS OR POSITIONED ON WIRE STANDS TO CREATE BIOMORPHIC SCULPTURES. HE CLAIMED THAT KLEIN BLUE WAS THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION OF COSMIC ENERGY. WHETHER HE TRULY BELIEVED IN THE MYSTICAL CAPACITY OF THE ARTIST TO CREATE AESTHETIC EXPERIENCES OUT OF THIN AIR OR WAS A SUBLIME COMMENTATOR ON THE METAPHYSICAL INCLINATIONS OF MANY MODERN PAINTERS, REMAINS A QUESTION TODAY.

Yves Klein sponge
Collection, Guggenheim Museum

 

IN OCTOBER 2018, DOUG FLAMM, RARE BOOK SPECIALIST AT GAGOSIAN GALLERY, OPENED A SECOND VENUE FOR THE WONDERFUL GAGOSIAN SHOP LOCATED IN NEW YORK AT 976 MADISON AVENUE (ACROSS FROM THE CARLYLE HOTEL) IN PARIS, IN THE EIGHTH ARRONDISSEMENT AT 6 RUE DE PONTHIEU, NEXT TO THE GAGOSIAN GALLERY PARIS.

Gagosian Shop, Paris
YVES KLEIN: By the Book
October 12 – December 22, 2018

THE FIRST EXHIBITION IS DEDICATED TO YVES KLEIN, ENTITLED YVES KLEIN: BY THE BOOK, AS A TRIBUTE TO CELEBRATE WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS NINETIETH BIRTHDAY. THE SHOP TAKEOVER INCLUDES RARE BOOKS AND EPHEMERA. IN VARIOUS WAYS, THESE PRINTED WORKS SUCH AS Dimanche 27 novembre 1960 “Le journal d’un seul jour” (1960)  AND Les Fondements du Judo (1954), HELPED KLEIN TO ARTICULATE HIS IDEAS TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. SIGNIFICANT NEW AND OUT-OF-PRINT MONOGRAPHS AND EXHIBITION CATALOGUES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.

https://www.gagosianshop.com/shop/paris

Dimanche 27 Novembre 1960

 

IF PARIS SEEMS TOO FAR AWAY, VISIT DOUG HERE IN NEW YORK TO SEE WHAT WONDERFUL YVES KLEIN BOOKS AND MEMORABILIA HE CAN RECOMMEND FOR THIS HOLIDAY GIFT-GIVING TO SOMEONE VERY SPECIAL OR AS A RARE AND EXQUISITE ADDITION TO YOUR OWN ART LIBRARY.

Gagosian Shop, Paris
YVES KLEIN: By the Book
October 12 -December 22, 2018

 

Building bridges: artist/gallery/collector, with Max Teicher of Gagosian Gallery

GAGOSIAN GALLERY LONDON
April 27 – June 17, 2016
“Alberto Giacometti Yves Klein: In Search of the Absolute”
Installation view
Photo by Mike Bruce

GAGOSIAN GALLERY CURATES MUSEUM QUALITY EXHIBITIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS, OFTEN THEMATIC IN CONTENT OR ON OCCASION FOCUSING ON A SPECIFIC PERIOD OF AN INDIVIDUAL ARTIST’S WORK. THE GALLERY ENJOYS A RICH HISTORY OF EXCEPTIONAL EXHIBITIONS DEDICATED TO THE WORK OF ALEXANDER CALDER, JOHN CHAMBERLAIN, WILLEM DE KOONING, LUCIO FONTANA, ANDY WARHOL, AND OTHERS. FOR EXAMPLE, A SERIES OF OUTSTANDING SURVEY EXHIBITIONS EXPLORED DIFFERENT PERIODS OF PICASSO’S WORK, CURATED BY THE ESTEEMED PICASSO EXPERT, JOHN RICHARDSON.

ARTISTS, ARTISTS’ ESTATES AND COLLECTORS ANTICIPATE THAT GALLERIES  OF THIS CALIBER WILL NOT ONLY SUPPORT THE WORK OF ARTISTS THEY REPRESENT WITH A MULTI-FACETED PLATFORM OF WORLD-WIDE GALLERY AND MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS BUT ALSO WITH  ART HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND CONNOISSEURSHIP. THUS, IN ADDITION TO THE SHOWS THEMSELVES,  THE GALLERY PUBLISHES SCHOLARLY EXHIBITION CATALOGUES AND ARTISTS’ MONOGRAPHS AND PROVIDES A HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED PUBLICITY  NETWORK THAT REACHES EVERY POTENTIAL AUDIENCE BY BOTH TRADITIONAL METHODS AND SOPHISTICATED 2.0 MARKETING. http://www.gagosian.com/

GAGOSIAN GALLERY CHELSEA
September 10 – October 17, 2015
“ROY LICHTENSTEIN: Greene Street Mural”
Installation view
Photo by Rob McKeever

THESE ARE THE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS THAT COMMAND PUBLIC ATTENTION. BEHIND THE SCENES, NURTURING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GALLERY AND ARTIST IS AS CRUCIAL A FUNCTION FOR THE WELL-BEING OF BOTH ARTIST AND DEALER.

THE LRFA BLOG IS VERY PLEASED TO CONTINUE ITS CONVERSATION WITH MAX TEICHER OF GAGOSIAN GALLERY.

MAX’S FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE AS AN ARTIST, SHARED BY MANY OF US ON THE BUSINESS SIDE OF THE ARTS, FOSTERS HIS EMPATHY AND RAPPORT WITH ARTISTS. AS A COLLECTOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT, HIS APPRECIATION OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE DECISION-MAKING SELECTION PROCESS ADDS A DIMENSION TO HIS EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE.

GAGOSIAN GALLERY NEW YORK
March 10 – 19, 2016
“Masterworks from the Chinese Past”
In collaboration with Gisèle Croës
Installation view
Photo by Rob McKeever

MAX, WHEN DID YOU FIRST START AT GAGOSIAN AND IN WHAT CAPACITY?

I started interning at the gallery when I was 19. I was always happy to help in any way. I was then lucky enough to be an art handler. That helped me build personal relationships with objects and I learned the process of how the gallery works and how much effort people put into it.

HOW DID YOUR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY EVOLVE OVER THE EIGHT YEARS YOU HAVE WORKED AT GAGOSIAN? DOES THE GALLERY HAVE A STRICT HIERARCHY OF RESPONSIBILITY OR IS THERE A FLUIDITY AND OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF GALLERY MANAGEMENT?

I can’t speak for everyone else’s development here, but I do feel like it is a terrific place for people to find their role on the team. Everyone is different and everyone has specific purposes and this is the kind of place that brings out the best in these people.

GAGOSIAN GALLERY CHELSEA
February 17 – April 18, 2015
“In the Studio: Paintings”
Curated by John Elderfield
Installation view
Photo by Rob McKeever

DO YOU COLLECT AND, IF SO, WHAT TYPES OF WORK AND WHY?

Of course I collect! I think that one of our great collectors here at Gagosian said it well. He said that the moment you put your first piece on the wall, you can no longer live without art. My collection is made up of artists that have an appreciation for technical skill and craftsmanship. I find it impossible to solely collect so I often go on studio visits and engage in brainstorming with the artists. There are several that I have consistently supported for several years now.

DID YOU PROPOSE EXHIBITIONS OF SPECIFIC ARTISTS AND HOW DO THESE EXHIBITS AND ARTISTS REFLECT YOUR INTEREST IN THE CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD?

I have been fortunate enough to build bridges between many artists, curators, gallerists, and collectors. Sometimes an exhibition can start from a casual conversation with an artist to years of suggesting their work to others. Great art always finds a way of being presented to large audiences.

UNREALISM
The Moore Building, Miami Design District
Art Basel Miami December 2015

AT LAST DECEMBER’S MIAMI ART BASEL, GAGOSIAN LAUNCHED AN ENORMOUS EXHIBITION OF FIGURATIVE WORKS ENTITLED UNREALISM  IN COLLABORATION WITH JEFFREY DEITCH. I HAD THE PLEASURE OF VIEWING THE EXHIBIT WITH YOU AS MY GUIDE AND BENEFITED FROM YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF SUCH A WIDE RANGE OF FIGURAL ARTISTS.

WHAT DOES THE RENEWED INTEREST IN FIGURATIVE PAINTING AND SCULPTURE REPRESENT TO YOU AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE INFLUENCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AND DIGITAL PRINTING HAS ON THIS RENAISSANCE?

I think these things come in waves. I think that post-war era figurative painting has come in and out. I have even heard of several universities that banned it until only 10 years ago. I think technology is always expanding the abilities for artists to create. Ever since oil painting took over tempera painting in the renaissance, technology has continued to open windows. Today with digital photography, everyone with a mobile phone is a curator or an artist on Instagram or social media with what they are putting up there.

GAGOSIAN GALLERY LONDON
BRITANNIA STREET
November 2012 – January 2013
“ZENG FANZHI”
Installation view
Photo by Mike Bruce

IN THE NEXT LRFA POST, MAX WILL SHARE HIS INSIGHTS ON THE ART OF COLLECTING ART. HIS EXPERIENCE AS BOTH AN ASTUTE COLLECTOR AND  DEALER PROVIDES A 360 DEGREE PERSPECTIVE.  DO ASK MAX ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ON THIS SUBJECT.

THANKS FOR READING!

The art of Installation Art at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Tomas Saraceno
Installation View

INSTALLATION ART IS SITE-SPECIFIC, A  THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORK SIGNIFICANT IN SCALE THAT TRANSFORMS OUR PERCEPTION OF A SPACE. THE TERM GAINED CURRENCY IN THE 1960s TO DESCRIBE AN ARTIST’S METAMORPHOSIS OF AN INTERIOR, OFTEN FOR A TEMPORARY PERIOD OF TIME, CHARACTERIZED BY THE ARTWORK’S PHYSICAL DOMINATION OF THE ENTIRE SPACE. INSTALLATION ART  INVITES THE SPECTATOR TO LITERALLY ENTER INTO THE  WORK OF ART, OFTEN ENGAGING NOT ONLY THE VIEWER’S SENSE OF SIGHT BUT OFTEN HEARING AND SMELL.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST INSTALLATIONS WAS YVES KLEIN’S THE VOID IN PARIS AT GALERIE IRIS CLERT,  A 1958 PRESENTATION, RADICAL FOR ITS TIME, OF AN EMPTY WHITE INTERIOR IN A COMMERCIAL GALLERY. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONCEPTUAL SPECTRUM, A YEAR LATER THE SAME GALLERY WAS TRANSFORMED BY ARMAN’S FULLNESS, WHEN THE ARTIST CRAMMED THE SPACE WITH RUBBISH SO THAT THE WORK COULD ONLY BE VIEWED THROUGH THE STOREFRONT WINDOW. 

 

IN NEW YORK, EARLY INSTALLATIONS INCLUDE JIM DINE’S THE HOUSE AND OLDENBURG’S THE STREET. IN APRIL, 1966, AT LEO CASTELLI GALLERY, ANDY WARHOL CREATED TWO SEPARATE INSTALLATIONS: A ROOM FILLED WITH SILVER HELIUM PILLOWS, SILVER CLOUDS, ANOTHER COVERED WITH HIS COW WALLPAPER, BOTH CHALLENGING OUR PRECONCEPTIONS OF THE NATURE OF ART AND APPROPRIATE MATERIALS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65obeVlgD9E

 

SINCE ITS INCEPTION, TANYA BONAKDAR GALLERY HAS DEMONSTRATED AN IMPRESSIVE COMMITMENT TO THE CHALLENGES OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE GALLERY ARTISTS IT REPRESENTS WITH ITS DEDICATION TO EXHIBITING AND PLACING SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION WORKS IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND MUSEUMS. THE GALLERY, LOCATED IN THE HEART OF CHELSEA AT 521 WEST 21st STREET,  PROVIDES ARTISTS WITH THE TRUE MEANING OF ARTISTIC LICENSE BY SUPPORTING THEIR NON-COMMERCIAL PROJECTS THAT EXPAND THE POSSIBILITIES OF SCALE AND SCOPE. http://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/

IN TODAY’S LRFA BLOG,  RENEE COPPOLA, GALLERY DIRECTOR, WILL DOCUMENT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS IN THE TWENTY YEAR HISTORY OF THE GALLERY EXHIBITIONS.

Charles Long
Untitled
2010
aqua-resin fiberglass and latex paint over steel with found objects
51 x 51 x 32 inches; 129.5 x 129.5 x 81.3 cm
DETAIL

TANYA BONAKDAR OPENED THE GALLERY IN 1994 ON PRINCE STREET IN SOHO. WHO WERE THE ARTISTS THAT MADE UP THE OPENING ROSTER OF THE GALLERY? HOW DID TANYA BECOME INTERESTED AND INVOLVED IN THEIR WORK AND WHAT PROMPTED HER TO OPEN A GALLERY?

Many of the artists who were showing at the gallery in the early years have enjoyed a long, productive relationship with Tanya and the gallery. Uta Barth, Charles Long, Olafur Eliasson, Mat Collishaw, and Ernesto Neto are just some of the artists who were shown in Soho during the 1990s and still exhibit with us today. Tanya is very interested in showing international artists, as they provide a great range of perspectives and different ways of seeing the world.  She has been consistent in this respect, and the gallery’s roster of artists represents a very diverse group.

Olafur ELIASSON
Your now is my surroundings
2000
Skylight, mirror, concrete tiles, drain pipe, drywall, insulation
Installation, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, 2000

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF PAST EXHIBITIONS THAT HAVE DRAWN THE GREATEST CRITICAL, MUSEUM AND COLLECTOR RECOGNITION?

So many exhibitions have been well-received by the public and press.  Sarah Sze’s first show at the gallery in 2010 was incredibly popular and led directly to her Venice Bienniale nomination and ultimate commission.  Olafur Eliasson’s show at the gallery in 2000 won the Art Critics of America Award for Best Gallery Show of the Year.  More recently, Ernesto Neto’s exhibition of interactive, crocheted sculptures in 2012 generated great interest from curators, and from there Neto was invited to present a major solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Bilbao.  So it is true that the gallery shows have historically been a catalyst for many major exhibitions.

ERNESTO NETO
SLOW IIS GOOOD
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
14 APRIL – 25 MAY 2012

THE GALLERY ROSTER IS EXTREMELY DIVERSE REPRESENTING MORE THAN THIRTY ARTISTS AND COMMITTED TO SHOWING WORK IN A LARGE DIVERSITY OF MEDIA. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPRESSED BY THE SUPPORT THE GALLERY SHOWS TO ITS ARTISTS IN EXHIBITING WORKS THAT ARE DEMANDING IN TERMS OF INSTALLATION AND PLACEMENT. WHO ARE SOME OF THE ARTISTS THAT FOCUS ON INSTALLATION? WHAT IS THE MARKET FOR THESE WORKS?

Our last exhibition (January 8 – February 14, 2015) is work by Susan Philipsz, an artist best known for often very large-scale indoor and outdoor audio installations.  For our show, Susan will present an immersive, 24-channel sound installation, inspired by 1930s émigré artists, Hollywood film scores, and McCarthy-era censorship.  (This piece was originally shown in the large Hamburger Bahnhof space in Berlin.)  Although on the surface the work seems immense – requiring the space of an entire room and somewhat specialized audio equipment, there is actually great versatility to her pieces that I believe make them quite easy and adaptable and suited for many different types of spaces.  However, it is true that there are many works of art that are large-scale and require much more space than your average painting or domestically-scaled sculpture.  These installations are certainly well-suited for museums and institutions, yet there are also some very passionate and committed collectors who don’t mind devoting a room in their home or office to a major work!

THE GALLERY MOVED TO ITS CURRENT LOCATION AT 521 WEST 21^ST IN 1998. IT WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO EXODUS SOHO AND DEFINE CHELSEA AS THE DOMINANT GALLERY AREA IN NEW YORK. WHAT DID THE NEW SPACE ALLOW THAT THE ORIGINAL SOHO SPACE COULD NOT?

Our move coincided with a period of tremendous growth for the gallery, and Chelsea offered the gallery a possibility to continue with this trajectory of expansion.

OLAFUR ELIASSON
Your engagement sequence
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
28 APRIL – 27 MAY 2006

IN 2006, THE GALLERY EXPANDED EVEN FURTHER, ACQUIRING 5000 SQUARE FEET OF STREET LEVEL SPACE. THIS DOUBLED THE SIZE AND CERTAINLY ENHANCED THE GALLERY EXHIBITION CAPABILITIES AND ITS PROGRAMMING. SPECIFICALLY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS THAT THIS NEW EXPANDED SPACE MADE POSSIBLE?

The first exhibition in the new downstairs space was Olafur Eliasson’s Your Engagement Sequence and really represented how the renovation allowed for new opportunities in regard to the program.  For example, that artwork used light within a totally darkened room, which the artist viewed as an opportunity to explore what he calls the “fifth dimension” of an individualized perspective of the dimensions in space. The enhanced size of the gallery helped make the work even more successful.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG, RENEE WILL DISCUSS FUTURE EXHIBITIONS WE CAN ANTICIPATE AS WELL AS  A RECENT ADDITION TO THE GALLERY PROGRAMMING -E/I DISCUSSIONS- AN EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIVE YEAR LONG SERIES OF SATURDAY TALKS.

I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AND, MOST OF ALL, YOUR READERSHIP!