"Is Terence Koh’s Sperm Worth $100,000?" | January 8, 2007 | Linked here
With his first New York City museum solo show about to open at the Whitney, I tracked Terence Koh's three-year
rise from working anonymously as "asianpunkboy" to being an artmarket It Boy - a trajectory made possible by
Koh's collaboration with balls-out art dealer Javier Peres. Now comes the hard part: Keeping the spotlight.

"The Hunt for Red Collector" | August 21, 2006 | Link
When an unknown buyer won Picasso's "Dora Maar au Chat" for $95 million at Sothebys, it ignited
an artworld parlor game. Trying to track down the mystery man, I talked to sources on four
continents and then laid out my quest as a whodunit with Russian overtones.

"Five Theories On Why the Art Market Can't Crash. And why it will anyway." April 3, 2006 | Linked here
In an unprecedented time, many artmarket veterans are having deja vu, recalling the 80s boom and the early
90s cataclysm that hit Soho. Yet other insiders offer a host of explanations why it's different this time.
Who's right? And if it's the veterans, then what would be the contours of a correction/contraction/crash?

Art Basel Miami Beach 2006 Daily Edition articles
Well, the fashion world, socialites and celebrities finally overran the artworld, as ABMB became Cannes in Cokeville.
But some things never change: These articles were written with too little sleep and too much caffeine.
"Miami: art capital of the Americas?" | December 9 , 2006 | View PDF
My fair final report: Major artworks were headed all over the world, including Latin America and...Armenia?
"Kiefer shows outside fair" | December 9 , 2006 | View PDF
Solving a space problem and getting around Anselm Kiefer's hatred of fairs, dealer Yvon Lambert opened a temporary gallery near NADA.
"LA art is here to stay" | December 8 , 2006 | View PDF
With the Rubell Collection's Red Eye show spotlighting young Angelenos artists, their galleries were swarmed during ABMB.
"Allora & Calzadilla: Sonic warfare" | December 8 , 2006 | View PDF
A short piece on the artist duo's bunker blaring patriotic songs. I missed the accompanying performance, my major Miami regret.
"From 99¢ to $9,999,999: Shop sells real stuff made by artists" | December 7 , 2006 | View PDF
Cool: Jeffrey Deitch fan takes some of that Basquiat-flipping money and makes cool things happen with PaperMag's Kim Hastreiter.
"More international than ever before" | December 7 , 2006 | View PDF
First night report: Insane sales, with a marked rise in buyers (and oligarch gawkers) from places such as China and Russia.
"Transparency is relative" | December 7 , 2006 | View PDF
At the Fine Art Fund Brunch, art market talk focused on the rising prominence and publicness of once secretive private sales.
"The 51st State" | December 6 , 2006 | View PDF
A squib on Mark Wallinger's "US," a United States flag with a 51st star. He meant Britain, but in Miami people saw Puerto Rico.
"Dealers furious at hotel price hikes" | December 6 , 2006 | View PDF
As local Brahman Norman Braman put it: "No one likes to be ripped off, not even billionaires.” Others concurred, vehemently.

"The trouble with art fairs" | December 2006 | View PDF
Fairs have never been more prominent, and never more problematic. From every sector of the artworld,
people are complaining about the energy, money and artworks sucked up by fairs.

Frieze Fair Daily edition 2006
Frieze passed the Armory in prominence and prestige, making it even harder to cover all the events spread out all over London.
"Nice work… if you can get it" | October 14, 2006 | View PDF
LA dealer Patrick Painter joked “I think I’ll switch to green dots, so people know what’s still available," but
Zurich Kunsthalle director Beatrix Ruf suggested profiteering dealers "could start taking more risks.”
"China: The long march to a stable market" | October 14, 2006 | View PDF
Despite the mad prices at auction and the relentless hype, Frieze is treading cautiously in China.
"Christoph Büchel: Down and dirty" | October 13, 2006 | View PDF
A short piece on the talented Buchel's insanely ambitious Al Qaeda-meets-mammoth project in the East End.
"Sculpture: Why collectors are moving from the wall to the floor" | October 12, 2006 | View PDF
My theory: Big loft + painting's too easy + spending money on dysfunctional design furniture=domestic-sized sculpture trend.
"More top collectors than ever before: first night report on Frieze" | October 12, 2006 | View PDF
The dealers were ecstatic, the celebrities were flitting and the collectors were fighting for prize pieces.
"Phillips de Bury opens new saleroom in central London" | October 11, 2006 | View PDF
Combined with White Cube's Mason's Yard moves, it's clear London market activity's shifting west. Well, yeah, Hoxton's a hassle.
"Inside out" | October 11, 2006 | View PDF
Frieze's new architect, Jamie Fobert, discusses how he revealed the fair's essential tentness. In my book, it rocked.
"Mike Nelson Frieze’s very own rabbit hole" | October 11, 2006 | View PDF
A short piece on Nelson's amazing Frieze artist project, easily among the coolest pieces I ever saw inside a fair.
"Chinese gallery puts people to sleep at Frieze" | October 11, 2006 | View PDF
Vitamin Space's installation was a woman sleeping in the booth, practically in the fair's aisles. Amazingly, this worked.

"A tale of three cities" | October 2006 | View PDF
In which Marc endures a brutal marathon: three biennials in three Asian countries in 10 days. And as so often
happens in life, the biennial I expected the least from, Gwangju, proved the most interesting.

Art Basel 2006 Daily Edition articles
From the Art Newspaper's daily edition during Art Basel 2006.
"Dealers can afford to say no in sellers’ market" | June 16, 2006 | View PDF
The co-written wrap-up: Sales were very good, but prices were out-of-control. Killing the golden goose, anyone?
"Zidane: portrait of the star as a working man" | June 15, 2006 | View PDF
A preview to the fair's screening of Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's "Zidane," which features a red card. But no headbutt.
"Manifesta biennal team may sue former Cyprus hosts" | June 15, 2006 | View PDF
With the Cyprus Manifesta falling victim to age-old enmities, the curators counterattacked.
"Main event targets fashionable young things" | June 15, 2006 | View PDF
A quick introduction to Art Premier, the new Art Basel section that spotlights new galleries.
"Francis Alys" | June 15, 2006 | View PDF
A squib on the Francis Alys show at the Schaulager. Never miss his exhibitions.
"Murakami to Gagosian?" | June 14, 2006 | View PDF
Chasing a rumor I heard at Campari Bar the previous night, I got an early jump on the Japanese star's switch to Gogo Gallery.
"American Renaissance" | June 14, 2006 | View PDF
Suddenly the Rubells, Saatchi, the Pompidou et al rediscovered artists from the States, especially LA. Que Pasa?
"Home Market set to explode" | June 14, 2006 | View PDF
A short report on India's booming market, where prices have soared as arriviste Western collectors compete with rich locals.
"Exclusive interview with Art Basel director Sam Keller” | June 13, 2006 | View PDF
The topic: His decision to leave the fair in 2008 and head the Fondation Beyeler.
"Meanwhile in Zurich..." | June 13, 2006 | View PDF
A quick roundup of all the various pre-Basel artworld events in Zurich.

"Double Spaced" | February 2006 | View Article
My take on the current artworld phenomenon in which even very young galleries operate to some
degree like multinational corporations, opening multiple showrooms, often times zones or even oceans apart.
The German version of this article in Monopol has awesome illustrations.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2005 Daily Edition articles
Articles done for the Art Newspaper's daily edition during Art Basel Miami Beach, i.e. written on little sleep,
a fact made possible only by daily dips in the Atlantic. Not a sustainable pace. But fun.
"Frenzied buying but not all sales are final" | December 4 , 2005 | View PDF
The CO-written wrap-up: Sales were great, but things are getting vicious as collectors and dealers jockey for position.
"Why experience pays off" | December 3 , 2005 | View PDF
With phenoms' prices skyrocketing, collectors turn toward mid-career artists, proven quantities who suddenly seem cheap.
"Artists Page: Ana Mendieta/Jeppe Hein" | December 2 , 2005 | View PDF
No, these two radically different artists were not shown together. I just wrote about them in adjoining articles.
"A tribute to Robert Rauschenberg" | December 2 , 2005 | View PDF
Just a short party report on Bulgari's honoring the Florida master, with an Art Deco gala.
"Visionaire: All in the best possible taste" | December 2 , 2005 | View PDF
Art meets Listerine strips. Jenny Holzer's Adrenaline combination: "metal, blood, clean breath, jet fuel and absinthe.”
"Turning dealers into curators" | December 1 , 2005 | View PDF
A featurette on Art Kabinett, a new ABMB program that in some cases yielded great stuff - Rare Rauschenberg,
Vienna Actionist videos - and in others caused confusion over where the hell the Kabinett was.
"Collapse of contemporary market is unlikely.” | December 1, 2005 | View PDF
A brief report on an artmarket brunch. The usual skeptical optimism. Or is it the reverse?.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" | November 30 , 2005 | View PDF
In which I explore the horror of seven art fairs taking place simultaneously. Only psychos saw them all.

Frieze Art Fair 2005 Daily Edition articles
My first time working in a tent - these articles came out during the Frieze Art Fair, where I also
played on the losing side of an artworld football (aka soccer) match. I blame Norman Rosenthal.
"If your name’s not on the list, you’re not getting in" | October 23, 2005 | View PDF
A wrap-up written with Georgina Adam, detailing a seller's market that one consultant compared to
"a fraternity hazing ritual." Plus a brief squib on The Fine Art Fund's keen interest in newer works..
"Capitalizing on Frieze" | October 22, 2005 | View PDF
How Christie’s and Sotheby’s repositioned once drab mid-season sales as contemporary art events.
"First night report on Frieze" | October 21, 2005 | View PDF
Our team effort on the opening night story from the tent. Also, I had a front-page squib
on an unusual deal Christies did with a Beijing auction house.
"Inside the Big Tent" | October 20 , 2005 | View PDF
A behind-the-scenes look at the vagaries of doing a high-end art fair in an overgrown tent

"The art trade is the last major unregulated market" | June 2005 | View Article
In which I make the case that transparency will inevitably become a much bigger issue in the
the art market, as a wave of lawsuits and legislation erodes the trade's cherished opacity.

Art Basel 2005 Daily Edition articles
These articles were done for the Art Newspaper's daily edition during Art Basel, so
they were reported and written quickly - a fact that we will hope is little in evidence.
"Switzerland hosts biggest ever show of Chinese Contemporary Art"
June 18-19, 2005 | View PDF
An article on "Mahjongg," the first full-scale revelation of Uli Sigg's encyclopedic collection.
"More theming, less serendipity" | June 17, 2005 | View PDF
A brief item on the newest concept for Art Basel Miami Beach: Art Kabinett (misspelled
by yours truly throughout the piece, although through no fault of my own.)
"Botero gets a conscience" | June 17, 2005 | View PDF
My Q&A with Fernando Botero, delving into the origin of his Abu Ghraib series.
"The Venice Effect" | June 15, 2005 | View PDF
An anecdotal look at how Biennale success in Venice spells big sales in Basel.
"Tax advantages attract major UK gallery to Zurich" | June 14, 2005 | View PDF
A quick tracing of how Zurich's strong art market and fiscal paradise are attracting international galleries.

"Do Art Critics Still Matter?" | April 2005 | View Article
Easily my most widely discussed piece in years, maybe ever, this hard look at the
sorry position of today's critics was rapidly translated into French, German and Norwegian.
A month later, the entire American critical establishment was mired in an existential crisis.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2004 Daily Edition articles
These four articles were done for the Art Newspaper's daily edition during Art Basel Miami Beach,
again under the exigencies of daily deadline conditions.
"Speculators enter the scene once again" | December 5, 2004 | View PDF
Speculative buyers descend upon ABMB and NADA, looking for the next Sasnal, Mehretu, or Dzama.
"Dealers bone up on their Spanish as market develops" | December 3, 2004 | View PDF
A quick tour d'horizon of the rapidly developing market in Brazil, Mexico and other parts of Latin America.
"Will ABMB consume its own mother?" | December 1, 2004 | View PDF
A short analysis of ABMB's effect on the artmarket and the landscape of contemporary fairs.
"Countdown to opening night" | December 1, 2004 | View PDF
A two-day chronology of how a fair hall goes from empty to exhilarating.

"Do Contemporary Dealers Still Need Galleries?" | June 2004 | Link
Yes. But art fairs, biennials and the Internet have redefined the function of the gallery's physical space. Best quote
goes to Choire Sicha: "We're all running virtual galleries these days. But it still helps to have an actual gallery. It gives
collectors confidence, even if many are too lazy to actually to bother seeing your shows".

"Too many galleries, not enough art" | February 2004 | View PDF
In an artworld where international representation is less a consecration than a first step
toward potential artstardom, young artists often show worldwide - risking burnout, conflict
between galleries and contributing to the collapse of their own market.

"The Price of Success " | June 2005 | View Article
A strong art market's vicious circle: Collectors ravenously hunt the great and the new, making it
harder for dealers to arrive at Art Basel with enough high-quality works, which in turn means
they risk getting booted out. Yes, it's a high-class kind of problem.

"Keep it Moving, People!" | November 2004 | View Article
A piece on the the surging number of fairs, their growing popularity with collectors and the toll that is taking upon
gallery shows, dealer's lives and the artists pumping out the material to fill fair booths. Fun fact: Last fall, five
European art fairs opened in the space of six weeks, followed by the madness of Art Basel Miami Beach.

"The Great and The Small" | March 2005 | View PDF
A trend analysis piece on the growing prominence of "satellite fairs" filled with young galleries,
such as NADA, Volta, the Zoo Fair and Liste, all which simultaneously leech off and add to the
major fairs they orbit around. Executive summary: Regional fairs are in trouble.

"Negative Charges" | February 2005 | View PDF (2.5 M)
An investigative piece detailing the controversy and lawsuit surrounding 921 negatives from the estate of
Mali's Seydou Keita, commonly considered Africa's greatest photographer. Amid charges and counter-charges
of forged documents, exploited artists and other chicaneries, truth at times seemed a mirage.

"Illusions of Youth" | June 2004 | View PDF (1.6 M)
A gimlet-eyed look at the current artworld craze for very young artists. Fueled by speculation, the desire
to claim prescience and the broader cultural of obsession with youth, this trend has upended the market,
causing the prices for unproven phenoms to far outstrip their established peers. Remorse will surely follow.

"Not Vital" | April 2004 | View PDF (1.5 M)
In which I pay a visit to the alpine village of Sent at the eastern edge of Switzerland and meet Not Vital,
the nomadic artist whose work proves as sui generis as his lifestyle. Depending on the piece, the
creator can seem a romantic or prankster, a conceptual artist or sculptor obsessed with raw materials.

"Busted!" | March 2004 | View PDF (2.5 M) | View text-only PDF
Reading the newspapers, it seems there's a raging epidemic of heists hitting our cultural institutions.
But what's really happening? After taking stock with everyone from Interpol to the FBI, I debunk six myths
of museum theft, including "The Thieves Come Out at Night' and "Better Security Means Fewer Thefts."

"Letter from London: " | July 2003 | View JPGs
With the first Frieze Art Fair imminent, London was abuzz with speculation - and not just about the
new event. Other topics being chewed over from Edgeware Road to Hoxton Square included:
the new Saatchi gallery, Gagosian London's massive new space and what exactly had happened
between Anthony D'Offay and the Haunch of Venison duo once viewed as his protégés.

"The Devil and the art detective" | July 2003 | View PDF
An extensive profile of Clemens Toussaint, who ranks among the most controversial men in the European
artworld - in part, because he's a tempestuous maverick in a milieu of complicit discretion. But also because
art restitution is a minefield of ethical dilemmas and conflicting realities. Spanning from 1930s Germany to
present-day Monte Carlo, this article easily ranks among my best pieces.

"Art Central" | July 2003 | View PDF
A state-of-the-market piece in the run- up to Art Basel 2003. The bottom line: Quality still sells; established
artists are the new new thing; the ConArt collector base continues to metastasize.

"Francesco Bonami's Venice" | July 2003 | View PDF
A Venice Biennial tipsheet with aesthetic and gastronomic hints from the biennial's bon vivant curator.
A key tip: "Start from the edges. After three days, you'll be too exhausted to take a five-minute boat ride."

"City Report: Miami Beach" | February 2003 | View PDF
A piece written under physical duress, as I recovered from Art Basel Miami Beach, where
"Art lovers went to buy, booze, bronze and bear witness to the birth of an art fair."

"Geneva Convention" | February 2003 | View PDF
A classic "Letter From..." story. In this case, it's from Geneva, often described as the 21eme arrondissement
of Paris. That's a joke, but the influence of Paris surely permeates the Geneva artworld. Then again, the
region's teeming tax-sheltered multimillionaires also have their influence.

"Estate of Mind" | January 2003 | View PDF
My follow-up story to "A Man in Full" (two articles below), in which it is revealed that the fate of Dr. Gustav
Rau's collection now hangs upon a sample of his brain tissue and some extrapolatory neuroscience.

"Europe on the American plan" | October 2002 | View PDF
A gimlet-eyed take on the 2002 summer artworld marathon comprised of Art Basel, Documenta
and other events scattered across Mitteleuropa. Once again -no surprise - art battles to avoid
being eclipsed by hype and commerce.

"A Man in Full"  | May 2002 | View PDF (960 KB)
A feature-length obituary of Dr. Gustav Rau, the bush doctor whose art collection, estimated at $250 million,
became the subject of simultaneous lawsuits in Monaco, Liechtenstein, Germany and Switzerland.

"Getting a rise"  | January 2002 | View Large PDF (2.34 MB)
An extended caption, really, but I took juvenile joy in the fact that A&A ran a picture of Paris
dealer Emmanuel Perrotin bouncing around in a giant penis-rabbit suit. .

"Artist Dossier: Pierre Huyghe" | December 2001 | View Large PDF (1.19 MB) | View text-only PDF
Examines how the market boomed for the French artist after his three-room meditation on digitality
made him a major discovery of the 2001 Venice Biennale.

"Days of Wine and Poses" | June 2001 | View Large PDF (3.4 MB) | View text-only PDF
An analysis of the effects unleashed by the surging number of contemporary-art biennials, with a focus on
the oldest and most important one - la Biennale di Venezia - which plays a kingmaker role in the artmarket.
Every second June, the mantra goes, "See it Venice, buy it in Basel."

"Iwan Wirth: Building a Blue-Chip Name" | February 2000 | View Large PDF (1 MB) | View text-only PDF
A profile of the most powerful young dealer in Zurich, whose American-style methods helped him rocket
to global prominence - and gained him detractors, to whom he seems the Microsoft of the Swiss art market.

"Peter Wolf: Old Masters Emperor" | January 2000 | View Large PDF (353 MB) | View text-only PDF
A profile of the Vienna auctioneer, whose Old Masters sales rip through 600 works in a single day,
and whose auctions are a gathering spot for dealers from all over the world. Fun fact: Wolf once
sold a painting with a bullethole in it - at five times the estimate, no less.

"Reclaiming Modigliani" | September 2006 | View PDF
The open warfare over the legacy of Modigliani, which I documented exhaustively (exhaustingly?)
for ArtNews in 2004, continues with a Venetian libel case and a stymied police raid in Paris.

"Critic's Pick: Felix Schramm" | June 2006 | View PDF
Germany's Schramm creates installations that initially look like a 3D freeze fram of classical white-cube gallery
being torn apart by a tornado. But when you study them closely, they're delicate constructs. Cool.

"Wing and a Prayer" | Summer 2006 | View PDF
Working with magicians, Hollywood special-effects men, children, televangelists and psychics, German
video artist Christian Jankowski has risen to artstardom by letting chance play a crucial role in his pieces.

"Critic's Pick: Katrin Sigurdardottir" | November 2005 | View JPG
Icelandic artist Katrin Sigurdardottir plays with architecture and the human scale to create tiny works that
fuck with your perceptions. And she gets extra points for crafting those intricate models without assistants.

"City Lights" | March 2005 | View PDF
Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa's obsession with cities and architecture has made him a curatorial darling
as the artworld rediscovered the magic of cities. Too bad the Office of Homeland Security doesn't feel
the same admiration; they refused Garaicoa a visa for his own LA MOCA retrospective.

"Hirschhorn's Dis Miffs Swiss" | March 2005 | View PDF
.A short news piece about the imbroglio surrounding Thomas Hirschhorn's controversial show at the
Centre Culturel Suisse in Paris. (No, I didn't write the headline; I love it anyway.)

"Singing the Body Electronic" | November 2004 | View PDF
Tobias Bernstrup is one of the few digital artists I find interesting. As the soundtrack for his environments, created
using "level editors" from violent videogames, Bernstrup produces neo-cold-wave music tracks - which
he also sometimes performs live in a red latex teddy. Images may be NSFW, depending on where you work.

"The Giacometti Legacy: A Struggle for Control" | October 2004 | View PDF
A tortuous and lengthy tale, tracing the incredible feuding that has surrounded the legacy of the Swiss
sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti - including the various lawsuits, personality conflicts and political
intrigues that have soaked up at least $12 million worth of his estate.

"How many Buster Keatons does it take to fill an Art Gallery?"
September 2004 | View PDF
A piece commissioned for the ARTNews Humor issue, for which I traced the enduring resonance of
Buster Keaton, whose work ranged from vaudeville to appearing in Samuel Beckett's only original film.

"Modigliani: The Experts Battle" | January 2004 | View PDF (1 M)
With support from the House of Wildenstein, a Parisian art historian struggles to put out a new catalogue
raisonné for Amedeo Modigliani, le peintre maudit. Since each authenticated or denied work means
millions of dollars on the line, lawsuits and controversy naturally erupt.

"Space Invader" | September 2003 | View PDF
From the annual ArtNews Artists to Watch package, a profile of Swiss video and installation artist
Zilla Leutenegger, whose work combines a highly idiosyncratic vibe with a fairytale aesthetic.

"When human beings are the canvas" | June 2003 | View PDF
My profile of Santiago Sierra, a Madrid-born Mexico City artist whose work deploys a Minimalist aesthetic to
reveal the uglier aspects of "the remunerated system," i.e. capitalism. His selection to represent Spain
at the 2003 Venice biennial was hotly debated in Spain, where he did not even have a gallery at the time.

"Tape it to the Limit" | March 2002 | View Large PDF (1.3 MB) | View text-only PDF
A profile of Zurich artist Nic Hess, who uses adhesive tape as the medium for his freestyle fever-dream installations,
which mix images sampled from the worlds of Japanese woodcuts, corporate logos, street signs and beyond.

"Dueling Stools" | January 2002  | View Large PDF (1.2 MB) | View text-only PDF
In which two German companies go to court over a Bauhaus chair by Marcel Breuer. A case study
in the everlasting arts vs. craft debate that permeates the field of design.

"Faux Eau" | January 2000 | View PDF
A short piece on United Aliens, a collective of UK artists (including the Chapman brothers and Gavin Turk)
and fashionistas who created sarcastic fake products, such as "Vanity Supplement Serum."

"The (un)corporate report" | January 2007 | View Scan
A shortish article on the Ringier Media Group's idiosyncratic corporate reports, for the design of which the Zurich company
has given a free hand to artists such as Richard Prince, Christopher Williams, Aleksandra Mir and others.

"Sam's Place" | June 2006 | View PDF
For this story, I tried to keep up with Art Basel director Sam Keller as he ran around New York during the Armory Show and
Berlin during the biennial - a fun but highly fatiguing experience, and a window into the highly personal side of his job.

"Museum Quality Leftovers" | December 2005 | View Scans
A rumination on two artworld terms - "museum quality" and "leftover - and the market role of museums, in
the context of Nedko Solakov's Kunsthaus Zurich show, which included only works unsold by his dealers.

"Earthquakes and epiphanies" | November 2005 | View Scans
For Art Review's Power issue, I chose the defining events of one artworld year, including: The Pharmacy Sale, the
Project vs. Lehmann lawsuit, Krens TKOing Lewis at the Guggenheim, and Pinault abandoning his Paris project.

Istanbul Biennial review| November 2005 | View PDF
A brief review of the 2005 Istanbul biennial, which deserved more. Although the artist list was filled
with names I scarcely recognized, the work on view was often quite good, and sometimes excellent.

"Playing it Safe" | October 2005 | View Scans
My quick roundup of the Zurich art scene as it stands in Fall 2005, with Swiss dealers and museums
thriving and foreign galleries coming into the market. So what's missing? Risk. Fun. And risky fun.

"Tough Decisions" | August 2005 | View PDF
A profile of Hamburg collector Harald Falckenberg, a man who stands out in the artworld for the depth
of his intellect, the singularity of his opinions and the impolitic way both those traits are manifested.

"The not-for-sale strategy" | June 2005 | View Scans
Suddenly, it seemed, lots of galleries were doing shows with work that was not for sale. Once you look
at the phenomenon a little more closely it makes perfect sense, even from a commercial perspective.

"Do You Really Have to Ask?" | February 2005 | View PDF
A short piece probing a pet peeve of mine: Dealers deciding not to post informational labels next to the work
on sale in art fairs. Yes, yes, I know: It's a strategy. An annoying and counterproductive strategy.

"Treasure Island" | November 2004 | View PDF
The first major article ever devoted to Uli Sigg's collection of Chinese contemporary art, which he assembled
while being among first Western businessman active post-Revolution, and then Swiss Ambassador
to China. (The PDF does little justice to Ed Reeve's great photos. Will try to fix this ASAP.)

"Superstores" | April 2004 | View PDF (1.8 M)
My tour of all the odd places where art ends up hidden far from the public eye, most notably the freeports
of Switzerland, which function as the artworld equivalent of the country's numbered bank accounts,
hiding treasures both great and infamous in mysterious environs.

"A Place in the Sun" | December 2003 | View PDF (2.4 M)
Ostensibly a preview of Art Basel Miami Beach 2003, this article delves heavily into the role of art
fairs within the market, examining the competition between them, the effect of ABMB on the US
market and the future of fairs within the globalizing artworld.

"The Crimes They Are A-Changin': Art thieves are scrapping stealth for brute force." 
August 26, 2004
A rapid-response piece following the Munch theft in Oslo, pointing out that the armed
robbery was an omen of things to come, not an anomaly.

"Blurred lines, battle lines" | March 9 , 2007 | Link
In which I look at the common thread between the furors raging over the Pierre Huber sale at
Christies, the auction house presence at Maastricht and Haunch of Venison's sale to Christies.
See also the extensive discussion over the topic at Artworld Salon.

"Vom Traum zum Alptraum" | January 17, 2007 | Link
My analysis of the lawsuit between Steve Wynn and Llloyds of London, over his putting an elbow through Le Reve.
Gets into the apples-and-oranges valuation at play here and comes with the entire 63-page lawsuit.

"Panton's Plastic Universe" | March 2000 | View Archived Webpage
My review of the Vitra Design Museum exhibit that showcased light fixtures, furniture and entire rooms by
seminal sixties designer Verner Panton. The photos are luscious, as is the classic Panton chair.

"Art and Artifice" | November 2003  | View article
Reviews "Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo," a book that traces the famous statue's path
from the isle of Melos to the Louvre, detailing the feuds and furores surrounding it afterward. Launching
from that tale, I touched upon how context shapes every artwork's existence.

An Economist Quantifies Inspiration" | May 2002 | View text-only PDF
Kneecaps "Painting between the Lines," by University of Chicago economist David Galenson. The premise: That
one can determine an artist's most innovative period via his auction history. I disagreed heartily. However,
Galenson's distinction between "conceptual innovators" and "experimental innovators" is a useful paradigm.

"Perspectives on Art" | November 2001  | View text-only PDF
My ConArt pseudo-manifesto, launched off of reviewing Larry Shiner's excellent "The Invention of Art: A Cultural
History" and Wendy Steiner's more scattershot "Venus in Exile: The Rejection of Beauty in 20th-Century Art."

"From Palladian to Cattelan"| October 2004 | View PDF
Detailing the surprisingly successful marriage between an ancient palazzo near Udine and the artworks
of artists such as Koons, Cattellan and Carl Andre, curated by Francesco Bonami.

"Ever Green"| January 2004 | View PDF (323 KB)
A very short piece on a very cool project, in which Dan Harvey and Heather Ackroyd covered the interior
of an abandoned church with a lush layer of grass. Is it art? I'm not sure.

"A View of Venice"| August 2003 | View PDF (231 KB)
Extended caption on the Venice Biennale collaboration between Britain's hottest young black painter,
Chris Ofili and the world's hottest young black architect, David Adjaye.

"Die stille Angst vor dem Crash" | June 11, 2006 | View PDF
In German: A much shorter translation of "Five Theories On Why the Art Market Can't Crash. And why
it will anyway," discussing the state of the vertiginous current art market. The title is great: "The Quiet Anxiety
before the Crash." (Also notice: NZZ's PDFs waste not a pixel along the edges. So Swiss...)

"Früher Richter, heute Kellner" | June 5, 2005 | View PDF
In German: A translation of Do Art Critics Still Matter?," the Artnewspaper piece detailing the
diminished position of art critics in today's art world.

"Die Diebe kommen durch die Eingangstur" | August 29, 2004 | View PDF (2.7 MB)
In German: A rapidly updated version of "Busted," created in the wake of the pistol-packing theft of Madonna and
The Scream from Oslo's Munch Museum.

"Wer sich übernimmt, stürzt ab" | June 13, 2004 | View PDF
In German: A translation of "Too many galleries, not enough art," the Artnewspaper piece detailing
the pressures and production problems of over-committed young artists in a neophiliac market.

"Von Anlegern, Abzockern und Abstürzen" | December 29, 2002 | View PDF
In German: A translation of "Money for Old Soap," the Independent article on pricing contemporary art,
published in perhaps the greatest German-language newspaper.

"Die Art Basel als Mikrokosmos der globalen Kunstwelt" | June 2006 | View PDF
In German: A preview of Art Basel 2006, formatted as an annotated map of the city.

"Asphalt Gallery/Strassenaesthetik" | September 2004 | View PDF (365 KB)
In German and English. An essay- timed to an exhibition called Wordless, organized by my atelier-mates - surveying
the relationship between galleries and urban streets. Of course, it's always hard to define "street." (A few things that
are not street: $400 limited-edition sneakers. Jean-Michel Basquiat. Skateboard parks. Paying for breakdancing lessons.)
"Tobin Yelland" | June 2004 | View PDF (305 KB)
In German: A brief intro for a set of photos by Tobin Yelland, the truth of whose photography is
often less apparent than its seemingly simple subject matter suggests.

"Piec teorii rynku sztuki" | June 11, 2006 | View PDF
In Polish: A translation of "Five Theories On Why the Art Market Can't Crash. And why it will anyway." I got a nice email
from Arteon editor Piotr Bernatowicz afterwards, relaying positive reviews, with one hiccup: "The author compliments you
mostly but there is one thing which made him confused: Why you name Poland an exotic place? But I can add that you are
not alone while Alfred Jarry in his "Ubu roi" wrote: "in Poland" - means "nowhere". :)"