798 District Blog

london. A recent swathe of auction records has led, as in 2004, to speculation that the rich may once again be treating art as an investment vehicle. Major records include Giacometti’s L’Homme Qui Marche I, 1960, which sold for £65m at Sotheby’s London in February, Picasso’s Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur, 1932—the world’s most expensive work of art—sold in May, for $106.4m at Christie’s New York, and Rubens’ Portrait of a Commander, around 1612-14, sold for £9m at Christie’s London last July.

This was backed up by a report by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co published in June, which found that the number of global millionaires grew 17% last year, and, with financial markets in flux, art had emerged as the most popular category of “passion investment”. Trade sources agree. As New York old master dealer Richard Feigen, told The Art Newspaper earlier in the year: “The art world is inundated with money—there’s so much liquidity out there because people are afraid of currency. They’ve been told that art is a place to park cash.”

Art appeals because it is tangible, can be traded in any currency, and comes with kudos—collectors cannot hang stocks and shares on a wall to show their friends. Art may be particularly attractive now because of the uncertainties of the stock markets, big currency fluctuations and the looming spectre of inflation in some major countries, and deflation in others. Giovanna Segre, lecturer in the economics of culture at Turin University, observed in an article on this subject for our sister paper Il Giornale dell’Arte, the anti-cyclical nature of the art market could be coming into play. The art market “offered annual returns of more than 7% between 2001 and 2004, when the stock-market exchange index was in the doldrums”, she wrote.

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Launched in 2002 by Galleries Association of Korea, KIAF has grown into Asia’s leading art fair by offering a wide variety of subsidiary programs, going beyond its function as a trade venue for art. This year’s KIAF will see participation by 193 galleries from 16 countries, including Korea. It will be Asia’s largest art festival, showcasing around 5,000 high-quality works of art.

The participating galleries will feature a wide range of works, ranging from those created by rising artists who are active all across the globe to the works of world-renowned artists. They will thus attempt to promote the art market and expand the foundation of art.

The UK, a country that is performing leading roles in contemporary art, was chosen as the guest country for KIAF2010.
Galleries from the UK and the planned academic program will enable visitors to understand the present of British art and identify its future direction of development. In addition, KIAF seeks to considerably strengthen measures to support promising new artists through its Artist Support Program, which is offered for the development of the art industry and the future of the art market, in addition to performing basic functions as an art fair. It thus seeks to propose new trends in art.

The wide variety of programs KIAF provides, such as the Docent Program and KIDS in KIAF, will allow the audience to take a step closer to modern art. Above all, a special media art exhibition will be held to give more diversity to the event, whose exhibited works will mainly be paintings. The exhibition will further expand the roles of the art fair by showcasing the works of PAIK Nam Jun as well as Korean media artists who are distinguishing themselves in the field of media art by effectively leveraging Korea’s image as an IT power.

This year will mark KIAF’s advancement from Asia’s leading art fair to a global art fair as an arena for learning and an art festival. In 2008, KIAF witnessed participation by 218 galleries from 20 countries and an audience of more than 60,000, thus fully establishing itself as Asia’s largest art fair. In 2009, the number of visitors reached around 56,000 despite the economic downturn. In stark contrast to overseas art fairs that had a poor record, KIAF saw its artwork sales stand at KRW 13.6 billion, and thus received favorable reviews as Asia’s leading art fair. Against the backdrop of the steady recovery of the global economy, there are unprecedentedly high expectations towards KIAF2010. To satisfy such expectations, KIAF will provide an opportunity to take a detailed look at the present art market and to consider the desirable future direction of the art industry. It will also offer a variety of connected programs to demonstrate the great potentials of the Korean art market as a leading art event in Korea. KIAF is going further by strengthening PR and VIP programs through cooperation with other art fairs.

It is cooperating with Art Taipei and other art fairs to engage in joint PR activities and to invite VIPs of other art fairs. KIAF2010 will faithfully perform its roles as a ‘sample market’ that shows the art market of today and predicts the market of tomorrow, and Also serve as Asia’s leading multifunctional cultural event that focuses on art.

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A slew of new businesses are popping up offering goats for rent. Yep you can rent a few goats or an entire herd now to come round and mow your lawn, provide high quality fertilizer and generally brighten up your day.

Goats are ferocious eaters and could clear a lawn pretty fast and be happy doing so. I personally love the idea and so do some pretty big name players such as the US National Parks Service, Google and Yahoo.

There is also talk of using goats to clear areas of brush susceptible to forest fires. So many uses!

Most people seem to reporting that the costs are similar to paying a business for mowing or less but much less dangerous and less hard work.

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NEW YORK.- Christie’s will collaborate with the Center of International Cultural Exchange (CICE), a direct subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, to present Trans-Realism, a comprehensive exhibition featuring works from prominent Chinese contemporary artists. The collection will be on view at Christie’s Rockefeller Center from September 9th through September 26th, 2010. Spear-heading this exhibition are the Artistic Directors LU Jun, Director of CICE, and FAN Di-an, Director of the National Art Museum of China. It was curated by PAN Qing, a curator at the National Museum of China, in association with coordinators Michelle Loh and Jay Lu. 29 works of painting and photography by 17 Chinese artists will be included in the exhibition. Trans-Realism is part of Christie’s on-going support for initiatives that promote inter-cultural exchange and exemplifies Christie’s commitment to help bring Chinese art to a global audience.

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HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s Hong Kong will hold its Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings Autumn Sale 2010 on 4 October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, offering over 150 exceptional works with a total estimate in excess of HK$30 million / US$3.9 million.

MOK Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s Head of Southeast Asian Paintings said, “The success of our Spring Sale is a testament to the growing global interest in rare and quality Southeast Asian paintings. This season, Sotheby’s will continue to present a careful selection of works by established modern masters, highlighted by S. Sudjojono’s A New Dawn. The Contemporary section will feature record-breaking artists led by I Nyoman Masriadi, as well as a group of exhilarating works of young, up-and-coming artists who have demonstrated outstanding creativity and potential in their creations. There will also be innovative 3-D installation works that, along with the other bold selections in this Autumn Sale season, are sure to stimulate the collecting interests of new and established art collectors alike, and to present another opportunity for them to acquire interesting works.”

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LONDON.- Sotheby’s autumn sale of Modern and Contemporary Prints will take place on Thursday, 16 September, 2010 and will offer collectors a broad selection of works spanning the twentieth century. Prior to the auction, the sale will be on public exhibition at Sotheby’s New Bond Street galleries beginning 12 September. The 176 lots are expected to realise in the region of £5.3 million.

Taking centre stage is the group of prints by Pablo Picasso from a Private European Collection, comprising 58 lots (23-81) and estimated to realise in excess of £2.5 million. Three of Picasso’s greatest prints will spearhead this section and these are Le repas frugal (lot 23; est. £120,000-180,000), La Minotauromachie (lot 27, est. £400,000-600,000) and La femme qui pleure (lot 28, est. £500,000-700,000). Each of these works is singularly important in the development of Picasso’s graphic oeuvre, reflecting key themes and demonstrating a mastery of technique that is unsurpassed. Throughout his life, Picasso restlessly explored the medium of the print, employing many techniques, including lithography, linocut, etching and drypoint. The rarity of these prints in a single sale alongside further examples of virtually every technique and style of Picasso’s printmaking represents an unparalled event in the international auction market.

From the same Private European Collection comes a superb lithograph by Henri Matisse, dating to 1925 and entitled Grand Odalisque à la culotte bayadère (lot 13). Estimated at £150,000-200,000, it is the most important and monumental lithograph in which the artist depicts his favourite model Henriette Darricarrère. Matisse had chosen lithography in the 1920s to produce a series of sensual odalisques in exotic settings and the present work shows Henriette seated with one leg raised and tucked under, a pose which fascinated the artist. The play of light and shade and the contrast between the rich textures – the bold stripes of the culotte, the floral pattern of the drapery that covers the chair and the model’s silken skin – all combine to dramatic effect, offset by Henriette’s calm and authorative gaze.

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