Eric Clapton's Richter Sotheby's-Bound, Gagosian Sues Koons Collector, And More

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by ARTINFO

Published: September 13, 2012

– Eric Clapton's Richter Heads to Sotheby's: Sotheby's October 12 contemporary art evening sale in London will have a particularly high-profile consignor: Eric Clapton. The former Cream musician is selling Gerhard Richter's punchy red "Abstraktes Bild (809-4)" during Frieze Week. The abstract painting carries an estimate of $14 million to $19 million, just south of Richter's $21.8 million auction record. Whether or not the sale rises above its estimate, however, Clapton will make a profit: He purchased "Abstraktes Bild" along with two other paintings at Sotheby's in 2001 for a total cost of $3.4 million. [Reuters]

– Gagosian and Billionaire Collector Sue Each Other: The 64th richest person in the world, billionaire Ron Perelman, has entered a legal duel with mega-dealer Larry Gagosian after each filed separate lawsuits against the other in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday stemming from the gallerist's sale of a $25 million painting and two sculptures — including a granite "Popeye" by Jeff Koons — to the East Hampton-based mogul. Gagosian's suit claims Perelman failed to make scheduled payments on an unfinished sculpture and refused to pay agreed-upon prices for the two other works, while Perelman accused the gallery-owner of using his art-world influence to manipulate the prices of the artworks, making it harder for him to resell the pieces for a profit. "The gallery prides itself on its relationships and has never sued a client in its over 30 years of business," Gagosian Gallery said in the complaint. [Bloomberg, Daily News]

– Met Goes Punk: After blockbuster shows on Alexander McQueen, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Miuccia Prada, the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute will turn to punk for its next major summer exhibition. "Punk broke all rules when it came to fashion, and everything became possible after punk," said Andrew Bolton, curator of "Punk: Chaos to Couture," which will run from May 6 to August 11 2013. [WWD]

– Artists Attack Documenta for Ignoring Kassel's Arms Trade: Artists from the group Zentrum für Politische Schönheit (Center for Political Beauty) are criticizing the organizers of Documenta 13 for not addressing Kassel's long history as a hub of weapons manufacturing, one whose largest company, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), recently signed a deal to export tanks to Saudi Arabia. "We cannot tolerate that,” said Philipp Ruch, an artist and member of the group, which launched an open call for information that might lead to the arrest of KMW executives two weeks before Documenta opened. [TAN]

– Public School Kids Land Show at Zwirner: Students from New York City public schools who participated in an art competition organized by the Studio in a School and Word Above the Streets programs to create designs for the Water Tank Project will have a group show at Chelsea's David Zwirner from September 27 to October 6. Select student designs will eventually be featured alongside water tank installations by John Baldessari, Julie Mehrtu, Lawrence Weiner, and more when the Water Tank Project opens on May 31, 2013. [Press Release]

– Cai Guo-Qiang and Philip Glass Snag Japanese Art Award: Artist Cai Guo-Qiang, known for his work with gunpowder and fireworks, and composer Philip Glass are among this year's recipients of the Praemium Imperiale art awards. The awards, which recognize lifetime achievement in the arts and are given out by the Japan Art Association, carry a $187,000 purse. An award ceremony will be held in Tokyo on October 23. [NYT]

– Rediscovered Picasso Will Change Museum's Finances Forever: The Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science's recently-discovered layered glass mosaic by Picasso will have a colossal impact on its finances. "Seated Woman With Red Hat" is headed to Guernsey's auction house with an estimate of $30 million to $40 million. That's more than five times the museum's entire $6 million endowment and more than three times the value of its entire collection. [NYT]

– Stones and Madness Tap Art Stars for Album Covers: The tongue-y cover art for the Rolling Stones's forthcoming greatest hits album, "GRRR!" (in stores November 12), features a portrait painting of a King Kong-like gorilla by the American artist Walton Ford, who shows with Paul Kasmin. Meanwhile, across the pond, Britpop legends Madness unveiled a text-heavy cover by Sir Peter Blake — whose cover for the Beatles's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album is among the most recognizable ever produced — for their new record "Oui, Oui, Si, Si, Ja, Ja, Da, Da" (out on October 29). [Rolling Stones, Telegraph]

– Canadian Mint and Folk Singer Duel Over Album Art: The Royal Canadian Mint is nickel-and-diming a Nova Scotia folk musician who used an image featuring pennies on the cover of his latest album. (The soon-to-be released record is titled "No More Pennies" and is an homage to the humble coin, which the mint plans to stop producing this fall, according to musician Dave Gunning.) The mint argues that the album infringes its copyright, and is asking for a fee of $1,200. Gunning is asking his fans to help him pay the fee in pennies. [Globe and Mail]

– Cincinnati Art Museum Gets a Boost From the State: The Cincinnati Art Museum has received $1.5 million from the state of Ohio for a renovation of its three-story Romanesque Revival-style former Art Academy building. The $111.1 million project, currently underway, will centralize administrative offices and archives and enable the public to access to the museum's library. [Cincinnati.com]

VIDEO OF THE DAY

In Japan, the 2012 Praemium Imperiale laureates are announced