Frieze Art Fair: Not Complete Washout
Sales are, no surprise, slow at the Frieze art fair in London, where all the art world people—Charles Saatchi, Dasha Zhukova, Dakis Joannou, Gavin Brown, Thelma Golden—have been circulating among celebrities—Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller, Sofia Coppola, Kate Bosworth, Emma Watson—for whom being seen at an art event is a nice way of distancing themselves from the contents of In Touch. "I come to Frieze every year," Gwyneth told reporters. "It's something I really look forward to." (Of course, she didn't actually buy anything, deciding instead to pose for the cameras and talk about the election.)
There are some signs, though, that the art market hasn't completely tanked along with everything else. One of the biggest sales thus far was a mixed media sculpture by Robert Gober, "Leg With Anchor," which sold for $1.2 million by the Matthew Marks gallery to a private U.S. collector. And it's heartening to see that the worst economic crisis of our generation isn't totally squashing insane optimism: Larry Gagosian's booth is offering a Richard Prince painting, "Heartbreak Nurse," for $7 million. It hasn't been snapped up yet, but there's still the rest of the weekend to go!
Paltrow, Saatchi, Zhukova Browse Frieze Art as Sales Go Slowly [Bloomberg]
Frieze Frame [ArtForum]