Damien Hirst in talks to replace rotting shark

Damien Hirst has been the inspiration for many. His influence is felt by the masses without their even knowing who he is. All one has to do is watch The Cell and feel his presence pervade it.

Perhaps his most iconic piece, The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living, a large tiger shark in a tank of formaldehyde, is deteriorating.



"The 1991 work, bought by Steve Cohen from Charles Saatchi for £6.5m, has deteriorated because of the way it was made."

"Damien Hirst is in talks with US hedge fund manager Steve Cohen to replace the shark in his iconic work, The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living, 1991."

"The animal suspended in formaldehyde has deteriorated dramatically to the naked eye since it was first unveiled at the Saatchi Gallery in 1992 because of the way it was preserved by the artist. The solution which surrounds it is murky, the skin of the animal is showing considerable signs of wear and tear, and the shark itself has changed shape. "

By Cristina Ruiz and Gareth Harris

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Lucien Freud Number One in Britain

The Great Art Fair in London has done a poll to find out the favorite artist of artists at the event. Lucien Freud has topped the list, with Leonardo nowhere to be seen in the top ten.

Other notable artists that never made the grade were contemporary artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. They seem to get the vote of the media with anything they do deemed newsworthy, but artists at the Great Art Fair didn't feel the same way about Hir-min.

The top ten artists are mostly British or European.

Lucien Freud
Howard Hodgkin
David Hockney
JMW Turner
Antoni Tapies
Rembrandt
Jack Vettriano
Barbara Rae
Frank Auerbach
Vincent van Gogh
The Great Art Fair is in London from the 30th of November through to the 3rd of December. There's more information at their website here or a list of artists exhibiting here.

I wonder how different this list of artists would be if they do the same thing at the Great Art Fair in New York City in April 2007?

"We have seen many statistics and results about the British public's favorite artistic talents, and can read countless critic's profiles expounding the virtues of a variety of names in art, but this is the first poll to be conducted amongst working artists." BBC

Source: Art News Blog

Seen in Solitude: Robert Kipniss Prints

The Orlando Museum of Art is starting an exhibition in December featuring the prints and lithographs of Robert Kipniss.




"The themes of quiet contemplation, isolation and enigmatic beauty merge at the Orlando Museum of Art as it presents Seen in Solitude: Robert Kipniss Prints from the James F. White Collection December 10, 2006 - February 11, 2007. The exhibition organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art showcases black-and-white and color lithographs, drypoints and mezzotints created by Robert Kipniss between 1968 and 2003."

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Nothing As Art

Art imitates life? Life imitates art? How about art imitates art? First, Seinfeld's Kramer invents a scent called Beach, a perfume that reminds people of that fresh clean air at the shore. Now there's a perfume that is exactly that. Then George Costanza creates the concept of his and Jerry's show being about 'nothing'. Now an artist has taken that idea to heart.

What a great idea. Doing nothing and calling it art
Grayson Perry

My editor thought I might like to write about an artist called Chloe Steele. She is one of 15 artists taking part in a project called Residue. This is the final series of shows organised by First Site at the Minories gallery in Colchester before they move to their swanky new home. What caught the attention of a newsman is that Chloe Steele’s proposal for this residency was to do nothing, not anything, zilch, nil. Maybe he thought there was a possibility of stirring up some public outrage: “artist does nothing with public money!”

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Is Damien Hirst Done?

The problem is not Damien Hirst's borrowing from others, but his own loss of originality

Jonathan Jones
Wednesday October 25, 2006
The Guardian

There was a moment when the whole world was plagiarising Damien Hirst. Films, in the 1990s, had serial killers standing with shark-like grins inside glass vitrines. Wrapping paper came in coloured spots. Museums became self-conscious about the surreal nature of their collections. All this owed its fin-de-siecle vogue to a cocky artist and his obsession with death.

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Artist Focus

Heather Horton

Every once in a while I like to highlight an artist that I admire. I found Heather's work through Deviantart and have become a big fan of not only her style of painting, but her subject matter. There is a consistency in both style, technique and subject that I like and that I also feel I am missing in my own work. I find it interesting that her work often drifts back to beds. Whether the bed itself or someone in it, snuggled under the covers. I wonder if it's a sense of security or contentment she's seeking or seeking to convey with these pieces. Maybe she's just sleepy :)



Heather Horton's Homepage
Heather Deviantart Gallery

Camera Phone Gallery 1

Some random images taken with my camera phone. Not too bad considering. Click the pics to see larger images.