798 District Blog

LONDON. Christie’s sale of International Modern and Contemporary Art held in Dubai on 27 April proved a success, leapfrogging three times over its low estimate to total over $15m (presale $4.8m-$6.6m). This was a sharply improved result compared to last year’s sale, which made just $4.8m.

The strongest bidding in this year’s sale was for 25 modern Egyptian artworks consigned by a respected Saudi collector, Dr Mohammed Farsi. This was expected to make $1.2m-$1.7m, but racked up $8.7m, with all the lots sold.

The collection was said by trade sources to have been offered to Qatar—whose Museum of Modern Arab Art is due to be inaugurated in a temporary space this December—but finally went to auction at Christie’s.

Prominent among Christie’s staffers taking telephone bids at the sale was Isabelle de la Bruyère, glamorous director for the Middle East, who was previously Dr Farsi’s daughter-in-law. She snaffled a number of lots including the evening’s prize, the Egyptian artist Mahmoud Said’s “Les Chadoufs”, 1934, which sold for a startling $2.4m, almost ten times its high estimate (est $150,000-$200,000). Trade sources said that it was destined for Qatar.

Read the full article

A mammoth new exhibition of 291 Chinese artists, Reshaping History, currently on display at three venues across Beijing, is hoping to cast a light on the growth and maturity of the entire nation, as the exhibition’s subtitle, “Chinart from 2000 to 2009,” indicates.

Often we look to art to illuminate something deeply personal, something lurking under the surface of artists’ imaginations that reflects their view of themselves, their surroundings and the world at large. Art too can serve as a proxy for far larger, more expansive arenas: a community, a people, a race.

Indeed, if there is one buzzword that encapsulates the Chinese experience over the past 10 years, it is “growth,” a concept toward which the artistic luminaries of Reshaping History have no shortage of opinions.

“Like every aspect of the Chinese economy, Chinese art is developing immensely,” said exhibition founder Lü Peng. “So much talent has emerged over the past 10 years, so many contrasting styles and worldviews and I really wanted a venue where we could put them all next to each other and let the viewer take it all in.

Read the full article

HONG KONG.- The annual Hong Kong International Art and Antiques Fair will return to the prestigious Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 3-6 October 2010, with a new name: FINE ART ASIA 2010. The new title reflects its status as Asia’s premier annual art fair presenting a unique combination of Art and Antiques.

Last year the fair was attended by 16,500 visitors from all over the world, showcased 4,000 superb works of art exhibited by 60 leading Asian, European and American galleries, and recorded sales of over HK$ 230 million, an increase of 130% over 2008. This premier art event presented a wide range of collecting categories, from museum-quality ancient bronzes, outstanding Chinese ceramics and works of art, furniture, textiles and jades, to exceptional modern and contemporary art.

Andy Hei, Founder and Director of HKIAAF, said: “We are delighted to announce that this year our fair will have a new name: “FINE ART ASIA 2010”. The new name reflects its status as Asia’s premier art fair presenting a unique combination of Art and Antiques. We aspire to the same level of excellence as TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s leading fine art fair.

“The robust sales of our October 2009 fair already reflected signs of recovery in the Asian art market. This Spring, we have witnessed a further upsurge in the art market, boosted especially by the enthusiastic participation and strong buying power of collectors from Mainland China. Hong Kong is now universally recognized as the centre of the art market in Asia and the third most important art auction centre in the world after New York and London. I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to grow as the hub of art business in Asia and play a vital role in the global art scene.”

FINE ART ASIA 2010 has now established a firm foundation as a key annual event in the Asian art world. The high reputation which the fair has earned since its foundation in 2006, ensures that it coincides with Sotheby’s Autumn Auctions in the same venue. Early October is the peak art season in Hong Kong, attracting major international dealers and collectors from around the world.

The unique nature of FINE ART ASIA 2010, where the link between tradition and modernity can be seen and appreciated under one roof, continues to attract the enthusiastic participation of renowned international galleries. These include overseas antique specialists such as Rossi & Rossi (London, UK), Robert Hall (London, UK), Nicholas Grindley Works of Art (Suffolk, UK) and Marcus Flacks (New York, USA), as well as leading local antique dealers M & C Gallery (Hong Kong), Ever Arts Gallery (Hong Kong) and Martin Fung Ltd (Hong Kong). Participating art galleries include Michael Goedhuis (London, New York), Sundaram Tagore Gallery (New York, Beverly Hills, Hong Kong), Grotto Fine Art (Hong Kong), Galerie du Monde (Hong Kong), and art jewellery designer Wallace Chan (Hong Kong).

Read the full article

The reign of Alberto Giacometti’s emaciated Walking Man I as the world’s priciest trophy at auction is likely to be short-lived. The six-foot tall bronze, which fetched an outsized $104.3m in February at Sotheby’s, London, is expected to be overtaken by a painting of Picasso’s lusty, lilac-hued mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter, coming up for sale on 4 May at Christie’s, New York.

The 1932 Nude, Green Leaves and Bust bears the largest pre-sale auction estimate in history: an “on request only” $70m to $90m. But dealers say the painting may well hammer down for over $100m. It is from the same series as casino owner Steve Wynn’s celebrated Le Rêve, also 1932, which was sold to hedge fund manager Steve Cohen in 2006 for $139m, before Wynn accidentally plunged his elbow through the canvas and called off the deal. Christie’s painting has a third-party guarantor, so someone, somewhere, has locked in a bid for at least $70m.

If the Picasso performs as expected, it will be the second time in four months—amid a painful global recession—that the record for a work at auction is smashed. Until the Giacometti sale, the previous record, Sotheby’s sale of Picasso’s sensitive Boy with a Pipe, 1905, in 2004 for $104.1m, had lasted for six years, through a boom. Now, as the recession drags on, experts predict another record sale. How could this be?

Read the full article

The exchange of contemporary art between Belgium and China is a new achievement of the two countries’ cultural interaction. The exchange can help us not only examine the contemporary art of the two countries from a new perspective, but also pinpoint the cultural similarities and differences related to the two countries’ contemporary art. The exchange of contemporary art between Belgium and China is a new achievement of the two countries’ cultural interaction. The exchange can help us not only examine the contemporary art of the two countries from a new perspective, but also pinpoint the cultural similarities and differences related to the two countries’ contemporary art.

Read the full article

Dutch artist Peter Klashorst is preparing for a painting exhibition to be held in Cambodia’s notorious Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum next month. The opening of the exhibition will coincide with the museum’s reopening after renovations, with support from Unesco. He talks with ‘Outlook’ about his work and hope of pursuing his latest art scheme.

How and why did you get involved in this project?

I visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh and took pictures with my mobile phone. The whole atmosphere moved me. That same day I flew back to Bangkok with those faces still in my memory. That evening I painted their portraits. I was intrigued by this time in history and wanted to do an exhibition regarding this topic, so eventually I got in contact with Unesco, which is renovating part of the museum. They were very interested in the idea of art being part of the project. Joining Unesco to our team also makes it easier for us to look for external funding for the project.

Will you paint more in Phnom Penh?

Yes, I am now in Phnom Penh. At the moment, I am experimenting with different methods of painting, different canvases. … I have visited the killing fields a few times and the museum to take further pictures and sketches.

Read the full article

NEW YORK, NY.- Eli Klein Fine Art presents Zhao Bo’s second solo exhibition in New York, his first at the Gallery. Through his paintings, Zhao Bo records the monumental cultural and political shifts in China, shown from the perspective of Chinese people. China’s opening to the West in the late 1980s ushered in a new era and these paintings provide a snapshot into this unique period. He clashes Communist and contemporary icons together in the same scene, revealing that Chinese society is more interested in adapting to contemporary culture than adhering to staid traditionalism.

Mocking the social realist propaganda of Communist China, Zhao Bo replaces the ideal Chinese worker or citizen with an ostentatious cartoon. The bright colors and enthusiastic poses express the vitality and exuberance of this new Chinese generation. Rather than revering Chairman Mao and principles of Communism, these wide-eyed figures revel in the glow of billboards and luxury goods. Yet, their placement in front of important Communist markers, such as Mao’s tomb or signs proclaiming, “Long live the people,” is a constant reminder of the government’s presence.

Zhao Bo received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in Chongqing, China. His works have been exhibited in museums in China and the United States including the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Art Museum of Shanghai, the He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, and the Art Museum of Chongqing.

The exhibition will be on view at Eli Klein Fine Art through April 22, 2010

Read the full article

LONDON.- Tate and Unilever announced that the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will undertake the eleventh commission in The Unilever Series for the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern (12 October 2010 – 25 April 2011). He will be the first artist living and working in the Asia-Pacific region to be commissioned for the series.

Born in Beijing in 1957, Ai Weiwei is one of the most prominent and influential figures in Chinese art today. In his many roles as conceptual artist, curator, critic, designer and architect, his work encompasses a wide range of challenging and often provocative activity. Ai has played a key role in the development of contemporary Chinese art over the last two decades, from his role in the radical avant-garde ‘Stars Group’ in 1979, to his collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron in designing the national ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

After living in the United States from 1981 to 1993, Ai returned to his native Beijing and created the seminal work Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn 1995. This photo-triptych depicted the artist dropping an ancient ceramic vase, which smashed on the floor at his feet. This work not only began the artist’s continuing reuse of antique readymade objects, it also demonstrated his questioning attitude towards cultural values and social history. For Fairytale 2007 Ai invited 1001 Chinese citizens to ‘colonise’ Kassel in Germany for the Documenta 12 exhibition and distributed 1001 Qing and Ming Dynasty chairs in venues across the city. For Template 2007 he used more ancient readymades, in the form of 1001 wooden doors and windows from destroyed Chinese buildings. These were installed as a huge sculpture that collapsed in a storm soon after completion, creating a twisted, crumpled structure that the artist chose to preserve.

Read the full article

NEW YORK, NY.- Eli Klein Fine Art presents Zhang Gong’s first solo exhibition in the United States. Zhang Gong’s work parodies instantly recognizable Western art, demonstrating the effect of Western popular culture on contemporary Chinese society.

In his most recent works, Zhang Gong incorporates cartoon characters with scenes from modernist Western paintings and other popular images. These juxtapositions simultaneously satirize and question ideas about what constitutes high art and originality. His own unique creation, Miss Panda, interacts with the Western characters in chaotic scenes. Miss Panda often finds her way into famous Western paintings, reminding the viewer that Western art, once banned, has now been assimilated into the collective consciousness of modern Chinese society. Through his works, Zhang Gong brings historic and contemporary art into dialogue with one another.

Read the full article

NEW YORK, NY.- On March 23, the afternoon will be devoted to the classical works of Indian and Southeast Asian Art. Christie’s will offer an extensive selection
of nearly 200 lots of sculpture, paintings, ritual objects, and works of art from India, Tibet, Nepal and Southeast Asia from the notable collections.

Read the full article