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Tuesday, March 15, 2016

BAM Art Auction—Ready: look, click!

Daniel Heidkamp, Vapor world, 2016, oil on linen, 24"x15"
By Susan Yung

The 12th Annual BAM Art Auction will be held online March 16—31, in collaboration with Paddle8 and Bridget Donahue gallery. It’s the yearly opportunity to acquire some amazing contemporary art from a roster of more than 100 artworks, curated with BAM audiences in mind. Proceeds benefit the institution and its myriad programs which range from performances on the big stages; art exhibitions; repertory films and first releases; shows for kids; literary events and classes, and more. The artworks can be viewed and bid on at Paddle8.com beginning March 16; the collection will be on view at Bridget Donahue at 99 Bowery from March 29—31, with a closing party on the 31st.

The auction also supports BAM Visual Art, an umbrella under which fall many varied projects and exhibitions. BAM has for decades had a close relationship to visual art, featuring a key artwork each season on the cover of BAMbill. Many renowned artists have contributed, including the current 2016 Winter/Spring Artist, Elizabeth Murray, whose work was also the focus of a recent exhibition in several locations at BAM. The multifarious venues at BAM, including some unconventional spaces, have offered opportunities for site-specific installations that engage in a dialogue with the buildings themselves, such as in the soaring Lepercq Space and the multi-story atrium at the Fisher Building. In addition, BAM has published portfolios including photography and print editions by leading artists of our time.

Amanda Valdez, ghost pilot, 2015. Embroidery, gouache, acrylic, and fabric. 20” diameter.
Holly Shen, BAM’s curator of visual arts, talks about highlights from this year’s auction. “I am excited that Bridget Donahue will host the 12th Annual BAM Art Auction exhibition and closing party in her gallery at 99 Bowery, which opened in 2015.” Shen describes the gallery: “I knew the moment I saw the space that it was a perfect venue for our fundraiser—an expansive, rectangular room with high ceilings, original wood floors bearing visible traces of its former life as an industrial space, and a central location. A veteran of the New York gallery world, Bridget has been extremely supportive of our cause and worked with us to find a slot when we could offer viewing days in addition to the closing party.”

The Honorary Artist Chair for 2016 is Teresita Fernández, an acclaimed sculptor and installation artist who has lived and maintained a studio in nearby Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. She has worked with co-chairs Tony Bechara and Mark Diker to cull an intriguing and diverse slate of artworks from near and far. “We’re honored that Teresita Fernández is this year’s Honorary Artist Chair,” says Shen. “As an internationally acclaimed artist with a studio in Brooklyn for more than two decades, we couldn’t think of a better spokesperson for our auction.”

Ryan MacFarland, Adept, Adapt, 2011. Traditional C-Print. 12”x16”
The 2016 BAM Art Auction committee includes representatives from leading galleries such as Marianne Boesky, Julie Saul, Hauser & Wirth, and many more. “We are thrilled to have such a powerhouse list of artists participating this year, with works by both emerging and established artists, local and international,” notes Shen. “I’m particularly looking forward to seeing pieces by Richard Colman, Bosco Sodi, B. Wurtz, Daniel Heidkamp, Brian Kokoska, and Chris Succo.”

Works by well-known artists such as Alex Katz and Elizabeth Peyton sit side-by-side with experimenters such as C. Spencer Yeh, a composer/performance artist, represented by 12 over 11, a page from a musical score that encapsulates visual, sonic, time-based, and symbolic forms, and Amanda Valdez, whose ghost pilot (above) manages to be abstract and hilariously anthropomorphic at once.

The breadth of art available in the 2016 auction, plus the ease of the interface through rising auctioneer Paddle8, make it easier than ever to add to a collection in the name of a good cause. 

Ready: look, click!

Susan Yung is Senior Editorial Manager at BAM.
Reprinted from March 2016 BAMbill.

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