The Best Art-Related Guiness World Records for Guinness World Record Day

13th of November apparently, is the official Guinness World Record Day, and people are celebrating accordingly. As per to the Daily Mail, various record-setting attempts took place on thursday, including those for the farthest backwards basketball shot and the most people eating breakfast in bed. Kicking off the festivities thursday night near London’s Tower Bridge was a gathering of the largest-ever crowd of people in penguin costumes. As for records in the visual arts? We had you covered with a round-up of the best art-related Guinness World Records.

Syrian artist Moaffak Makhoul and his team pose in Damascus with Guinness World Records award for the largest recycled material mural, March 31, 2014. The mural, seen behind them, measures 7,750 feet. Photo: Louai Beshara, courtesy Agence France-Presse.

Largest Mural of Recycled Materials
Moaffak Makhou
Earlier this year, Guinness officially recognized this gorgeous Damascus mural, a 7,750 foot-long marvel created by Makhou and his team from bicycle parts, mirrors, cooking utensils, soda cans, and ceramic shards (see “In Syria, Mural Sets New World Record“).

Menahem Asher Silva Vargas with part of his Guinness World Record-holding Harry Potter memorabilia. Photo: Rebecca Blackwell, courtesy AP Photo.

Largest Collection of Harry Potter Memorabilia
Menahem Asher Silva Vargas
Based in Mexico City, Silva Vargas shattered the old record of 807 with his 3,097 pieces of merchandise related to the Harry Potter book and film series (see “Guinness Honors World’s Largest Harry Potter Collection“). Though a world record is rewarding, the cost of collecting on such a scale adds up quickly: “My salary, my bonuses…it all ended up here,” he told the AP.

Graffiti from CBLOXX in London’s Leake Street Tunnel is part of Femme Fierce’s record breaking mural.
Photo: Street Art Utopia.

Largest Spray-Painted Mural By Multiple Artists
UK female street art collective Femme Fierce
This March, to celebrate International Women’s Day 100 female street artists, hailing from the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Europe, took over London’s Leake Street Tunnel. Femme Fierce transformed the street, a legal home to graffiti famously tagged by Banksy, into the world’s longest spray-painted mural by multiple artists (see “Women Street Artists Set New Guinness Record for Largest Mural“).

Map of the “World’s Longest Painting” route in Ann Arbor
Photo: Courtesy http://www.artistsingh.com/

World’s Longest Painting By an Individual
SinGh
The Transcendental, an 11,300-foot long painting the Kalamazoo-based artist SinGh, was created for the 2013 edition of ArtPrize. The record, however, came with a price for SinGh: a lifetime ban from the popular Michigan art show (see “Artist Banned From ArtPrize Forever“).

What Sold at Frieze London 2014?

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Frieze London 2014  Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy Linda Nylind/Frieze

Everyone at Frieze London breathed a collective sigh of relief on opening day. For its 12th edition, the fair has finally gotten rid of its perennially slanted floors and harsh lighting, swapping them for a more standard, flat grey carpet and tasteful spotlights (courtesy of Universal Design Studio). The long tent, usually pitched on a North-South axis in Regent’s Park, has also rotated 90 degrees. Instead of an endless corridor, the fair is now split into four easily identifiable zones, much more agreeable to navigate. As one gallerist pointed out to artnet News, these architectural tweaks weren’t exactly “rocket science,” but they radically transform the mood in the aisles. Collectors and dealers all seem much more relaxed this year. “The clientele is happier walking around,” noted the Lisson Gallery’s Ossian Ward. “They don’t feel like they are being herded any more.”

And this, of course, can mean one only thing: better business. Within the first few minutes of the opening, White Cube sold Damien Hirst’s fish-in-formaldehyde diptych Because I Can’t Have You I Want You (1993) for a staggering £4 million—it really goes to show that the excitement of art fair buying is hard to match. According to the artnet Price Database, a one-cabinet piece from the same year, Where Will it End?, only fetched £962,500 at Christie’s London last February. On the same day, White Cube also placed an installation of microphones by David Hammons,Which Mike Would You Like to Be Like? (2001), which came with a $4 million price tag. At time of writing, these two pieces were considered the most expensive artworks sold at Frieze London 2014.

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Frieze London 2014  Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy Linda Nylind/Frieze

But White Cube’s founder Jay Jopling isn’t the only one with reason to rejoice. On the first day of the fair, collector David Roberts was in shopping mood, acquiring pieces by Danh Vō from Marian Goodman as well as works by Kim Fisher and Adam McEwen at Glasgow’s Modern Institute for his North London foundation. Galerie Perrotin’s solo presentation of works by the New York favorite KAWS sold out almost immediately (price range: $120,000–310,000).

Most of the dealers artnet News spoke to reported brisker sales than last year. By the second day, many had already rehung their booths.Sigmar Polke, whose Tate Modern retrospective opened on Monday to rave reviews, was a hit at Michael Werner Gallery; one of his untitled gouache on paper works from 2003 went in the blink of an eye for $800,000. The veteran German dealer also reported sales of three Enrico David works in the $40,000–80,000 range, including a tapestry, which is quickly becoming the medium to watch. (Stephen Friedman also did particularly well with tapestries, in his case, Andreas Eriksson’s blown-up details of abstract paintings). At Sprüth Magers, Andreas Gursky’sKirchentag (2013), the nighttime depiction of a German festival camp, found a new home for €400,000, as did pieces by George Condo (Portrait with Green Shapes, 2014), Sterling Ruby (SPCE (4430), 2013), and Louise Lawler (Hotel Room, Köln, 1989/2014) for $500,000, $85,000, and $60,000, respectively.

The new layout seems to have spurred dealers to be more imaginative with their presentations. Hauser & Wirth was the talk of the fair with its Mark Wallinger–curated booth, hung from floor to ceiling with selected nuggets from the gallery’s inventory, in an arrangement loosely redolent of Sigmund Freud’s legendary study. Not only did the move allow Hauser & Wirth to fish out pieces that might have been languishing in storage, but it also encouraged buyers to explore beyond the confines of their comfort zone.

Talking to artnet News, Hauser & Wirth director Neil Wenman remarked that this year collectors appear less eager to seek out the artists they might have heard about and are buying “with their eyes rather than with their ears.” This has already led to solid sales among some of the less obvious names of the gallery’s stable, including Anna Maria Maiolino’s sculpture São 40 (They are 40) (2011) for $120,000 and Ida Applebroog’s haunting picture Jessika (2007) for $35,000. Perhaps less surprisingly, works by the likes of Paul McCarthy, Allan Kaprow, and Eva Hesse also did pretty well, selling around the half-million dollar mark.

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Frieze London 2014  Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy Linda Nylind/Frieze

It could be that Frieze is returning to its more adventurous early days when the fair had to position itself as the edgy new kid on a block until then almost unilaterally ruled by Art Basel. Presented by the über-cool Frutta gallery in Rome, Gabriele de Santis’ smiley installation located in the fair’s sculpture park, Can’t Take My Eyes off You (2014), was snapped up by an enthusiastic Abu Dhabi collector even younger than the artist himself.

Speaking to artnet News, Lisson Gallery’s Ward didn’t hesitate to call the fair a “site for experimentation.” “It’s our local fair, and it’s our opportunity to shine,” he said. While the gallery’s best-sellers—Daniel Buren, Anish Kapoor, and Lee Ufan—have been sent off to Frieze Masters, the new generation has been given free rein at Frieze London. Staff sporting Ryan Gander’s faux-muddied Adidas trainers and Cory Arcangel’s “surfware” line (“everything you need to chill in bed all day and surf the net”) paced Arcangel’s vivid gradient rug, surrounded by the pop creations of Joyce Pensato. Arcangel even invited the gallery’s employees to perform—they don his surfware and watch Anchorman 2—thus (theoretically at least) withdrawing from the booth’s commercial activities. It didn’t really impede business: buyers, no doubt titillated by all this experimentation, went for the more traditional, wall-based works. Nothing too surprising there.

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Frieze London 2014: Focus section  Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy Linda Nylind/Frieze

Lehmann Maupin has opted for a female-artist-only booth. Tracey Emin, still reeling from the success her iconic piece My Bed (1998) found at auction (see “Christie’s Rides Tracey Emin’s Bed to £99 Million Night“) is ever-more popular with collectors, who appear to relate to her increasingly serene persona (and ever-increasing market value). Embroideries and gouaches flew off the booth in the fair’s first few hours, as did Mickalene Thomas’s rhinestone and acrylic on panelFBI/Serial Portraits (2008). The gallery also boasted strong sales from pieces by Adriana Varejão, Teresita Fernández, and Xiang Jing.

Rachel Lehmann told artnet News she had met collectors from Hong Kong, China, and Lebanon, and marveled at London’s internationalism, which, in her view, greatly surpasses that of the US. Marianne Boesky Gallery’s director Serra Pradhan chimed in as well. “London is a real global center,” she said. “It’s easy for Europeans, it’s easy for Middle Easterners, for Asians. New York tends to be more of a global center for finance.” Like virtually everyone this year, Pradhan is certainly happy she made the trip. The dealer confided that her booth, which features works by Diana Al-Hadid, Pier Paolo Calzolari, and Svenja Deininger, had completely sold out.

source: artnet

Top 10 Booths at Frieze London

The 12th edition of Frieze London opened its doors a fortnight ago, housing 162 galleries from 25 countries under a newly redesigned tent by Universal Design Studio. The fair opened a day earlier than usual (as well as earlier in the morning), and, with sales whispered shortly after the arrival of the first VIP guests, the mood was already electric in the early hours.

Some changes are noticeable, for example the disappearance of the section Frame, which was dedicated to solo artists presentations from young galleries. On the other hand, Focus, dedicated to galleries up to 10 years old, has grown into a more significant section, featuring a whopping 36 galleries (whereas last year there were only 22). The new Live section, which gathers six galleries showcasing performative works, signposts the growing presence of dance and performance pieces throughout the fair, from the sections all the way to Frieze Projects.

Frieze has a new dazzling layout, which makes navigating the fair a much more pleasant experience (or so the rumors went), but it is also bigger than last year. Although many visitors have commented that the fair seems smaller and friendlier, the truth is that this year the roster of galleries has increased by an additional 10 exhibitors.

This is why browsing around Frieze London can be daunting experience, although it’s always exciting. So, to avoid getting lost in the maze, these are this year’s selected highlights.

Here is Frieze London 2014, in a nutshell:

1. Kate MacGarry, London, Stand A4
Goshka Macuga weaves a tall tale of artists, art collectors, and art history in the video of her theatrical comedy Preparatory Notes for a Chicago Comedy, along with photocollages and a large-scale tapestry, extending the artist’s history-delving, hall-of-mirrors practice.

Kate MacGarry, A4, with works by Goshka Macuga.
Photo: Lorena Muñoz-Alonso.

2. Lisson Gallery, London, Stand B5
Info-culture overload, with Cory Arcangel digitally channelling Miley Cyrus into pools of cupcakes, and Ryan Gander putting his oddball classifications of images onto USB sticks you can’t access. Meanwhile, Joyce Pensato gets messy with Mickey Mouse.

Lisson Gallery, B5, with works by Ryan Gander, Cory Arcangel, and Joyce Pensato.
Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

3. Gió Marconi, Milan, and Meyer Riegger, Berlin/Karlsruhe, Stand B2
Clattering film projectors, ball bearings teetering on the rim of stacked film cans—Rosa Barba’s cinematerialism strips images back to bare matter.

Gió Marconi and Meyer Riegger, B2, with works by Rosa Barba.
Photo: Lorena Muñoz-Alonso.

4. Workplace Gallery, Gateshead/London, Stand H10
Long unsung Brit sculptor Eric Bainbridge combines lo-fi aesthetics and a tragic-comic, suburban love for the promise of modernism—and funny fur—at Gateshead-based mavericks Workplace.

Workplace Gallery, H10, with works by Eric Bainbridge.
Photo: Linda Nylind Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

5. Carlos/Ishikawa, London, Focus/Stand G26
Upcoming and already-come art boys Ed Fornieles, Oscar Murillo, and Korakrit Arunanondchai get messy together, with Fornieles offering a working nail bar for the unmanicured. Get in the queue.

Carlos/Ishikawa, G26, with works by Oscar Murillo, Ed Fornieles, and Korakrit Arunanondchai.
Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

6. Hauser & Wirth, Zurich/London/New York, Stand D6
Calling up pretty much the entire menagerie of the gallery’s artists, artist-cum-curator Mark Wallinger turns Hauser & Wirth’s stand into a Freudian boudoir for an obsessive collector.

Hauser & Wirth, D6. Booth curated by Mark Wallinger, with works by Rashid Johnson, Martin Creed, Ida Applebroog, and Subodh Gupta
Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

7. Thomas Dane Gallery, London, Stand E6
Offering a poised and beautifully balanced contrast of artists old and new, Thomas Dane Gallery has a sculpture by Phillip King dance around works by Michael Landy and Alexandre da Cunha, while a “touching” Steve McQueen photo looks on.

Thomas Dane Gallery, E6, with works by Phillip King, Michael Landy, Alexandre da Cunha, Walead Beshty, Steve McQueen, and Kelley Walker.
Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

8. Kukje Gallery, Seoul, and Tina Kim Gallery, New York, Stand B6
New York’s Tina Kim Gallery and Seoul’s Kukje Gallery share a booth, East-meets-West style, with immaculate works by, among others, Haegue Yang and Damián Ortega.

Kukje Gallery and Tina Kim Gallery, B6, with works by Damián Ortega, Ghada Amer, and Haegue Yang.
Photo: Linda Nylind Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

9. Gagosian Gallery, Stand C3

Trippy and a bit random—there’s a giant magic mushroom and an oversize dice into which children keep disappearing—Carsten Höller’s sculptural playground turns Gagosian’s stand into a behavioral laboratory for the ADHD art fair visitor.

Gagosian Gallery, C3, with works by Carsten Höller.

Photo: Linda Nylind, courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

10. Galeria Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo, Stand D5
São Paulo blue chip gallery Fortes Vilaça delights with a carefully curated selection of Brazilian artists, including Iran do Espírito Santo, José Damasceno, and Rodrigo Matheus, whose works play with geometry, lines, and minimal gestures.

Galeria Fortes Vilaça, D5, with works by Rodrigo Matheus, Iran do Espíritu Santo, and José Damasceno.
Photo: Lorena Muñoz-Alonso.

Hope to see you there next year.