newyork

The action in Tribeca on Saturday night gave me a bit more proof that the art market is looking for a bounce. I attended an art show held by local artist Ben Krell and Lindsey Nobel, who came in from Los Angeles, and the action was palpable. At last count, six pieces sold at the event, and there were many serious buyers with an eye to add emerging artists to their collections again.

Krell and Nobel have vastly different styles, but the pieces complemented each other in the loft where the event, billed as an "open studio," was held. Krell's work through several periods was on display, from the tight geometric styles he favored several years ago to the organic approach he uses today. Nobel offered pieces using several media – including photography and plastic. Works by both artists captivated the guests who crowded the venue as the evening unfolded.

Nobel's work features intricate designs connecting larger abstract shapes that are based on photographs she has taken of sculptures. The intentional result is an interconnectedness reminiscent of neural networks, linking stations of consciousness into a greater, unified presence.

Unlike his partner at the event, Krell prefer broader, sweeping themes on his canvases (which he shapes himself). His latest movement evokes feelings of creation – in the cosmic sense – with concentrations of energy yielding to calming effects.

The Tribeca art exhibition was a trip home for Krell, who painted in that particular loft back in the 1990s. He also held a show there in September 2008, shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The mood couldn't have been more different this time around. Attendees were considerably more upbeat ... and in greater number. The sheer level of participation was enough to suggest that the art market is getting ready to turn, and the fact that several collectors made purchases reinforces the notion.


[Photo courtesy of Ben Krell]

If you live in the NYC metro area or will be visiting for the holiday season, and love chocolate, let me share with you a sweet spot I recently learned about: François Chocolate Bar. Famed pastry chef and chocolatier François Payard has teamed up with Parisian jeweler Mauboussin to open the François Chocolate Bar on the fourth floor of Mauboussin's Madison Avenue flagship boutique. Described by Payard as "a chocolate jewelry shop," the Chocolate Bar is entirely devoted to chocolate and features signature pastries from Payard as well as a new line of verrines, macaroons, and the "François Quatre Quarts" (pound cakes), along with hot chocolate, tea, coffee, and cappuccino. All the chocolate items are reasonably priced -- from $2.00 for the macaroons to $6.50 for the verrines. The Chocolate Bar also offers signature gifts.

The Chocolate Bar is running a special holiday promotion. Until December 24, customers who spend $100 or more at the store (or a bit more if ordering online) will receive a complimentary Payard signature Voyager Bag and a 15% discount at Mauboussin. One idea for how to ring up $100 is a gift basket. The Chocolate Bar's baskets range from $100 to $200, or you can customize one starting at $15. See the gallery for photos of the Chocolate Bar as well as four gift basket options.

François Chocolate Bar
714 Madison Ave. (between East 63rd and 64th Streets)
Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
212-759-1600

There are 11 tables of two and three seats at the bar. Save me a spot!

Today's home is another look at a home we've been talking about since 2005 when it was listed at $16.25 million. Kenockety in Lloyd Harbor, New York was once owned by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. The Tudor home was built in 1926 and sits on 6.7 acres of land. It has seven bedrooms, a library, conservatory, a gym and a master suite that includes several marble fireplaces. The property includes a gunite pool, brick cottages, greenhouse and 500 feet of water frontage with deeded docking rights. It is now listed at $9.9 million which is, as Newsday's Real LI points out, a nearly 40 percent reduction off the original price.

Mackage is so pleased with sales in its first NYC pop-up boutique, in the Meatpacking District, that it has opened a second, this time in SoHo. Open through December, the store will carry the Canadian company's Fall/Winter '09 collection for men and women including butter-soft leather bombers, shearling styles, and its ever-popular Puffy down-filled winter coats. The line is popular with such celebrities as Hilary Duff, Jessica Biel, Elizabeth Hurley, Eva Mendes, Kristen Bell, Will.I.Am. and John Legend, to name a few. And a non-celebrity -- me. The coats are beautiful, practical, and better-priced than I expected for such style and quality. The SoHo store's details can be found in the photo above.

Art Basel Miami Beach starts on Thursday, and the word "test" is being used instead of "expectation." Even though there have been signs this month that the art market is turning the corner (or at least trying), caution remains pervasive, and the market is still seen to be fragile. The fair's organizers have said that profits will be down at least 20 percent for everyone involved, because of lower prices and a decline in the number of exhibitors.

Sixty of last year's participants have dropped out already, and the number of satellite art fairs around Art Basel Miami Beach has fallen from 22 to 16. Layout changes are taking the shift in participation and making it benefit those who remain. Exhibit space has been increased by 20 percent, and booths in the main art galleries area will be larger, as a result. This is where most of the action is. Eighty-five percent of the dealers have come back, and the number of stands has increased from 265 to 270.

Though prices are expected to be down at the Miami fair this year, artists and galleries aren't giving their work away. Emmanuel Perrotin, the Paris gallery, is trying to move Takashi Murakami's "Warp," painted this year, for $1.5 million. The same gallery is also pushing a Duane Hanson sculpture for $425,000 and a photographic print by Paola Pivi for $33,000. Edward Tyler Nahem, a first-timer at Art Basel Miami Beach, has a room full of paintings by Alejandra Icaza, which are selling for $35,000 a piece.

The crowd in Miami is likely to be a return to past decades, in which art collectors and investors -- rather than what Todd Levin, director of Levin Art Group calls the "fashionista crowd" -- dominate the scene. Art Basel Miami Beach thus might become an art fair again.

The Water/Bodies exhibit kicks off on December 21, 2009 at the Eden Rock Gallery. Located at the Eden Rock Hotel on St Barths, the gallery has hosted shows from the top artists in the world and those who will be in the next few years. The new show, curated by David Kratz, President of the New York Academy of Art, will no doubt be consistent with the gallery's fantastic reputation. This year, Eric Fischl and Jenny Saville, both Senior Critics at the Academy, will be among the Academy-affiliated artists showcasing their work at Eden Rock.

Each of the pieces at Eden Rock this winter will be related to the theme of nature, water and the body. Only small works will be displayed at this event, though a variety of media will be present, including oil, watercolor, drawing and sculpture.

Water/Bodies is the latest in an ongoing relationship between the Eden Rock Gallery and New York Academy of Art. The program includes an artist-in-residence program, in which up to 10 students or graduates of the Academy can visit St Barths and participate. Some of the proceeds from the sales at Water/Bodies will be used to support this program and others at the Academy. Past participants include Richard Prince, whose early 2008 show sold out before the opening.

While we're unlikely to see a replay of Prince's sales at Eden Rock this year, the art market is certainly better than what we saw late last year. Maybe collectors will go back to voting with their wallets.

Legwear and shapewear experts Sculptz made their NYC and U.S. debut earlier this month with an upscale cocktail party and display at The Glasshouses in Chelsea. What made this show special was that there was a mix of mannequins and live models, so you could really see how the products worked and ask the models questions about their outfits. Hosting the event were Sculptz president Jean P. Vernor and "tastemaker" and celebrity stylist Robert Verdi.

Scultptz, which makes products along the same line as that other shapewear company (beginning with an "S" and ending with an "x"), only less strangling, more affordable, more colorful, and more wearable, has been in business since 1974 and is headquartered in Philadelphia. All products are made in the U.S.A. I tried one of the products, and like the slogan says, it was so comfortable I did indeed forget I was wearing it. (When I tried that other brand, I wanted to pull it off as soon as I got in the door.)

The NYC event was titled "A Girl for All Seasons" and featured models dressed in Sculptz products, à la iconic '40s and '50s pinup girls, in displays that represented the four seasons. Another model walked the room and a sixth was in a classic evening display complete with faux fur rug and garter belt. (See the gallery.)

Sculptz products promise to "flatten the tummy, lift the rear, and slim the hips and thighs, while providing the freedom and confidence to wear everyday styles from day to night." The collection features shorts, sheers, tights, slips, body shapers, camis, bras, and briefs. There also are sexy thigh highs and pants-friendly trouser socks. New for fall 2009 are leggings and capris in lots of fun, autumnal colors as well as classics like red and black. All the colors feature clever names, too. Black is "A Girl's Best Friend," for example, while copper is "All Spiced Up" and white is "String of Pearls."

Sculptz prices range from $15 - $70. Products are available only online right now, although plans are in the works to be in retail stores soon. Sculptz also has sites in Britain and Canada.

Special for Luxist readers: Get 25% off Sculptz shapewear and legwear from Sunday, November 29, 2009, until Thursday, December 10, 2009. Just enter promo code B809 at Sculptz.com.

I'm still not sold that the art market is recovering (it could be, but it's too soon to tell). But, if it is, the upside is going to the galleries and collectors -- the artists aren't getting squat. November was generally kind to Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in art sales. So, to get their own piece of the art market pie that may or not be forming, artists are starting to go directly to the buyers.

Artist Ryan McGinness hosted a sale of pieces by several artists, with the person who did the work taking home all the spoils. The presale estimate of $47,000 to $57,000 made sense, as the final tally came to $51,300, pretty much in the middle. McGinness himself was present at the event ... via a video connection from Amsterdam.

The traditional auction model trends to benefit collectors rather than artists, as it creates a secondary market for artwork. It's really no different from the stock market. An IPO, if successful, will be the starting point, with the price going up later, to the advantage of all subsequent owners.

Too much Swarovski is never enough, especially during the holidays, when we all want sparkle. And during the holidays in New York City, the most popular sparkle can be found at Rockefeller Center, where each year gaggles of locals as well as tourists stop by to view the Christmas tree, which has been topped by a Swarovski star each year since 2004.

This year's star is 9½ feet in diameter, 1½ feet in depth, weighs a whopping 550 pounds, and comprises 25,000 crystals with 1,000,000 facets. The star is high-tech and low-cost (energy-wise): It has enhancements such as a new cutting-edge computerized lighting system and energy-efficient LED bulbs. The star's 12 rays are outfitted with 720 bulbs on 3,000 feet of wire to create a twinkling effect through customized light sequencing programmed by a complex computer system.

Rockefeller Center officially began the Tree Lighting Ceremony in 1933, when a Christmas tree was erected in front of the then-RCA Building and covered with 700 lights. This is the first year, however, that the Swarovski star will feature dynamic light movement. A team of nine artisans and engineers spent three months (1,200 hours) installing, programming, and testing the star to ensure the effects would withstand the challenging winter weather conditions 76 feet above Rockefeller Center.

A replica of the Swarovski Star will be on display in Rockefeller Center to allow visitors to get a closer view of the detailing and craftsmanship. Swarovski is even offering a selection of star-themed holiday jewelry and ornaments on sale at the Swarovski holiday kiosk at Rockefeller Center, at Swarovski boutiques nationwide, and online.

The 77th Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, December 2, from 7-9 p.m. The ceremony will be televised live, locally on WNBC-TV from 7-8 p.m. and nationally on NBC from 8-9 p.m. Spectators can view the lighted tree each day from 5:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.; all day (24 hours) on Christmas Day; and from 5:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve. The last day to view the tree is January 7, 2010.

Sources: LuxuryLaunches.com and PR Newswire

The publicity may have slowed down, but Michael Jackson fans are still coming out in force. Several lots soundly beat presale estimates at an auction conducted by Julien's Auctions. The staples of Michael Jackson's image -- such as the famous white glove and the jacket from the "Bad" tour -- went under the gavel. A presale estimate for the entire auction of $80,000 to $100,000 quickly became irrelevant, as bidders sent prices into the stratosphere.

The white glove opened at $10,000 but went immediately to $120,000 before settling at the final price of $350,000 (not including fees and commissions). After all fees and taxes, Hong Kong businessman Hoffman Ma spent around $420,000 for the piece of Americana that Darren Julien, the auction house's CEO, describes as "the Holy Grail of Michael Jackson." It was expected to sell for $50,000.

The black jacket, with all the straps and zippers, that Jackson wore during his 1989 "Bad" tour, also made presale estimates pointless. It closed at $225,000 (before any fees or taxes), more than 20 times the expectation.

At the auction, held at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square, most of the 80 lots pertained to Michael Jackson, generally provided by friends and family who had received them as gifts. Other lots included a car driven by Jackson, a guitar once owned by David Bowie and memorabilia from the Beatles.

Ten artists found a way to make vacant commercial space incredibly exciting. I wandered by 25 Central Park West on a walk in my neighborhood a few days ago and saw artists inside. They were hard at work cleaning, preparing and hanging their pieces. Tapping on the window was one of my smartest moves this week. By doing so, I learned of a new exhibition, which opened Wednesday night. The show, 10 from 25: Emerging Artists using Photography, is set to run through December 13, 2009. It includes flat art and video, bringing to life an empty space in a part of Manhattan generally forgotten by the art community.

The artists, including Bess Greenberg, who gave me a tour of the space as she and the other artists prepared for opening night, have created an integrated show that doesn't sacrifice the message of each of the participants. So, in addition to a group exhibition, visitors are treated to 10 individual efforts, in which one can appreciate a specific style without having to cope with the intrusion of other pieces on his experience.

Chronoswiss watches have been gaining popularity as of late and they have finally cleared up one of my biggest questions. Why are they called "chrono-Swiss" when they are a German company? The official response is here: "Though [Chronoswiss is] a German company, every component of the timepieces is manufactured in Switzerland and then hand-finished and assembled in Germany." Oh... OK. That makes more sense now. I do like the watches too!

Just in time for what everyone hopes will be the big rebound shopping season, Chronoswiss will open a brand new shop in SoHo in New York City. I love that the store front is both inviting and eye catching. It has that charming brick look, with a few little tables inside and a cute little entrance way. There is no large intimidating sign for the brand, just a cool looking banner showing a portion of one of their watch dials. A soft sign with the brand name is in the window. I really hope the inside of the store is as well designed as the outside. The boutique is located in SoHo on West Broadway. Although the store is now open, their official grand opening event will be held on December 2nd from 7-11pm.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

The Phillips de Pury auction on Thursday night raked in what once would have come from a single painting. Despite parading out pieces by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Richard Prince, the sale was good for a mere $7 million, with individual lots moving for prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thirty-nine went under the gavel, and eight didn't sell.

The Chelsea auction house lacks the savvy, knowledge and reach of Sotheby's and Christie's, so it had to lean on British art collector Charles Saatchi, who has agreed to complete most of his transactions through Phillips de Pury. In trade, subsidies from the auction house help keep access to Saatchi's gallery free.

Roughly a dozen of the lots came from Saatchi, while the others are said to have been rejected by Sotheby's and Christie's. In general, the pieces were "pretty skimpy," according to Manhattan art dealer Edward Tyler Nahem, who observes that the auction house "did pretty well with what they had."

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama was the top seller, with her painting "Infinity Nets (T.W.A.)" busting past its high-end presale estimate of $400,000 and settling at $842,500 (including fees). Kusama's performance follows a well-hyped exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery this year.

Bernie Madoff's last home may have sold strong, but it looks like the momentum is fading. His home in the Hamptons beat the listing price and ultimately moved for more than $9.4 million. Unfortunately for his victims, interest in his Manhattan penthouse and Palm Beach estate isn't as strong. The prices for both have been cut, as the Ponzi schemer moves from news to history. Both homes have been on the market for only two months.

The Manhattan home, on the Upper East Side, offers 4,000 square feet which the broker, Sotheby's International Realty, says is "perched atop a distinguished white-glove prewar cooperative." Originally offered at $9.9 million, the asking price has been slashed by $1 million. So, if you're looking for some new digs in the city, this should be perched atop your list. A 10 percent price drop after only two months in the game means that you could probably work the price down a little bit further. If you were a Madoff investor, think of it as recouping some of what was so wrongly taken from you.

The situation in Palm Beach, Florida isn't much better. The discount is only 7 percent, with the price plunging from $8.49 million to $7.9 million according to the Corcoran Group, which is handling the sale. This home is billed as "a return to classic Florida island living ... when Palm Beach was a less manicured tropical paradise." What does that mean? Does classical Florida island living have anything to do with defrauding the neighbors?

Madoff, now a resident of Butner, North Carolina, believed that the Manhattan apartment was worth only $7 million. He pegged the Palm Beach residence at $11 million.

When both properties move, the proceeds will go to Madoff's victims. Of the $65 million, roughly, that he took, $1.4 billion is said to have been recovered. Even when compared to the investor losses identified, $21.2 billion, it's but a drop in the bucket. The auction scheduled for Saturday may help a little bit, with Bernie's Mets jacket and Ruth's golf clubs going under the gavel.

Christie's tried in New York with a 1983 piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat and didn't succeed. The auction house may have been too aggressive in estimating the 16-foot piece at $9 million. That's what's tough about the art market right now. There are signs of recovery, and it can be tempting to push for higher prices. Unfortunately, it's easy to get a bit excited. The painting had the highest estimate at the auction. The piece with the second highest presale estimate, a piece by Andy Warhol, met a similar fate.

The Basquiat piece, "Brother Sausage," was offered anonymously by a buyer later revealed by Bloomberg News to be Peter Brant, an art collector based in Connecticut. The piece may be a casualty of his divorce from model Stephanie Seymour. Well, it won't be financing post-marital discord and could remain a contested asset for a while.

Warhol's "Tunafish Disaster" was projected to move for up to $8 million and, like the Basquiat painting, didn't receive any bids. Art dealer Robert Mnuchin of L&M Arts was stuck taking it home.

Yet, some works beat the odds in an auction that raked in $74.2 million, within the presale range of $61.5 million to $88 million. Nonetheless, this was the lowest result we've seen from a Christie's New York contemporary art effort since May 2003 and down 81 percent from the top of the market two and a half years ago.