Our most-talked-about stories in Visual Art, Design & Architecture, Fashion & Style, and Performing Arts, October 29 - November 2, 2012:

– More Hurricane Damage to the 9/11 Museum: The still-under-construction 9/11 Memorial Museum— which houses important artifacts from the terrorist attack including the last column standing at the tower site — is flooded with at least five feet of water. The museum's main floor sits 68 feet below the memorial plaza (which sustained little damage). The memorial's planners acknowledged that the museum was constructed on a so-called 100-year flood plain, which means the land has a 1 percent chance of flooding every year. It just so happens, however, that the site has been hit by two "100 year floods" in just the past 14 months. (For a CNN report on the situation, see our VIDEO OF THE DAY, below.) [Gawker]

– The West Bank Gets a Biennial: The small town of Qulandiya is best known as the hulking Israeli checkpoint between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But this week, it is also home to the Palestinian Occupied Territory's largest biennale to date, featuring over 50 Palestinian and international artists from Australia, Italy, and Switzerland, among other countries. Organized by the architectural heritage organization Riwaq and the Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, the biennale incorporates sculptures made out of bits of the Israeli separation wall by artist Khaled Jarrar. [Al-Jazeera]

– Atlantic City Readies New Public Art Project:Hurricane Sandy miraculously spared the first phase of a planned five-year, $13-million public art project in Atlantic City called "Artlantic," scheduled to debut on Friday. The first portion of the project features a large sculpture by Kiki Smith surrounded by a seasonally changing "red garden" designed by the artist, an installation of a pirate ship by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, and a text-based work by Robert Barry. [NYT]

– Downtown Artists Weather Storm at Mark Hotel: During Superstorm Sandy and the ensuing flooding and blackout that enveloped Lower Manhattan, a powerful ad hoc art community sprang up in the Upper East Side's Mark Hotel. It became a makeshift home not only for fashion stars like Anna Wintour and Mark Jacobs, but also for artists Dan Colen, Wade Guyton, and John Currin, whose dealer Larry Gagosian persuaded them to come stay near his Madison Avenue location around the corner. "My office is very efficient," said displaced makeup artist Pat McGrath. "They saw the storm coming and moved me up here a week ago." [WSJ]

– Nazi-Looted Movie Posters Head to Auction: Some 4,300 pre-World War II movie posters that the Gestapo took from Berlin dentist Hans Sachs in 1938 will be auctioned in New York after being restituted to his son Peter Sachs. The collection, worth over $5.8 million, includes works by Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Cheret, and Ludwig Hohlwein, and will hit the auction block at Guernsey's on January 18, 2013. [Bloomberg]

– Stolen Chinese Relics Pulled From Auction: A pair of relics — two jade carvings dating from the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-95) — were pulled from an auction at Bonhams London after they were revealed to have been looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860. "Bonhams is very sorry to read reports in the Chinese press that offense has been caused in China by the proposed sale of two jade carvings," said Bonhams' Asia chairman Colin Sheaf. "There was never in any way an intention to cause offense, and Bonhams regrets that this interpretation has been published." [China.org]

– Sotheby's to Sell Lauder Jewels: Cosmetics mogul Leonard Lauder will sell a collection of jewelry amassed by his wife Evelyn and mother Estée Lauder worth upwards of $13.4 million at Sotheby's New York in a pair of sales — one on December 5 and the second in February. The family's share of proceeds from the sales — which include a heart-shaped yellow 47.14-carat diamond that belonged to the Duchess of Windsor until she secretly sold it to Lauder — will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which Evelyn Lauder founded. [WSJ, Market Watch]

– Boyle and Serota Join Sculpture Sale Protest: Filmmaker (and Olympics opening ceremony mastermind) Danny Boyle and Tate director Nicholas Serota have joined a chorus of concerned arts figures protesting Tower Hamlets Council's plans to sell a large bronze public sculpture by Henry Moore that the artist sold them at a steep discount in hopes that it might enrich the lives of people living in the depressed community. Faced with staggering budget cuts, the council could get up to $31.9 million for "Draped Seated Woman," but Boyle, Serota, and other signors of an open letter say the sale "goes against the spirit of Henry Moore's original sale to London County Council at a favourable price on the understanding that it would be placed in East London." [BBC]

– Donald Judd's Pickup Truck Now Lives Upstate: The New York Times autos section brings us the delightful story of a furniture designer in Putnam Valley, New York who owns Donald Judd's 1972 Dodge pickup truck. The car received a distinctive paint job from the Minimalist painter, who covered the hood, tailgate, and bumpers in black (the former to ward off glare, the latter two just to be stylish). Evan Hughes, the designer, bought the truck from the artist's son, Flavin, for less than $5,000 over 15 years ago. "It does not go much more than 75 miles per hour," he said. [NYT]

– Resale Royalty Comment Period Extended: Calling all artists and others concerned about resale royalties: The U.S. Copyright Office is extending the deadline for responses to its September 19 inquiry seeking the public's opinion on a federal resale royalty right. Due to the "complexity of the issues raised," comments are now due December 5 rather than November 5. If you've got a strong opinion on the subject, you can submit your thoughts electronically here. [Federal Register via Art Law Blog]

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Anderson Cooper reports on the flooding of the 9/11 Museum

ALSO ON ARTINFO:

25 Questions For Offbeat Materials Artist Jim Drain

After the Flood: How Will Hurricane Sandy Change New York's Art World?

Governors Island Park, Four Freedoms Park Put Up a Fight Against Sandy

Art on an Industrial Scale: The 2nd Ural Biennial Impresses With Its Ambition

Olafur Eliasson on Mapping Iceland and the Hidden Histories of Driftwood

Fluxus Gets an Historic Homage at a French Museum, But Remains an Enigma Still

For more breaking art news throughout the day,
check ARTINFO's In the Air blog.

He gave us the Motorcycle Bag, Darth Vader visors, and a bold new approach to the feminine form. But after 15 years at Balenciaga’s creative helm, Nicolas Ghesquière is leaving the historic house. WWD broke the story this morning, reporting that it was a mutual decision between Balenciaga’s parent company, PPR, and the designer, who will leave his post at the end of this month. Needless to say, fashion folk around the globe emitted a collective gasp upon learning the news, as Ghesquière’s departure came as a startling surprise. The designer turned out a highly acclaimed spring 2013 collection, which nodded to the house’s Spanish heritage with racy flamenco skirts. But more importantly, over the last 15 years, he reinvigorated the brand, which, founded by Cristobal Balenciaga in 1918, had been struggling since its namesake designer’s death in 1972.

Cristobal Balenciaga was one of the most influential designers of his time, pioneering new volumes and shapes in the 1950s with the iconic cocoon coat, the bubble skirt, and trapeze silhouettes — all of which were a sharp departure from the hyper-feminine looks of the era perpetuated by Dior. The same can be said of Ghesquière, who worked with Jean Paul Gauliter before heading to Balenciaga in 1997. During his time at the house, Ghesquière frequently referred the archive, creating his own, more severe takes on Cristobal Balenciaga’s use of sculpture and geometry. But his clothes, while nodding to the past, always looked to the future. Complicated forms — like the structured, slim waisted, wide hipped printed frocks from spring 2008 — balanced sex appeal, power, and severity. And his fabric innovation (think hand-painted embossed latex bombers and bubbly multi-layer tech fabrics) was unparalleled. During his reign, Ghesquière’s aesthetic constantly evolved but his bold vision was unwavering. He made profits rise and women swoon, and was a driving force in contemporary fashion for the last decade.

Ghesquière’s next move has not been released, but it’s safe to say that his dedicated fans are hoping for an eponymous line. His successor at Balenciaga has yet to be named — whoever takes the reins will have some very big sky-high block-heeled shoes to fill. 

In the weeks following her death in May 2011, it looked as though the reclusive 104-year-old Huguette Clark was poised to reshape Santa Barbara with her art legacy. Much to the community’s delight, her lawyers announced that Bellosguardo, Clark’s 24-acre, $100-million oceanfront estate in Santa Barbara, would be transformed into a museum, and that her commanding art collection — including works by Monet, Renoir, John Singer Sargent, and William Merritt Chase — might soon be made available to the general public.

Members of Clark’s extended family have yet to join the celebration, however, and their reasons are clear: Whereas Clark's final will, in addition to provisions for Bellosguardo’s conversion, allots $34 million to her trusted nurse and nothing to her 19 relatives, a draft signed six weeks earlier leaves the nurse only $5 million and the rest to her family members.

Public officials in Santa Barbara, fearing that the dispute could cause them to lose out on a valuable local treasure, have entered the fray last week by creating a petition in favor of making the property into a museum, hosted on the website FriendsOfBellosguardo.org. “The alternative is that all of the assets are sold off to the family, and then the home will probably get put on the market and go to the highest bidder,” Santa Barbara mayor Helene Schneider told Newshawk, urging local residents to sign.

Meanwhile, members of Clark’s family insist that it was the earlier testament that described her true intentions, regarding the fact that the museum would be run by Clark’s attorney, Wallace Bock, and her accountant, Irving Kamsler, as reason for suspicion. Even before Clark’s death, members of her family alleged that Bock and Kamsler were seeking to take advantage of the aging copper heiress in her weakened state.

An investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in September 2010 revealed that Bock in particular had been the recipient of lavish gifts in Clark’s final years, including a doll house for his granddaughter worth at least $10,000, as well as a $1.5 million gift for a security system in the community in Israel where members of his family live. In the most recent suit filed by the family, both he and Kamsler are described as “officious interlopers.”

On December 5 Sotheby’s will auction off the jewels of the iconic cosmetics entrepreneur Estée Lauder and her daughter-in-law Evelyn Lauder, the former senior corporate vice president and head of fragrance development worldwide for the Estée Lauder Companies Inc., as part of the Magnificent Jewels sale. The collection, said to be worth an estimated $13 million, will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a charity Evelyn founded in 1993 and championed until her death in 2011. Evelyn’s dazzling 22.16-carat diamond and platinum ring, estimated at $3 million to $4 million, and Estée’s spectacular 1950s Van Cleef & Arpels 18-carat gold, diamond, and ruby bracelet, worth approximately $60,000 to $80,000, are among the approximately 35 lots that will be for sale.

Click on the slideshow to see a selection of the Lauder family jewels that will be up for auction at Sotheby’s on December 5.

Even as power has returned to large swathes of Manhattan, neighborhoods like the Rockaways remain in chaos, with hundreds of residents left homeless by wind and water damage, swathes of its waterfront boardwalk eradicated, and entire blocks decimated by the fires that swept Breezy Point. Brooklyn-based artists and documentarians Alex Braverman and Poppy de Villeneuve traveled to the area from Fort Greene on Friday and assembled the following video to draw attention to the still-dire situation, inspired by a phone message from a friend, Michelle, a Rockaways resident, whose voice serves as the clip's narration.

"What struck us most was the human impact, this massive loss and property damage," Braverman explained in an interview with ARTINFO today. Added Villeneuve, "We went into homes where entire basements had been wiped out ... people were bathing their children in hot water without any towels or blankets, to keep them warm. I don't think people fully realized how severe it was." Though recovery efforts have sped up somewhat since power has been restored and news of the destruction made its way to the public eye, Braverman urges people to stay involved: "That area needs everything it can get from us in donations and support." 

To see Alex Braverman and Poppy de Villeneuve's "Rockaway Needs Us," click on the video below:

The U.S. faces another historic neck-and-neck election tomorrow, with issues like reproductive rights, same-sex marriage, health-care, and economic stimulus hanging in the balance — and now, added to that, addressing disaster relief following the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. The Americans for the Arts Action Fund— a non-profit dedicated to supporting the arts and arts education in the U.S. — has released an updated round-up of where the presidential and vice-presidential candidates stand on the arts.

Since the election is tomorrow, and we know you will all be getting up early (just like us) to go to the polls and cast your ballots, we’ve digested some of their findings to keep you informed as you vote.

Federal Support for the Arts

President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden’s current administration has proposed though the Appropriations Requests to Congress for the NEA and NEH in 2013 an increase of $9 million. Meanwhile, Governor Mitt Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan have come under fire for proposing a reduction in subsidies for the arts as a key part of their national savings platform, claiming that cutting funding to the NEA, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Legal Services Corporation will save $600 million that could be redirected elsewhere.

Federal Support for Museums and Libraries

In addition to their proposal for increased funding to the NEH, Obama and Biden want to level funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services to $232 million. Romney and Ryan’s positions on funding museums and libraries are a little less clear; Ryan supported a budget that passed in the House of Representatives which calls for disbanding the Institute altogether, while there is no official stance from Romney’s campaign.

Title I Funding for Arts Education

The Democratic candidates are maintaining their current position to hold Title I in place with level funding, while the Republican nominees want to expand federal support to pay for public, charter, or private schools, possibly taking away from current arts education funds.

General Position on the Arts & Arts Education

The DNC’s platform clearly states, “We are committed to continuing the policies and programs that have already done so much for our creative arts industry and economy,” and “We will continue to support public funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and for programs providing art and music education in primary and secondary schools.” However, the Arts Action Fund was unable to find anything similar from the GOP.

The Fund's helpful guide to the 2012 candidates' positions on the arts also includes each party’s records on increasing federal support for public broadcasting, maintaining support of national and community service for the arts, and incentives for donations to non-profit arts institutions.

And while Obama and Romney are certainly taking center stage in tomorrow’s election, many states are holding elections for new and incumbent congressional candidates with equally important positions on the arts. The Arts Action Fund has put together an incredibly helpful interactive graded report card with the voting history of each representative, to make it easier for voters to find out about local and state initiatives for the arts that will be affected by this election.

To see the Americans for the Arts Action Fund's full round-up of the 2012 Presidential Candiates Arts Positions click here.

With the preliminary recovery from Sandy’s wrath now underway, artists and art organizations who need financial and other assistance have a variety of sources available. ARTINFO has put together a list of some of the most useful:

The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Emergency Grants offers one-time financial assistance for artists affected by a catastrophe. Eligible applicants must have at least 10 years of involvement at a mature stage of their career.

Grants, loans, resource and material assistance, and waivers/discounts on booth fees are available for professional craft artists through the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF).  Applicants must be residents of the U.S. and have suffered a recent career-threatening emergency. CERF is also sponsoring a resource exchange where artists can post requests for resources. 

Artists whose work transcends boundaries of dance, theatre, music, multimedia, and spoken word can receive financial assistance and social services through The Howl Emergency Life Project (H.E.L.P.). Previous participation in the HOWL Festival, or living on the Lower East Side or in the East Village are the eligibility requirements for this grant.

The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) offers 24-hour volunteer assistance for artists and cultural institutions dealing with work that has been damaged in a natural disaster. They have also combined with the Collection Emergency Response Team (CERT) to aid institutions, organizations, collections and artists impacted by the hurricane, reachable by email or by their helpline at (202) 661-8068.

Though the offices of the Joan Mitchell Foundation are still closed due to Sandy damage, they have funding available to painters and sculptors who have been affected by a natural disaster. They also work with arts organizations and funders to assess needs and support recovery.

The Pollock-Krasner Foundation is accepting emergency requests for grants to professional visual artists affected by Sandy.

Lawyer Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento has generously offered to provide advice free of charge to visual artists and arts organizations who have been affected by Sandy. Sarmiento wrote, “I just wants to make my services available for any artist who is at a loss as to what rights they have or how they should proceed in getting compensated for their losses.”

Americans for the Arts has put together an Essential Guidelines for Art Responders, an abridged version of an upcoming handbook, for artists and art organizations dealing with damages from the hurricane. The free handbook includes info on coordinating with other organizations on disaster mobilization systems and creating grant relief programs.

The U.S. Small Business Association’s disaster relief program makes businesses and non-profit organizations of any size eligible for loans to replace damaged property, equipment, inventory and other assets.

Heritage Preservation, the National Institute for Conservation, has put together a thorough guide for getting through the FEMA emergency relief grant application process. They also offer museums, individuals, and organizations information on preservation of artistic works.

The American Federation of Arts has opened up several vacant work spaces in their office for artists, gallerists, and others in the art world displaced by Hurricane Sandy. The space is available, free of charge, until December 1.

Fractured Atlas is reviewing applications for fiscal sponsorship on an emergency, expedited basis, and has waived membership fees for artists affected by Sandy.

While we’ve compiled the resources that we find most helpful, lists of additional grants and funding sources have also been posted at BRIC Contemporary Arts, Grantmakers in the Arts, and NYFASource.

Know of another resource for artists? Write to sroffino@artinfo.com.

— Queens Restorers Receive Chelsea's Sandy-Soaked Masterpieces: Over the weekend more than 300 artworks from Chelsea galleries were delivered to Long Island City's Gloria Velandia Art Conservation— whose clients in the past have included the likes of Pace, Gagosian, Gladstone, and David Zwirner— where its staff was tasked with saving pieces by Andy Warhol, Lucio Fontana, James Rosenquist, and others that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy. "I would say thousands of artworks were affected," said AXA Art for the Americas CEO and president Christiane Fischer. "In its extent it’s completely unprecedented." [Bloomberg]

— Michigan Votes for Obama, Against Public Art: A proposed mileage tax in Ann Arbor that would have generated some $450,000 annually to go towards commissioning public artworks was voted down by residents last night, with 28,166 (55.86 percent) casting their ballots against the measure while 22,254 (44.14 percent) supported it. The city, which already has a Percent for Art program requiring that 1 percent of the budget for all capital construction projects be set aside for public art, also voted against a mileage tax for a new downtown library, but approved another for major improvements to city parks. [Ann Arbor Chronicle]

— Giotto Frescoes Found in Quake-Damaged Chapel: While working at restoring the small Chapel of St. Nicholas in Assisi that was damaged during a 1997 earthquake, a team of conservationists came across the initials "GB," prompting speculation that they are long-forgotten works by Renaissance master Giotto di Bondone— rather than that of his 14th century followers, as previously believed. "This is one of the first works of [Giotto's] artistic life and is of great importance to reconstruct the chronology of his work and that of his workshop," Sergio Fusetti, the Assisi frescoes' chief restorer, said. [Guardian]

— Site of MLK Jr. Shooting Joins Museum Exhibit: Memphis's National Civil Rights Museum is working to renovate the motel balcony where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, so that museum attendees can visit the site. Accompanying the new Lorraine Motel attraction will be an exhibit devoted to the shooting, both of which will open on November 19. [LAT]

— Toronto Creates Official "Graffiti Panel": The City of Toronto's official, five-member Graffiti Panel held its first meeting last week, hoping to set guidelines for what types of graffiti are deemed worthy of being protected as street art — including murals made at municipally mandated sites like Downtown's popular Graffiti Alley— and what will be targeted by its graffiti crackdown as vandalism. "If anyone thinks that an official programme will reduce graffiti, they’re sadly mistaken," said Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art director David Liss. "Many graffiti artists will intentionally not participate and continue working unsanctioned. There is a strain of thought amongst certain graffiti artists and taggers to ‘destroy’ and vandalise while others see their markings as a way to claim space from ever-increasing corporate control." [TAN]

— Glenn Ligon Plans Major Work for New School: In what is promised to be his "most ambitious neon work to date," Glenn Ligon has been commissioned to create an installation for New York's New School. The project is described as a tribute to American poet Walt Whitman, and will feature streams of neon text from his masterpiece, "Leaves of Grass," circling the walls of the cafe in the school's new University Center at 14th Street and Fifth Avenue, which is set to open in winter 2014. [Press Release]

— Nude Portrait of Pregnant Sienna Miller Raises Eyebrows: Jonathan Yeo's painting "Sienna (pregnant)" (2012), which portrays the British actress very naked and very pregnant, is set to make its debut in his solo show "(I've Got You) Under My Skin" when it opens at Berlin's Circle Culture Gallery on Friday, but it has already drawn a great deal of attention — and comparisons to Demi Moore's famous Vanity Fair cover photo. Says Yeo, "I can think of many figures whose public currency in part revolves around their appearance, who would prefer to hide themselves away for nine months." [Independent]

— Georgian Museum Struggles to Shape Post-Soviet Nation: Since taking over as its director in 2004, David Lordkipanidze has seen the role of the Georgian National Museum as one of negotiator between the country's Soviet past and recent pro-Western turn — one recently problematized by the election of a pro-Kremlin Pparliament — and has recently reopened key historical wings of the institution following extensive restorations. "We are building a narrative not just of Georgian history but of Georgia's history in the world," Lordkipanidze said. "Down the ages we have been part of a global continuum which in recent years is something that the Georgian state has been especially pushing for — integration to Europe, to a wider horizon. That is part of our heritage from earliest times." (To see the Georgian National Museum in action, check out our VIDEO OF THE DAY, below.) [WSJ]

— Artist Collective Incubating Egg-Shaped Bar for Miami: During next month's Art Basel Miami Beach the Cuban artist duo Los Carpinteros will unveil their latest large-scale installation, the egg-shaped open-air art bar "Güiro," on Oceanfront as part of Absolut Art Bureau and Art Basel Conversations's joint program during the fair. "The artists have produced some of the most memorable and critically acclaimed work to emerge from Cuba recently," said Absolut Art Bureau leader Vadim Grigorian. "'Güiro' on the Oceanfront will be a magnet for conviviality during the show, where people can come together to relax and share their art experiences – in an environment that is itself a work of art." [Press Release]

— Museum Axes Staff to Stem Red Ink: The Long Beach, California-based Museum of Latin American Art has laid off five, including chief curator Cecilia Fajardo Hill, in an effort to shave some $600,000 from its budget. In the past, operating deficits were covered by the institution's founder Robert Gumbiner, but since his death three years ago, the museum has struggled. Two junior curators remain, and the museum plans to rely more on social media to attract an audience going forward. [KPCC]

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Report on the Georgian National Museum

ALSO ON ARTINFO

Is Keith Haring Undervalued? Insiders Bet Big on a "Correction" in His Market

Turkish Art Treads a Delicate Line Between Spectacle and Symbolism in Paris

Sale of the Week, November 11-17: A Confident Christie’s Predicts Historic Contemporary Sale

After Sandy, Galleries Struggle to Navigate Dizzying Insurance System

As the Campaign Comes to a Close, A British Artist's Take on Obama's Iconography

Cedric Aurelle Named Executive Director of Gallery Weekend Berlin and Art Berlin Contemporary

For more breaking art news throughout the day,
check ARTINFO's In the Air blog.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — This year's Abu Dhabi Art shows that this wealthy emirate has a small but possibly significant edge in the battle with nearby Dubai to become home to the region’s most important art fair — at least in the future. It's trump card is the comfortable purpose-built beachside art and exhibition venue, Manarat Al Saadiyat, located right in the heart of a planned cultural distinct that one day will host art galleries and branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim Museum. It is going to be fabulous when done.

Just when it will be completed, exactly, nobody knows. For right now this great vision remains incomplete — the future Guggenheim, for instance, is no more than lonely pylons in the undulating dunes. But Manarat Al Saadiyat and its accompanying UAE pavilion, a temporary pre-fab building shaped somewhat like rippling desert mounds (designed by Norman Foster, originally for the Shanghai World Expo of 2010), provide a tranquil, ideal setting. Frangipani trees ring the grounds, their scent lingering in the sultry air.

At this year's fair, 50 top local and international galleries were spaciously situated throughout the two buildings. The quality of the art was overall extremely high with a healthy mixture of international blue chip names and less renowned and regional artists, sometimes even within individual booths: Lisson Gallery, for instance, had a fragrant mixture of works by Ryan Gander, Anish Kapoor, Marina Abramovic, Shirazeh Houshiary, and others. It is nice to see the bigger galleries here catering to different tastes and price points.     

Regional galleries are well represented, distinguishing this fair from its neighbor in Dubai. They account for several excellent booths. CDA Projects Gallery from Istanbul has brought, among other things, Iraqi artist Adel Abidin’s Consumption of War (2011), recently shown at the Iraqi pavilion at the Venice Biennale. It is one of only three videos I counted in the entire fair — video and photography are obviously not popular here. Opposite Galerie Janine Rubeiz, one of many excellent Beirut galleries participating, has a showstopper: Mazen Kerbaj, a young Lebanese artist, sits in a glass box painting. Slowly he covers the walls with his art.

Artists affiliated with the wider region were also very well represented, often with outstanding works. Indian Subodh Gupta has first-rate pieces at Hauser & Wirth, Galleria Continua, and Galerie Enrico Navarra. The latter brought one of the artist’s signature sculptures, a life-sized brushed aluminum replica of the famous Indian Ambassador car (2003-2009), priced at $3 million. The monumental, 30-foot Frank Stella painting, Khurasan Gate: Variation III (1968) at nearby Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art, which some may recall hung in the lobby of Metromedia in New York, could be had for less — a mere $2.8 million.

Thaddaeus Ropac presented probably the fair’s most elegant booth, limited to the paintings of just two artists, Iranian Farhad Moshiri and Indian Raqib Shaw. Both are market leaders with prices to match and individually are well represented at several booths, including The Third Line, from Dubai, one of the region’s more prominent galleries. The Third Line has Moshiri’s SHOOTEMUP! 2 (2012), a colorful Warhol-esque acrylic and embroidery painting of cowboys, priced at $180,000. Rana Begum, a talented young Bangladeshi artist who lives in London is also showing here. Her works mix and match minimalism and abstraction.

Egyptian Ghada Amer is also among other so-called regional artists represented at the fair. Her bronze sculpture The Words I Love the Most (2012) at Kukje Gallery, priced at $320,000, is a hollow globe made using a collection of shapes based on 65 of the roughly 100 Arabic words for love. It attracted interest among Arabic speaking visitors who no doubt appreciated and understood its intricate lattice-like weaving of words as a contemporary spin on Arabic calligraphy. It is a great piece but remained unsold after the first day, though the artist’s painting, at the same booth, went quickly on reserve.

Herein lies the intruiging paradox of Abu Dhabi as an art fair location: In spite of its amazing facilities, good art, endless sunshine, and zero tax status, there is a nagging feeling that this event — now in its fourth edition — is held largely for the benefit of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his circle of friends and family. There is nothing wrong with that, or the fair’s stated vision to help drive the local tourism industry, but it could be much, much more than that. It could be a truly great fair.

What they need here are more collectors. Clearly there simply aren’t enough people interested in buying art presently living in Abu Dhabi or hereabouts to make this a sustainable financial exercise for galleries. Unless galleries sell they won’t come back. This year the mood was more positive than last, I am told, and most galleries reported sales, but there is nothing like the crush of Basel or Frieze or Miami, where booths sell out in minutes. It is low key here, with things "on reserve."

It seems to me that the organizers of this fair could make a few small adjustments to ensure that it is special and workable long term: They should be flying collectors in from Europe, America, and across the Middle East to invite them to enjoy and experience the advantages of the facility and of doing business here. We all live and work in a global world these days, and places like Abu Dhabi that have clear competitive advantages should be clever in exploiting them. I am sure the organizers know all of this, which begs an interesting question: Perhaps His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is happy precisely with how things are?

To see images of the art at Abu Dhabi Art 2012, click on the slideshow.

Abu Dhabi Art runs through November 10th.

Princesses exude style, class, and grace — so it’s no wonder that Chopard would collaborate with Disney on a holiday collection of haute joaillerie inspired by Disney princesses for London department store Harrods.

Aurora, Belle, Snow White, and company were the muses behind the pieces, which include earrings that depict a pair of birds carrying flowers from “Sleeping Beauty,” a dazzling necklace inspired by Belle’s yellow gown, and an apple ring of rubies based on the poisonous fruit the Evil Queen served Snow White.

The Disney Chopard Haute Joaillerie collection ties into Harrods’s 2012 holiday windows, which will feature Disney princess-inspired couture by Versace, Elie Saab, and Oscar de la Renta. Visit the London department store’s Fine Jewellery Room to get a glimpse of the spectacular jewels.

Click on the slideshow to see the Chopard Disney Haute Joaillerie collection.

NEW YORK — Rather than wait with fear by the television set, Brooklyn art galleries marked election night by hosting countdown events, trotting out performance art pieces and other attractions, and generally doing their level best to act out the stereotype of godless Blue State heathens. Weaving across the borough, ARTINFO dropped by a patriotic strip-dancer celebration at Acme Studio, a screening party/art show at Front Room gallery, some election history discussions and backyard projections — a.k.a “Election Night Madness” — at City Reliquary, and, last but definitely not least, the carnival-esque festivities at Grace Exhibition Space in Bushwick, which featured about 20 performance artists playing with barbed-wire, megaphones, and various types of fire, while also having themselves branded with hot iron out of excitement. For posterity, we offer a glimpse.

To see images of Brooklyn gallery election coverage, click on the slideshow.