Latest news with #JeffKoons
Bloomberg
17-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
An Artist Lost a $2 Million Crypto Nest Egg in Coinbase's Hack
After spending nearly two decades as a fabricator in the art world, helping construct elaborate creations like Jeff Koons' series of Balloon Dog sculptures, Ed Suman decided to try his hand at something new: cryptocurrency investing. Suman started buying in 2017, eventually amassing a nest egg that included 17.5 Bitcoin and 225 Ether, tokens worth more than $2 million these days. The stash represented a significant portion of his retirement savings.
The Herald
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald
SA-born artist Marlene Dumas breaks record with R246m sale
A 1997 art piece painted by South African-born artist Marlene Dumas has sold for more than R230m at Christie's New York, setting a new benchmark for female artists in the 21st century art market. Dumas' provocative 2.74m-tall oil painting Miss January sold for a staggering $13.635m (R246.7m) on Wednesday, setting a new world record for a living female artist. The monumental portrait, a striking image of a blonde woman nude from the waist down, captivated collectors during the 21st Century Evening Sale held via Instagram Live and YouTube. Auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang, associate director and senior client adviser at Christie's, led the sale which saw fierce bidding and ultimately achieved a total of $96.5m (R1.75bn). An impressive 92% of lots were sold by number and 97% by value, with four artists breaking auction records: Louis Fratino, Simone Leigh, Emma McIntyre and Dumas. Dumas' record surpasses the previous benchmark held by British painter Jenny Saville, whose work Propped (1992) sold for £9.5m (R228m) at Sotheby's London in 2018. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Dumas' sale still trails the record for a living male artist Jeff Koons' Rabbit (1986), which sold for $91.07m (R1.65bn) in 2019. Christie's reflected on Dumas' evolution as an artist, stating: 'Dumas started exploring and scrutinising the female form at age 10, with a drawing called Miss World ' which depicted idolised glamour models. More than 30 years later, she returned to the subject with Miss January , a portrait that threads the line between revealing and concealing, and serves as perhaps the best example of her influential female portraiture.' Born in Cape Town in 1953, Dumas is based in the Netherlands, where she represented the country at the 1995 Venice Biennale and was later featured in the central pavilion in 2015.
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Nepo grandson celebrates graduating from New York University after an internship at Jay-Z's label
THIS nepo grandson graduated from New York University this week - with his very famous musician grandfather watching on. The Beatles icon Sir Paul McCartney, 82, seen beaming with pride as he celebrated his grandson Elliot Donald's big achievement. 6 6 6 6 Elliot, 22, completed a four-year degree at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, with his family joining him at the ceremony. Sir Paul flashed a big smile alongside his wife Nancy, 65, and daughter Mary McCartney, who is Elliot's mum. The musician wore a navy suit and posed with a thumbs up and holding a graduation programme in his other hand. The family photo was shared on Mary's Instagram on Wednesday. Mary, who looked chic in a black shirt and trousers, captioned it: "Couldn't be prouder". Elliot already has a string of impressive internships under his belt - from music, to real estate and art. Last summer, he worked as an assistant to the Vice Chairman at Jay-Z's Roc Nation in Los Angeles. He's spent six months at Jeff Koons Studio in New York as a research assistant and interned at property brand Artfarm in London. While the Let It Be hitmaker never went to university himself but has received multiple honorary degrees. The New Beatles Biopic Movies: Star-Studded Cast Revealed He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree in 1988 from the University of Sussex, and another by Yale University in 2008. Sir Paul also co-founded the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in 1996. Filmmaker Mary, 55, shares sons Elliot and his older brother Arthur with ex-husband and director Alistair Donald. Arthur, 25, is currently romantically involved with Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates' daughter Phoebe. Paul found worldwide fame as one of the Fab Four in the 60s and has penned some of pop's most enduring songs. He is one of the two surviving members of the iconic band, along with drummer Ringo Starr. Paul has been married three times, first to Linda Eastman, then to Heather Mills, before marrying Nancy Shevell in 2011. The Liverpool -born rocker has been touring the world for decades and has released numerous hits, but he still found the time to raise his five kids. Paul's eldest child is Heather Eastman McCartney. Heather was born on December 31, 1962, and is the daughter of Paul's late wife Linda from her previous marriage. She's a successful artist and designer and has had a number of international exhibitions including shows in Tokyo, Paris and London. Heather - who was adopted by Paul - also appeared in his documentaries Let It Be and Wingspan. Mary was born on August 28, 1969, and was the first child Paul had with his beloved late wife, Linda. Like her mother, she has written books on vegetarian cooking. Probably the best-known of all of the McCartney siblings, Stella was born on September 13, 1971, and is a world-famous fashion designer. She founded her fashion house, Stella McCartney, in 2001, which is an internationally-renowned brand. Since 2005, Stella has designed an activewear collection for Adidas. James McCartney was born on September 12, 1977, and is Paul's only son. He has followed his dad into the music industry, becoming a singer-songwriter. Beatrice McCartney is Paul's youngest daughter, who was born on October 28, 2003. Now all grown up, she is understood she hopes to be a marine biologist. Is Paul McCartney married? Paul is married to third wife Nancy Shevell, after getting hitched in 2011. The pair met in 2007, after being introduced during a stay at the Hamptons. Like Paul, Nancy has been married before and has a son from her past relationship. She was wed to her first husband Bruce Blakeman for 23 years, before divorcing in 2007. 6 6
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Travel + Leisure
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Travel + Leisure
How This Charming Greek Island Has Become a Surprising Art Destination—With Stylish Parties and Pop-up Galleries
Traveling to Hydra is normally a relaxing, almost soporific affair. The tiny Greek island, only 90 minutes by ferry from Athens, has been renowned for generations as a dreamy, car-free outpost where the only traffic sound is the clip-clop of donkey hooves and the most stressful decision is which white wine to choose with dinner. But I was heading there in mid-June, when Hydra is an offbeat stop on the art-world circuit and the energy resembles that of a wild night at Art Basel Miami Beach. From left: Taking the plunge near Hydronetta bar; harborside buildings. Thomas Gravanis The cultural frenzy had begun earlier that day in Athens, with brunch at the art-filled mansion of Greek collectors Dakis and Lietta Joannou. It was a lavish affair with a book bazaar, buffet, and cocktail bar spilling onto expansive, sun-dappled patios where celebrity artists like the Joannous' friend Jeff Koons mingled with elegantly coiffed curators from Zurich, London, and Cologne. Mid-afternoon, I joined a group of fashionable Greek artists in a convoy of taxis bound for the Athenian port of Piraeus, just in time to catch the 5:30 p.m. fast ferry across the Saronic Gulf to Hydra. Soon we were all gaping in wonder at the first glimpse of the fabled island that Henry Miller memorably described in 1939 as having a 'wild and naked perfection.' He praised its 'aesthetically perfect' port, where blue-and-white buildings cluster like a stadium above the harbor in 'the very epitome anarchy.' From left: The clock tower in Hydra's port; 'Lalo,' a painting by Iasonas Kampanis, at Wilhelmina's gallery; harborside buildings. Thomas Gravanis No sooner had we stepped ashore than we were whisked via a five-minute boat ride to Mandraki Bay, where the gallery Wilhelmina's has operated in a splendid 19th-century mansion since 2023. As the sun dipped below the horizon, a raucous reception began for a group show called 'Magic Mirror,' which showcased 33 emerging Greek and international artists, the majority of whom were women. Wine flowed. Tables groaned with treats: plates of seafood, bowls of Greek salad, tubs of plump olives. More guests arrived by foot and boat, until the gallery was mobbed. As the festivities wound down at midnight, Wilhelmina von Blumenthal, the gallery's young U.K.-born director, explained that she had set up in Hydra after a trip to the island in the fall of 2022. 'It was all very organic,' she said. 'I came for a long weekend and stumbled across this lovely space. At the time it was covered in cobwebs and full of odds and ends, more like a storage room. I said to the owner, 'This would make a beautiful gallery,' and he said, 'What a good idea!' ' The Windmill Bar. Thomas Gravanis Von Blumenthal's co-curator, Greek artist Irini Karayannopoulou, was thrilled by the enthusiastic turnout for the event. 'We'd planned on a hundred guests,' she mused. 'It could have been 150? Maybe 250?' Von Blumenthal piped in: 'It's a good problem to have!' There is a pleasing symmetry to this artistic resurgence on Hydra (pronounced ee-dra). The rocky speck in the Aegean has enjoyed a mythic status among travelers since the early 20th century, when it first became a hangout for bohemians such as Miller and the Greek poet George Seferis. It was rediscovered after World War II by the likes of Lawrence Durrell and two Australian writers, George Johnston and Charmian Clift, who became the anchors of a new expat community. In 1960, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen bought a house on the island, where he would live for the next seven years, part of that time with his Norwegian-born girlfriend and muse, Marianne Ihlen. The Roloi Café, in a space near the docks that was a popular artists' hangout, displays an array of black-and-white photos from that time. In recent decades, Hydra has maintained its magical aura, largely thanks to the absence of traffic—everyone gets around by foot, boat, or donkey—and limits on new construction. From left: Cocktails at Hydronetta bar; gallerist Wilhelmina von Blumenthal. Thomas Gravanis When I first visited the island a few years ago, I spent a week indulging in what Clift once called 'summertime, playtime, easy-living time, lotus-eating time.' I rarely strayed from the path that led 100 yards from the port's tavernas to Hydronetta, an elegant bar perched on a cliffside. Between glasses of chilled white, I could descend steps carved into the rocks and dive directly into the waves. Later, back in New York, it was hard to believe visiting Greek friends when they told me that sleepy Hydra was actually a hot spot for contemporary art. And so last summer I set forth to explore this encounter between culture and nature on the lavishly eulogized Greek island. After the reception at Wilhelmina's, I didn't have far to travel: I was staying at the new Mandraki Beach Resort, a few steps from the island's only sandy beach. Although it offers state-of-the-art luxury, including private plunge pools, its two-century-old structures are a part of quirky Greek folklore: they were the former shipyards and naval base of a revered, semi-piratical independence hero named Admiral Andreas Miaoulis, who set sail from this cove to defeat the Ottoman Turks in 1826. (Every June, the island holds the Miaoulia Festival, a 10-day celebration that climaxes in a re-creation of the decisive naval battle of Geronda with fireworks, music, and the ceremonial burning of a boat in the harbor.) Poetically enough, Wilhelmina's is located in Miaoulis's former mansion. From left: Island style at Mandraki Beach Resort; the entrance to a home in the port. Thomas Gravanis Thanks to the hawklike oversight of historic edifices by Hydriot authorities, renovation of the hotel was painstaking. The manager, Arthur Fitzwilliam, who began coming to Hydra when he was a teen in the 1960s, explained that after getting the lease in 2016, he spent 18 months obtaining permits to ensure that original details were maintained. 'It was a mix of architecture and archaeology,' he said. The process included replicating the chemical composition of the 18th-century mortar. 'It took three months just to find the right lab and to get them to break down its six ingredients!' The following night, Hydra's jet-set scene was in full swing. Ripples of excitement could be felt in the port as Dakis Joannou's mega-yacht, cheekily named Guilty, glided to the docks. It was hard to miss: Jeff Koons designed the exterior of the vessel with jagged geometric patterns, a Cubist-like effort based on the 'razzle dazzle' camouflage used by the British and U.S. navies in World War I, whose aim was not to hide ships but to make their outlines confusing. From left: Portraits of Greek military heroes at the Historical Archives Museum of Hydra; golden hour at Windmill Bar, above Hydronetta Beach. Thomas Gravanis The entire harborfront was taken over by a street party hosted by Joannou's Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art. At dusk, a parade of art lovers strolled east of the port to the Projectspace Slaughterhouse, another updated historic space. Since 2022, the cliffside gallery has been crowned by Koons's gilded, 30-foot-diameter Wind Spinner, an image of Apollo, the ancient Greek god of the sun and art, with metal rays rotating around his circular face. Inside, American artist George Condo's disturbingly grotesque portraits were on view in an exhibition called 'The Mad and the Lonely.' ('Sounds like my dating life,' quipped one visitor.) Dakis, as Hydriots fondly call him, was happily working the crowd. After dark, back at the port, Deste threw a free celebration: islanders and visitors danced to live bands on a stage as wine, beer, and ouzo flowed, and souvlaki sandwiches were handed out to all and sundry. From left: The recording studio at the Old Carpet Factory; grilled octopus and scallops with fava purée at Mandraki Beach Resort. Thomas Gravanis By the next afternoon, the art crowd had decamped and Hydra returned to its serene summer pace, with other low-key art sites revealing themselves like sculptural rocks at low tide. For the rest of the week, using the Mandraki Beach Resort as a base, I started each day in time-honored Hydriot style—diving off the jetty, having a breakfast of fruit, Greek yogurt, and thick black coffee—then setting off on a quirky cultural excursion. It was hard to believe visiting Greek friends when they told me that sleepy Hydra was actually a hot spot for contemporary art. Given the strict limits on new construction on Hydra, it was perhaps unsurprising that the string of art spaces I visited were, like my hotel, all in charmingly renovated historic structures. At dusk one day, I climbed the port's steep, cobblestoned lanes and clambered beneath stone arches to visit the Old Carpet Factory, a recording studio that doubles as a gallery in a majestic mansion with picture windows and panoramic views. The exhibition, 'The Warp of Time,' featured striking contemporary tapestries by Helen Marden on the walls that echoed the century-old handwoven carpet from the island's Soutzoglou Carpets company on the floor. 'Weavings from 1924 below us, weavings from 2024 above,' mused owner Stephan Colloredo-Mansfeld, who runs the space with his Russian-born partner and curator, Ekaterina Juskowsi. 'We're surrounded by continuity.' In the courtyard, the word moonshine was projected on a wall and visitors tasted samples of tsipouro, a type of Greek brandy. From left: Sunbathing below Hydronetta bar; a George Condo exhibition at Deste's Projectspace Slaughterhouse. Thomas Gravanis The next evening, I strolled another winding lane to Hydrogoios Arts & Culture, a part-time exhibition space that occupies a 240-year-old mansion. Von Blumenthal and Karayannopoulou were hosting a continuation of their 'Magic Mirror' show. The two curators, who promote emerging artists, are becoming established on the island as the scrappy, bohemian counterpart to Deste. As musicians strummed and crowds chatted around the stone cistern, Ioanna Stroumpouli, Hydrogoios's co-owner, and Tassos Lagadianos, its caretaker, proudly showed off the building's antique features. One room had a wooden boat hull for a ceiling, and stone arches were embedded in the entrance. The exterior walls were a fortress-like thickness; they'd been built to protect the inhabitants from pirates. But they were most excited to show me the herb garden. 'These are our smelling herbs,' Stroumpouli said, grinding up tiny fresh leaves and putting them to my nose. 'Oregano. Rosemary. And this one is very salty—I don't even know its name in Greek!' From left: Swimmers off Hydronetta Beach, on the Greek island of Hydra; a Jeff Koons sculpture at Deste's Projectspace Slaughterhouse gallery. Thomas Gravanis There were happy accidents. While visiting the waterfront Historical Archives Museum of Hydra, I stumbled into the Hydra Book Club. This bookstore and community center, run by American expat Josh Hickey, is devoted to the island's rich literary and artistic tradition and has a strikingly designed namesake magazine. Other spaces I heard about through word of mouth. For 25 years, the artist Dimitrios Antonitsis has curated shows in spaces around the island as part of the Hydra School Projects, I was informed, including 'the old schoolhouse.' He doesn't promote himself on a website or social media, but I managed to find him in the Lyceum, or 'new schoolhouse,' a string of empty classrooms where he was presiding over a fascinating group show that included an astonishing collection of surreal gold jewelry made by cult British artist Leonora Carrington in 2008. (A more permanent jewelry exhibit is artist Elena Votsi's boutique in the port town; she creates necklaces that play with the traditional evil-eye charm, abstract versions of the sun and mountains, and bronze images of island donkeys.) From left: A guest room at Mandraki Beach Resort; the resort's cove. Thomas Gravanis Everyone at the art spaces was so amiable and open that most nights I would somehow find myself invited to sunset cocktails at Hydronetta or the Windmill Bar, where tables and chairs were set around a medieval stone turret. (The landmark is also known as the 'Sophia Loren windmill,' as it was featured in her 1957 film Boy on a Dolphin.) A group dinner would be held at the eatery referred to as 'the chicken lady,' or beneath the gnarled olive tree at Xeri Elia Douskos café, the setting for a famous photograph of Cohen strumming a guitar next to Clift. The festivities would continue at the tiny square fronting 1821 Hydra, a cocktail bar that sits at the center of a concentration of nightspots jokingly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle: 'You enter and somehow get lost,' German-born art curator Katharina Bosch, who spends her summers on Hydra, warned me. 'You look at your watch and realize it's 3 a.m.' And every night, I would either stroll around the coast along a footpath lit by the moon and stars, or take a boat across glassy waters, back to Mandraki. Islands can feel like self-contained worlds. I knew that small ferries regularly left from the main port to other corners of Hydra, but in the summer heat they seemed like impossibly far-flung provinces. Then, on my last day, I was persuaded to take an expedition with one of the artists I had met at Wilhelmina's, Lindsey Calla, who was raised in New Jersey and visited Hydra regularly before moving there full-time in 2023. I had admired two of her images at the gallery, which looked like abstract paintings but were actually photographs of Hydra's wild coast. Calla offered to show me where they were taken. An exhibition of work by Ugo Li at Hydrogoios Art & Culture. Thomas Gravanis We boarded a vessel hardly bigger than a fishing boat that took us 15 minutes west to the village of Vlichos, then followed a coastal trail and scrambled down a cliffside to a pebbly cove. I suddenly recognized the colors of earth and sea and the foam of the waves from her artworks. 'This is the essence of Hydra,' Calla told me. 'The ancient, blood-red cliffs; the wine-dark sea of Homer; the foam of the crashing surf.' Afterward, we clambered back up the cliff to Tassia's Tavern, at the Four Seasons Hydra—which, in charming Greek fashion, is a small beachfront inn entirely unrelated to the international luxury chain—and had a lunch of grilled sardines, feta salad, and ice-cold retsina, white wine with a hint of pine flavor. I like to think that the island hedonists of the past, Henry Miller and Charmian Clift—not to mention the venerated bard of Hydra, Leonard Cohen—would have approved. A version of this story first appeared in the June 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "Muse of the Mediterranean."
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Why you should swap Santorini and Mykonos for this peaceful Greek island instead
Stepping off the catamaran onto Hydra's ancient harbour feels like entering a living painting – an island caught between myth and a Mediterranean daydream. Unlike the high-energy crowds of Santorini or Mykonos, Hydra is calm, considered and blissfully car-free. On this diminutive island just 75 minutes from Athens, donkeys transport visitors' luggage, fishermen sit quayside mending their nets, and the island soundtrack features the gentle sound of water lapping the shore and the rhythmic clopping of hooves. This Saronic Island jewel delivers the charm of the Cyclades, without the chaos and crowds. Even on my fourth visit, Hydra still waves her magic wand. I don't think I will ever tire of her hidden coves, whitewashed alleyways leading to bougainvillea-bright courtyards and the proud Neoclassical mansions standing testament to the island's naval history. Hydra's magic is both aesthetic and visceral. A preservation order bans motor vehicles – only an ambulance, fire truck and refuse lorry are permitted. No motorbikes either. All goods, from groceries, building materials and household supplies, are transported by donkeys and mules. The island is not just quaint; it's transformative. Hydra has the largest herd of working equines in the world, and the absence of engines lends a softness to life. Animals are relaxed, people are unhurried. Even the cats – Hydra is full of them – are mellow and happy to saunter over for a scratch rather than dash away. With no traffic noise to contend with, the peacefulness seeps into your soul. I found myself breathing deeper, moving more slowly and absorbing Hydra's rare, undisturbed energy. Artists have long been drawn to its shores, from Leonard Cohen, who lived here and whose song 'Bird on the Wire' was said to be inspired by the island, to Jeff Koons, whose 2022 exhibition transformed the Deste Foundation Project Space Slaughterhouse into a sunlit shrine to Apollo. This edgy, seasonal art venue is perched dramatically above the sea, crowned by a massive bronze and copper alloy sun. For a more traditional side of history, visit the Historical Archive Museum of Hydra near the port. Inside its handsome Neoclassical mansion, I enjoyed the naval paintings and intricate ship models, and pored over handwritten letters that tell the story of Hydra's vital role in the Greek War of Independence. While the port's charms are undeniable, Hydra invites you to explore further. You can saddle up and ride a horse through olive groves, past centuries-old chapels – there are over 300 to discover dotted across the island. You could also charter a boat to circle the island and discover secluded beaches only accessible by sea, or cross to nearby Dokos island to dive among ancient shipwrecks and underwater cliffs. For a taster of authentic island life, try traditional line fishing experiences aboard wooden caiques run by local fishermen whose families have worked these waters for generations. As travel fever once again grips popular Greek islands such as Santorini and Mykonos, Hydra offers a compelling alternative. No airport chaos, no hours-long ferry rides, no jostling for the perfect sunset snap. Ferries are expensive throughout Greece, and the 75-minute catamaran ride from Athens to Hydra is no exception, starting from €60 (£50) return. But then you are there, in a place that feels both preserved and alive, chic yet authentic. Whether you're swimming beneath ancient cliffs, sipping wine on a sand-speckled terrace, exploring bold art installations, or simply watching the sunset from the harbour, Hydra has a way of making you slow down, breathe deeper and stay longer. Yes, Mykonos has pulsing beach clubs and Santorini has its famous sunsets – but Hydra has soul. And that is the Greek island escape I'm chasing. How to do it Where to stay The five-star Mandraki Beach Resort (from €280 per night) is set on Hydra's only sandy beach. Tucked into Mandraki bay – a 10-minute water taxi ride from the harbour, transfers provided until 11pm – this former 19th-century shipbuilding yard has been reimagined into a unique escape with just 17 suites decked out with natural materials, original stone archways and soft linens. The real treat is Captain M, the resort's open-air restaurant, where dishes such as cauliflower couscous salad and seabream with creamed potatoes are seasonal and rooted in Greek tradition with playful modern twists. I enjoyed dinner with a chilled glass of assyrtiko as the sun set over the Peloponnese. Easyjet flies from London Gatwick to Athens from £90 return; catch the 75-minute catamaran from Athens to Hydra, from €60 (£50) return.
