82-En Ama Newsletter

Top stories
Page 5
Interview
Staffan Ahrenberg
and the Cahiers dArt
Page 7
Data
Jean-Michel Othoniel
Page 9
Museums
Page 11
Galleries
Page 15
Interview
Speedy Graphito
Page 18
Artists
Page 21
Interview
Alxone
Page 22
Auctions
Page 24
Fairs
Page 26
Qatar: the epicentre of the Gulfs rising artistic scene
AMA NEWSLETTER
82
14 December 2012
Qatar, United Arab Emirate, became independent on 3 September 1971. This oil producing
country has passed through unprecedented increase in wealth thanks to sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa Al Thani, who arrived to power in 1995, and established Qatar as one of the most
powerful countries in the world. The populations standard of living equals now that of Western
Europe, with a Gross Domestic Product reaching $78,260/inhabitant. Skyscrapers, restaurants,
hotels, universities and luxurious villas have now taken over Qatar. This small emirate is
developing very fast and seeks more visibility on the international scene. Qatar has become a
large-scale diplomatic, cultural and even military player, and expresses quite openly its
ambitions. Qatar is a Jack of all trades, and gets involved in all kinds of activities. The royal
family sponsors the FC Barcelona, and Doha will moreover welcome the 2022 football World
Cup. Qatar also hosts the Taliban and the Hamas headquarters, as well as other international
organisations such as the British Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security
Studies, among others, and broadcaster Al Jazeera headquarters (Doha).
For some years now museums have been developing fast throughout the country, and
especially in Doha, that progressively takes over desert. Qatars nancial means, which are
considerable, enable the emirate to be one of the leading players of the art market on an
international scale. Some already call it the Eldorado of the art market, because of the royal
familys buying so many artworks. By acquiring a great many works, Qatar is willing to ll its
museums almost ten of them by 2030. Two questions must be raised: how did Qatar become
the greatest purchaser of artworks throughout the world? And does the emirate tend to rank
rst when it comes to museum industry? (more page 2)
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Qatar is now considered the greatest purchaser of
artworks throughout the world. Two years ago, the country
won the name cultural destination of the year, and over
the last six years over $430m have been spent in cultural
goods from the United States. This tendency was
confirmed by a recent inquiry led by Artprice. It unveiled
the interest of Qatar for Western modern and
contemporary artworks. The royal family surrounded itself
with experts and consultants from the art world in order to
inquire into renowned contemporary artists. It then
appeared Qatar just the size of one single German land
is as active on Artprice database as Germany itself.
Their requests include American artists Richard Serra and
Jeff Koons, British artist Damien Hirst, Japanese artist
Takashi Murakami and American French artist Louise
Bourgeois. Qatar indeed is interested only in the leaders of
the art market, and neglects works under 100,000 a
rather criticised strategy. This explains however the
purchase of Cardplayers by Paul Czanne, for $250m, the
biggest operation ever registered on the art market. A
version of Munchs The Scream, on auction at Sothebys in
May 2012, was coveted by the Qatari royal family who
planned to purchase it, before it was eventually bought by
businessman Leon Black, who paid out $119.92m for the
masterpiece. The royal family, that includes great
collectors and contemporary art connoisseurs, yields to
buying works by major artists such as Andy Warhol and
Mark Rothko. Rothkos White Center (Yellow, Pink and
Lavender on Rose) was indeed purchased by the sheikhs
daughter for $70m. Whole American and European
collections go to Qatari foundations, aiming at
establishing themselves definitely as essential players,
along with museums and contemporary art centres, to
compete with their American and European colleagues.
Owning no auction house though the sheikh did consider
buying up Christies to Franois Pinault Qatar called on
international experts to get some advice on big purchases,
in order to reduce the margin of error. Indeed, thanks to its
powerful nancial means, Qatar systematically bids by 40%
to 45% over the established quotations, and thus
inevitably wins coveted artworks. For Artprice, this is no
strategic mistake for Qatar only buys major works, of
museum quality but it draws many artists up their usual
quotation. The sheikh, pragmatic but visionary, claims he
trusts in masterpieces only, and by doing so he shows
audacity and manages to bring his country to modernity.
This will to promote culture and contemporary art has
brought Qatar to undertake museum constructions. The
Museum of Islamic Art saw the light of day in 2008,
followed by the Mathaf, Museum of Arab modern art. By
2030, between 5 and 10 museums should emerge. The
National Museum, designed by Jean Nouvel, shaped as a
desert rose, is expected to open by 2014. Doha will
furthermore welcome a museum of Orientalist art, designed
by architects Herzog and De Meuron who notably
produced a pavilion of the Serpentine Gallery, and the new
building of the Parrish Art Museum, New York. This museum
will feature 1,300 Orientalist artworks and 400 valuable
pieces. Qatar will soon be able to boast of owning the nest
and most precious collections in the world. Alongside these
new museums, Qatar is also undertaking eclectic
programming of contemporary art. It all began abroad, when
the country sponsored the Takashi Murakami exhibition at
the Chteau de Versailles, and the Damien Hirst
retrospective at the Tate Modern London. For the latter, only
the Qatari royal family could aord such a risky enterprise,
for the transportation of works alone was a challenge.
Besides, the Qatar Museums Authority purchased Lullaby
Spring for 9. 7m (12. 02m) in 2007,
(more)
(more page 3)
AMA NEWSLETTER 82 2 14 DECEMBER 2012
Terenuthis-Stela: Standing Adorant with Horus and Anubis,
1
st
A.D.
Collection of Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim.
Photo: Sh. Shalchi
Nida Sinnokrot, KA (JCB, JCB), 2009
2 JCB 1CX Backhoe Arms, 460 255 cm
View of the installation of the Sharjah Art Museum
Image courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation
and a Damien Hirst retrospective is scheduled
in Doha next year. As stated by Edward Dolman who
left Christies to become executive director of the oce
of sheikha Mayassa, the sheikhs daughter and head of
the Qatar Museums Authority, the aim is for Qatar to
become, by 2030, a country with a culture-based, rather
than an oil-based economy. Qatar thus highlighted
Louise Bourgeois, with the exhibition Conscious and
Unconscious; Richard Serra, who installed a monumental
work in front of the Museum of Islamic Art; and Chinese
artist Cai Guo-Qiang, on display at the Mathaf. Qatar aims
at becoming the main destination of cultural tourism in
years to come. However a new question arises: is art
really at stake, or is this only a money matter?
Art and freedom
Though Qatar seems to focus excl usi vel y on
blockbusters of Western contemporary art, it is
normal to question the true position of art in the
country. Is it considered a mere source of income, or
is it entrusted with a real educational value? New
exhibitions organised in Doha might show the royal
family and Qatar are truly interested in art. Let us
recall the exhibition Tea with Nefertiti, organised at
the Mathaf, under the curatorship of Sam Bardaouil
from Lebanon and Till Fellrath from Germany. It is the
first time an exhibition created in that part of the
planet will tour to Paris and Brussels. This remarkable
exhibition, dedicated to the historic figure become
pop icon, Nefertiti, presents both ancient and
contemporary art, uncensored. It includes indeed
feminine nudes, as for instance Natacha Atlas by
Yussef Nabil, as well as an installation by Ala Younis,
made up with Nefertiti sewing machines, launched in
the 1950s to promote modernity in Egypt. Qatar
follows this path by organising at the same time an
exhibition of Chinese artist Yan Pei Ming at the Katara
Cultural Centre. It leads a reflection on history and
the current state of the Middle East. It starts with
watercolours representing leading personalities of
the region, from Osama bin Laden to former President
of Egypt Anwar El Sadat, including Al Jazeera
newsreaders and architect Zaha Hadid. The exhibition
continues with the depiction of political history
through the art history, with notably a triptych about
the death of Marat. Yan Pei Ming ends by making a list
of political crimes throughout history. The only
Middle Easterner represented is Saddam Hussein, in
the morgue, with an identification label fixed on his
toe. These two exhibitions, launched in the end of
2012, and to run through 2013, are sophisticated
maybe a bit too much. But they single out Qatar as an
open emirate, with regard to its neighbours: there is

some freedom of expression.
However, on a closer look, one realises Qatar is not so
different from other emirates and Middle East countries.
Indeed Qatar wants to be singled out, preferring art to oil
and choosing not to be involved in its neighbours
conflicts: Qatar claims its neutrality. Nevertheless, in
spite of its open support of Hamas, it took part to military
operations in Libya against Khadafi. Moreover it seems in
Qatar freedom is somehow limited. To date, the last
example is poet Muhammad Al Ajamis being sentenced
to life imprisonment. He was accused of insulting the
regime, defaming Crown Prince Tamim and attacking the
constitution. He was charged with writing in 2010 a
poem expressing open criticism towards the sheikh; the
true reason might rather be his Jasmine Poem, showing
his support of the Arab Spring. Voices rose throughout
the world to support him; and Amnesty International
called the verdict a scandalous attack on the liberty of
expression. French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent
Fabius expressed his outrage regarding this verdict,
stating on occasion of a radio broadcast: Attacking poets
is indeed neither wished nor admitted by the French
democracy. He nevertheless continues to justify
economical agreements between France and Qatar.
I ndeed, Qatar i s supposed to fund
(more)
(more page4)
by 300m French Smal l and Medi um
Enterprises. One can then easily conclude than artists
and artworks are not freely chosen in Qatar. Censorship
does exi st. The royal fami l y s support of the
contemporary artistic scene does not prevent its
keeping certain works away from Qatari museums at
least for now. Besides, the Damien Hirst retrospective
scheduled in Doha will by no doubt prove a bit
different than the Tates, for some of the works,
deemed offending and repellent, might indeed shock
the audience. The matter of censorship was recently
debated in the United Arab Emirates on occasion of Art
Dubai, when local authorities removed four works, one
of which represented an Egyptian soldier beating a
woman on Tahrir Square, Cairo. As in many other
countries such as China for instance, there is a kind of
reluctance towards political artworks.
One realises then Qatar is willing to innovate, by
highlighting the various facets of contemporary art.
This ambition puts the country at the core of this rising
Gulf artistic scene. Indeed, the region has been
developing artistically and culturally, by organising
international events such as the Sharjah Biennial, Art
Dubai and Abu Dhabi Art Fair. The emirate massively
invests in art and culture, creating museums and
purchasing the worlds greatest masterpieces. The Arab
artistic scene is not neglected either, for Qatari
museums and local events strive to promote Arab
artists. However this promotion is not unlimited, for
censorship is still rampant. Certain issues, however
much favoured by the artists themselves, are banned.
Expression is not free. Economically and politically,
Qatar remains a mystery. It seems the emirate itself
knows not its mind. The point is now to know if the
royal family is willing to promote a Western model, for
the economy, society and culture. Enthusiasm for art
might indeed guide Qatar towards greater tolerance
and bring about great change in the Gulf region.
(more)
COLLIN
BOCAGL
1, rue de Proence 5009 Paris
D
L
L
O
R
M
L
Contact tude :
Tl. : +33 1 58 18 39 05
info@parisencheres.com
Ancnf oi ooi r
Contact expert :
Cabinet Ancient Art
1, rue Gungaud 75006 Paris
Tl. : 01 42 08 32 22
gcaaparis@gmail.com
HOMMAGE A MICHEL COHEN
Pnfcoioxnirx Anrs asiariurs
Shaman par en terre cuite.
Mexique, Vera Cruz, 700 - 900. Haut. : 81 cm
Ancienne collection Collet depuis 1970
Septime Svre
Rome, IIIe sicle
Marbre, 62 cm
Mercredi 19 dcembre 2012
Drouot Richelieu Salle 14 14h
Possibilit de voir les objets
sur rendez-vous
du 26 novembre au 14 dcembre
10, rue Petit - 75019 Paris
www. c ol l i nduboc age. c om
COLIN DU BOCAGE COLIN DU BOCAGE COLIN DU
BOCAGE COLIN DU BOCAGE COLIN DU BOCAGE COLIN
DU BOCAGE COLIN DU BOCAGE COLIN DU BOCAGE
AMAAMAAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAM AMAAMAAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAM
Top stories
Is the Canadian art market immature?
According to an article by James Adams in The Globe and Mail, the Canadian art market might be immature compared to the
American or British art markets, that offer many works by living artists (or just recently deceased). It would seem the
Canadian market struggles to establish itself on the international scene. One of the possible reasons is the dominance of
public institutions and private collectors over the works of Thomson, Harris, Varley and Milnes, among others. The scarcity of
works by masters in auction rooms might then be a necessity rather than a choice.
Besides, it would seem auction houses appeal to few buyers, due to their old-fashioned, unsophisticated methods, that
have occasionally led to mixes of periods and artistic movements : The Globe and Mail ironically mentions the adjective
contemporary applied to a 1950 abstract painting by Lawren Harris as well as to a 1992 sculpture by Joe Favard.
The article gives the example of a recent auction held at Heffel Fine Art Auction House: out of 192 lots divided almost
equally between postwar and contemporary Canadian artworks and Canadian Fine arts (works produced before World
War II), the major part of the turnover went to the most recent works, reaching $8m. Works produced before the war fetched
only $1.1m. According to the newspaper, this might become the law for upcoming auctions.
ART & ENVIRONMENT
Renewable public art Land Art Generator Initiative
Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) is a project launched
in spring 2009 by Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian
which aims to join the concept of aesthetics with
renewable energy.
Robert Ferry is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University
and a licensed architect. His philosophy is to design
buildings that can achieve harmony with their local and
global environment and with the people who use them.
His designs of positive-impact buildings that work
simultaneously as a source of renewable energy were
featured in Popular Science Magazine articles.
Elizabeth Monoian is a multidisciplinary artist and
designer whose work has been exhibited throughout
Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. She
works currently as an Assistant Professor at the Zayed
University in Dubai.
The main idea of LAGI is to design and construct public
art installations that work as large scale clean energy
generators. Each sculpture will continuously distribute
clean energy into the electrical grid, each having the
potential to provide power to thousands of homes.
Since nowadays we are more and more aware of the
differences between old and new means of energy
production and due to the upcoming shortage of natural
resources and increasing pollution we have to seek
other possibilities to quench our thirst. Lack of free
space, which became problematic especially in big
cities (and that is where the need for the energy is the
biggest), brings us to that holistic approach of
combining aesthetics with utility.
Land art is a movement of the 1970s based on the
artists peaceful integration with the environment,
obtai ned by treati ng encountered space as an
inspiration and a tool at the same time. It was closely
tied with ecology and an attitude of respect towards
nature. This approach fits the one of LAGI which wants
its projects to integrate with their surroundings both
visually and environmentally.
In January 2010 LAGI put out the first call to artists,
architects, scientists, and engineers to create aesthetic
and pragmatic solutions for the 21
st
centurys energy
crisis. 2012 edition is held in partnership with New York
Citys Parks & Recreation for a site within Freshkills Park.
Not only the construction of aesthetic infrastructure is the
aim of LAGI, but also education about renewable energy
concepts, creation of educational materials and community
outreach because, after all, sustainability in communities is
not only about resources, it is also about harmony.
TOP STORIES
Frank Kalero artistic director of the 4
th
edition of Photoquai
Le Journal des Arts informs that Frank Kalero will be the artistic
director of the 4
th
edition of Photoquai, to be held from 17
September to 17 November 2013. The Quai Branly museum,
which stands at the origin of this biennial, wishes to discover
non-Occidental photographers whose works are unpublished or
undervalued in France.
Frank Kalero is the founder and editor-in-chief of Punctim,
magazine specialised in pan-Asian photography. Le Journal des
Arts presents him as a figure known mainly for scouting new
talents and new approaches to the art. In fact, he is recognised
for directing OjodePez Photo Meeting in Barcelona and for co-
founding the production society YWDF dedicated to new media
in So Paulo. He also stands behind the creation of the first
International Centre of Photography in Latin America.
John Fleetwood, director of Market Photo Workshop, will be the
curator of the African section, Hester Keijser curator of The
Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai, will be in charge of Near and
Middle East, while Bohnchang Koo photography and video
professor at the Kyongil University as well as President of
Geonhi Art Foundation, will curate the section of China and Far
East, etc. According to Le Journal des Arts, this team of curators is
contrasting with previous editions.
Launch of The Art Newspaper China
The Art Newspaper, publication about the latest news of the art
world, has just announced the launch of its Chinese edition. The
editor of The Art Newspaper China will be Ye Ying, currently
artistic director of Bloomberg Businessweek/China.
Indeed, The Art Newspaper has entered into a partnership with
the Beijing-based Modern Media Group. Together they will
release The Art Newspaper China from the beginning of 2013.
This new publication will join the network of newspapers
founded by Umberto Allemandi that comprises The Art
Newspaper, Il Giornale dellArte, Le Journal des Arts, Ta Nea Tis
Technis, Il Giornale dellArchitettura and The Art Newspaper Russia.
Besides, the Chinese publication will be distributed with
Bloomsberg Businessweek/China and the bilingual art criticism
journal Leap. The release of the newspaper in Chinese
accompanies the development of art market in China. The chief
executive of The Art Newspaper China confirms art is taken
seriously by the Chinese government and is of great interest to
the rest of the world. Thomas Shao, chief executive of Modern
Media Group, adds that the Chinese are now curious about the
world of art beyond their frontiers, so it is vitally important to
launch a professional art newspaper that provides timely and
accurate news about the global art scene.
AMA NEWSLETTER 82 5 14 DECEMBRE 2012
TRAFFIC & JUSTICE
Indian sculptures worth $5m seized in New York
Five looted Indian sculptures were seized in Port Newark, New York,
by agents of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The authorities claim thet they were most probably stolen from a
temple in Tamil Nadu (South India) by antique dealer and smuggler,
Subhash Kapoor. Among the five sculptures seized is a statue of
Parvati estimated at $2.5m. Though it was listed in the stolen works
of art database of Interpol, the sculpture passed through the hands
of six dealers before being traced, notably thanks to false
documents. The authorities did not yet determine if the dealers and
past owners were aware of the origin of the statues.
Indian and American governments, Homeland Security Investigations
as well as Interpol cooperated in order to track down the stolen
objects. As for Subhash Kapoor, he is facing legal prosecution in
India to where he was extradited last July. Under the yoke of
international arrestation order he was stopped at the Frankfurt
airport in Germany. Special agent James T. Haye Jr. in charge of HSI in
New York stated that Kapoor is one of the most prolific commodities
smugglers in the world today. He is responsible of stealing more
than $100m worth of Indian artifacts.
Now it depends on the art world to discover the pieces looted by
Kapoor. He was indeed known for selling and donating artworks to
the museums, notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Norton
Simon Museum of Pasadena or the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in
Washington. Moreover, the Metropolitan Museum of Art owns 81
objects delivered by the smuggler, including 5 imitations. Seizing
stolen cultural commodities depends entirely on art community.
Roman police finds a stolen sphinx
Roman police announced on 6 December 2012 they had found an
ptolemaic Egyptian sphinx, stolen from a necropolis near Viterbo,
North of Rome, just before it was smuggled abroad. The granite
sculpture, 120cm 60cm, was produced in the ptolemaic period
(between the 4
th
and 1
st
century BC).
According to the police, the brigade prevented the sculpture as well
a an ensemble of ancient artworks from joining the international
black market. The importation of Egyptian sculptures and precious
items in Italy started as soon as the 1
st
century BC when the Romans
conquered Egypt, and it blossomed during the Empire, particularly
between the late 1
st
century and the early 2
nd
century BC, thanks to
the popularity of the cult of Isis in the West, and especially in Rome.
Wolfgang Beltracchi, master forger, will have to reimburse 2m
It was recently announced that Wolfgang Beltracchi, master forger, will
have to reimburse Trasteco ltd Company for selling them a fake in 2006.
Formerly, Lempertz auction house was judged guilty for selling a
painting made by Wolfgang Beltracchi as a work by Heinrich
Campendonk. According to the court, the auction house did not
proceed suitable tests while the work was estimated at 800,000.
The painting titled Rotes Bild mit Pferden, attributed to Heinrich
Campendonk ,was finally sold for 2,88m to Trasteco ltd.
Nevertheless, the new decision of the court, not yet official, states
that Beltracchi will have to reimburse 2m to the company,
according to Artinfo. The article adds that Lempertz auction house,
since September, have taken possession of several properties owned
by Beltracchi in order to refund the sum to Dimitri de Faria Castro,
who bought the painting on behalf of Trasteco ltd. The sale, held in
Freiburg, made a total turnover of 2.95m.
Finally, though Lempertz lost its reputation and money, the new
decision relieved the managers of the auction house. On the other
hand, thanks to taking over Beltracchi properties, Lempertz has been
less affected financially than other auction houses, notably Sothebys
and Christies, states Artinfo. Wolfgang Beltracchi indeed managed to
sell numerous fakes on auctions, some of them bought by museums.
PUBLICATION
Weiwei-isms, a collection of Ai Weiwei quotes
Princeton University Press announced the release of
Weiwei-isms, a compilation of Ai Weiwei quotes about
various issues such as political activism, freedom of
expression, the human rights, etc. The book was edited by
Larry Walsh, old friend and collaborator of the artist.
The book demonstrates the elegant simplicity of Ai
Weiweis thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics,
and life. He achieves to convey strong ideas with
astonishingly few words, something he probably
developed on social networks. The book is divided into
six categories: freedom of expression; art and activism;
government, power, and moral choices; the digital
world; history, the historical moment, and the future;
and personal reflections.
It is already available on the Friends of Ai Weiwei
website and on Amazon, for $12.95 (9.88).
STREET ART
Grati banned from Myanmar
The Washington Post and Art Daily shared discontent of
Myanmar grati artists who are not allowed to express
themselves in their countrys biggest city Yangon.
Indeed, since 3 December the authorities of Yangon
have forbidden graffiti works on the walls of public
buildings, streets, bridges as well as parks and schools.
Thi s deci si on copi es regul at i ons enact ed i n
neighbouring countries. Breaking the law will be
followed by legal sanctions.
Whereas graffiti artists are not surprised by that
decision, they are not planning to give up their
activity. Many declared that from now on they will
continue to paint in spite of the ban. They hope that
the government will leave them a certain margin
allowing legal expression.
According to graffiti artist Arker Kyaw, aged 19, the
psychology of young people is the urge to do
something more when it is prohibited, and he adds
that authorities should allow graffiti artists to paint
in appropriate public spaces.
GRANTS
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation announces the
recipients of its grants
The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is pleased to
announce the recipients of its Artistic Innovation and
Collaboration (AIC) grants, a programme highlighting
the values promoted by artist and activist Robert
Rauschenberg, during his lifetime and career. These
gr ant s wi l l cer t ai nl y hel p t he Foundat i on s
philanthropic mission of enhancing, promoting and
encouraging the production and exhibition of artworks.
This is the second year the Foundation offers the
grants and 80 arts organisations across the country
had been invited to apply for the second AIC grant
cycle. After a competitive application process, nine
grants (altogether 578,000) are awarded to several
holders of creative projects.
The 2013 grantees are: Center for Women & their work,
Freewaves, LAND, Museum of Contemporary Art
MOCAD, Real Art Ways, School 33 Art Center, SITE
Santa Fe, SPACES and Storefront for Art & Architecture.
Interview
INTERVIEW WITH STAFFAN AHRENBERG, COLLECTOR AND BUYER OF THE CAHIERS DART
MAGAZINE, GALLERY AND PUBLISHER
Tell us how you came up with the idea of taking over the
Cahiers dart.
I didnt actually come up with the idea of taking over the
Cahiers dart. This project occurred in a totally organic
fashion in a surprising way, actually. I happened to walk
past the Cahiers dart bookstore and publisher without
knowing they still existed. They suddenly appeared before
my eyes, in a street Ive walked through hundreds of times in
my life without ever noticing them. I was astonished to
discover the Cahiers dart were still well alive. I entered the
place and asked who it belonged to. A man told me it
belonged to his brother. After that, I asked him I have no
idea where this idea came from if the owner would be
willing to sell. He answered: I really dont know. You should
contact him directly. I left my calling card with the man and
insisted that the owner called me. And he did indeed on the
next day. He called me and said: I think we should meet. I
stood such a poor chance of him calling! People dont
usually call that easily. Less than two days later, I was back, I
went to see the upstairs brother we call him like that
because there are two floors at the Cahiers dart. He greeted
me saying Your arrival is most convenient, I was thinking of
selling the business. I said: Fine! Ill buy it.
This is quite an incredible story, isnt it
Yes, I agree. So much of it has to do with luck and chance.
Although you mentioned a very spontaneous move, isnt
there something that particularly interested you and
motivated you to ask whether the owner was willing to sell?
The Cahiers dart are an icon, a myth, one of the most beautiful
things to be found in last centurys history of art! Its all the
more strange since nothing was published for so many years
I bore a totally instinctive attitude, like I told you, I had no
idea but I thought it might be for sale, who knows?.
AMA: And it was! Can you tell us what will be different in
this revival of the Cahiers dart? What are you planning to do
exactly?
About the same thing as it always was. If you are acquainted
with the history of the Cahiers dart, you might know it was a
gallery, a magazine, and a published specialised in books
and catalogues raisonns. This is exactly what we are
currently in the process of doing. There has simply been a
52-year long interruption.
Precisely, do you think that the Cahiers dart can have the
same resonance today as they used to? Will they benefit
from the same myth or will things change?
According to the reactions I got after publishing the first 2012
issue, I believe the Cahiers dart will be a myth to an even
higher level, since the world is larger and more and more
people are interested in art nowadays, comparatively
speaking to the population rate many more than in the
1940s, 50s and 60s.
By that you mean art is much more accessible as well as it is
covered by the media
Obviously, yes.
This new series will strive to represent contemporary art; is
it also to broaden its horizon?
There are no limits in the art we present. Our first publication
shall be devoted to an artist of the time, not a contemporary
one like the one we presented in the first issue of the
magazine Have you read the first issue?
I have not. I havent had the chance, I would of course have
preferred to meet with you at the gallery
It is essential that you come and see it for yourself. I know you
offer online services. But the Cahiers dart are about paper. We
have a very nice website, but most of all you should visit the
place, the exhibition dedicated to Kelly, see the old issues of
the magazine and discover the new version
n October, AMA found out that the legendary Cahiers dart magazine had been taken over by Swedish collector
Staffan Ahrenberg. The Cahiers dart publisher, gallery and magazine have therefore started trading again after an
interruption of over 50 years. AMA met with Staffan Ahrenberg on occasion of the magazines revival.
I
(more page 7)
Staan Ahrenberg, Cahiers dart publisher
2012 Photo: DR
Interview
INTERVIEW WITH STAFFAN AHRENBERG, COLLECTOR AND BUYER OF THE CAHIERS DART
MAGAZINE, GALLERY AND PUBLISHER
As for the publisher, it is also bound to start
trading again. What are its guidelines?
Art! We publish things above all. We have published the
magazine for the first time since 1960. Secondly, we
release books, some of which in limited editions, as well as
catalogues raisonns. We have a Picasso catalogue
raisonn, we will soon have a Kelly catalogue raisonn
Everything seems to be as it has always been, as if there
had been a time ellipsis, a void between the old and the
new magazine.
I believe looking at it that way is essential. There is enough
work to go for the next 100 years.
About the gallery (that I intend on visiting) but you
might refuse to tell me anything about it until I come and
see it for myself
Thats right. The gallery is the original one. We also have
a new gallery across the street, devoted to our publishing
activities. In the original gallery, we are currently
displaying an exhibition devoted to Ellsworth Kelly in the
1950s, which has never been on show in Paris before, as
well as in the new space devoted to Kellys lithographies.
The publishing gallery is temporarily closed due to slight
renovation works, but the original gallery is open. I am
there occasionally, and there is always somebody there to
greet the public.
In a broader sense, apart from your connection with the Cahiers
dart, can you tell me about your career path and your activity as
a collector? How did you end up in Paris?
I dont live in Paris. I live in Switzerland and in the United States.
I am of Swedish origin. I speak French and spend a lot of time in
Paris. Ive been collecting contemporary art for a long time, its a
true passion of mine. My father himself was a great collector. We
used to have the Cahiers dart at home, I was acquainted with
them and I was familiar with their typography. Im passionate
about art, I also do other things, but when I happened to see the
gallery, I deeply understood how great an opportunity it was for
me. Im immensely happy about it now.
What other things do you do?
I produce films in the United States.
Finally, a question which calls for me than just a short answer,
but lets have a go at it even though it seems a little artificial.
What do you make of the state of the art market in France for
the last few years? Do people buy less? You might be familiar
with these matters
Im not well acquainted with the art market in France. I believe
there is definitely something going on since important galleries
such as Gagosian open up in Paris; there must be quite a feverish
activity taking place. Galleries like Ropac couldnt possibly create
such exhibition spaces otherwise There are many collectors in
France, as well as other non-French art aficionados.
Interview with Staan Ahrenberg, Staan Ahrenberg, collector and buyer of the Cahiers dart magazine, gallery and publisher
(more )
Cahiers d'art 1960
Ar t Anal yt i cs Jean- Michel Othoniel
The French artist, born in Saint-tienne in 1964, is well known internationally. His last retrospective, which toured the
world, closed on 2 December 2012 at the Brooklyn Museum in New York after being shown at the Macao Museum of Art
in China and the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Japan, at the Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul and the
Centre Pompidou in Paris. Notably represented by the Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery, Othoniel is considered a major
contemporary French artist and his agenda legitimises this assertion: he will be exhibited in the Chteau de Versailles
gardens in 2014, at the Muse Eugne Delacroix in 2013, several public commissions will be unveiled between 2013 and
2014 and his works are part of the greatest international collections. Starting from his first exhibition in 1988 in Paris,
this artist from Saint-tienne, who lives and work in Paris now, makes his mark in the art market, 25 years after his debut.
I f hi s ri se seems guaranteed by bi g gal l eri es i n France and abroad, works by Jean-Mi chel Othoni el are rarel y
found on the secondary market, and even l ess on aucti ons. I ndeed the arti st has been aucti oned a l i ttl e more
than si xty ti mes. How coul d we expl ai n thi s phenomenon?
Othoniel is known mostly for his work on blown glass, he produces
installations, sculptures with glass beads and also some fabric.
One of his most famous works is Le Kiosque des Noctambules (The
night owls pavilion) which decorates since 2000 the Parisian Palais
Royal-Muse du Louvre subway exit.
Incidentally these sculptures and installations made of blown glass are
the ones which are better sold on auctions. The artists record is held
by Wright, the Chicago auction house, for a sculpture dated from 2008,
titled Double collier blanc (Double white necklace). This work found a
buyer on 24 June 2010 for $134,500 excluding charges (103,374;
83,452) while it had been initially valued between $50,000 and
$70,000. The second record for the artist is held by French auction
house Cornette de Saint Cyr for La fontaine du plaisir et des larmes (The
fountain of pleasure and tears). This sculpture was bought on 12 June
2012 for $97,582 excluding charges (75,000; 60,546). Christies
Paris ranks third with a lot sold for $29,274 excluding charges. The top
of auctions is then held by the artists sculptures which otherwise take
Wright Auction Cornette de Saint-Cyr
Sotheby's Others
50%
5%
43%
by lots
Auction houses
11%
15%
33%
41%
by turnover
France Belgium
USA Others
92%
by lots
Countries
41%
58%
by turnover
Sculptures Paintings
Drawings Others
10%
20%
63%
by lots
Medium
5%
93%
by turnover
Sold
Unsold
47%
53%
Unsold ratio
up 63% of the market according to operations and 93% of the turnover (around $250, 000 excluding charges).
As often it happens to French contemporary artists, Othoniels market remains limited to France. Thus note that 92% of operations
on auctions take place in France, and 97% of operations were held in France and Belgium leaving the rest to the United States and
the rest of the world. On the other hand even if the biggest volume is in France, it is in the United States where Othoniels works are
sold for the highest prices regarding the sales volumes. Indeed with little more than 2% in volume, the United States represents
41% of the turnover in relation to the artists works. Here again we acknowledge the singularity of the French market and French
contemporary artists: prices applied in France are usually lower than those applied in England or the United States.
1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
Turnover and number of lots in relation into year of creation
lots
150 K$ 15
10 K$ 10
5 K$ 5
0 0
Turnover
Ar t Anal yt i cs Jean- Michel Othoniel
The development of turnover is in progression with two very
successful years in 2010 and 2012. On the other hand, one factor
could seem worrying: the lack of link between the number of lots
in sale and the turnover achieved. Indeed we see that despite the
number of lots put on sale, the turnover stay stable and weak,
except for years 2010 and 2012. On auctions, Othoniel is less
successful than with the press and during exhibitions.
As for his media coverage, we find little less than 450 articles
about Othoniel, 64% of which are written in French, 18% in
English, 5% in Spanish, 5% in Chinese Since the end of the
Nineties, the media coverage has not stopped growing. The
most prolific about the artist are two French magazines,
notably Le Figaro, Le Sud Ouest and the AFP. In the press,
Othoniel is taking power and the same is happening with
regard to the number of personal exhibitions. The variation
since 1991 is uneven, whilst we signal a constant rise every
year. With his exhibition opening at Versailles in 2014 we
may expect Othoniel to continue this ascent for the next
forthcoming years. To date, we count around sixty exhibitions
dedicated to the artist around the world. It is important to
notice that Othoniel is represented in many countries: if
France counts alone 39% of the exhibitions, the United
States have 14% and Germany 7%, with the rest of the world
accounting together for 40%. Othoniel seems in the process
of building his popularity little by little with chosen galleries
and with great exhibitions everywhere, as showed the
retrospective My Way. We shall have to wait a bit before
seeing the artist regularly on auctions.
5%
18%
64%
French English
Spanish Chinese
German Others
Articles by language
5
10
1991 1995 1999 2004 2008 2012
Solo Group
Exhibition annual progression
Sud Ouest
Le Figaro
Top publications
Agence France Presse
For example, the American auction house Wright Auction with just the single sale of one of Othoniels work represents
41% of this artists turnover on auctions. Cornette de Saint-Cyr represents 33% of the turnover with 43% of transactions.
Jean-Michel Othoniel has an unsold rate very variable according to periods. In a year, the unsold rate could be near to
100% or inexistent. On average, after more than 20 years, the unsold rate of Jean-Michel Othoniel is next to 47%, which
is quite high compared with other artists.
1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011
Turnover evolution
100 %
0 %
Turnover Sold Unsold number of lots
40
80
1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012
annual
Annual publicity progression
40%
7%
14%
39%
France USA
Germany Others
Exhibition by countries
150 K$ 9
100 K$ 6
50 K$ 3
0
Museums
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Museums Beyond the Crises: 2012 CIMAM conference
The CIMAM (International Committee of ICOM the International Council of Museums for Museums and Collection of
Modern Art) from 12 to 14 November organised its annual conference in Istanbul, titled Museums Beyond the Crises.
Later, on 15 November, it travelled to Beyrouth, Lebanon starting a post-conference tour.
This year 218 delegates from 58 countries participated in the event. The conference received support from the Getty
Foundation (Los Angeles), the Fundacin Cisneros / Coleccin Patricia Phelps de Cisneros as well as the British Council.
Likewise, Istanbul contemporary art institutions, notably Arter, Boursan Contemporary and Istanbul Modern, as well as
galleries Galerist and Rampa, took part in the event.
This year, as suggested by the title, the conference regarded two major issues: the condition of the museum in times of
world economic crisis as well as new forms of cultural production being developed in the Mediteranean South-East and
the Gulf conflict zones in a period of economic growth, lacking museum and archive tradition. Indeed, the CIMAMs
press release confirms that in these regions conservation of cultural heritage is not necessarily the domain of musems.
This conference allowed to draw a conclusion that opening this regions to cooperation with museums and other
international institutions will allow the sharing of knowledge and methodology: two major factors necessary to gain
recognition. The CIMAM conferences are devoted to the appreciation of art and ways of cultural production in different
environments. The Comittee quotes that currently the world is facing cultural, political and economical tranformations
which affects museums. New regions, having access to new methods of production, emerge on the artistic scene. Maybe
next years conference will concern the way in which contemporary production methods affect traditional museums.
REOPENING
The Charles Dickens Museum of London reopens after a $4.8m
renovation
After years of closing and a $4.8m (3.72m) renovation, the Charles
Dickens Museum of London reopened on 10 December 2012.
The museum is located in Charles Dickens former brick house
which had been abandoned for years and interested only
academics, being completely neglected by tourists despite of its
highly historic value. The Georgian style house was built in 1807.
Charles Dickens lived there for a short but essential period,
between 1837 and 1839. His two first-borns, as well as Nicholas
Nickleby and Oliver Twist, saw the light of day in that house.
The restoration enabled this house-become-museum to
modernise. Thus, from now on it offers audioguides, a learning
centre and a caf. On occasion of the reopening, the visitors will
be able to discover a temporary exhibition featuring costumes
created for the film adaptation of Great Expectations by Mike
Newell, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes.
The director of the museum states everything has been done
to give the public the impression Dickens is still living in this
house. It will be an opportunity to (re)discover the universe of
the most Londoner of authors and (re)meet some of the most
famous characters of literature including Ebenezer Scroodge,
Miss Havisham, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist
LAUNCHING
The Frick Collections new website
The Frick Collection has just launched its new website, more
interactive, and with an entirely new design, to be discovered by
cybernauts from now on. This initiative comes from the Frick
Collections Technology Information and New Media Department.
Visitors have therefore access to more data, with over 1,000
pictures of artworks from the permanent collections, to research
contents and various museums programmes and media.
Moreover it has become simpler to get information about current
exhibitions and special events. Besides access to the museums
store has become easier as well.
The first website of the Frick Collection was launched as soon as
1998. It was then one of the first museums to offer a virtual visit
of the collection. At first it included only five galleries, now over
twenty galleries are available to the public and may be visited,
with information provided in six different languages.
21 SEPT. 2012
27 JANV. 2013
MUSE
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7 AVENUE VELASQUEZ PARIS 8
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WWW.CERNUSCHI.FR
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MOVEMENTS
Executive director of the UMOCA to leave his oce
The UMOCA (Utah Museum of Contemporary Art) Executive Director,
Adam Price, announced that he will be leaving his office before the
end of the year. He has been serving the museum since 2009, and
his departure is a real loss for the museum as expressed its Board
President Roy Jespersen. He guided the institution through a very
turbulent period and we are grateful that he left the museum in
much better condition than we found it.
Prices occupation had great impact in numerous achievements
including the transformation of the institutions from Salk Lake Art
Center into Utah Museum of Contemporary Art; an approximate of
50% increase in fundraising; a 500% increase in audience the total
attendance was brought to a total of 100,000 annually; the opening of
two new galleries in the museum; a programme that brings original
commissions of contemporary art to area schools free-of-charge; the
creation of a new national prize for contemporary painting; the
reduction of the museums fee per visitor from approximately $44.00
per head to approximately $8.50 per head one of the lowest rates
for an art museum in the country ; the hiring of two curators who
brought national and international renowned artists to the state and
many others worth applauding his hard work.
During Prices tenure, UMOCA also received rst ever mentions in USA
Today, The Wall St. Journal, W Magazine, Sunset Magazine, The
Hungton Post, Yahoo! Finance, Art Forum, and more.
From now on a selection committee of Board Trustees and community
leaders will run the search process for new museum leadership. Prices
words were I think UMOCA has an important role to play in the
community, and I want nothing more than to see it get a strong start
on the next phase of its existence. I will remain forever grateful for the
role I was allowed to play there.
MOLAA announces the departure of its vice president of curatorial affairs
The MOLAA, Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach California,
announces the departure of Cecilia Fajardo-Hill who served as vice
president of curatorial affairs and chief curator of the museum since
2009. Director and CEO Stuart A. Ashman justified Fajardo-Hills
departure on the basis of a supposed decline in membership and
attendance over the last few years.
Although the statistics about Ashmans declaration have been
questioned, the argument points to the ideas behind the museum
boards decisions and their disregard for the quality and
intellectual substance of public programmes.
Nevertheless, it is a fact that Fajardo-Hills vision helped transform the
institution from a provincial family museum into a site of true debate and
exchange with specialised art audiences across Latin America. Also, under
her tenure, the museum acquired recognition thanks to significant
exhibitions and partnerships with national and international art institutions.
The Centre Pompidou Foundation appoints Sylvia Chivaratanond
Adjunct Curator of American Art
The Centre Pompidou Foundation has recently announced the
appointment of Sylvia Chivaratanond as rst Adjunct Curator of the
American Art department. In this new role, she will work with the
members of the Centre Pompidou Foundation as well as the Centre
Pompidou in Paris in order to develop the American art department
and support programmes seeking donations of American art.
Graduated from Leicester University and UCLA, Sylvia Chivaratanond is
an art historian, independent curator and critic. Her curatorial work
includes exhibitions at the Walker Art Centre, the Museum of
Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Tate Gallery in London as well as
the 2003 Venice Biennale. She collaborated with numerous
contemporary artists, notably Dan Graham, Cady Noland, Christian
Marclay, Isaac Julien, Robert Gober, Matthew Barney, etc. while
organising exhibitions or preparing publications.
This choice is not insignificant for the Centre Pompidou wishes its
Parisian curators to stay well informed about the development of
the contemporary art scene. Sylvia Chivaratanond will allow the
museum to diversify its programming. The Centre Pompidou
Foundation was created in 1977 by Dominique de Menil and its
main aim was to support the Centre Pompidou in Paris by
encouraging donations and acquisitions of works of art. The
Foundation fosters dynamic exchange of ideas through events,
exhibitions, unprecedented access to artists, private collections
and contemporary architectural achievements.
CALL FOR DONATIONS
Rare painting by Hubert Robert
On the occasion of its reopening at the end of 2013, the
Valence Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology launched a
public engagement and a call for sponsorship in order to
acquire a rare canvas by Hubert Robert (1733-1808)
titled Embarcadre mditerranen (1771).
The museum gathers the third worlds collection of
paintings by Hubert Robert in terms of quality and
importance, after the Louvre and the Ermitage in Saint
Petersburg. In order to enrich its assembly consisting
of over a hundred drawings and paintings by Hubert
Robert, the city of Valence and its museum wish to
purchase this exceptional artwork. The oil on canvas,
estimated at 400,000, is a painting of large format
(183 225 cm) and the only seascape by this artist.
Visible Italian influence and ruins, for which the artist
was famous, are depicted on the canvas. Hubert
Robert, a landscaper admired by Diderot and Catherine
II, Empress of Russia, developed an exceptional
interest in Antiquity during his travels to Rome.
The city of Valence does not possess sufficient means
to buy this painting. In cooperation with the museum, it
calls for benefactors as well as individuals, companies
and institutions willing to contribute.
PARTNERSHIP
GEM to be venue for the Vincent Award presentations from
2014 and associated with the Monique Zajfen Collection
The Gemeentemuseum Den Haag proudly announces a
new six-year partnership with the Vincent Award and the
associated Monique Zajfen Collection. The partnership
with the prestigious award represents a unique
opportunity for the GEM to raise its international profile.
It will certainly attract the attention of professionals and
art-lovers all over Europe. The Hague, an international
city of peace and justice, and the political capital of
Netherlands is certainly a suitable location for the
Vincent Award. The Award is a Dutch prize presented
every two years to a European artist making a significant
contribution to contemporary art. It is worth 50,000.
The Monique Zajfen Collection comprises several dozen
works by fifteen different artists, including some earlier
recipients of the Vincent Award. It is one of the most
important collections of contemporary art in the
Netherlands and features work by renowned artists like
Marlene Dumas, Neo Rauch, Wilhelm Sasnal, Luc
Tuymans, Thomas Schtte and Stephan Balkenhol. The
Zajfen collection is coming to the Gemeentemuseum
Den Haag on long-term loan from September 2013.
Benno Tempel, Director of the Gemeentemuseum Den
Haag, is delighted about the new partnership. Holding
the Vincent Award presentation ceremonies at the GEM
from 2014 onwards will enhance both the reputation of
the Gemeentemuseum as a top arts institution and the
image of The Hague.
ACQUISITION
Getty Museum acquires a masterpiece of Flemish Renaissance
The Jean-Paul Getty Museum announced the acquisition
of the Roman de Gillion de Trazegnies, a manuscript
illuminated by Flemish painter Liven van Lathem
(1430-1493). This work is considered one of the finest of
the artists, renowned for his sophisticated depictions
produced in the Golden Age of Flemish illumination.
The Roman de Gillion de Trazegnies tells the heroic and
romantic feats of Gillion, a famous Flemish nobleman, during
his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The manuscript comprises
eight miniatures and 44 illuminated initials. This acquisition
joins the Gettys Department of Manuscripts, already in
possession of the greatest Flemish collection in America.
WHATS ON
Raffaello Sanzios drawings for the first time in Frankfurt
From 7 November 2012 to 3 February 2013 the Stdel
Museum of Frankfurt will be displaying the work of
the audacious Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino,
14831520 Rome), the master of Italian High Renaissance art.
The exhibition will include 48 drawings, nine sheets from the
Stdels own holdings and 37 loans from internationally renowned
collections such as the collections of HM Queen Elizabeth II, the
Muse du Louvre in Paris and the Uffizi in Florence.
This is the first exhibition of the graphic work of the artist in
Germany, and it is actually related to the history of the museums
collections since Johan David Passavant, former director of the
Museum, admired Raphael and Albrecht Drer and enriched the
collection with their works, making it one of the most beautiful
ones of Raphaelesque drawings.
The exhibitions stresses the evolution of Raphaels graphic work,
divided into four themes: Madonnas and child, compositions
from Roman decorations, history scenes and decoration of Santa
Maria della Pace in Rome.
Mathieu Mercier at the Fondation dentreprise Ricard
The Fondation dentreprise Ricard exhibits through 12
January 2013 works by Mathieu Mercier. It is the first solo
exhibition of the artist since Sans Titre 1993-2007 held
at the Muse dArt Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2007.
In this exhibition, Mathieu Mercier questions the place of everyday
object in art when its first function, being useful, was dissolved in
the creative process. In his sculptures and installations usefulness
was questioned and made unreal in order to put the object on the
border of abstraction. A certain ambiguity takes its place and
provokes a query. Symbolic and utilitarian functions are deducted
and lead to reconsidering the object itself.
In fact, during this exhibition, the gaze of the spectator is at first
attracted by grey columns. While most of the times the exhibitor
skirts the obstacles present in the exhibition space, here the artist
decided to multiply them by creating copies of the only PVC
column present in the room. In this exhibition, the viewer will
discover everyday objects taken out from their usual context. A
belt exhibited in the showcase, glasses creating optical illusions
or alarm clock waiting for the right hour We find as well a scan of
the artist fixed to the wall, including Sans Titre (Scan poussire).
Programme of the Museo de Picasso in Mlaga
What is the grotesque in art? If you are interested in
the grotesque explored through different media the
exhibition The Grotesque Factor at the Picasso
Museum in Mlaga will suit you. At times referred to as
exaggerated, compared to the deformed, satirical or even
incongruous, this category of aesthetics will be the main theme of
this exhibition addressing its meaning and evolution. The exhibition
began on 22 October and will last until 10 February 2013. Among
the artists exhibited are Leonardo da Vinci, Francisco de Goya,
James Ensor, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Otto Dix, Willem de Kooning,
Francis Bacon just to name a few since there are almost 80
international artists and around 250 works displayed for the
occasion. The exhibition is curated by Jos Lebrero Stals, artistic
director of MPM along with academic advisor Luis Puelles, Professor
of Aesthetics and Art Theory at the University of Malaga.
The other programmes comprised in the schedule of the museum
are the Guest Museum from 9 October to 20 January 2013. This
time the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York lent the
Museo Picasso a canvas painted by Pablo Picasso in 1965, Lobster
and Cat from its Thannhauser Collection.
There will also be seminars on 14, 16 and 21 January 2013 at
5pm. In the setting provided by the exhibition on the grotesque,
the seminars will address the special significance of caricature as
a genre in modern art. The three sessions will analyse the most
relevant series and motifs in the works of William Hogarth, Honor
Daumier and George Grosz. There will also be caricature
workshops on 10, 17, 24 and 31 January from 5:30 to 8pm. And
seven recitals of the Mlaga Philarmonic Orchestra will be part of
the 6
th
Chamber Music Session of the Museum.
Exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts has organised
various exhibitions for December 2012, January
and February 2013. The rst one will begin on 8
December 2012 and will run until 17 February 2013, the
subject is Constable, Gainsborough, Turner and the Making
of Landscape at the John Madejski ne rooms.
The other exhibition is titled New Mariko Mori: Rebirth and
takes places at Burlington Gardens, from 13 December 2012
to 17 January 2013. This is a solo exhibition work by New
York-based artist Mariko Mori whose art aims to inspire in
people a new consciousness of our relationship with nature.
A current exhibition running from 22 September 2012
through 27 January 2013, Eros to the Ritz: 100 Years of
Street Architecture at the Architecture Space. The exhibition
takes Piccadilly as its focus in order to explore how
architects manipulate proportion, shadow, composition,
ornament and representation to create memorable and
compelling street architecture.
Another current exhibition is taking place, running from 1
st

November 2012 and ending on 17 February 2013, titled
Almost Real Art, a Satirical Archaeology of the Ra Collections
and Library by Mark Hampson at the Tennant Gallery. The
exhibition attempts satirically an archaeological response to the
complexities of information and histories of the RA holdings.
Futurism and the past exhibition in London
From 1 December 2012 to 30 September
2013 the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian
Art, located in London, will launch its first
virtual exhibition Futurism and the past. The
exhibition analyses the association between Futurism and
the Italian pictorial tradition. The online exhibition
features around 60 works half of the futurist movement
(1909-1919) and the other half spanning the history of art
from Ancient Greece to Baroque Rome. The works can be
viewed here: www.futurismandthepast.com
The exhibition was curated by Rosalind McKever in a way
that one can establish connections between the two
different movements and, therefore, think differently
about one or the other. When futurism was founded by T.
Marinetti in 1909, he demanded that museums be burned
down and Italys artistic heritage destroyed in order to
allow the country to modernise.
The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art opened in
London in 1998. It contains six galleries, an art library, cafe
and bookshop. The Collection is known internationally for
its core of Futurist works, as well as figurative art and
sculpture dating from 1890 to the 1950s.
Art, Science et Fiction at the MAC in Belgium
On the occasion of the 10
th
anniversary of
the MAC (Muse des Arts Contemporains) of
Hornu in Belgium, the museum will dedicate
an exhibition to science-fiction: SF: Art,
Science et Fiction, curated by Denis Gielen. Science
fiction, as everyone thinks, has not only produced
literature, films, illustrated magazines or comics but it
has also nourished the art in the field of Fine Arts.
Sculpture, painting, photography and video have been
inspired by it. The exhibition started on 18 November
and runs until 17 February 2013.
The exhibition will include works and documents coming
from different aesthetic movements, and will include
modern and postmodern artists that respectively
approach the notion of the fourth dimension and popular
myths like Superman.
The Museum of Contemporary Arts (MAC) is one of the
French Community of Belgiums leading cultural projects.
The space, designed by Pierre Hebbelinck, is dedicated
to contemporary creation.
COMING SOON
The Hong Kong Museum of Art, a taste of
East and West
The Honk Kong Museum of Art, created in
1962, celebrates this year its 50
th

anniversary and establishes itself as one of the major
cultural institutions on the island. With 14,000 pieces
displayed throughout 6,000 sqm, it offers a large
overview of Chinese classical and modern art, as well
as Western and contemporary creations.
Its rich permanent collections are divided into five
departments: Chinese antiquities, Chinese fine art,
Hong Kong art, historical paintings and the Xubaizhai
Collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy. The
historical collection of the museum was mainly
donated by Paul Chater and Robert Hutong, prominent
busi nessmen and pl ayer s of t he economi c
development of Hong Kong in the colonial era.
Sir Catchick Paul Chater (1846-1926), a British citizen
made a knight in 1902, was a member of the Hong Kong
Executive Council for over thirty years. Throughout his
career, he gathered an important collection of historical
paintings and engravings depicting the seafaring and
colonial stories of the island from 18
th
and 19
th
century,
rare and precious accounts of daily life and urban
development in Macau, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
When he died the collection gathering 430 pieces, was
scattered during the time of Japanese occupation. 94
works have been saved and are now displayed at the
Hong Kong Museum of Art.
Among the missions of general interest claimed by the
museum, the preservation of Chinese and Hong Kong
cultural heritage, artistic education and promotion of
local production have indeed a great part; temporary
exhibitions open to international issues, that allow to
dynamise the audience, are also included in its
programme. Therefore the museum under the
supervision of the Leisure and Culture Services
department in 2011-2012, has welcomed 338,000
visitors. In 2006 the Centre Pompidou had lent it 50
major works by Modern art masters including
Picasso, Matisse and Brancusi for an exceptional
exhibition that attracted over 140,000 visitors, an
audience record for Hong Kong.
From 16 December 2012 to 31 March 2013 the
museum will host the itinerant exhibition Andy
Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal, comprising 370 pieces
lent by the Andy Warhol Museum of Pittsburgh. It will
feature, among other things, Warhols Time Capsules,
which the artist used to fill every day with souvenirs,
l etters, newspapers, magazi nes, sal e records,
photographs and other ephemeral testimonies of his
life. Capsule 23 will be highlighted, for it gathers Andy
Warhols souvenirs of his visit in Hong Kong in 1982.
Nevertheless Chinese classical art is not being
forgotten among international exhibitions. From 30
November 2012 through 9 January 2013 Chinese
Painting and Calligraphy of Song, Yuan and Ming
Dynasties from the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts
will be a highlight of this years anniversary
programme. The century-long history of cultural
exchanges between China and Japan is illustrated by
38 historical paintings lent by Japanese institution.
Through this opening policy, the Hong Kong Museum
of Art allows to appreciate the specificity of this
complex insular culture, a unique point of contact
between the Far East and the West..
Gangsters & Gunslingers at the American Museum
The American Museum, located in Claverton Manor near
Bath, is proud to present the exhibition Gangsters &
Gunslingers. The Good, the Bad & the Memorabilia from
23 March to 3 November 2013. This exhibition brings together
two important chapters of the history of the United States that
helped shape its national identity: the Wild West (from the mid
1860s to the late 1880s) and the wild years of the Prohibition/Great
Depression (the 1920s and 1930s).
Each era produced legendary icons, who became famous or
infamous, such as Bonnie and Clyde, Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill to
name a few. The exhibition investigates how facts gave way to the
demands of popular fiction. Many of these heroes of ancient
American tales seemed to be and acted if they were indestructible,
however their life endings were anything but heroic. Many
astonishing personal items owned by these personalities will be on
public display for the very first time, such as the armoured vest
found in Bonnie and Clydes bullet-riddled death car, and Al
Capones silver cigarette case among many others.
Sam Szafran retrospective at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda
The Fondation Pierre Gianadda (Martigny, Switzerland)
will be hosting from 8 March to 16 June 2013 an
exhibition dedicated to Sam Szafran, recalling his 50-
year pictorial career. His work shows a range of colours
and obsessive lines of pastel sticks. Engravings, paintings, pastels,
watercolours and charcoals display the artists favourite themes, with
the Ateliers, Stairs, Foliages and Rhododendrons series. His passion for
plants was born when he worked in Zao Wou-Kis studio.
Born in Paris on 19 November 1934 in a Jewish family from Poland, Sam
Szafran miraculously escaped the Vel dHiv Roundup. He spent a few
years in Austria, and returned to Paris in 1951. He dwelt in the artistic
districts of Montparnasse and Saint-Germain, and in 1954 met Germaine
Granet, who acquired his first works. He met with Alberto and Diego
Giacometti, Yves Klein, Tinguely, Riopelle. In 1960 he was offered a
pastel box, and he decided to abandon oil painting. He became a master
of the pastel technique and helped its revival. His works are on display
at the Centre Georges Pompidou and in major European museums.
The Fondation Gianadda was established in 1978 by Lonard
Gianadda, as a tribute to his brother Pierre, who died in a tragic
plane crash two years before.
Programming of the MACBA museum for 2013
The 2013 programming of activities at the Museu dArt
Contemporani of Barcelona (MACBA) focuses on the
t r ans ver s al nat ur e and r epr es ent at i on of t he
contemporary through exhibitions, public programs and the
Museums educational services. The Museums 2013 programming is
the result of an organic relationship between its lines of research,
collections, exhibition and the Programme of Independent Studies.
On 24 January 2013 starts the photo work exhibition of Palestinian
artist Ahlam Shibli, Phantom Home through 28 April 2013. The
exhibition is co-produced by the Museu dArt Contemporani de
Barcelona (MACBA), the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris and
the Museu de Arte Contempornea de Serralves, Porto.
Eullia Grau will then be displaying her works from 7 February to 26
May 2013. The exhibition titled I Have Never Painted Golden
Angels will be curated by Teresa Grandas.
The drawings of American conceptualist artist, Lawrence Weiner, will be
presented from 7 March 2013 to 24 June 2013. And from December 2013
to February 2014 the project of editor, curator and art researcher Abdellah
Karroum, Sous nos yeux! will go deeply into the line of activities, focusing
on the Mediterranean Area North Africa and the Middle East as well as
on the birth of new types of civil society in the Arab World.
Regarding international exhibition tours, the MACBA and the Fundaci
la Caixa will be exhibited from June 2013 to January 2014 at the
Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporneo of the Universidad de
Mxico. Also, the exhibition Oferta Pblica/Public Tender by Rita
McBride will be displayed at the Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City
from November 2013 to April 2014. Afterwards, it will be presented at
the Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, Texas, in 2015.
Galleries
CONTROVERSY
Swedish gallery exhibits a painting made from Holocaust
victims ashes.
A Swedish gallery based in Lund plans to exhibit from 15
December 2012 a canvas made from Holocaust victims ashes.
Sweden is inamed by a vivid controversy and representatives
of the Jewish community in Sweden nd this project revolting.
Gallery owner Martin Bryder defended himself on the radio
saying that he sees no moral problem or aw with exhibiting
this painting. The canvas was produced by Carl Michael Von
Hauswol from the ashes of Holocaust victims taken from
Majdanek Nazi extermination camp located in Poland, where
79,000 persons were executed during World War II.
It appears the artist collected the ashes during a visit in
Majdanek in 1989. While little is known about how he exactly
did it, we can imagine he took it directly from the
crematorium furnace. For the museum in Majdanek, there is
no doubt: he did not enter in possession of the ashes legally.
The museum opposes strongly the exhibition. Moreover, for
Salomon Schulman, Yiddish professor and member of Lunds
Jewish community, this exhibition is disgusting and
desecration of Jewish bodies. He also shared with The
Jewish Telegraph Agency his concern about the vivid interest
in Third Reich and racism among academics, which are still
present in their conversations nowadays.
Nevertheless for Carl Michael Von Hauswolff, the artist, this
canvas has a different meaning. In fact he quoted that the
ash has followed me, always been there as if the ash
contains energies or memories or souls of people people
tortured, tormented and murdered by other people during
one of the most atrocious wars of the 20
th
century. That is
why it is relevantly part of the exhibition Memory Works
at the Martin Bryder Gallery.
ARTIST & GALLERIES
The Paul Kasmin Gallery to represent Taner Ceylan
The Paul Kasmin Gallery, based in New York, will from now
on represent Turkish artist Taner Ceylan, famous for his
photorealistic paintings.
The gallery acquired his work Esma Sultan at Art Basel
Miami Beach for $200,000. The painting is part of the Lost
Paintings series, inspired in the Orientalist, Western look on
the East. It is displayed at the gallerys stand and the
exhibition of the whole series next fall; some works will be
borrowed from collectors for the occasion.
Taney Ceylan studied fine arts at the Mimar Sinan
University. He is famous for his mysterious, strongly erotic
works. After leaving the Istanbul contemporary art gallery
Galerist, the artist was negotiating for two years with New
York, London and Istanbul galleries. He eventually chose
the Paul Kasmin Gallery.
OPENING
Les Inrmires Gallery soon opening in Paris
A new gallery will open in January 2013 in the Parisian
artistic district Le Marais. Les Infirmires Gallery is willing to
promote young women artists gathered in the collective Les
Infirmires (The Nurses).
Les Infirmires, led by Aurlie Mantillet, are a group of young
plastic artists. They claim to be the heirs of George Sand and
Simone de Beauvoir, the followers of Louise Bourgeois and
Annette Messager. They are the heralds of all women of the
21
st
century. They liberate themselves from the traditional
frame motherhood, child-raising and home and go
beyond feminism. The point is now to show the modern woman
can support her household, be a mother and a lover, a worker
and a leader. The matter is no longer sex equality, but rather
the assumption of a feminine status.
Les Infirmires Gallery will be hosting the collective and
enabling the public to discover their works.

EXTENSION
Extension of Zao Wou-Kis exhibition Beyond in Hong Kong
Due to the positive welcome of the press and public, the
gallery FEAST Projects is delighted to announce the extension
of the exhibition Beyond through 7 February 2013. It features
Chinese French painter Zao Wou-Ki, one of the most prominent
contemporary artists.
The exhibition includes a group of exceptional large watercolour
paintings that date from 2004 to 2009. The works show the
mastery of the artist mixed with a spontaneous uidity of nature
motifs. They convey with a special freshness Zao Wou-Kis
intimate appreciation of the Chinese and Western culture.
With this exhibition, FEAST Projects has the distinct privilege to
be the first gallery exhibiting a group of these works painted
between 2004 and 2009. A fully illustrated colour catalogue is
available on occasion of the exhibition.
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Damien Hirst leaves the Gagosian Gallery
The New York Times announces British superstar Damien Hirst will be no more represented by the Gagosian Gallery,
ending their 17-year long collaboration. This amicable departure, sudden and more than unexpected, presumably
leaves the artist unrepresented.
This leading figure of the Young British Artists supported by Saatchi in the 1990s had then won international fame.
Considered the wealthiest artist in the world with a fortune estimated at $346m, according to The Sunday Times
he is mostly known for his iconic work The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, featuring a
tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde in a glass case.
His departure is a big surprise for the art world. For Carol Vogel from The New York Times, the question remains whether
Mr. Hirst will look for another gallery to show his work in New York, where he has a large number of big collectors.
Though Damien Hirst has indeed worked with other galleries such as White Cube and auction houses like Sothebys in
the last years, Gagosian offered him a world retrospective in 2011 for his series Spot Paintings, in each of the eleven
galleries, thus showing his full and exclusive support.
AMA
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WHATS ON
Paintings by Dora Atwater Millikin exhibited in Boston
From 26 November to 12 January 2013 the Walker-
Cunningham Fine Art Gallery exhibits American painter Dora
Atwater Millikin with the exhibition Sense of Place. Her work
includes several paintings from a series of Netherlands views.
The paintings on show were painted from smaller studies and drawings and
remembered favourite places on the farm. They show red-tiled roofs of the
antique barns adjacent to towering contemporary wind farms, ditches used
to drain the land, the windmill once used for grinding wheat at Gernwerd,
and the old house at Maarhuizen, a short distance from our place at Ranum.
Recognition of her work includes the Edwin Gould Foundation Award, the
John Stobart Fellowship Award, the Joseph Hartley Memorial Award for
Oil, and the Fidelity Investments annual juried competition at the
Providence Art Club.
Sherrie Levine at the Simon Lee Gallery
The Simon Lee Gallery exhibits through 5 February 2012 new
works by American artist Sherrie Levine. This assembly illustrates
the themes of reproduction, seriality and commodication.
Twelve bronze mirrors accompanied by twelve pink glass skulls are put
on display. The artist elevates functional object to the status of artwork;
transforms the mundane into the precious. Her work questions the process
of art merchandise. The new mirrors are the echoes of former works by
this artist which drew from abstract paintings from the beginning of 20
th

century. Levine brings the viewer face to face with their own cultural
patterns and hypothesis regarding the economic value of art.
In the pink glass skull sculptures we see Sherrie Levines interest in
vanitas and still life. She reconfigures an image of mortality as an object
of desire by rendering the skulls in lustrous pink glass. Sculptures are
displayed in vitrines creating a museal ambiance. Her work always
reflects a specific relation with the works from which she gets
inspiration. Thus, by emphasising the art historical imagery to which her
own work refers, Levine makes visible the endless chain of referents
made implicitly by all modernist artists. According to Sherrie Levine it is
like putting a picture on top of a picture.
Polka Gallery presents Format Pola: Philippe Guionie, Sara
Imloul and Donata Wenders
On the occasion of Le Mois de la Photo 2012 biennial in
Paris, the Polka Galerie presents Format Pola. This
collective exhibition, titled Small is beautiful displays the
photographic works by Philippe Guionie, Sara Imloul and Donata
Wenders from 24 November to 12 January 2013.
Philippe Guionie approaches the themes of identity and memory with
Swimming in the Black Sea, inspired by a Jules Vernes novel. He also
presents Dlestage, a diary with black and white photographs, from his
travel in NDjamenas streets.
Through portraits, still lives and abstract shapes, Sara Imloul, explores with
Ngatifs the original intentions of photography and the artist. She exposes
the paper directly in her film camera and creates unique small format prints.
Donata Wenders, initially worked in the movie industry and now, after
having shown an ability for photography, takes black and white
photographs. In the exhibition she shows her series entitled In the Snow.
Henri Cueco exhibits pencil drawings in Paris
From 7 December through 19 January 2012, French artist
Henri Cueco will be exhibiting at the Louis Carr & Co Gallery
in Paris. The event, titled Crayon sur toile fine (Pencil on
Thin Canvas) will feature exceptional pencil drawings depicting, in a
classical style, scenes representing the disorder of the world.
His drawings, small formats filled with grey, black and white, echo
famous works by French 17
th
century masters Nicolas Poussin and
Philippe de Champaigne, who often inspire him. Through his works,
Cueco conveys his views and feelings.
Rachel Feinstein at the Gagosian
Gallery in Rome
The Gagosian Gallery in Rome
exhibits through 5 January 2013
works by Rachel Feinstein. For the first show in
Rome, the Gallery chose an installation
consi st i ng of pai nt i ngs and scul pt ures
produced by the American artist.
This exhibition reveals the artists fascination
with religion, myth, beauty, morality and
decadence. Arranged as a reminiscence of
stage dressing, her paintings and sculptures
are inspired in diverse artistic, architectural,
cultural, and stylistic sources from religious
iconography to Baroque sculpture, Romanticist
landscapes, and popular cartoons art and
hi st or y ar e char ged wi t h a bur l esque
sensibility.
The gal l ery s wal l s are covered wi th a
panoramic wallpaper of impressionistic Rome
sourcing and collaging various artistic visions
of the city from different historical periods.
Diamond-shaped glass mirrors painted with
faces are fixed to the walls merging with the
background panorama while catching the
passing viewers gaze.
Four sculptures placed in the middle of the
scenography represent Christian icons such as
Archangel Michael, who defeated Satan, Saint
Agatha, who did not renounced her faith under
torture, Saint Sebastian, who survived despite
being pierced by numerous arrows and Saint
Christopher, the patron saint of travellers, who
bears the weight of the world upon his
shoulders. The Gagosian Gallery adds that each
sculpture presents the history of Biblical
heroes, shown through the expressionistic
details of their famous agonies and ecstasies.
They are like shadows placed in the midst of an
illusionary setting Rome.
Cabinet of curiosities at La Reine
Margot Gallery
Parisian gallery La Reine Margot
speci al i sed i n archaeol ogi cal
pieces, in love with ancient art and its magic
b e a u t y p r e s e n t s t h e e x h i b i t i o n
Curiosities, to be held from 13 December
2012 to 30 March 2013. The inauguration will
take place on 13 December from 6pm.
In the framework of this exhibition, the gallery
enables the visitors to live a very peculiar
experience, by unveiling its new collection, a
very special selection of items revisiting the
n o t i o n o f c a b i n e t o f c u r i o s i t i e s .
Archaeological pieces come from Egypt, Greece
and Rome mix with precious mineral fossils,
mysterious masks and an important collection
of Peruvian vases.
La Reine Margot is the oldest archaeology gallery
in Paris. It was founded in 1937, and has been
managed by Gilles Cohen for twenty years now.
WHATS ON
David Salle/Francis Picabia exhibition at the
Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery
The Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery is to present a dozen
new paintings and hitherto unseen drawings by
American painter David Salle, from 23 January to 23 February
2013. It will accompany a selection of works by Francis Picabia
(1979-1953), post Dadaist painter, among which Lotruli
(1930), Melibea (1932-1933), Cocolo (1936-1938) and Woman
with a Bouquet (1942), shaking the codes of bourgeois and
traditional painting.
David Salle gave birth in the 1980s to a new conceptual
language for painting. His pictorial research produced visual
juxtaposition and superposition, devices to be observed in
Picabias translucidities as well. The approach of both artists has
often been compared. David Salles attraction towards Picabia is
more about the spirit than the style. The first time I saw his
paintings form the 1930s and 1940s , I felt there was no
direction in the way of looking at them. It was a liberation, it
was exciting and free from good intentions a real anarchy!
David Salle lives and works in New York. He was born in 1952 in
Norman (Oklahoma). After studying at the California Institute of
the Arts with John Baldessari in the 1970s, he became a leading
figure of New York figurative art scene. His paintings enrich
major collections such as the Chicago Art Institute, the Essl
Collection in Vienna and the Guggenheim in New York.
Susanne Themlitz exhibits OH! in Madrid
OH, an exhibition of paintings, sculptures and
installations by Portuguese artist Susanne Themlitz,
will be held at the gallery ARANAPOVEDA in Madrid
from 7 February to 4 April 2013.
OH! shows us the ability of drawing to configure intimate and
immediate spaces from dreamlike stories. Her sculptures and
drawings transport the visitor to parallel worlds and extended
landscapes through quotes of Art History.
Born in Lisbon, the artist has exhibited since 1992 until today
in numerous museums and art institutions of Portugal,
Germany, Spain and France like MAS (Santander), Calouste
Gulbekian (Lisbon), Museo do Chiado (Lisbon), Hans-Peter-
Zimmer Foundation (Dsseldorf) and in the Vera Corts Gallery
(Lisbon), Angeles Baos Gallery (Badajoz), Steiner Gallery
(Berlin), Carla Sttzer Gallery (Cologne), Luis Serpa (Lisbon)
among others. And has participated at ARCO (since 1998), Slick
Art Fair, ArtBo, ArtRio, ArteLisboa and Scope Basel.
Georg Baselitzs graphic work at the Pilar Serra Gallery
The Pilar Serra Gallery in Madrid presents an
exhibition of German painter Georg Baselitz,
Painting on paper and graphic work from 18
December 2012 to 4 February 2013. The exhibition comprises
the graphic work of the artist produced between 2004 and
2011, etchings, aquatints and woodcuts along with several
watercolours on paper.
His etchings explore the same subject as his painting and
sculpture. He had started the etching period in 1964
researching a personal language that could liberate him from
any mimetic project. From 1977 he made his first monumental
etchings and around 1981 the figure and the background
integrate and there is a big interest in colour.
This is the third exhibition that the gallery devotes to the artist
and it comprises around ten engravings, four woodcuts, of the
series Big Night, two aquatints and four etchings.
I love you with my iPhone by Mussa Hassan
in Brussels
Belgian gallery Pascal Polar presents I love you
with my iPhone by Sudanese artist Mussa
Hassan, named after the artwork I love you with my Ford by
pop artist James Rosenquist, 1961. The exhibitions will run
from February and will last until the end of April 2013.
Inspired by Rosenquists work, that takes a critical point of
view towards the consumer society of the 60s, Hassan
takes this criticism and transfers it to the present day
situation stressing the fact that Americans achieved to
impose to societies of oil-producing countries of the
Middle East, a Muslim version of the American way of life.
The exhibition is inspired by The Death of Marat, by David,
1793. It echoes to the assassination of Osama bin Laden by
the Americans, as a construction of images before being a
liquidation operation of a political opponent. In Hassans
work, dead Osama bin Laden holds an iPhone, as Marat
holds a letter in Davids iconic painting. Mussa Hassan
boldly shows the tragic dimension of the relationship we all
maintain with manipulative and uncontrollable media.
Glasswork by Hiroshi Yamano in Hong Kong
From 1
st
February to 1
st
April 2013 the artist
Hiroshi Yamano will present Scene of Japan at
Koru Contemporary Art museum and gallery in
Hong Kong. The Japanese artist is known for being a glass
blower but has equally worked in crafts and metalwork. His
work includes glasswork considered as sculptures showing a
delicate balance between Eastern and Western imagery.
The works will present studies of the natural world,
inviting the visitors to share a contemplative moment. The
pieces, called by the artist Nagare (a Japanese word
meaning current) are designed to be lightly misaligned in
order to create a sense of movement or flow. The art
pieces are an extension of his popular From East to West
series through which he explored the influence of both
Eastern and Western cultures in his life.
His works can be found in museums throughout the world
including the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA; the Corning
Museum of Glass, Corning, NY; the Wheaton Glass Museum,
Millville, NJ; the Winter Park City Hall Winter Park, FL and
The Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI.
Adel Abdessemed exhibits at the David
Zwirner Gallery in London
Algerian plastic artist, Adel Abdessemed, who
lives and works in Paris, will exhibit from 22
February to 30 March 2013 at the David Zwirner Gallery in
London. The exhibition will display the artists new works.
Born 1971 in Constantine, Algeria, he attended the cole
nationale des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, France. Abdessemed has
established himself as a prominent figure on the
contemporary art scene. He uses varied mediums for his
art including drawing, video, photography, performance
and sculpture. His visual language is rich, direct, sensitive
and controversial. His art stresses the effects of the
globalised society on the individual. His work is
represented in prominent collections internationally,
including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Israel
Museum, Jerusal em; the Muse d art moderne et
contemporain, Geneva; the Muse dArt Moderne de la
Ville de Paris; and the Franois Pinault Foundation, Venice.
He lives and works in Paris.
Interview
INTERVIEW WITH SPEEDY GRAPHITO
On occasion of the exhibition at the Polaris Gallery, you resume
your collaboration with Bernard Utudjian, who has represented
you from 1985 to 2003. What could you say about this comeback?
Bernard Utudjian came to me two years ago. He wanted to celebrate
the 25
th
anniversary of his gallery, and since I had been one of his
first artists, he offered me a retrospective. Though I have become
famous on the Street Art scene, only few persons know my
background and my works genesis. This is the story Bernard wanted
to show. Because of space constraints in the gallery, we chose to
focus the exhibition on a major element of my work: Lapinture.
Altogether there are only few pieces on sale, five canvases and a
few publications. Most of the pieces on display are part of my
collection, or of Bernards, and neither of us wishes to let them go.
How would you define your career?
I have always been a painter: drawing lessons at 9, creation of
theatre settings from 14 to 20, five years of art school (including
two at the famous Ecole Estienne in Paris). My first works as Speedy
Graphito were made in 1984, the year of my first exhibition at the
Espace Pierre Cardin. The Polaris gallery, owned by the youngest art
dealer in France, decided to represent me. In 1985, I created the
poster La Rue vers lart (Art Rush): it granted me immediate and
striking success throughout the country. Afterwards there have been
many exhibitions, solo shows at the Fiac and urban performances on
the walls of Paris.
Who are your collectors?
With regard to other artists, I have faithful collectors, some of whom
bought several works. For instance, one family has bought over sixty
of my works! These collectors thus cover various stages of my work.
Some of them have supported the gallery as well, by purchasing
only at Bernard Utudjians, others stopped when my paintings
became too expensive.
Sixty works, thats something!
Yes but one must see each exhibition of mine is unique and
addresses a specific issue, expressed by various styles. Some did
want to possess all the pebbles of my artistic path. Besides, some of
my collectors are interested only in sculptures, but they are as
enthusiastic as others.
How did your works evolve on the market?
Today I have a double market. There is a quotation for recent works,
which are more expensive than older works. The reason of this is
that my past works have not been diffused by the media as present
ones are, and they are not available on the market, for people keep
them! Last February, Artcurial sold a 1990 painting, Jai d rver trop
fort (I Must Have Dreamt Too Hard) for almost 19,000 (hammer
price). But altogether the market offers mostly recent works. They can
reach between 23,000 and 25,000 (hammer price): Fascination,
2009, has been auctioned at Leclere, Marseilles,
peedy Graphito is exhibiting through 22 December The
Essential of Painting 1987 at the Polaris Gallery in Paris, an
occasion of discovering through a selection of works the
multifaceted and polymorphic creativity of this representative
of Street Art, who shows there his ability to overcome labels.
Art Media Agency had the pleasure of meeting him.
S
(more page 19)
Speedy Graphito
photo Frial 2012
SprayTrash Urban Color 2012
Painted resin sculpture
80 80cm H: 200 cm
Interview
for 25,000, 30,980 including buyers premium, on
22 May 2010.
How did your quotation evolve?
A painting worth today 20,000 was sold twenty years ago for
30,000 francs (5,000) twenty years ago. It has been multiplied
by four! Time favours me, I have become a historic artist. I believe
the introduction of the euro has played a part as well.
Is this evolution slow and constant enough to establish the
market?
There has been a real speeding up in 2004: then a 1 1m
painting was worth 5,000 ; now it is worth over 15,000!
What happened in 2004?
The Street Art phenomenon became famous, auction houses
began to exhibit and sell works from this movement, and this
helped its discovery. As for me, I rarely put my works in
contemporary art auctions: they make best in specific sales, for I
am considered a precursor of the movement.
Do you feel there exist an investment speculation concerning
your work?
Not really, I feel more people are simply attracted to my work. That
is why they keep the paintings; they cannot live without them.
What is your difference with other artists? For instance, your
studio neighbour is Street artist JonOne.
JonOne and I have a different story. I got recognition in my
early career, as soon as I started to paint, whereas JonOne
established himself later. His American origins are an asset, for
the movement is often linked with New York. As for me, I think
Street Art was born in France, and Graffiti in the United States.
I have a specific way of working: for each exhibition, I make
people travel. Jon rather shows continuity and energy in his
production. He creates more than I, and people wonder about
him. My approach is very peculiar: my works require more time
to be produced, but they are more varied, unique. That is why
people do not resell them. If they resell them they know they
will not get another. Our respective strategies are different. For
all that, we respect each other, we are friends.
How do you establish the price of your works and its evolution?
Once the price established, if the exhibition does well and
everything is sold, then I slightly increase the prices (by 10%) for
the following exhibition. It has been two years the prices have not
been reestimated. It depends on circumstances. For the United
States, where I am represented by the Fabien Castanier Gallery in
Los Angeles, currency fluctuations raise a problem: one cannot
adapt the prices with regard to dollar fluctuation! We therefore
decided an equality euro/dollar. As this is not convenient for me,
we also mix parameters. If the dollar is really under the euro, we
make sure difference of prices does not exceed 20%, or everyone
will go to the US to buy. With transportation costs, if the work is
to be sold in auction room, the commission covers the
difference. This prevents traffic.
(more )
Pensez vous vraiment pouvoir radiquer une culture? 2012
Acrylic and spray on canvas
150 150 cm
Heroic Colors #1, 2012
Spray on glass
70 x 50 cm
(more page 20)
Interview
You take part in charity auctions, for instance
the forthcoming 100 Briques pour Madagascar,
another to support the Zafi mani ry peopl e i n
Madagascar Does this allow you greater visibility in
the auction field?
No, for this is really a parallel circuit, and often I have to
create on a specific material for the occasion (bricks,
wooden blinds), which I prefer, for there are no questions
of quotations with a specific size or technique, no
comparison can be made with the rest of my production.
Besides, these sales are always for a good cause, but the
result is not guaranteed, and works can be sold for
nothing. In this case, I prefer to sell the work myself, and
donate the money afterwards. For instance, 100 Briques
pour Madagascar went very well last year: my brick
fetched 14,500, and Pierre Soulages 60,000.
How do you react when labelled Street artist? Many
artists wish to be seen as artists first, with no label.
I have long refused to be labelled Street artist, in my
early career. When the movement won visibility I got
more integrated, for being an outsider can be a problem
as well, and it deprives you of many things. But I am a
painter, this is what I have always been, and Street art is
rather an extension of my work.
What is your view on the Street art market?
I think we are still trendy, but only the best will outlive the
fashion. I see an obvious parallel with post 1980s
Figuration Libre. They all took to painting, but some
disappeared afterwards. This infatuation stopped with the
Persian Gulf War; suddenly nobody could sell anything.
Either the galleries blocked the prices and nothing was
sold, or they gradually sold off for nothing. Today there is a
confusion between Street art and Graffiti, and I believe
many artists are overestimated. Investors will be
disappointed, but a natural selection will be made
between who is an artist and who is not.
Have your work suffered from the current recession?
Two years ago it has rather been a fortune for me, for
people chose to invest in secure values. They preferred to
buy one expensive large-sized painting rather than three
cheaper pieces.
You are going to exhibit your recent works at the New
Square Gallery in Lille, from 30 Novembre 2012 to 26
January 2013. What new topics will you be exploring this
time ?
This time I chose to address the evolution of our lifestyle
with the Internet and the new relationship with digital
technologies. I used more tools to express this; paintings,
sculptures, videos, photographs
Is your inspiration changing?
I am willing to work with the codes of contemporary art
as I used to do with Street Art and see how I shall
translate them in my universe. I made a series of gigantic
smartphones in paint on wood or glass, where each
coulour has the name of a popular hero or reference (Charlie
Brown, Pink Panther, Clockwork Orange, Purple Rain) and rather
than figuration I chose to represent them as giant pixels. I never
did that before. There is also a video of Sponge Bob Square
Pants Lchappe belle, where Sponge Bob escapes his
cartoon character condition: a real sponge on the wall with the
head of Sponge Bob, and I am working on the video in order to
erase him from the film, to create the impression he got off the
film. As an echo to recession, I gilded petrol jerrycans and wrote
lead-free 95RON-octane gasoline or lead-free 98RON-octane
gasoline, to represent petrol as a perfume, a luxury good, and
Monopoly paintings, where red hotels have become ruins.
After the New Square Gallery exhibition in Lille, what are
your projects?
For now I am taking part in a collective exhibition at the
Vlklinger Htte Museum in Germany from March to October, a
collective exhibition at the New Square Gallery in March, a solo
show at the Fabien Castanier Gallery in Los Angeles and
another at the Aragon Museum in May.
Interview with Speedy Graphito
(more )
L'atelier 2012
Installation
Galerie Polaris Paris.
Artists
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Market of Salvador Dali sculptures ooding with
misinformation, knockos, outright fraud
Manuel Sevillano, the managing director of the Gala-
Salvador Dali Foundation won the battle against Museo Dali
Escultor concerning the misuse of the Dali brand thus
misleading the visitors into thinking their museum was the
official one. Sevillano thinks, from now on, positive changes
can be done regarding the marketing tactics that are
allowing an improper exploitation of the copyrights,
trademarks of even the images of Salvador Dali. However
the problem had grown way too much when the prosperous
foundation, that was and is still supposed to gain control of
the artists legacy since his death, seemed to have lost
control of his rights, works and trademarks. Today an
eventful production and sale of sculptures, commissioned
late in the artists life, grows stronger and dates from the
artists death in 1989. Consequently the problem that
arises most likely concerns the origin of the works.
An extended ARTnews investigation revealed that the
market for Dali sculptures remains inundated with
misinformation, unauthorised edition, ownership, disputes
and outright fraud. This confirms the phenomenon that is
now happening on the market: the presence of knockoffs
(some coming from China) of existing Dali bronzes some of
which are available on the Internet. It is uncertain whether
any of the sculptures have been sold, however, there is a
big financial incentive for unscrupulous operators wanting
to pass off knockoffs as originals.
Numerous questi onabl e Dal i scul ptures have been
emerging on the market scene and French experts Robert
and Nicolas Descharnes have specified no knowledge or
familiarity with many works put up for auction. For instance,
the work Shoes with a Body Shape sold last December for
$9,408 (7,185) and attributed to Dali, seems to be one of
those mysterious unknown pieces; according to Descharnes
there is no existing drawing made by the artist for it.
Regarding the origin, there might be numerous foundry
places around the world. Yongheng Craft Manufacturer, in
Baoding, near Beijing, markets versions of some of Dalis
bronze sculptures produced by Beniamino Levi, one of the
major European purveyors of Dali sculptures. Each one is
sold at prices ranging from $1,200 to $4,000 (from 915 to
3050). According to ARTnews a writer, posing as a potential
buyer, queried the foundry about an edition of a Dali bronze. As
an email response, the manufacturer wrote they could produce
the edition plus three numbered artists proof. The sales
representative even sent a photo showing the Dali signature
that the foundry uses. Even worse, when asked if they had a
license to produce Dalis sculptures they answered back that
they did not since they were only a factory able to make
sculptures or crafts according to our customers request.
Controlling the rights becomes a hard work since many
sculpture editors had contracts with Dali, which enable them to
represent his work and to reproduce them. Even Dalis wife,
Gala, had given rights for many sculptures. It was just after
Dalis death that more and more sculptures began to appear,
mostly monumental ones. This suggests that sculpture
publishers might not have respected the announced edition
sizes since no approbation was now needed from Dali, thus
generating a distrust coming from the collectors and scholars
about the authenticity of the work.
It did not come as a surprise then to see that the Dali exhibition
at the Centre Pompidou in Paris did not include any late
bronzes. According to Jean-Hubert Martin, former director of
Centre Georges Pompidou, most of them are derived from the
paintings, and the quality of the execution isnt very exciting.
So far, the foundation has not contested contracts under which
the sculptures were produced because Dali and Gala were
willing to sell the rights, including Dalis signature, in order to
finance their luxurious lifestyle.
As it is, it is more likely that the foundation creates a catalogue
raisonn of the sculptures, but after years of debates nothing
has been done. Sevillano has nonetheless expressed his desire
that producers sign new restrictive contracts directly with the
foundation, something that most of the producers have not
done yet. Many owners of the rights feel no need to work
together with the Dali Foundation. Leonardo Benatov, who
leads Valsuani Foundry in France, found the foundations terms
too restrictive It seems there is a long path to travel before
the issues regarding Dalis late sculptures disappear.
OBITUARY
French artist Hlne Ich died aged 82
Hlne Ich, literary woman and plastic artist, was born in Paris in
1930. Her father, the sculptor Ren Ich, was then represented by art
dealer Leopold Zborowski. She was brought up in the bohemian district
of Montparnasse and poet Max Jacob was her godfather. In 1937, she
posed for two major works of her father: Hlne, Six Years Old, exhibited
in the 1939 New York Art Fairs French pavilion and the emblematic
sculpture Guernica, produced the very day of the killing, which he
refused to exhibit because of its great violence.
Since she was 10 she had learned how to draw with Robert Coutin,
Germaine Richiers former master. During the war she stopped to go
to school, and her father used her in his Resistance action. She
distinguished herself in false documents making, decoding and
transmitting personal messages broadcast by London, and led
various missions as a liaison agent.
After the war, she entered Fernand Lgers studio, and there she was
trained in square enlargement techniques, notably for ceramics. She
befriended Henri Goetz, whom she greatly admired for his engravings.
At the same time she studied Classical Literature and Linguistics. A
great traveller, drawer and occasional poet, she strived to preserve the
memory of Montparnasse beyond the artists of her own family. Thanks
to her daughter, Hlne Ich had recently donated the original plaster
version of Guernica to the Muse Fabre in Montpellier.
MOVEMENTS
New photographers at VU agency
VU agency has recently welcomed two new
photographers, Liz Hingley (1985) and Frank
Loriou (1966). Hingley joins the agency as a
photographer and exclusive member of the
Archi ves, Medi a, Corporate and Cul ture
department. As for Frank Loriou, he will be part
of the exclusive archives team.
Liz Hingley graduated from Brighton University
(editorial photography) and London College
where she studied anthropology. She obtained
the Getty Image Grant to continue her work about
poverty throughout the world.
Frank Loriou is a photographer specialised in
musi c edi ti ons. He worked on numerous
images and CD covers notably for Yann Tiersen,
Jean-Louis Murat, Dominique A, JP Nataf, Peter
von Poehl , Al exi s HK, Mi nda Ti ndel . He
produced as well various series concerning
ever yday l i fe ( Out t a season) , chi l dhood
(Smallville), animals (The Wild Life) and nature
(Birdland). In 2009 he published a photography
album titled Tout est calme.
Interview
INTERVIEW WITH ALXONE
You are exhibiting at the Franck Le Feuvre Gallery through 15
December. What story are you telling through this
exhibition?
The exhibition is titled Alacrit, which means rousing
gaiety. This title gives a spirit, a kind of territory where I am
free, where everything is possible. I refuse to stick to one
theme, otherwise it becomes a graphic commission. I put no
limits, for they stop all possible inspiration. I paint rather
instinctively.
Where does the word Alacrit come?
It is a real word from the dictionary, an old word one does not
use every day I daresay. Each dictionary offers its own
definition, one just knows it is linked with gaiety, with
something lively. I have long been in love with this word, and
for the anecdote, there is a pub next to my place called A la
pointe de lalacrit. I wondered for years about the meaning
of it, until I opened a dictionary. Moreover it is international,
in English it is alacrity.
Are you in love with words?
I like words, wordplays it is my French culture.
Indeed, there are words in your paintings.
They are not really words, but rather the spirit of the words,
and then I really like words, it is simple. Using words does not
require anything special. One can play with words while having
coee in the morning!
What is the colour ofAlacrit?
It has not one colour, but so many colours, with dashes of
bright colours that sting the eyes!
The exhibition gathers 18 paintings, as well as a real novelty
in your work: engravings, or rather an association of
engraving and embossing. How did you choose that
technique?
It modernises engraving, a long established technique! I
scrabbled with a youngster, Gal Beulier, who worked as an
intern in my atelier. I had done engravings before, but I had not
much experience, which I acquired after eleven plates! You do
everything simultaneously, engraving and embossing, on a
copper plate.
Your relationship with technique is something very
surprising. When one thinks of Street Art, one immediately
thinks aerosol, while in your work you use printed fabric as
a canvas, bronze sculpture and plastic
Actually I do not wonder, I just do what I want! I like to
experiment techniques I know little, even more when they are
classical, for my training has not been traditional at all.
It just happened like this, on a sudden impulse. I used to be a
graphic designer, that is why I like so much all papers and
prints, books I like also to give an artistic dimension to small
gifts and advertising objects. I use things that Ive always liked.
Does the use of engraving a classical technique in the art
history have an inuence on your creativeness?
Indeed it does. What I like so much about engraving is that you
just do it, there is no way to erase, and you keep a true
relationship with the material. Moreover it brings a very special
emotion in the lines, which you may easily lose when working
on computer, which is a much colder technical relationship.
Is this idea of opening to the eld of all possibilities in
creation opposed to the general idea about Street Art?
The main problem of Street Art these days is that people are
trying to dene it. When I started to paint, the word Street Art
did not even exist. I did something very close to grati, as
teenage boys from the Bronx did so many years ago. When I
grew up, after discovering this fun thing, I discovered I wanted
more, I conceptualised by practice. What I remember of Street
Art is the street scene, and the social openness: everyone
mixes. You can meet all kinds of people, and even policemen,
for writing on walls is not always welcome!
The point is to live sensory, human experiences rather than
mere technique, but since the word has been invented and set
against the system, it has become nothing but marketing, only
marketing! I admit I discovered Street Art through passion: it
has been the origin, the beginning, and never the aim in itself.
People dene me as a Street Artist. I am rather willing to bring
grati towards something more personal.
How would you dene yourself?
I am a painter, a contemporary artist. I think my painting is for
now, it is not the same than ten years ago, it is deeply linked
with our time.
I like words, the openness of words: to play with them, to read
them backwards; when one begins to put
lxone started to paint in the street, as many
teenagers who try the aerosol spray to have fun, and
afterwards he followed a path that established him as a
true artist, with no restrictive label. His freedom opened
him the field of all possibilities, and his curiosity needs
to experience the unknown. AMA had the opportunity of
meeting him on occasion of his exhibition at the Franck
Le Feuvre Gallery, Paris.
A
(more page 23)
Atelier Alexone Dizac - Ben Lorph
Interview
INTERVIEW WITH ALXONE
labels, all becomes rigid and there is nothing to
be done. That is why I am so keen on discovering dierent
techniques. When you start to put limits, there is no more
freedom of creation. This is not what interests me in being
an artist! I cannot just do what I know, what I like is to
surprise myself.
Do you make preparatory drawings on the canvas before
using acrylic paint?
Things come progressively; there is something really
instinctive about it. Then it all comes from my head, I put
dynamics and masses this is my graphic designer side
and I adapt it. Each time it is really dierent.
I work mainly with acrylic paint, but I am rather curious
about techniques. It even provoked conicts with stores!
Once I wanted to buy simple canvas to draw on it, and the
sales assistant almost drove me out of the shop, for the
idea of drawing on canvas was a scandal to her. Ever since, I
have taken to draw on canvas! In the beginning, I knew
nothing of classical technique, I thought there were rules,
but in the end they are meant to be broken.
What do your fellow artists think of your openness to all
techniques?
They are rather positive about it. Then everyone has his
personality. In the beginning there is a kind of formatting.
In the grati technique, you paint the background and the
inside of letters together, and then only the contours. Some
ignore it, and they paint the contours rst and the inside
afterwards. When it comes to simple things, variations are
possible. The important thing is to nd rules that suit you.
It is a general habit to paint big-sized patterns on walls all
over the world. One has to adapt, for you paint with
whatever you nd there. I have been working inside for a
year; I just try to discover new techniques and to keep
those I like!
You say you are accustomed to working on big volumes.
How do you get by with smaller paintings then?
My paintings are mostly details of broader scenes, with
gures exceeding the frame. I always imagine things bigger
than they are.
In addition to your paintings, you also paint the walls of
the exhibition room!
Its a habit of mine! If I must choose between a plain white
wall, and a wall lled with drawings and colours to
accompany my paintings, I prefer the second choice!
Your evolution and artistic creation followed the
emergence of a Street Art market, how did you enter it?
We entered an already existent art market, we just became
a distinct category. Ten years ago I didnt know what a
gallery was. We exhibited in places out of the art market,
yet everything was on sale. We exhibited in squats, in
alternative places all over Europe, in international
networks. In Germany for instance it was well organised; we had
several shows there between 1999 and 2001, the year Bansky
started to get himself talked about.
How do you feel today about exhibiting in Paris, in a gallery that
promotes and highlights artists?
I have been exhibiting in galleries since 2004-2005, for solo
shows exclusively. It has become normal and I quite like it! My
job is to paint; thanks to the gallery I dont have to worry about
selling anymore. It is more than welcome!
How do you dene the price of your works?
I tried to be coherent with the personal investment my paintings
represent. It is true I spend more time on them than a few years
ago. A 92 x 73cm painting can reach 5,200 today, while a 270 x
140cm work rises to 29,200. My engravings (ten specimens) are
sold between 480 and 550.
A painting must create an emotion, thats the most important
thing. It justies the price you pay for it.
What is your view on the current Street Art market?
Some people just speculate: theyd rather buy a style than an
artist, and this takes me aback. The real problem of the artistic
circle is ego: the story of each artist is lled with anecdotes and
stories nobody can prove. The only real thing, after all, is your
work on the canvas.
Interview with Alxone
(more )
Alexone Dizac - Ben Lorph
Auctions
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
First Belgian art sale at Cornette de Saint Cyr: a success
The first sale dedicated to Belgian design and contemporary art organised by auction house Cornette de Saint Cyr in
Brussels on 10 December 2012 was a big success. Total proceeds reached 1,002,807.
During this auction, La Fenaison, oil on canvas by Emile Claus was sold for 77,500, far beyond estimations, likewise ink on
paper by Jannis Kounellis, from a private collection which fetched 39,990. Dominante bleue by Joseph Lacasse was sold
for 49,020, while the canvas from the Jos Van Leyven de Koningshooikt collection and Personnage assis by Floris Jespers
(1922) was auctioned for 23,220 five times more than previously estimated.
This sale offered as well Sve, oil on canvas by Jo Delahaut (1956) from a private collection, which was purchased for
38,700. Composition n11 by Pol Bury was sold for 36,120, while a work coming from Christian Dotremonts private
collection, another Composition, by Guy Vandenbranden, was purchased for 23,220.
CONTROVERSY
The Bendicht Rudolf Wagner pre-Columbian collection in the sights of
Peruvian authorities
On Monday afternoon, 3 December 2012 at 2pm the Castor Hara
Society in Paris dispersed the collection of Genevan Bendicht Rudolf
Wagner with 92% of 262 lots sold. The collection consisted of pre-
Columbian pieces, the majority of which came from Peru, especially
from the Chavin civilisation. Other pieces came from Colombia and
other Latin American countries.
The star lot happened to be the decorative plate of a golden pectoral
of a Shaman, acquired for 575,000 by a French collector. The sale
exceeded all expectations since the object had been estimated
between 300,000 and 500,000. The piece is a treasure. According to
the metal object specialist, Robert Sonin, it is the heaviest Chavin gold
piece presently known.
On the other hand, the international market bought the lot appearing on
the catalogues cover for 40,000, a polychrome terracotta potion vase.
Among the textile pieces, a poncho was quickly bought for 16,900
(estimated between 7,000 and 10,000).
Despite good sales results, according to Peruvian magazine Ilustracion
Peruana Caretas, behind the auction relies something that worries the
Peruvian authorities as to know how and how many pieces did the
collector manage to obtain from the country over the years. The
collected works would have been acquainted between the 1950s and
the 1970s and although an agreement with the UNESCO specifies the
prohibition of exporting and marketing cultural goods, Bendicht
Wagner printed a luxurious 120-page catalogue for the auction.
Additionally, according to the General National Cultural Heritage Law
(No. 28296), every holder of such pieces must be registered at the INC.
Any attempt to draw the heritage out of the country without
authorisation or respective certification may be punishable by a fine,
impound or confiscation. The actions that Peruvian authorities will
undertake are still unknown.
RESULTS
Result of the auction by Claude Aguttes in Drouot Paris
The auction organised by Claude Aguttes auction house on 7 December at
Drouot-Richelieu reached a total of 4,727,513 TTC. It gathered various art
goods such as ancient paintings, Asian art, furniture and art objects.
The ancient paintings themselves reached 1,420,580. The sale was
launched with a landscape by Flemish artist Hans Bol auctioned
242,250. But the record price of the sale was a painting by Hendrick
Van Balen (1575-1632), auctioned for 969,000.
The great interest of collectors for Pieter Coeck Van Aelst has been
confirmed, with two sales of his paintings, one for 31,975 and the
other for 29,325. The culmination point was the sale of lot 56 to a
collector, a painted scroll by Chinese artist Zhang Weibang in 1752 for
which the auction rose to 1,530,000. Also, two court costumes for the
Imperial family were largely contested by the bidders since they were
auctioned for 108,375 and 184,875.
Christies Hong Kong makes $333,8m in a week
Christies Hong Kong has recently announced
that the 2012 Autumn sales week brought in a
turnover of HK$2.6b ($333.8m / 256.9m).
Six sessions were organised from 23 to 28
November 2012:
Fine and Rare Wine held from 23 to 25
November 2012, which made a HK$108.4m
turnover ($14.1m / 10.8m). We must note
the sale of twelve bottles of Romane Conti
Vintage 2005 for a sum far beyond their
es t i mat i on, r eac hi ng HK$1, 694, 000
($219,712 / 169,068).
Asian 20
th
Century & Contemporary Art
held from 24 to 25 November 2012.
Proceeds from this sale reached HK$674.6m
($87.5m / 67.3m) making it the best session
of the week. The key piece of this sale was
undoubtedly La fort blanche II, a canvas by
Chinese artist Chu Teh-Chun, purchased for
HK$60,020,000 ($7,784,594 / 5.99m)
Chinese Paintings, the session held from
26 to 27 November 2012, brought a total
income of HK$500.5m ($64.9 / 49.9m). The
piece titled Magpies on Branches by Xu
Beihong was purchased for HK$21,940,000
($2,845,618 / 2.2m), establishing the
sales record far beyond estimate.
Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels held on 27
November made a HK$580.2m turnover
($75.3m / 57.94m). A Birman diamond and
ruby necklace, made by James W. Currens
was sold for HK$39,860,000 ($5,169,842 /
3.98m)
Important Watches, session held on 28
November, 2012 brought the income of HK
$186.3 5$24.2 / 18.6), thanks notably to
the watch by Patek Phillipe sold for HK
$25,300,000 ($3,281,410 / 2.5m)
Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art held
on 28 November made a turnover of HK
$523.6m ($67.9m / 52.25m). The Imperial
cup falangcai was sold for HK$48,820,000
($6,331,954 / 4.9m).
RESULTS
Raphael drawing breaks records at Sothebys London
A Raphael drawing, depicting a young apostle, established a
striking record at Sothebys London on 5 December 2012.
The work fetched 29.7m ($47.8m/366m) almost thrice
the initial estimate between 10m and 16m. It is the
highest price ever registered for a drawing on paper. The
previous record belonged to a Raphael drawing as well; Head
of a Muse sold for 29.2m in 2009. London art dealer
Stephen Ongpin, second last bidder, declared the price is
justified for such a fantastic piece; nevertheless he could not
afford to bid higher.
Head of an Apostle is a black chalk drawing, produced by Raphael
(1483-1520) originated from the Chatsworth Devonshire
Collection. It is one of the key gures of Italian Renaissance
depiction of Transguration, exhibited at the Vatican Museum in
Rome. When Raphael died, his body was laid out in his studio
with the Transguration hanging at his head.
Gregory Rubinstein, head of old master drawings at
Sothebys, stresses that If you are lucky, at some point in
your career a work like this comes along. A number of the
worlds greatest collectors stepped up tonight in recognition
of the genius of Raphael and the extraordinary beauty of this
drawing with its exceptional provenance.
Results of the Chinese ceramics and artworks auctions at
Christies
Christies just announced the results of the Chinese ceramics
and art auction held on 28 November 2012. The auction,
composed of three sessions, fetched a turnover of HK
$523,562,875 ($67,906,105 and 52.2m).
The auction of Chinese furniture from American private
collections made HK$104, 002, 250 ($13, 489, 092 and
10.4m). We might mention notably a pair of 17
th
-18
th

century cabinets made of Huanghuali (Chinese wood) sold
for HK$23, 060, 000 (2. 29m), a pair of 17
th
century
Huanghulai armchairs sold for HK$5,420,000 (537,867) and
a canopy bed that rose to HK$6,020,000 (597,409).
The second auction was dedicated to lacquers from the Lee
family collection. It was the third time pieces from the
collection were put on sale, and the very first time an auction
presented lacquer pieces from one single collection. The sale
fetched HK$34,928,500 ($4,530,226 and 3.48). Collectors
have appreciated among others a small cinnabar lacquer
circular box of the beginning of the Ming period, sold for HK
$6,620,000 (657,037). A Tixi saddle of the Yuan period rose
to HK$3,020,000 (299.736); and a cinnabar lacquer chest of
the Ming period sold for HK$2.66m (264,006).
The third auction achieved a turnover of HK$384,632,787
(38.4). The star piece of the event was by no doubt an
Imperial Falangcai enamelled glass brush pot that rose to HK
$ 48,820,000 (4.84m). We might recall as well a Falangcai
enamelled Beneath Pine Trees mallet-shaped vase sold for
HK$ 35,380,000 (3.52m) as well as a pair of Clair-de-Lune
glazed bottle vases with the seal of Emperor Yongzheng, sold
for HK$34,260,000 (3.4m).
By organising these auctions in Hong Kong, Christies
responded an international demand, which shows the market
is in search of top-quality pieces.
COMING SOON
Christies Paris first drawings auction
In April 2013 Christies Paris is about to organise
for the first time an auction dedicated to
modern and contemporary drawings. The event
will be held during the Salon du Dessin, scheduled between
10 and 15 April 2013 at the Palais de la Bourse, Paris.
Franois de Ricqls, Chairman of Christie s France,
declared It seemed important, when all international
drawing collectors come to Paris, Christies should offer
classical pieces, from the 16
th
to the 19
th
century, as well
as more recent works. We will thus present for the first
time since we opened in December 2011 two auctions of
works on paper, titled Christies Drawing Days: one
dedicated to old masters and the other to Impressionist
and Modern artists. Works on paper have been on sale for
twenty years in Christes London and New York but it will
be the first sale of that kind held in France. Rare
masterpieces, such as Portrait of Singer Mojesko, 1907, by
Van Dongen, are expected.
1960-1980: Game Generation by Boisgirard-
Antonini at the Htel Drouot
Boisgirard-Antonini auction house will organise
on 18 February 2013 an exclusive auction
1960-1980: Game Generation at the Htel Drouot, Paris.
The sale will gather 350 tie-in products from TV series and
iconic Science Fiction films of the late 20
th
century. The
auction houses press release stresses this auctions being
the major sale of vintage games to date. Besides, it assures
pieces from prestigious collections will be presented in
excepti onal conservati on state, wi th thei r ori gi nal
wrapping. The session will comprise metal robots, pinball
machines, iconic posters, spaceships, original works by
contemporary artists and other surprises.
It will be an opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts to
acquire tie-in products from the Star Wars universe, from
Japanese cartoons (UFO Robot Grendizer, Captain Harlock,
Ulysses 31), superheroes, Science Fiction films (Star Trek,
Planet of the Apes, Thunderbirds, Aliens, etc.), iconic TV
series (Starsky & Hutch, The Six Million Dollar Man, The
Bionic Woman, etc.) as well as comics, Disney animation
films, G.I. Joe, James Bond and Nintendo video games.
1966 Batmobile on sale at Barrett-Jackson
Auction house Barrett-Jackson, specialised in
automobile collections, will offer on 19
January 2013 a Batmobile from 1966. It was
drove by Adam West in the Batman series and film. The
vehicle might fetch over a million dollars.
It is undoubtedly one of the most iconic automobiles in
Hollywood history, which inspired future generations of
Batmobiles. The car was at the time revolutionary and became
the series symbol. The Batmobile was created from Lincoln
Futura 1955, cutomised by George Barris and equipped with
Batphone, Bat Eye Switch, Bat Smoke, amongst other gadgets.
During the sale, a unique model of Carroll Shelby, including
GT350 from 1965, Shelby Mustang and Green Hornet will
be offered as well.
Fairs
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Art Basel Miami Beach 2012: another successful edition
Art Basel Miami Beach, closed on 9 December, proved even more successful than previous editions, attracting
numerous players of the international artistic scene as well as contemporary art enthusiasts.
Almost 70,000 visitors participated in the event during five days. According to the press release 130 museums and
institutions from around the world took part in the fair, likewise individual collectors form Europe, both Americas and
emerging markets. In addition, the 2012 edition was enriched by the participation of 250 galleries from 21 different
countries, including Nothern America and Asia. The presence of so many important players of the art world allowed to
exhibit high-quality works and introduce new galleries in.
On the other hand, this edition was marked with multiple artistic collaborations, both local and international, as well
as events, notably Art Basel Conservations, Art Video and Art Public. Thus, Art Video presented almost 60 video works
to 1,200 visitors, Art Film screened the documentary Painters Painting by Emile de Antonio, concerning the New York
art scene from the 1940s to the 1970s. Art Salon allowed the organisation of 20 debates about the art market in Latin
America and New Perspectives from the Edge of Arabia. The public could also explore private collections, notably the
Rubell Family Collection, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, De la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, etc.
ABMB SALES
Art Basel Miami Beach results: focus
The 12
th
edition of Art Basel Miami Beach ended on 9
December 2012. The fair has been a big hit, with 70,000
visitors in the course of five days, discovering 250 stands
held by galleries from all over the world, featuring over
2,000 artists emblematic of the 20
th
and 21
st
century.
Among the major sales recorded, we might mention:
Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery: Untitled (After De Kooning,
Woman 1) by Robert Longo, 1950-1952, rose to
almost 300,000;
White Cube a recent work by Damien Hirst titled
Capaneus, 2012, for 600, 000 ( $962, 000 and
740,175);
Kukje/Tina Kim Gallery: John Sayegh-Belchatowski
offered $5.5m (4,205,214) for The Ruffians, 1982, by
Jean-Michel Basquiat;
Helly Nahmad sold to a European collector Nurse on
Horseback by Ri chard Pri nce for about $6. 5m
(4,969,715);
Van de Weghe Fine Art sold a rare, late Andy Warhol
work, Statue of Liberty, 1986, to an American collector
for $3.8m (2,905,372);
Luhring Augustine: Untitled (7/94), 1994, by Albert
Oehlen was bought by another American collector for
less than the required sum $1.5m (1,146,856);
Barbara Gladstone Gallery sold works by Jim Hodges,
Rosemarie Trockel, Anish Kapoor, Carroll Dunham and
Allora & Calzadilla between $150,000 and over a
million each;
Sprueth Magers, sold Buy Low Sell High by Barbara
Kruger to an Ameri can col l ector for $275, 000
(210, 258); Andreas Gursky s monumental work
Bangkok VI, from a six-specimen limited edition, rose
to 400,000; Jenny Holzers Secret 22, 2012 was sold
for $175,000 (133,780) to an American collector;
The Sperone Westwater Gallery announced good
results for the opening day. Among the works
purchased, we might mention pieces by Wim Delvoye,
Heinz Mack, Evan Penny, Alexis Rockman, Ali Banisadr
and Emil Lukas among others.
FOUNDHAUS-SIT
MODERN ARTS
FOUNDHAUS-SIT MODERN ARTS
41 Avenue Hector Otto MC98.000 Monte-Carlo Principaut de Monaco
(tel.) +377 93.50.20.05 (fax) +377 93.50.20.07
WWW.FOUNDHAUS-SIT.COM
INFO@FOUNDHAUS-SIT.COM
Dimensions en cm. : 123 x 86 x 30
Dimensions en cm. de la base : 86 x 30
Tirag
e : 8 exemplaires de 1 8,
4 preuves dartiste de EA1 EA4
Anne ddition : 2005
Description : Porte ajoure avec chane
et cadenas, clairage intrieur par tubes
nons
Patine : Noir et brun
Size in inches: 48,5 x 34 x 12
Size in inches of the base: 34 x 12
Edition: 8 copies from 1 to 8,
4 artist proof from EA1 to EA4
Year: 2005
Description: Openworked door with
chain and lock, interior lighting using
neons tubes
Patina: black and brown
abstraction
farhi
COMING SOON
Arte Fiera 2013: contemporary art fair in
Bologna
The new edition of Arte Fiera, contemporary art
fair, will be held in Bologna, Italy, from 25 to 28
January 2013. Arte Fiera 2013 aims at enhancing the
position of Italy on the international artistic scene. The new
artistic directors of the event schedule a new strategy in
order to promote modern and contemporary art.
The galleries present at the fair come from Italy, the United
Kingdom, Germany as well as Japan. They will offer a broad
variety of artworks, enabling the public to discover the
various facets of modern and contemporary art. Besides, a
series of events has already been announced.
Arte Fiera Conversations will offer debates and lectures,
allowing personalities to share their artistic experience and
present models of artistic and cultural expression. An
exclusive exhibition, under the curatorship of Laura
Cherubini and Lea Mattarella, will present about 80 works
by artists represented by participating galleries: it will be
an opportunity to explore the 20
th
century through new
generations of artists who got inspired in the Italian culture
to produce their works. The new section Solo Show will
enable galleries to highlight one single artist. On 26
January 2013, Bologna museums, galleries and stores will
be open till midnight. Other initiatives will be organised
throughout the city.
Drawings by Vincent van Gogh at TEFAF
Maastricht
From 15 to 24 March 2013 TEFAF Maastricht will
present rare drawings by Vincent van Gogh, lent
by the Van Gogh Museum especially for the occasion. The 15
pieces have been chosen to provide a thorough overview of
van Goghs artistic development.
These drawings will be highlighted in this fair known as an
artistic event of exceptional quality, expertise and elegance.
Among the star pieces of the fair we might also mention a
photograph depicting the assassination attempt of Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia by William Henry Fox Talbot, a painting
by Jan Bruegel and a 1957 work by Pablo Picasso.
The presence of these drawings at the fair is a unique
event, since the Van Gogh Museum only rarely show them
because of their extreme fragility. Director Axel Rger and
curator Marije Vellekoop made the loan possible. Some of
the drawings are really unique showing how Van Gogh
worked his technique and others are only existing projects
produced before a painting.
Asia Contemporary Art Show announces the
dates of 2013 Spring & Fall shows
Asia Contemporary Art Show just announced the
dates of its 2013 Spring & Fall shows. The fair
will be held from 23 to 26 May, and from 3 to 6 October,
over four floors at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong.
These two events are made possible by Hong Kongs being
now a major pole of the Asian artistic scene. This October,
over 5,500 art lovers and enthusiasts have indeed visited the
fair. The two forthcoming shows will provide convenient,
efficient and fun ways for Hong Kongs burgeoning base of
collectors and first-time buyers to get exposure to works
from exciting new artists as well as more established
favourites said Carol Man of Kings Gallery.
Furthermore, the press release explains Asia Contemporary
Art Show will also see the return of the Hong Kong Young
Artist prizes. The winner of the Grand Prize will be granted
HK$50,000 (4,942) and the winner of the Peoples Prize
(elected on Facebook) HK$25,000 (2,470).
The Outsider Art Fair 2013
The 21
st
edition of the Oustider Art Fair will be
held from 31
st
January to 3 February 2013. The
list of exhibitors has just been released. The fair
will organise for the first time two solo shows: one of
Swiss photographer Mario Del Curto, and the other of
Renaldo Kuhler, inventor of imaginary land Rocaterrania.
The 2013 edition will welcome 40 art dealers, 10 of which
will be involved for the first time. Among those, we might
mention Rob Tufnell (London), the Galerie du March
(Lausanne), Pan American Art Projects (Miami), etc. Valrie
Rousseau, director of programmation, also announced the
presence of Massimiliano Giono (head curator of the
Museum of Contemporary Art and director of the 2013
Venice Biennale), Ralph Rugoff (head of the London
Hayward Gallery) and Daniel Baumann (co-curator of the
56
th
edition of Carnegie International and curator of the
Adolf Wlfli Foundation).
The Outsider Art Fair was created in 1993 by Sandord
Smith. Throughout the years, the fair developed and
became an artistic and market hit. For fifteen years it has
been held in its original venue, before relocating in
Chelsea, near the Dia Foundation. The event continues to
offer a dynamic atmosphere for art dealers, in order to
highlight fascinating, unusual artworks.
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