Dear Readers, The Art Ruby is taking on the “Thirst for Hirst” mission otherwise known as the Spot Challenge. Just to backtrack: (in case you were on the Uranus!) a little known British fella named Damien Hirst is currently showing his spot paintings at all eleven Gagosian locations worldwide. Our task will be to travel to all 11 galleries, 7 different nations, and 3 continents to get the splendid 11 stamps on our registration cards. This journey will encompass 30, 000 something miles, immeasurable amount of jet leg, and tons of fun pit stops and cameos along the way. Why are we taking this trip? Because we love Amazing Race. And Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And oh yeah, Mr. Hirst is one of the most significant artists of our (or any) generation. But most importantly, we’d love to share our crazy journey with you. Follow us here. Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Tumblr. We’ll be updating you from airport lounges everywhere! It also helps Mr. Hirst blessed us on the start line. And he arrived to New York with an extra large can of Red Bull. We’ll see you in London at the finish line, Damien! Very Best! Valentine Uhovski Art Ruby Editor

When we arrived to the Madison Avenue Gagosian fort at 6 PM on Thursday night, a group of randomly, determined shoppers ran into the wonderful temporary shop and started scooping up merchandise as if it was Black Friday at Best Buy. In the group of five girls, one screamed out “The race it ON!” while breathlessly holding on to six spot t-shirts. Ok, it’s ON! We stamped our card in three galleries on Thursday night and noticed few great things in the process. Here are our first stamp hometown memories: Yes, Damien Hirst made a super surprise cameo on 21st where we discussed our itinerary with him. The funniest moment however, came when two top buyers asked him to pose for a picture in front of their favorite piece. A clueless guard immediately tried to interject, standing up to the gallery’s policy. “It’s ok, he’s good. Trust me.” smiled a Gagosian worker. As of 7:40 PM, 304 brave souls registered for the challenge. But how many will endure? [caption id="attachment_13717" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="Us with Guido Callarelli and Richard Phillips (Photo - Andrew Toth / PatrickMcMullan.com)"][/caption] Richard Phillips and Josephine Meckseper came along to view the show on 24th street. Our buddy Richard was scouting the space as much as he was admiring the spots. He has a huge show coming up in the very same gallery this fall, though working without 160 assistants; he’ll focus on nothing but canvases for the next half a year. And we can't wait to see them. [caption id="attachment_13714" align="alignnone" width="550" caption="George Condo and Benjamin Provo"][/caption] George Condo also made a cameo on 24th Street. So did Fab 5 Freddy. Yes, really! At Madison it wasn’t so much about the opening craziness. It was about Russian speaking, Vertu holding art dealers who woke up half of billionaire Moscow and shopped while we all hunted for tees and $1 pins. It is a business after all.

Everything is sunnier and more surreal in Beverly Hills. Skies are clear, everyone is driving a Benz, and there’s a lot of action around North Camden Drive. And it’s not only because of Damien. Golden Globes are happening this weekend, and that translates to a lot of boozing, a lot of schmoozing, and a lot of sample trafficking. Our fourth stamp was achieved at the Beverly Hills Gagosian outpost and all this affirmative award show energy seems to be translating into sales. During our visit, at least three visitors went straight for the price lists. Even though some paintings seemed repetitive after New York’s astounding selection, there was plenty to shop for. How about a 252 x 252 inch Pivalic Acid from 2005 (pictured)? Or the early gem: the 1992’s Adrenalin? People in LA like dramatic titles. Speaking of dramatic, in honor of our finish line destination (that would be Hirst’s kingdom of London), we decided to attend the BAFTA’s annual award season tea party at Four Seasons. Basically what happens is a lot of fancy English food gets served (see below) while potential Oscar nominees shake a lot of strangers’ hands to get an extra vote or two here and there. Charlize Theron shaked so many British hands that she told us that she lost her voice. Even Meryl Streep was shaking hands and eating scones. So was Leonardo DiCaprio. Viola Davis came with a giant gold bag and then joined Octavia Spencer upstairs at Four Seasons to take home more ballet flats than you can imagine in the InStyle lounge. We didn’t catch Steve McQueen at the party, but all the kids from Modern Family were eating those cucumber sandwiches and shaking paws too (they don’t need Academy, do they?). Our favorite moment came when in the last moments of the party, Glenn Close pulled in front of Four Seasons in her own humble red sedan. She had no make-up and she sure wasn’t dressed for Beverly Hills. But she sure needed to shake some English hands.