Good Afternoon, Arcades-nistas! I am recovering in bed after the Eckhaus Latta sample sale at Maiden. It was fun. It ended in an explosive fight with our upstairs neighbor. Witnesses described my conflict presentation as virile (me: “To be clear, we will turn down the music as a favor to you, but this is not something you are entitled to”; her: “I can’t live like this”). So shoutout to me for that. There’s an irony in my writing this in bed but like, babe, we are going to play Jojo’s “Too Little Too Late” (her: “You play this music with bass”) on a Sunday at 6PM even if it interferes with your Victorian ghost cosplay. Get out of bed!
The pressure cooker atmosphere of the sale itself brought out some interesting customer behavior. The Eckhaus team flipped the curtains of the dressing rooms up for a Loehmann’s sample sale vibe; the exhibitionists were, believe it or not, all gay guys. This woman’s friend opened her trench coat, flasher style, but with back to the room to give her privacy. The straight dudes were sheepish about being in their (absolutely huge) boxers in public. It was kind of touching.
Anyway it’s an opportunity to rethink the room. I have a critical mass of some flat work that could make a cool show. Would you guys come? Clap if you’d come! (I think of this section as my Wendy Williams Show “Hot Topics”).
Special shoutout to EL friends Madie, Tess, and Jack. You have now seen the belly of the beast and you cannot unsee it.
For my cherished new subscribers: Landed cost (the final cost you pay) = the hammer price (the highest bid) + the premium (a set percentage added to the hammer price that the auction house takes) + shipping (you’re almost always on the hook for this) + sales tax
To the listings!
James Rosenquist’s prints have been weirdly undervalued. I don’t get it. A lot of his work is better than that of a lot of his peers, but good luck getting a deal on a Rauschenberg print. There was a big Phillips auction in February that did well (NOT THAT WE CARE) so it seems like the estate is aiming to course correct. People seem to go for the the super colorful ones but I like this a lot. Clap if you think we should have a Rosenquist print show at Maiden!
If These Plates Could Talk! I do actually like the plates themselves, but I do also like that they were Barbara Walters’. I feel like Lily and Steven of Celebrity Book Club fame kind of need to buy these. Clap if you think they should buy them!
Okimono are small decorative objects. Look at how they made a little sake bowl! I love it. I do sometimes think the aura of Japan distorts my perception of what are, on some level, Precious Moments figurines. But I don’t care. Me.
Before you start on some lame bullshit about how you like this but don’t know where you’d put it—the answer is anywhere. Grow up! Think about all the crap that you don’t need that’s already in your house. Maybe throw that crap out and make space for a better life. It’s called being an adult and making decisions.
I was super moved by everyone’s Gaetano Pesce RIP’s on IG. Like . . . weeping. Anyway, shoutout to a real one. I don’t like the craze but I love this lamp because of the little shoes.
[David, sheepish, paper cup of instant coffee, seated in a ring of chairs in the basement of Maiden. He is surrounded by a motley crew: Italian housewives from Staten Island, instagram dealers from Greenpoint, paper architects from Bushwick:] My name is David and I have a problem.
OK, I actually have one of these already but it’s single base and square top. Its weight is unreal. But what if I had two more bases? I could have three tables instead of two. Someone call my sponsor!!!! Wait also—I would split this with someone for the base. Not as a joke. Email me.
OK, this is random. But I love big polaroid prints.
The boys of Catalog Sale are back. Check it out. I like this quilt.
They keep running this through the auction and no one buys it. I think this is the 3rd of 4th time. I also think it’s fabulous. If I were like, a super hot “woman” I would wear it with my gowns and also with my swimsuits (I am a Bond girl?). As it turns out, I am just like . . . some random guy?
Bernard Steffen (1907-1980). I really love WPA work and this is so cool. Steffen was a master of the lithograph and this kind of proves that. Click through to see closeups. LMK if you bid because if no one does I might.
May the hammer fall ever in your favor!