tld-art 002: the art behind the auctions, openings & awards

I read 750+ art articles so you don’t have to. Here’s what went behind the bidding, beyond the press releases, and into the work.

Hello to my very first subscribers,

Welcome to issue 002 of tld-art! The art fair chaos may have cooled, but spring auctions, show openings, and awards made for another busy week in the art world. I went through 750+ articles and saved 82, which you can check out here.

The standouts below go beyond the usual headlines, highlighting the artists themselves—their processes, histories, and the unexpected meanings behind the work.

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Behind the Auctions

All in, last week’s auctions across Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Phillips, and Bonhams raked in $1.27B. Despite a $70M flop, some obvious “chandelier bidding,” and general market jitters, contemporary art showed up strong, with several artists breaking records. While most coverage focused on lot-by-lot breakdowns and hammer price trends (a few links above), these pieces examined the work behind the sales.

Don’t let the headline fool you! Although not super comprehensive, this piece gives solid context on some of the most valuable (and thus, influential) artworks today.

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Art Awards

With national and global arts funding cuts (and resignations), art awards might matter more than ever. Many of the artists recognized in these awards were new to me, and I loved this way of discovering the visionaries shaping the art world at this very weird, very interesting moment.

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Standout Shows

From Berlin to London to LA to NYC, these shows—and, more importantly to this newsletter, the commentary on these shows—stood out.

I skipped a similar article the week prior (my Klint fatigue is real), but a second look was well worth it.

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Three Quirky Art Palette Cleansers

A round of applause for art journalist Verity Babbs, who manages to be relevant, informative, and delightfully unhinged in her art history takes. These were my three faves from last week:

Absolutely loved the non-ranking ranking and the trivia-core bonus/minus points.

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One Last Must-Read

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that my Roman Empire (I think that’s the first time I’ve actually used that phrase correctly) is tracing references and influences between artists, especially across mediums. (Shameless plug: my other project, Compendium, is entirely devoted to that pursuit.) This deep examination of Jean-Luc Godard’s art references—focusing on French Realist-Impressionist (somehow not an oxymoron) Gustave Caillebotte—is pure gold:

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Thanks for reading (or skimming) issue 002! I hope it earned at least one click, and I’d love to know why! Drop a note below with what hit—and/or what didn’t.

‘til next time,

tld-art

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