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Jan 2012 Art Market Blog Press Update – artmarketblog.com

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:58:48 +0000

Jan 2012 Art Market Blog Press Update – artmarketblog.com

Just a few recently published articles that I wrote. Hope you enjoy !!

In Recognition of an LA-Centric Art Market Trend

http://www.fabrikmagazine.com/content/in-recognition-of-an-la-centric-art-market-trend/

Latest London Contemporary Art Auction Roundup

http://www.arterynyc.com/2011/12/october-2011-london-contemporary-art-auction-roundup/

Pearls prove a collectors best friend

http://www.worthpoint.co.uk/2012/01/pearls-prove-a-collectors-best-friend/

image: Painting by Frederick Hammersley

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Why Indonesian Artists are Hot Property – artmarketblog.com

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:02:51 +0000

Why Indonesian Artists are Hot Property – artmarketblog.com

My previous post revealed some recent auction results that suggest that the market for the work of some of Indonesia’s top artists is gaining strength. One of the factors that has contributed to the strength and resilence of the market for Indonesian art is the existence of a cross cultural dialogue between east and west that is due to the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia that ended in 1942. This dialogue is not limited to the influence of Eestern art on Indonesian artists; many Western born artists such as Walter Spies, Theo Meier, Le Mayeur de Merprès and Hofker spent time in Indonesia and produced work that was heavily influenced by Indonesian society and culture. An indication of the close connection between the Netherlands and Indonesia is the partnership between Larasati, an Indonesian auction house, and Glerum, an Amsterdam based auction house. In 1990 Glerum became the first Dutch auction house to organize specialist auctions of Dutch colonial and modern Indonesian art. Their first joint sale with Larasati in 2000 resulted in a new world record W.G. Hofker when the artist’s ‘Ni Noneh’, offered by a collector in the Netherlands, sold for € 386,000. Also achieving a high price was a work by Hendra Gunawan titled ‘Fruit Seller’ which soared past the Rp 180 – 240 million estimate for a final price of Rp 550 million.

Although the frequency of high prices has not reached 2008 levels, the prices being achieved for the work of many Indonesian artists have, importantly, not gone down – and in some cases, have continued to increase. 2011 proved one of the best years for Indonesian art since 2008 with many new auction records set. An example of the demand for works by Indonesian artists was Christie’s November 27 Asian 20th Century Art (Day Sale) in Hong Kong which saw some excellent prices achieved for works by Indonesian artists. The seventh highest price of the sale went to S. Sudjojono’s ‘Ngaso’ which blitzed the 800,000 – 1,200,000 HKD (102,612 – 153,919 USD) estimate for a final price of 3,860,000 HKD (495,106 USD). Hendra Gunawan’s ‘Bathing by the river’ achieved the tenth highest price of the sale with a final price of 3,620,000 HKD (464,322 USD) against an estimate of 700,000 – 1,000,000 HKD (89,786 – 128,265 USD).

Christie’s November 26 Asian 20th Century Art (Evening Sale) in Hong Kong again produced some stellar results for Indonesian art. Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprés’ ‘Three dancers in the garden ‘ produced the fifth highest auction price for the artist selling for 7,940,000 HKD (1,018,431 USD) against an estimate of 2,700,000 – 3,700,000 HKD (346,318 – 474,584 USD). ’Barong dance’ by Indonesian born artist Affandi achieved 4,220,000 HKD (541,282 USD) against an estimate of 1,800,000 – 2,500,000 HKD (230,878 – 320,664 USD) – the second highest price for the artist at auction.

Although the market for Indonesian art centres around the work of more established artists, there is still considerable interest in younger contemporary Indonesian artists. A retrospective exhibition of the work of contemporary Indonesian artist Heri Donow was held at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam in 2009 and represented an important recognition of the global relevance of contemporary Indonesian art. According to the Tropenmuseum: “Dono can truly be called a glocal artist: a term which contracts the words local and global. The story of his images is about the changing face of Indonesian society that is not separate from developments in the rest of the world. This story is meant for a broad audience; though it is coded (criticizing politicians has long been a dangerous activity), it recognizable and accessible. Glocal art shows how local sources can still nourish artists in a time of globalization to say something about the world around them. Dono dislikes the distinction between high art and low art. He never literally copies traditional art; he plays with the image material in a personal style influenced by various European artists such as Matisse and Picasso, and artistic trends such as Cobra, nouveau réalisme and fluxus.”

Overall, the high auction prices being achieved for Indonesian artists combined with the significant number of works by Indonesian artists that frequently exceed the auction estimate suggests that works by such artists are currently undervalued. As Asian buyers continue to become more wealthy and more interested in collecting art, and Western buyers continue to search for undervalued and untapped sources of “new” art, the work of Indonesian artists is likely to only become more popular.

image:

‘Ngaso’ by S. SUDJOJONO
(Indonesian, 1914-1986)

Ngaso

Description S. SUDJOJONO

(Indonesian, 1914-1986)

Ngaso

signed ‘S. Sudjojono’ (lower right); signed with artist’s monogram, titled and dated ‘Ngaso 1964′ (lower centre)

oil on canvas

140 x 100 cm. (55 1/8 x 9 3/8 in.)

Painted in 1964

Medium oil on canvas

Year of Work 1964

The Overlooked Italian Post-War Artist Domenico Gnoli – artmarketblog.com

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:25:22 +0000

The Overlooked Italian Post-War Artist Domenico Gnoli – artmarketblog.com

See part one here:

http://www.artmarketblog.com/2011/11/01/rising-stars-of-italian-post-war-art-market-pt-1-artmarketblog-com/

When it comes to overlooked artistic talent, Italian born realist painter Dominico Gnoli (1933-1970) would have to be one of the most compelling. Born to an art historian father and artist mother, Gnoli never undertook formal training as a visual artist instead choosing to learn the art of drawing and printmaking from the Italian artist Carlo Alberto Petrucci. Best known for his known for his portrayal of details of dress and domestic objects, Gnoli’s work ranges from Escher like surrealist illustrations to richly detailed paintings of hair and clothing. An artforum article from 2001 suggests that one of the reasons that Gnoli’s work not have received the attention it deserves is that he spent much of his life away from his native Italy and has therefore been almost ignored by Italian museums which rarely revisit the output of this seminal postwar artist

Very little information is available on Gnoli, but that is likely to change very soon given the rapidly increasing desirability of Gnoli’s work. According to a book written in 1975 by Luigi Carluccio dedicated to the final period of Gnoli’s work that extends from 1954 to 1969:

“Gnoli’s work is rich and lucid in a super-realistic style with subtle colors that somehow radiate light. His elegant, almost enameled , perfection often has the luster we notice in Vermeer. Gnoli has created an intimate world that focuses on single details with an absorbed, uncanny attention that reveals a household in a rumpled bedspread, the story of a man’s life in the parting of his hair, the social values of an entire decade in a lady’s brassi re. Here are passive people and objects that quiver with life, boats that turn into towers and towers that seem to be siling: here are the humble and banal mass-products of daily life painted in the most accurate and realistic manner that somehow transforms them into a source of wodner, beauty and pleasure.”

A new world auction record was set for Gnoli by Christie’s on the 14th of October when the sold for Busto femminile di dorso (Female Bust from the Back) for £2,337,250 against an estimate of £500,000 – £800,000. The previous auction record for a work by Gnoli was also set by Christie’s who sold the artist’s Branche de Cactus for £1,049,250 against an estimate of £280,000 – £350,000 during their 28 June 2011 Post-War and Contemporary Evening auction. The third highest price at auction for a work by Gnoli was also set by Christie’s on the 14th of October 2011 with the artist’s Pelliccia (Fur) which achieved £881,250 against an estimate of £250,000 – £350,000. This work was previously offered by Sotheby’s in 2005 for £160,000 against an estimate of £180,000 – £250,000.

Given that so few of Gnoli’s works appear at auction, it may take a while for his reputation as an artist to receive the recognition it deserves. Nevertheless, the signs are positive that the work of Dominico Gnoli, an artist whose life was cut short by cancer at the age of 37, is on its way to becoming as popular as that of other famous post-war Italian artists.

image:

Domenico Gnoli (1933-1970)
Busto femminile di dorso (Female Bust from the Back)
signed, titled and dated ‘D. Gnoli “Busto femminile di dorso” 1965′ (on the reverse)
acrylic and sand on canvas
39 3/8 x 47¼in. (100 x 120cm.)
Painted in 1965

Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:10:59 +0000

Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

My last two posts, parts one and two of ‘Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury’, provided an insight into the way auction house Phillips de Pury approach the contemporary art market niche that they have chosen to pursue. With this post, the last of this series, I am going to focus on what I believe will be the reason that Phillips de Pury will see continued success into the future.

As the market for contemporary art continues to be buoyed by the introduction of new sub-markets that are defined primarily by geography and culture, dealers and auction houses operating within the contemporary art market are discovering new ways of profiting from the market for contemporary art. What makes the ever increasing range of possible sources of profit within the contemporary art market so significant for a business like Phillips de Pury is that the demise of one source of profit can easily and quickly be replaced with another source of profit. With so many sub-markets of the contemporary art market operating at the one time it is likely that there will always be a profitable sub-market within which an auction house like Phillips de Pury can operate. Take, for example, the first ever BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) auctions held by Phillips in 2010 and repeated in 2011. Although each of these sub-markets is profitable in its own right, by combining all four into one sale Phillips have found a safer and more profitable way of approaching each of these sub-markets.

Although the BRIC auctions held by Phillips de Pury are so enticing because they combine the strengths of four major art market forces, Phillips have also found that they can shift the focus onto one particular sub-market should the others not do as well as planned. Speaking about the 2011 BRIC sale, Henry Allsopp, the Worldwide Director of Curated Sales and Exhibitions for Phillips, said: “With this auction we aim to show the new strength and depth of the Contemporary Art Market in Brazil, and the continuing upward trends of the Chinese, Indian and Russian markets.” Allsopp’s comment cleverly focuses on the Brazilian art market which was likely to be the most successful sub-market of the auction. Sure enough, Phillips de Pury & Co. found buyers for eight out of the 10 Brazilian works offered in the evening session of their 2011 BRIC sale. Although they only sold 53% by lot, Phillips were able to cleverly direct attention away from the poor overall results and towards the success of individual sub-markets. Allsopp’s post-sale comment was “China and Brazil continue to demonstrate strength with solid prices and world records and will continue to be markets where Phillips de Pury & Company consolidates its presence.”

Curated auctions are another way that Phillips are trying to expand the number of different avenues of profitability. Having pioneered the concept of “curated” auctions, Phillips de Pury are once again seeking to profit from the concept with ‘The World of Muriel Brandolini’, an interiors auction celebrating the life and work of decorator Muriel Brandolini which will take place in New York on the 21st of October 2011. The Brandolini auction will allow Phillips to once again profit from the profile of a highly regarded cultural icon and create a whole lot of hype surrounding the auction with the introduction of a number of associated events. According to Phillips: “A blaze of color on the fall calendar, Brandolini’s sale will include works from her wide-ranging collection of decorative arts, contemporary design and fine art, as well as examples of her own signature line of furniture”.

Exposing the Chinese Art Market With 6 Questions Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:01:15 +0000

Exposing the Chinese Art Market With 6 Questions Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

see part 1 here:

http://www.artmarketblog.com/2011/07/01/exposing-the-chinese-art-market-with-6-questions-pt-1-artmarketblog-com/

3. What specific indicators would suggest a price bubble for Chinese art, and is this “bubble” a general feature across all art sectors in China, or specific to contemporary art since the 1990s, for example?

The characteristics of an art price bubble are an unjustifiable sudden and rapid increase in the prices being paid for works of art combined with an increase in the number of works of art being sold on either a market-wide scale or within a particular sector of the art market. Given The rapid rate at which the unprecedented yet unjustifiable rise in prices for Chinese art is progressing, combined with the large increase in the sheer volume of works of art by Chinese artists being sold at auction, I think that there can be no doubt that this is what is currently happening and that all indications point to a price bubble for Chinese art.

Without doubt the price bubble for Chinese art extends across all categories of Chinese art from 14^th century Chinese scroll paintings to works by emerging Chinese contemporary artists. The bubble is, however, most evident in the contemporary and modern sectors.

4. There’s evidence to show that gallerists and artists in China pay for positive critical reviews. But Chinese contemporary artists generally lack the level of critical attention given by critics, historians and galleries in comparison to Western artists. Is the lack of criticality a major contributor to the volatility of the contemporary market? What other factors are there?

The lack of critical review is one of the main problems that the Chinese contemporary art market is facing. Without adequate critical review, buyers do not have the information that they need to make justifiable and discerning decisions when buying works of art. Another factor that causes contemporary art price volatility is the rate at which the careers of young emerging artists are progressing. Once finishing art school, young artists usually go through a process of development and progression that includes several crucial steps. One of those crucial steps is exposure to critical review; another step is establishing a primary market through private gallery representation.

Without the private gallery step in the process of natural progression, young artists end up being thrust into the limelight ill-prepared and without having been through that crucial process of critical review that the private gallery system is a major part of. It is that private gallery system that would usually separate the true stars from the posers and direct the marketplace towards the true stars. Artists whose work is taken directly from the art school to the auction house are essentially being thrust into a position of authority and responsibility without the proper credentials.

The long term value of an artist’s work depends on the level of support and patronage that they receive from the cultural and private gallery sectors. It is pretty much inevitable that the super-heated Chinese art market will begin to cool at some point in the near future which means that buyers will have to begin to justify their purchases and the amount of money they are spending on fine art. If an artist has not been through the traditional route of progression, and does not have the support of a strong private gallery sector, it is unlikely that they would be able to survive the justification process.

An influx of wealthy yet impressionable and uneducated buyers, combined with an art market littered with strategically placed artworks by unseasoned young contemporary artists whose work is seen as being “trendy”, is a recipe for disaster.

to be continued…………….

An Art Market Bubble Chinese Style Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 00:11:00 +0000

An Art Market Bubble Chinese Style Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

It seems that most people associate an art market boom with a sudden and rapid increase in the prices being paid for works of art combined with an increase in the number of works of art being sold on either a market-wide scale or within a particular sector of the art market. Applying this definition to the current progression of the Chinese art market leaves no doubt that we are in the midst of a Chinese art market boom. This is all well and good, but what happens when the boom ends?

Only four years ago in 2007 the art market experienced a period of Chinese domination, similar to that which we are experiencing now, that ended abruptly at the beginning of 2009 thanks to the global financial crisis. As a result of the bust a number of Chinese galleries were forced to close and a large number of contemporary Chinese artists were dropped by galleries then were left to fade into obscurity. Because galleries and dealers failed to properly nurture and cultivate the careers of the young Chinese contemporary artists who were swept up in the boom, these artists did not have the experience or level of career development that they would have needed to survive the bust.

After the demise of the Chinese art market boom in 2009, galleries and dealers admitted that they had made mistakes and said that they would act more cautiously in the future and properly nurture artist’s careers. The question is, has this occurred? As far as I am concerned there is more than enough evidence to suggest that the same problems are recurring this time around. Ill prepared young contemporary artists are still being flung into the limelight in a market that has an underdeveloped gallery and dealer network which cannot support the long term careers of all the artists involved in this boom.

An art market boom is almost always treated as a positive event regardless of whether or not the boom will end positively for the market and for the artists involved. As an art market analyst my primary concern is what the outcome of the boom will be – because all booms have to end at some stage. There are generally two ways that a boom can end. The first is what we know as a bust – or in other words a sudden and rapid decrease in the prices being paid for works of art and the number of works being sold. The second option is the most favourable and involves a stagnation of prices and the number of works being sold as opposed to a massive drop in prices and the number of works being sold.

In order for prices to merely stagnate at the end of art market boom there would have to be significant evidence that the prices being paid during the boom were in some way justifiable. This is not such a problem for works by historic and modern masters that will always be in high demand, and for which higher prices are more easily justified. History has shown that the historic and modern masters are relatively resilient even after a drop in prices as a result of a major negative art market event. To justify paying higher prices for works by contemporary artists whose work increased in price during the boom is much more difficult and would require some sort of career progression involving the sort of curatorial and critical recognition that adds true value to an artist’s career. Young emerging contemporary artists who do not have the experience and reputation to justify the prices that have been paid for their works during a boom are often just completely forgotten once prices for their works plummet. Without the reputation and desirability that they would have needed to survive the negative fallout from the massive drop in prices that their work experienced, many young emerging contemporary artists end up fading into obscurity once an art market boom ends.

In my opinion the most damning evidence of a bleek future for the Chinese art market is the direction that China’s property market is heading. What China is doing is boosting their economy by building massive cities in anticipation of the massive rise in the number of Chinese people who can afford to purchase their own home that the Chinese government thinks will take place. The problem is that many of these cities remain empty long after construction was completed and offer no signs of filling up with people. Commenting on China’s property market, a recent article by Bloomberg stated that: “China’s property market may be heading into a bubble as the economy’s reliance on real estate reaches a level close to the housing peaks in the U.S. and Japan, according to Citigroup Inc.”. This statistic from Bloomberg is particularly relevant because it compares China’s property market boom to the Japanese property market peak – the collapse of which caused the art market collapse of the early 90′s. With so much money being invested in property and being made from China’s property boom it is highly likely that a significant proportion of the money being spent by the Chinese on antiques and fine art comes from the property boom. It is therefore also highly likely that the ability to pay any debt that Chinese buyers are racking up to pay for their trinkets is reliant on the continued positive progression of China’s property boom.

All the evidence that I have come across points to a negative end to China’s art market boom at some time in the near future. I do, however, also believe that China has the money, power and resources to continue the current rate of art market progression for a while yet. How long they can maintain the momentum remains to be seem.

See part 1 here:

http://www.artmarketblog.com/2011/05/03/an-art-market-bubble-chinese-style-pt-1-artmarketblog-com/

See part 2 here:

http://www.artmarketblog.com/2011/05/10/an-art-market-bubble-chinese-style-pt-2-%e2%80%93-artmarketblog-com/

Towards a False Art Market Globalisation pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:15:16 +0000

Towards a False Art Market Globalisation pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

Artprice.com has record of a total of 581 works by Hannah Hoch going to auction. Of those 581, about 97% were sold in Germany where works by Hoch appear at auction on a regular basis. What doesn’t appear in Germany are the sort of auction records that suggest frenzied and competitive bidding for works by Hoch. In fact, the auction records for works by Hoch sold in Germany are much more stable than those from outside Germany and are much more consistent with the sort of low estimates that were given to most of the estimate busting works mentioned above. Looking at the top fifteen prices paid for works by Hannach Hoch sold at auction also suggests a discrepancy with ten out of the ten fifteen prices occurring in either London or New York. Of the remaining five top fifteen prices, two were achieved in Switzerland and three in Germany. Even more compelling is the fact that out of the 581 works by Hoch sold at auction, only 34 fetched more than 10,000 euros, and only 68 fetched more than 5000 euros.

So what does all this mean? Well, to recap, very few works by Hannah Hoch appear at auction outside of Germany but works by Hoch do appear at auction in Germany quite regularly. Those that do appear at auction outside of Germany tend to end up at major auctions in either London or New York where the prices achieved tend to eclipse the given estimate as well as the prices paid for works that are sold in Germany. If the works sold in New York and London were of greater importance than those sold in Germany there would be a partial explanation for this trend, however, if the works being sold in New York and London were more important they would undoubtedly have been given higher estimates to begin with. Interestingly, though, the works that did achieve the really high prices were from the early years of Hoch’s career – around 1919-1925. This suggests that perhaps there is a different perception of Hoch’s early works in English speaking Western markets such as London and New York than in her native Germany where works from Hoch’s early years sell for relatively small sums of money. The discrepancies, inconsistencies and trends that I have mentioned above all suggest that the art market is not as globalised as we may think – especially when it comes to notions of value. Although information regarding the art market and access to fine art has become a much more global affair, our understanding and appreciation of the way fine art is valued is far from being globally uniform. My question to you is: How global do you really think the art market is, and what would the definition of a “global” art market be?

See part 1 here:

http://www.artmarketblog.com/2011/03/17/towards-a-false-art-market-globalisation-pt-1-artmarketblog-com/

image:

Hannah Hoch (1889-1979)
Mechanischer Garten
signed with initials and dated ‘H.H 1920′ (lower center)
gouache, watercolor and pen and India ink on paper
28¾ x 18½ in. (73 x 47 cm.)
Painted in 1920

The Top 2010 Art Market Trends – artmarketblog.com

admin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:46:06 +0000

Due to overwhelming demand I have posted the entire Top 2010 Art Market Trends series in one post. Hope you enjoy !!!

Top 2010 Art Market Trends Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

‘Venus of the Rags’ by Michelangelo Pistoletto

1. Arte Povera: The Arte Povera trend that took hold in 2010 has more to do with the concept of “Arte Povera” as opposed to the actual artists involved in the movement. The trend also extends to the work of other artists whose work embodied the concepts of Arte Povera such as Art Brut artists and naive artists. Without a doubt this has been the most dominant and most visible trend of 2010.

According to the Tate Modern website:

“The name (Arte Povera) means literally ‘poor art’ but the word poor here refers to the movement’s signature exploration of a wide range of materials beyond the quasi-precious traditional ones of oil paint on canvas, or bronze, or carved marble. Arte Povera therefore denotes not an impoverished art, but an art made without restraints, a laboratory situation in which any theoretical basis was rejected in favour of a complete openness towards materials and processes”

The glossy, blingy art that has dominated the market for years has given way to a desire for the more gritty and raw work of artists such as Lucio Fontana, Helio Oiticica, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alighiero Boetti, Piero Manzoni, Jean Dubuffet etc. The un-primed slashed canvases of Fontana, the graffiti style of Basquiat, the artist’s shit of Piero Manzoni and the unusually textured canvases of Dubuffet all represent artists who took a stand against the commercialism of the art market – a stand that collectors have taken up as they turn their back on the current commercialism of the art market.

Interestingly, the Tate Modern opened galleries dedicated to the Arte Povera movement in May 2009. According to a Tate press release “The central space of the new Energy and Process wing will be devoted to a selection of works made by artists in the 1960s and 1970s. The term Arte Povera was coined by the art critic Germano Celant to describe the activities of Italian artists who used the simplest means to create poetic statements based on everyday life. Seen as a reaction against the commercialism of the art market, the work demonstrated a keen appetite to use commonplace or ‘poor’ materials and new processes.”

2. Naive Art: The naive art trend is closely related to the Arte Povera trend with work produced by “naive” artists often resembling the work of Arte Povera artists. The work of artists who produce work in a naive style such as Basquiat, Dubuffet and Antonio Ligabue has proven to be extremely popular of late with many auction records being broken. A new auction record for Ligabue, one of the most famous 20th century naive artists, was set on the 24th of November 2010 when his ‘Autoritratto, olio su faesite’ sold for €152,000 against an estimate of €50,000-70,000.

3. Latin American Art: Although there was a general trend towards nationalistic and culturally representative art, there has been a particularly strong global increase in the popularity of Latin American art. Funnily enough, many of the artists that I associated with the concept of Arte Povera also have connections with Latin America such as Basquiat who has Haitian roots, Fontana who was born in Argentina, and Oiticica who was born in Brazil. What is also interesting is that many of the world’s most popular and influential naive artists also have a connection with Latin America.

A good example of the growing interest in the work of Latin American artists of both the past and present is the continuing success of the PINTA Latin American art fair. Although 2010 was only the fourth edition of the fair there was plenty of evidence to suggest that there is more than enough demand to support a dedicated Latin American art fair. Auction wise, 2010 saw new auction price records for many Latin American artists including: Jorge Jiminez, Helio Oiticica, Adriana Varejao, Julio Galan, Omar Rayo, Julio Le Parc, Wilfredo Lam, Alejandro Otero, Alfonso Michel and many others.

4. Sculpture: The resurgence in the interest of the work of classical style and modernist bronze sculptors, particularly those who work in metal, is somewhat of an odd and puzzling trend. There is, however, an increasing interest being shown in the work of sculptors such as Barbara Hepworth, Rembrandt Bugatti, Alberto Giacometti, August Renoir and Matisse. Christie’s set the benchmark at the beginning of 2010 when they set a new auction record for Giacometti, and a new record for a work of art sold at auction, when they sold the Alberto’s life-size bronze sculpture titled ‘L’Homme Qui Marche I’ for 65 million pounds. Proving that the Giacometti record wasn’t a fluke, Christie’s again made headlines in June when they sold Modigliani’s modernist sculpture titled ‘Tête’ for 43.2 million euros in Paris – an auction record for the artist. In November a new auction record was set for Matisse when Christie’s sold the artist’s ‘Nu de dos, 4 etat (Back IV)’ bronze sculpture for a $48.8 million. Although Christie’s appeared to dominate the metal sculpture trend, Sotheby’s also made some significant contributions with outstanding prices achieved for a range of bronze sculptures by Dame Barabara Hepworth and Rembrandt Bugatti.

5. Nationalistic Art: The beginning of the sentimental art market era, which I have written about extensively on my blog, has influenced a shift of focus towards the work of artists whom collectors can relate to on a cultural or generational level. Artists whose work is iconically representative of a particular era or culture are being pursued by collectors of that culture or era. The stark and sterile work of the contemporary art market boom combined with the faceless commercialism of the modern world is heavily responsible for what I believe to be a yearning that many art collectors and investors have to revive in themselves a sense of culture and place. As I wrote in my previous post “When art collectors or investors seek safety and familiarity they are most likely to gravitate towards works by artists from the era and culture that they have the greatest connection to. This would explain the large number of seemingly unrelated trends that emerged during 2010 many of which involved previously unfashionable styles and movements that are distinctly associated with a particular era or culture.”

Top 2010 Art Market Trends Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

There is really not just one dominant “art market” that one can refer to anymore. Once upon a time when one referred to the art market they were generally referring to the global leaders England and the USA, with perhaps the French market included depending on who you talked to and what their allegiances were. Now, however, there are so many more highly influential markets emerging on a regular basis that it has become extremely difficult to trace, track and predict art market movements – not totally impossible though. My last post focussed on the art market trends that I have seen emerge during 2010, which were identified primarily from observing auction sales throughout the year. With this post I want to look a bit further into those trends and the reasoning behind them.

The arte povera trend that I mentioned in my previous post on art market trends is not exclusive to the auction world. Some of the world’s top contemporary galleries are exhibiting works that have obvious ties with the concepts and characteristics that one associates with the Arte Povera movement – in particular the use of found objects. For instance, the Barbican Gallery recently held a special exhibition of work by Damian Ortega, a Mexican artist who has strong associations with the White Cube gallery, which consisted of a number of installations using found objects. New York’s Gagosian Gallery chose to use one of Rauschenberg’s ‘Combine’ paintings, a series of works that incorporate found objects and reproduced images, as the feature image of their Rauschenberg show that finished in November 2010. In fact, the first three works of the exhibit were from the artist’s ‘Combine’ series. Since September Hauser and Wirth have exhibited a sculpture by Martin Creed titled ‘Work No. 700’ (2007), three progressively slimmer steel I-beams balanced on top of each other. Creed’s steel girders are left in their used, practical state, which once again fits in with the “found object” trend.

If I can divert back to the auction market for a moment, the January 11-12 2011 Christie’s sale of items from the estate of Dennis Hopper included a particularly interesting array of works that perfectly reflect the current market trends that I have been talking about. A range of junk assemblages by George Herms, an artist who many consider to have been overlooked by the art world, attracted a particularly high level of attention and sold for several times the estimate. The Hopper sale also included a noticeably high number of collage works – another trend that I consider an extension of the “found object” trend. A “found object” collage by Bruce Conner titled ‘Picnic on the Grass’ took the third highest price of the auction reaching a fantastic $96,100 against an estimate of $10,000-$15,000. According to the Christie’s press release “Conner was a key artist in the development of assemblage art, a movement of found-object sculpture that critic Peter Plagens defined as “the first home-grown California modern art.” Hopper’s collection boasts several Conner works, including this multi-layered work that employs fabric, printed paper, plastic, string and even an acorn”. A verifax collage by Wallace Berman proved popular finding favour with a US buyer who paid $42,500, going well beyond the $12,000 to $18,000 estimate. Also included in the sale were collages by Viggo Mortensen and Llyn Foulkes; a collage by Lyn Foulkes titled ‘The Scene that is God’s Mouth’ was purchased by the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

Collages also proved popular on the gallery side of the market during 2010 with Gagosian Gallery holding an exhibition of discarded object sculptures and photographic collages by Nancy Rubin from June to July. Victoria Miro extended their exhibition of renowned collage artist Tom Lubbock who passed away less than a month after the exhibition closed. According to the gallery website, “Tom Lubbock died on Sunday 9 January 2011. In tribute to him Victoria Miro Gallery will reopen his exhibition on Saturday 15 & Saturday 22 January. This exhibition of beautifully crafted paper collages, provides the first opportunity to see a small selection of works made weekly by Tom Lubbock for the Saturday edition of The Independent between 1999 and 2004”.

The current fascination and focus on the 2D and 3D versions of “found object” assemblages tells us more about the market than you may realise. Erik Davis gave an excellent explanation of the allure of found objects in an article he wrote titled ‘The Alchemy of Trash, the West Coast of Spiritual Collage’. According to Davis:

“Duncan (Robert Duncan) praises the outsider artist, who goes against the grain, risks height, ignores dogma. This is all part of our “alternative” myth these days, but it remains to be seen whether the margins still exist — culturally, economically, spiritually — that could allow such creative feats to flourish. Juxtaposition has become an advertiser’s art. Trash is not the same thing today, in our belated self-conscious world of thrift-store savvy, mediated hipster rebellion, and omniverous collector mania. Before you know it, it’s on Ebay. Many of us still hear the spiritual call of redemptive refuse, of glimmers, junk, and “bits of beauty.” But it remains to be seen whether we can join the ranks of those who, in Ginsberg’s howling words, “dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed…”.

In a world that is so obsessed with material possessions, and that is so influenced by commercialism, it is inevitable that there will be times when the world becomes disillusioned with this particular path of progression and the objects associated with it. In my opinion the false, shallow and impersonal nature of the material world we live in is more than enough reason for collectors to want to seek works of art that represent a more idealistic and romantic approach to life. The familiar nature of works that are constructed of “found objects” is one reason that such works have greater appeal during times of disillusionment and disenchantment. As far as I am concerned it makes sense that a work constructed of familiar “found” objects would quite easily evoke a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality in many people and, as I have mentioned in previous posts, the familiar brings a sense of comfort and confidence to people during times of uncertainty.

The work of artists who are influenced by, or who produce work in line with, the concepts adopted by the Arte Povera movement, can also act as a sort of escapism that transports the viewer to another world that Erik Davis describes in his article ‘The Alchemy of Trash, the West Coast of Spiritual Collage’ as:

“a life authentically rooted in the noncommercial margins of bohemia, a magic circle of art and fellowship and esoteric romanticism that transmuted the objects and images it embraced”.

The inauthentic, sterile and commercialistic path that the art market tends to take during heady times of blissful ignorance will always come to a grinding halt when people are forced to face facts and return to reality. Works that embody the concept of arte povera, such as “found object” collages and sculptures, have an authenticity and spirituality that is extremely difficult to ignore unless one has been blinded by the glitz, glamour and sheen of the modern material world. Thankfully, the veil of commercialism and materialism has been lifted allowing these often shunned works to be experienced in all their glory – if only for a short period of time.

To be continued…………

image:

George Herms
Song for Hope
ca. 1986

Top 2010 Art Market Trends Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

Although 2010 saw a plethora of cities all over the world emerge as centres of cultural and artistic production, one of the most interesting locations of art market growth during 2010 was none other than the city of Los Angeles. The opening of a new building at the LACMA, the naming of Jeffrey Deitch as the new head of the LA MOCA, the sale of the LA based Dennis Hopper estate and other major events that took place during 2010 have taken the LA art scene to new heights – a climb that some say will soon elevate the LA art scene above the NY art scene.

If you have read my last couple of posts on the art market trends of 2010 you will know that one of the strongest trends that I identified from 2010 was a focus on work that was clearly influenced by the concepts and characteristics of arte povera. One of the most significant auction sales of arte povera style work in 2010 was the sale of the Dennis Hopper estate which, as I mentioned above, was an LA based estate. Ïnterestingly, we already we have a connection between the arte povera trend and the LA art scene. To explain the connection between the LA art scene and the arte povera trend further I need to take a slight detour and take a look at the different ways that dealers can approach the sale of fine art.

When a dealer decides to open a new gallery or take on a new market, there are several options that they have when it comes to deciding how they are going to approach that market. The options are:

A. Discovering and promoting emerging young talent

B. Selling the work of well established and highly recognisable artists

C. Reviving and promoting the work of artists from the past who were either overlooked or just not considered worthy at the time they were most active.

The market for emerging talent in LA is obviously flourishing, as is the market for the work of famous LA artists such as Hockney and Ruscha, which leaves option C as the option with the most potential for dealers. Art critic Mat Gleason recently wrote a piece for the Huffington Post titled ‘The Ten Most UNDERRATED Los Angeles Art World Stars’ ( see article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mat-gleason/the-ten-most-underrated-l_b_684359.html ). What made me particularly excited to find this article was the fact that three of the artists were artists that produced work that fits in perfectly with the arte povera trend; the second connection between the LA art scene and the arte povera trend. The current progression of this trend suggests that these three artists – George Herms, Lynn Foulkes and Michael C. McMillen – will begin to get the recognition they deserve as dealers continue to look for “new” artistic talent to promote in the form of overlooked artists from the past.

One of the reasons that LA is such an important location for the arte povera trend is the strong connection that LA has with artistic movements and cultural trends that relate strongly to the concepts and characteristics of arte povera. An influential beatnik trend that emerged in LA during the 50’s and 60’s was partially responsible for one of the most significant arte povera related (even though it appears to have predated arte povera) art trends to emerge in LA – the California Assemblage movement. According to the Laguna Art Museum website:

“Historically speaking, California Assemblage art was most prominent in the 1950s and 60s. The California Assemblage movement was born out of the Beat Generation of artists and poets, and George Herms was an active participant. Herms, whose work dates back to the early 1950s, is seen as one of the last living luminaries of the California Assemblage movement. Herms’ reclamation and reverence for the found object, along with his appreciation and use of entropy as an active and constant force operating on it, are the tools he uses to transform the detritus of our society into his artworks.”

The connections that I have made over the last few posts between arte povera, assemblage, collage, Latin American art and the LA art scene show that art market trends are more than just random coincidences. This particular trend has become so influential because of the strengthening and emergence of several markets around the world that have a strong connections with cultural and artistic traditions that can linked to the concepts and influences that resulted in the emergence of the arte povera movement and associated styles.

image:

Llyn Foulkes
Dali and Me, 2006
Mixed media
33 x 26 in. (83.8 x 66 cm)
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

Masterful Photographer Juan Baraja at PurePhoto – artmarketblog.com

admin — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 23:34:48 +0000

Masterful Photographer Juan Baraja at PurePhoto – artmarketblog.com

If I told you that I was going to make a connection between fine art photography and those famous robots The Transformers, you might think I had gone mad. So, today I am going to make a connection between fine art photography and those famous robots The Transformers. Still with me? Good, because you are about to be exposed to the work of one of the most talented photographers that I have come across in recent times.

Toledo, Spain born Juan Baraja is one awesome photographer. Having completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Barcelona in 2001, Baraja has gone on to win multiple awards including first prize at the XXII Concurso De Fotografia-Arquitectura 2010 COACM and first prize at the VI Concurso de Reportaje Fotografico ARCO Madrid to name a few. If he keeps up what he has been doing there are sure to be plenty more awards to come.

In the same way that The Transformers bring robots to life thus giving personalities to inanimate objects, Baraja’s photos make machines and other industrial objects appear alive and animated. Amazingly, Baraja has been able to give life to inanimate objects AND create still scenes that evoke a sense of anticipation and progression that actually animates the images. The perspective, lighting and environment play a big part in the drama and tension that exist in many of Baraja’s photos. Unusual patterns of illumination from unascribable sources of light create tension and a sense of impending action from outside the viewing window.

With ‘Metamorfosis Nocturna’, an image from Baraja’s Dock series that I have been referring to, what appears to be some sort of crane or conveyor belt machine – a machine that has animal like characteristics – looms menacingly above the viewer from behind a wall in what feels like a tense standoff that could see the machine walk over the wall and give chase at any moment.

Another image titled ‘Encrucijada’ shows a number of bollards that bear an intriguing resemblance to uniformed soldiers standing guard. A sense of tension and anticipation is created by the bright light coming from the right hand side of the image – the source of which is again unknown. Is it friend or foe?

The theatrical and animated images that Baraja produces are the sort of images that one never tires of because of the number of different ways they can be interpreted and read. Every time I see one of Baraja’s photos I can’t help but be drawn into the drama and intrigue that the images evoke.

To see more of Baraja’s work head to his page on the PurePhoto website:

http://baraja.purephoto.com/#/collection/241

To be part of the PurePhoto fine art photography revolution all you have to do is head to:

http://www.purephoto.com/profilelogin.do

and enter the referral code: NF0110RP73

The Rise of Victorian Paintings Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:07:15 +0000

The Rise of Victorian Paintings Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

The availability and affordability of top Victorian paintings during the first half of the 20th Century allowed a select few collectors to corner the market and put together amazing collections of major historical and cultural significance. A short resurgence of interest in the Victorian era during the 60′s, particularly in the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, saw even more of the few remaining top Victorian paintings go to private American and British collectors. With so many of the best that the Victorian era had to offer hidden away in the private collections of a few wealthy individuals, the market was left with an abundance of second and third rate works. Considering that a majority of the Victorian era’s top works of art were hidden for so long behind closed doors, it is no wonder that Victorian era paintings suffered such a poor reputation for so long.

With no financial or other incentive to sell works from their collection, most of the paintings snapped up during the first half of the 20th century, and the 60′s revival, remained in the hands of collectors and behind closed doors. Death, debt and disaster proved to be the saving graces for the market as a variety of unfortunate circumstances led to a number of the best private collections of Victorian paintings being released back onto the market after spending decades out of sight and out of mind. The auction houses love nothing more than a single owner collection that has not been exposed to the market for decades and, as these collections began to become available, spared no effort in making them seem as desirable as possible.

The first of the major collections of Victorian paintings to make an impact on the market was that of American millionaire Fred Koch who, in 1993, sold his major collection of Victorian paintings which consisted mainly of narrative work by artists such as Alma-Tadema, Tissot and Lord Leighton. Koch is thought to have made the decision to sell his collection after plans to open a museum in London were somewhat affected by a huge fire at a storage facility that housed most of the furnishings for the museum, as well as Koch’s collection of Bronzes, all of which were destroyed. The devastation of the fire is rumored to have been so disheartening for Koch that he lost his passion for Victorian paintings. Koch began by selling some of his collection in Britain through Sotheby’s and achieved some success, particularly with a 7ft painting of the Emperor Heliogabalus drowning his courtiers in rose petals by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema which sold for 1,651,500 pounds. Also achieving a high price was a painting by Sir Frank Dicksee of a a seventh-century Persian heroine reclining on cushions with a vase of lilies by her side which sold for 793,500 pounds. It was, however, in New York that works from Koch’s collection received the best reception with Christie’s selling Tissot’s “L’Orphine” for a record US$2,970,000. A few months later further works from Koch’s collection were entrusted to Sotheby’s New York who sold Alma-Tadema’s “Baths of Carcalla” for a record US$2,532,500.

To be continued……………..

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