This week, the New York Times profiled Derek Fordjour on the occasion of his new show “SELF MUST DIE” at Petzel Gallery. The story goes into Fordjour’s relatively late start as an artist — he came back to art after a tumultuous start in his 20s — and current rise to art-world darling.
At 46, Fordjour, surrounded by tremendous peers and mentors (Nari Ward and Mickalene Thomas were early supporters; Henry Taylor bought one of his first sculptures, and Hank Willis Thomas is a longtime friend), is rising into a market sensation. He had a big sale at Phillips last year -- “Agency and Regulation (study)” went for $137,500, twice its estimate, while at the Frieze art fair he sold a suite of 10 paintings to Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
In his new work -- which expands beyond painting and sculpture to performance, including a twice-daily puppet show at Petzel -- he shifts his focus slightly from portraiture to ornate works that reference Black funeral traditions, with paintings like “Pall Bearers” referencing the gilded casket in which George Floyd was buried earlier this year. It’s a fascinating portrait of an artist on the verge of prominence, making work that both reflects and influences the world around him.
Johnny Moore wasn't a great basketball player. Moore was one of those players who shows up, helps your team in some mild, under-the-radar ways, and disappears with a few paychecks and an entirely anonymous legacy. No statues, no retired numbers, no Hall of Fame speeches, but plenty to be proud of.
So why on earth is Johnny Moore's rookie card from the 1986-87 Fleer set worth $10,000, making it the second-most-valuable card in that entire set? Sports cards tend to follow conventional wisdom; the more famous you are, or the better player you are, the pricier your paperboard is going to be. Moore checks neither of those boxes, and yet you can purchase a Trae Young rookie card right now for less than half the cost of one of his. What gives?
This week, in honor of our upcoming ‘86 Fleer drop, Luke Winkie goes in on the legend of Johnny Moore.
Read: The '86-87 Fleer Basketball Set and the Legend of Johnny Moore
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