If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives)

Like Moths To A Flame. Butterfly Lamps by Ingo Maurer with Insects by Graham Owen.

At the 2011 Euroluce show, Ingo Maurer, known for his wild lighting designs, unveiled two fabulous hanging lamps. One for mass-production, the other in a limited production. The Johnny B. Butterfly and the J.B. Schmetterling (Schmetterling is German for butterfly) lamps feature realistic butterflies, moths, and dragonflies that created by California artist Graham Owen.

above: Ingo Maurer in his Los Angeles studio working on the lamps

The Johnny B. Butterfly
The Johnny B. Butterfly version is made with a bulb that has a Teflon band on which two handmade butterflies and one dragonfly are perched. The lamp is fitted with a 105 watt bulb is made especially for Ingo Maurer GmbH and belongs to energy efficiency class C, which conforms to EU guidelines.

The Johnny B. Butterfly lamp will be mass-produced and was expected to be available for purchase by Autumn 2011 but is still not on the market. No known price as of yet.

above: the butterfly lamps featured with artwork by Graham Owen

The J.B. Schmetterling Lamp
The J.B. Schmetterling is a limited production and features more insects:

Ingo Maurers' butterfly lamps were shown in a Milan exhibition at Spazio Krizia in April, 2011:

images courtesy of Ingo Maurer and Graham Owen Gallery

A Look At The Art From Christie's Auction That Raised Nearly $14 Million For Haiti.

A record-breaking charity art auction was held Thursday, September 22nd at the David Zwirner Gallery and organized with actor Ben Stiller's Stiller foundation. The Christie's fundraising auction featured works by such well-known contemporary artists as Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, James Rosenquist, Cindy Sherman, Elizabeth Peyton and Chuck Close to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti.

above: actor Ben Stiller and gallerist David Zwirner with children from Haiti

The Christie's auction raised $13.7 million (their highest ever for a charity) and set records for works by Raymond Pettibon, Glenn Ligon, Adel Abdessemed and Nate Lowman (whose pieces are all shown in this post). Many of the pieces were created for the auction, but not all.

above: Raymond Pettibon's No Title (but the sand...)

The top selling painting was Marlene Dumas’ 2010 “My mother before she became my mother” which went for $2 million:

above left: full painting; above right, detail of painting

"Deal - No Deal" by Luc Tuymans, 2011, fetched $1.15 million:

above left: full painting; above right, detail of painting

Actress Jennifer Aniston plopped down $450,000 for this painting, Glen Ligon's Stranger #44 valued at just $150,000 to $200,000- making it a generous donation and a record breaking sale for the artist:

above left: full painting; above right, detail of painting

Nate Lowman's Birthday cake painting #2 (a record-breaking sale for the artist):

Jasper Johns, Untitled, 2009:

Jeff Koons, Bikini (Desert), 2001-2011:

above top: full painting; below left: detail of painting; below right: in situ

Chuck Close, Self Portrait, 2007:

above left: full painting; above right, detail of painting

Urs Fischer, Tomorrow, 2010:

above left: full artwork; above right, detail of artwork

Ed Ruscha, Pick, Pan, Shovel #7, 1979:

Elizabeth Peyton's Jay-Z, Glastonbury, 2008:

above left: full drawing; above right, framed and in situ

Adel Abdessemed's Mappemonde-Olive, 2011:

above left: full artwork; above right, detail of artwork

James Rosenquist's The Richest Person Gazing at the Universe Through a Hubcap, 2011:

Neo Rauch, Chor, 2011:

above left: full painting; above right, detail of painting

Cindy Sherman, Untitled:

above left: full photograph; above right, detail of photograph

Rudolph Stingel, Untitled, 2008:

above left: full painting; above right, detail of painting

above: the auction catalog cover

Christie's said the sale was its highest total for a charity auction. Art dealer David Zwirner, who curated the sale, described it as "an amazing evening." He said of the result, "We are overwhelmed by the support."

Images of some of the works as displayed in the gallery:

The Artists include:
Adel Abdessemed, Francis Alÿs, Mamma Andersson, Louise Bourgeois, Cecily Brown, Chuck Close, Marlene Dumas, Urs Fischer, Dan Flavin, Jasper Johns, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Glenn Ligon, Paul McCarthy, Chris Ofili, Raymond Pettibon, Elizabeth Peyton, Neo Rauch, James Rosenquist, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Rudolf Stingel, Luc Tuymans, Kelley Walker,and Zhang Huan.

To see all of the pieces in the auction, visit Artists For Haiti

Artists for Haiti, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, joins in the much needed humanitarian effort to raise significant funds for children’s education and health programs. 100% of the proceeds from this sale will go directly to support nonprofits and NGOs that are already performing extraordinary work on the ground in Haiti, including: Architecture for Humanity, Artists for Peace and Justice, Ciné Institute, Grameen Creative Lab, J/P HRO, Partners In Health, and The Stiller Foundation, among others.

images courtesy of Christie's, Artists for Haiti and Artnet

A Classic California Ranch Home by Cliff May Goes On The Market for $1.75 million

Art collectors and lovers of classic California architecture and midcentury modern furniture will appreciate this extensive look at architect Cliff May's Alisal Ranch, a classic ranch style home, which just went on the market with an asking price of $1,750,000. Filled with Eames classics and Nelson lamps, these 34 images of the home's interior and exterior will get any art and architecture fan salivating.

Cliff May, known as the father of the California Ranch Home, was the architect of the Alisal Ranch in the incomparable Santa Ynez Valley, which is now on the market after an extensive renovation by the current owner, architect Barry Berkus.

Timeless, but not dated, the 4,388 sq. foot four bedroom, five bathroom home situated on 1.6 acres is located outside of Solvang, CA and has light-filled interiors, an open floor plan, four fireplaces, a large pool with overhang and an interior ceiling made of grape stake.

The Living/Dining/Great Room:

The Kitchen with Nelson Bubble lamps, Thermador range and Viking wine cooler:

Bedrooms and baths (including a Japanese style soaking tub by Ofuro):

The classic mid-century style ranch home is set on a high hill within the preserved 10,000 acre Alisal Ranch and is surrounded by verdant mountain and hillside vistas.

The pool area with overhang and outdoor barbeque:

A meticulous restoration with careful updating and special lighting to accommodate an art collection will please both the sophisticated art collector, as well as the architectural aficionado.

Numerous built-ins are perfect for showcasing art, books and collectibles: