1988: Key Art Events from Freeze to The Lovers
In 1988, three landmark events shaped the art world. Damien Hirst organized the Freeze exhibition in London's Docklands in July, launching the Young British Artists (YBAs). Marina Abramović and Ulay performed The Lovers on the Great Wall of China, walking from opposite ends to meet and separate after a twelve-year relationship. The Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato opened in June 1988 with outdoor works by Enzo Cucchi, Anne and Patrick Poirier, and Mauro Staccioli. Cucchi's Conca, a fountain split like brain hemispheres, now requires restoration. The Pecci, in partnership with Biscottificio Antonio Mattei, launched a fundraising campaign selling biscuits to fund the repair and relocation of Conca in the museum's garden. Hirst's 2008 Sotheby's auction Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, which coincided with the Lehman Brothers collapse, is also noted as a historic market event.
Key facts
- Freeze exhibition in London, July 1988, organized by Damien Hirst, marked the birth of the Young British Artists.
- Marina Abramović and Ulay performed The Lovers on the Great Wall of China in 1988, walking from opposite ends to meet and separate.
- Centro Pecci opened in June 1988 with outdoor works by Enzo Cucchi, Anne and Patrick Poirier, and Mauro Staccioli.
- Enzo Cucchi's Conca is a fountain split in two like brain hemispheres, with water falling based on wind direction.
- Conca needs a new hydraulic system and cleaning; a fundraising campaign with Biscottificio Antonio Mattei sells biscuits to fund restoration.
- Damien Hirst's 2008 Sotheby's auction Beautiful Inside My Head Forever occurred on September 15, 2008, during the Lehman Brothers collapse.
- The auction featured 223 new works sold directly by the artist without gallery or dealer mediation.
- Abramović and Ulay reunited in 2010 during The Artist is Present at MoMA.
Entities
Artists
- Damien Hirst
- Marina Abramović
- Ulay
- Enzo Cucchi
- Anne Poirier
- Patrick Poirier
- Mauro Staccioli
- Cristiana Perrella
Institutions
- Centro per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci
- Biscottificio Antonio Mattei
- Sotheby's
- MoMA
- Palazzo Strozzi
- Young British Artists
- Artribune
Locations
- Prato
- Italy
- London
- United Kingdom
- Docklands
- Surrey Commercial Docks
- Rotherhithe
- Great Wall of China
- Gobi Desert
- Yellow Sea
- Florence
- New York