Not sure how many of you have been paying attention to the recent plight of LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art, but it seems like it is getting resolved.

MoCA recently called out for help as they were on the verge of having to shut its doors. A pair of parties stepped up as saviors (or potential takeovers)…Philanthropist Eli Broad offered a bailout package of nearly $30 Million, while the LACMA also offered an apparent hand.

Seems people were not taking kindly to LACMA’s offer of support as it appeared to be more of a hostile takeover, with LACMA gaining control over MoCA’s extensive collection.

In the end it looks like Eli Broad has won out, but changes are a comin’…

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Miss Bugs, one of our favorite (and most mysterious) artist tandems are bringing us a great little surprise for the holidays. While we are most likely ruining our chances of winning, we just had to let everyone know about their lottery for a set of aluminum  “The Heart Fell From The Art” screenprints.

What we won’t tell you is how to enter - you are going to have to go to MissBugs‘ website and figure it out for yourselves. The contest ends January 2nd, so you had better hurry.

DD loves the tongue-in-cheek combination’s of contemporary artists and cartoons that pervades MB’s work. We really wish we were in London to get a better look at first hand pastes. Someone send us some pics. Keep reading for more or take a look in our members forum to discuss.

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Here is another lil’ ol’ commercial for the fabulous Cerasoli:LeBasse Gallery in Culver City from the video nerds at Analog Color.

It’s a pretty incredible show with all 12X12 painting and will be full of great art considering the line up including Blaine Fontana, Yoskay Yamamoto, Eric Fortune, Hellovon, Jennifer Davis, Scott Belcastro, Justin Gibbens, Meggs, Melissa Haslam, Tessar Lo, Tofer Chin, Jack Long, Edwin Ushiro and even more.

If you are still shopping for a Christmas present that you want to really be powerful, the gift of art is always the best! And these are all priced very moderate.

Hope you enjoy the video!!!

Art Basel Miami coverage has dominated the DD last week, but do not miss some extra insight into the lives of some of our artist guest bloggers like Amanda Visell, Joe Ledbetter, and Tessar Lo. All three have given us some recent news and highlights. Stay tuned as we are about to unveil a few new artist and gallery guest bloggers.

Art Basel kicked off this evening here in Miami, and we started it off with an epic event at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin - home of Kaws, Mr. and Murakami…

A literal “who’s who” party in Miami, there was a high school marching band, food, beer and wine, fur coats and some of the most famous contemporary artists in the world. Not just a gallery opening, but a true kickoff event. Takashi Murakami appeared in costume and was mobbed until his manager pulled him from the fray. Perrotin artist Kaws was in attendance alongside Pharell Williams and Chad Hugo of Neptunes/N.E.R.D. fame.

Click through for more images and details…do it.

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Arrived this morning via the red-eye into Miami. We spent the day unloading and hanging our show at Aqua Art Fair, and am going to take a quick snooze before heading to a few preview shows. Great lineup tonight with Aqua Wynwood, Pulse, Red Dot and the A-Ron the Don’s O.H.W.O.W exhibit and opening party.

Tomorrow night we get the actual Basel opening and some live music on the beach. Last year it was Iggy Pop. This year? not sure yet…

Stay tuned, ill have some updates later tonight AND hopefully a preview of our own show.

Apparently Mr. Takashi Murakami had so much fun (our words not his) with his show at MoCA this summer that he has decided that Hollywood is the place to expand his film making capabilities. Operating under the umbrella of Kaikai Kiki, his production and artist-management company, Murakami has already leased a 9000sq/ft building on Highland. The new unit will be an animation studio with projects already in the works…

“Animation and film have always been among my greatest influences, ever since I first saw ‘Star Wars’ and Hayao Miyazaki’s films,” Murakami said in a statement. “This studio represents a great step in the evolution of Kaikai Kiki and gives me a closer proximity to the community of artists with whom I hope to collaborate as I continue my explorations of animated and live-action film.”

For those that viewed his retrospective at MoCA, the first FULL length feature going into prodution will be based on the “Planting the Seeds” short film premiered there. Full story from the LA Times here:

Don’t forget to check out some of the recent posts from our team of guest contributors. New on the blogs:

› Debra Anderson gives us some great shots of Kehinde Wiley’s show at Deitch and an update on what’s new at Subliminal Projects here.

› Amanda Visell shows us some behind the scenes of her new toy releases - the Apocalypt-Ephunts.

› Gallerist Beau Basse gives us a preview of some new art work from their forthcoming show in Miami at Art Basel here.

Jeff Soto: Turning in Circles
December 2, 2008 - February 21, 2009
RECEPTIONS: Dec 13, 2008
Julia Morgan Society Reception 6 - 7pm
Public Reception 7 - 9pm

Nowadays, painting in southern California is all over the place, stylistically as well as geographically. But it has been adopted with particular verve by one still new, rapidly evolving genre. The manifold sources for this new genre, from graffiti to cartoons to psychedelia to car (and surf/skateboard) customizing and on and on, provide these self-styled, technically adept “lowbrow” or “newbrow” or “pop surrealist” painters with an immense variety of styles, subjects, attitudes, and rhetorics.

Riverside artist Jeff Soto has achieved an especially prominent place among the legions of “newbrow” painters. In his work of the past couple of years, Soto has reached a clarity of intent, as well as pitch of technique, that embodies a true vision – true, that is, to his grasp of reality, not just to the making of a richly faceted yet coherent image. Soto made his reputation on visually assured, pictorially ambitious paintings; now, he is challenging himself to produce visually challenging, even unstable imagery, imagery that reflects back at us something more than our need for entertaining stimulus.

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The gallery has been rapidly building crates and preparing our shiny inventory books for our first Art Fair at the invite only Aqua Art Fair. We are taking new work from our represented artists, including new pieces from Yoskay Yamamoto, Nate Frizzell, Melissa Haslam, Tessar Lo, Edwin Ushiro, Blaine Fontana, Alexandros Vasmoulakis and more…

AQUA Hotel   /   RM 106   /   December 4-7, 2008
1530 Collins Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33139.

If you plan on joining us in Miami and need VIP passes or invitations please email us at:

contact@cerasoli-lebasse.com.

We hope to see you in South Beach!