Ruffalo Fries Sausages, Mack, Marron Try N.Y. Frieze Fair
Mark Ruffalo, clad in navy-blue work clothes and white butcher apron, was frying pork sausages in the booth of Gavin Brown’s Enterprise at Frieze Art Fair New York yesterday.
The actor, who plays the Incredible Hulk in the new movie “The Avengers,” was there as part of a performance piece by the gallery artist Rirkrit Tiravanija to raise awareness about hydraulic fracking for natural gas.
“Fracking contaminates our water, and without water there’s no food,” the actor-activist said. “We wanted to remind people where their food comes from -- and to feed them some sausages.”
A 20-minute taxi ride from the Upper East Side, the art world elite has converged on Randall’s Island at a tented site adjacent to sports fields, a psychiatric hospital and a homeless shelter. Here, the London-based Frieze fair is making its New York debut, through May 7.
“It’s a pilgrimage,” said Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, daughter-in-law of the financier Felix Rohatyn and owner of Salon 94 gallery. “New Yorkers are seeing a different part of New York.”
Many of the 180 galleries under the translucent white tent reported brisk business yesterday for the VIP reception. They were frequented by Lightyear Capital LLC’s Donald Marron, John Mack, the former chief executive of Morgan Stanley (MS), Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation President Jennifer Blei Stockman and Lisa Dennison of Sotheby’s. (BID)
‘First Picks’
“I came early: I wanted to make sure I had the first picks at some things,” said art adviser Elizabeth Kujawski, Ronald Lauder’s curator, declining to be specific.
Was she successful?
“Yes, I was,” she said.
At the booth of Chelsea gallery Cheim & Read, Marron checked out a $2 million hanging beehive-like sculpture by Louise Bourgeois. Margaret Loeb, the wife of hedge-fund manager Daniel Loeb, admired Lynda Benglis’s gooey-looking “Quartered Meteor.”
“The first half an hour was like 2007 all over again,” said Adam Sheffer, partner at the gallery. “We brought modestly priced, accessible work and it moved like wildfire.”
Los Angeles-based collectors Herbert and Lenore Schorr stopped by the booth of James Fuentes and studied small paintings and drawings by Joshua Abelow.
‘Good and Uplifting’
“It’s spacious and airy,” Lenore Schorr said of the fair. “It feels good and uplifting.”
“Given we have so many great fairs in the U.S. now, there’s no need to go abroad,” her husband said.
By 2 p.m., the Lower East Side gallery had sold 30 of the works, ranging from $2,300 for a drawing to $45,000 for a group of 72 paintings.
The star of the Salon 94 booth was a 19-foot-long, $250,000 beige custom car, “Trabantimino,” created by Detroit-based artist Liz Cohen. She wowed fair-goers by demonstrating its hydraulic ability to expand and contract and rise and fall.
“It’s a kinetic sculpture,” said Alissa Friedman, a director of the gallery. “It works, it drives. The artist got it up to 60 miles per hour.”
Another hit of the fair was “Too Big to Fail,” Barbara Kruger’s black-and-white painting offered by Sprueth Magers. The word “fail” was upside-down.
By 1 p.m., two collectors had asked to place the $200,000 work on hold.
“So I reckon it sold,” said Andreas Gegner, a director of the gallery, which is based in London and Berlin.
Back at Gavin Brown, paper-stuffed sausages packaged in individual, wood boxes were selling out at $500 each. Proceeds went to Water Defense, a nonprofit co-founded by Ruffalo.
More Sales
Here are more sales from the VIP opening.
Hauser & Wirth: Paul McCarthy’s “White Snow Dwarf, Sleepy #1 (Midget),” which had an asking price of $950,000; Phyllida Barlow’s sculpture, featuring concrete, cement and plaster piled up on a yellow bean bag, for $65,000; Matthew Day Jackson’s bronze-and-steel slumped figure, “Seated not defeated (Chief Bigfoot),” for $195,000.
Los Angeles-based David Kordansky Gallery: Sold out his booth of colorful abstract paintings by Jon Pestoni, with prices ranging from $14,000 to $22,000.
Lower East Side gallery Bureau: Justin Matherly’s haunting cast-concrete sculpture based on the Greek statue “Laocoon and His Sons,” for $35,000.
Berlin-based gallery Luettgenmeijer: Three “Treif collage” paintings by American artist Ryan McLaughlin, depicting non-kosher foods like lobster and ham in semi-abstract style, priced at $7,500 each.
Mitchell-Innes & Nash: A cube sculpture by Sarah Braman for $20,000; Amanda Ross-Ho’s oversized brooch with two gold tragedy masks linked by two gold chains for $40,000.
Moscow- and London-based Regina gallery: Six black-and- white photographs by Nikolay Bakharev from the period 1978-85, depicting gaunt bathers, for $3,000 each.
Sikkema Jenkins Co: a 5-by-9-foot collaged photograph “Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Vik Muniz, for $45,000.
Muse highlights include a roundup of NYC Weekend best bets and a look at movies.
To contact the reporters of this story: Katya Kazakina in New York at kkazakina@bloomberg.net; Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Mark Ruffalo
Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
Actor Mark Ruffalo fries pork sausages at Frieze Art Fair New York on Randall's Island.
Actor Mark Ruffalo fries pork sausages at Frieze Art Fair New York on Randall's Island. Photographer: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Hauser & Wirth's Marc Payot and artist John Ahearn talk with Bloomberg's Ryan Sutton about the significance of the Frieze Art Fair in New York. (Source: Bloomberg)
``Circumnavigator''
Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
Sean Landers's ``Circumnavigator'' at Frieze Art Fair New York.
Sean Landers's ``Circumnavigator'' at Frieze Art Fair New York. Photographer: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
``Trabantimino''
Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
``Trabantimino,'' a customized car/sculpture created by Liz Cohen, on display at Frieze Art Fair New York.
``Trabantimino,'' a customized car/sculpture created by Liz Cohen, on display at Frieze Art Fair New York. Photographer: Philip Boroff/Bloomberg
"White Snow Dwarf, Sleepy #1 (Midget)"
Frederik Nilsen/Hauser & Wirth via Bloomberg
"White Snow Dwarf, Sleepy #1 (Midget)" by Paul McCarthy, offered by the Hauser & Wirth booth at Frieze New York.
"White Snow Dwarf, Sleepy #1 (Midget)" by Paul McCarthy, offered by the Hauser & Wirth booth at Frieze New York. Photographer: Frederik Nilsen/Hauser & Wirth via Bloomberg
Frieze Art Fair New York
Graham Carlow/Graham Carlow Photography via Bloomberg
Visitors at Frieze Art Fair New York.
Visitors at Frieze Art Fair New York. Photographer: Graham Carlow/Graham Carlow Photography via Bloomberg
Justin Matherly Sculpture
Bureau via Bloomberg
Justin Matherly’s haunting cast-concrete sculpture based on the Greek statue “Laocoon and His Sons” is sold by Lower East Side gallery Bureau for $35,000.
Justin Matherly’s haunting cast-concrete sculpture based on the Greek statue “Laocoon and His Sons” is sold by Lower East Side gallery Bureau for $35,000. Source: Bureau via Bloomberg
Frieze Tent
Black Frame via Bloomberg
An interior rendering of the Frieze Art Fair New York tent, designed by Brooklyn architects SO-IL.
An interior rendering of the Frieze Art Fair New York tent, designed by Brooklyn architects SO-IL. Source: Black Frame via Bloomberg
Frieze Tent
Black Frame via Bloomberg
An exterior rendering of the 250,000-square-foot Frieze New York tent on Randall's Island.
An exterior rendering of the 250,000-square-foot Frieze New York tent on Randall's Island. Source: Black Frame via Bloomberg
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