Sotheby’s continues to use its S2 space in new and interesting ways. Today begins a new show organized by Josh Baer (You can see the catalogue here) that makes the audacious case that California hasn’t been bold enough in celebrating the importance of its Contemporary art:
I argue that the art which emerged after the Pacific Standard moment in California was in fact deeply in tune with international movements and consistent with the history of the avant-garde. You could make your own list of who is or isn’t “Californian” but these now “seminal” artists tell a great narrative together to our global art viewing world today.
Not Californian will examine the prolific careers of eight seminal Californian artists of the 1970s and 80s, whose work reached an international – rather than only a regional – audience. Sotheby’s S|2 will host Not Californian from 6–30 September 2012, illustrating this phenomenon by showing important works available for private sale by artists Mike Kelley, Chris Burden, Bruce Nauman, Paul McCarthy, Charles Ray, John Baldessari, Raymond Pettibon and Ed Ruscha.
The show also continues the trend of advisors and private dealers hosting selling shows at the auction houses and some of the bigger galleries. The lines between public and private sales continue to blur.
