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267
9 December 2016
TRAFFICKING
CULTURAL GOODS
DECEMBER 2016
D U BA I
Pokras Lampas
Calligrafuturism
6 Dec. - 20 Dec.
SEOUL
M IA M I
Mastery of Craft
14 Dec. - 29 Dec.
operagallery.com
NEW YORK MIAMI ASPEN LONDON PARIS MONACO GENEVA DUBAI BEIRUT HONG KONG SINGAPORE SEOUL
Jacques MAJORELLE
Moussem dans les Chiadma
au printemps Circa 1940-195
Oil on canvas
65,5 x 81 cm
Estimate: 70,000 - 90,000
PARIS # MARRAKECH
Contact:
Olivier Berman
+33 (0)1 42 99 20 67
oberman@artcurial.com
7 Rond-Point
des Champs-lyses
75008 Paris
[ TOC
WIDE ANGLE
DISCUSSION
douard Planche 12
Top stories 18
INTERVIEW
Uli Sigg 20
Museums 26
Artists 27
Auctions 28
Collectors 29
DATA
Paul Gauguin
30
Galleries 38
DCEMBRE 2016
D U BA
Pokras Lampas
Calligrafuturism
6 dc. - 20 dc.
SOUL
M IA M I
Mastery of Craft
14 dc. - 29 dc.
operagallery.com
NEW YORK MIAMI ASPEN LONDRES PARIS MONACO GENVE DUBA BEYROUTH HONG KONG SINGAPOUR SOUL
[ WIDE ANGLE
Palmyre. Ghaylam
9]
WIDE ANGLE
BEAR IN MIND
In its yearly report, the Conseil des Ventes, the authority which
regulates public auctions in France, turned its attention to the
legal framework of a hot news topic: the trafficking of cultural
items following the events in the Middle East.
Les ventes aux enchres publiques en France
Conseil des ventes volontaires. La Documentation franaise.
296pages. www.conseildesventes.fr
www.patrimoineprocheorient.fr
[ 10
[ RENCONTRE
douard Planche. DR
What specific actions do you currently carry out in the Middle East?
In the Middle East, we carry out actions through our regional offices, in
Bagdad itself for Iraq, and in Beirut, Lebanon, for Syria. As far as Libya
goes, our office has been moved to Tunisia; for Yemen, we operate from
Doha. These are therefore units that act on the spot or near territories
in conflict. Our action consists in drawing up an inventory on destruction
and looting, collecting information thanks to experts and preparing
reconstruction. Unfortunately, in Palmyra, which was liberated (editorial
note: by the Syrian army at the end of March2016), but which remains
surrounded by Islamists, nothing can be reconstructed yet.
When you talk about restitution, its a way of broaching the issue
of trafficking
In terms of restitution, we act in conjunction with the authorities in the
countries in question, as well as border countries, namely Turkey,
Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Gulf countries when were talking about Syria
and Iraq. But our action also reaches far beyond because antiquities now
move very quickly, to all market places where such objects are likely to
turn up. Im mainly thinking about the art market in Northern and Western
European countries, the Asian market, Gulf countries. In fact, wherever
you find money and collectors.
13 ]
DISCUSSION
douard Planche
has been circulating on the market for a long time, namely indicating that
the object left Syria or Iraq before the start of the conflicts. To have this,
you must make sure that Interpols registers on stolen objects have been
consulted, as well as national police files. These are the basic precautions
to be taken today. I have the recent example of a sensitive Middle Eastern
piece: an Iraqi foundational nail, Mesopotamian in origin, meant to go
on sale, even though it lacks a provenance! Lets say that the art market
hasnt yet acquired the basic reflexes.
The legislative measures are in place but it seems like something,
somewhere, isnt quite right
Whats missing, on an international level, is a massive ratification of the
Unidroit convention, which counts only 37party States, all source States.
For now, the art market is reluctant to undertake this ratification, which
is nonetheless crucial as it would facilitate procedures for the restitution
of cultural objects. The problem is that it inverts the burden of proof of
good faith. In other words, it is up to the person who possesses the object
to prove that he or she holds it legally, that he or she has checked the
provenance. According to the French Civil Code, whoever possesses
an object is deemed to be its owner, whereas Unidroit says that for
cultural objects, you will only be considered the owner when you have
proven that the provenance is licit. We dont wish to curb the art market,
but there are certain pieces that are sensitive, particularly those related
to the archaeological heritage of conflict zones. But things are starting to
change. Switzerland made a move by changing its legislation in2003, then
ratifying the UNESCO convention, implemented in2005, and adopting
the UNESCO ratification in a complete form by integrating the UNESCO
convention in its national legislation along with Unidroit clauses. Germany
has also recently adopted more restrictive legislation, namely in terms
of the import of archaeological pieces. A new European directive also
emerged in2016, reinforcing import and export checks.
Can you tell us about the Syrian archaeological landscape?
Do you manage to get an idea of the volume of this traffic, in terms
of the number of pieces, as well as the value generated by this
underground trade?
Regarding the so-called legal market, what we find from illicit imports in
worldwide trade, in galleries or public sales, represents around 50billion
dollars per year. As for the illegal market, the black market, which by
definition is more opaque, we have an estimate established by the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental body, which estimates
between3 and 6billion dollars. In France, nothing substantial has been
visible recently on the so-called open market. If this were the case,
the transaction would be immediately denounced as any object recently
excavated from ancient sites has been banned from sale in accordance
with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, namely by virtue
of Resolutions22-53 and21-99, the latter having introduced a moratorium
on the trade of antiques from Syria and Iraq. Here, international regulations
apply: those of UNESCO, Unidroit, and the United Nations. So much to
say that in the event of doubt, abstain from trading. I can mention that for
Bagdad Museum alone, today we deplore the loss of 10,000pieces, stolen
in2003, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
When exactly can doubt be lifted?
Its simple: doubt can only be lifted when you have very clear details on the
provenance of a piece, enabling it to be traced. Either an export licence
from the country of origin, or a document which attests that the object
[ 14
DISCUSSION
douard Planche
FOCUS
Stone hostages
Bamiyan, Palmyra, Khorsabad, Umayyad Mosque in Damascus,
or Kerak Castle World heritage sites threatened by conflict are
today innumerable. From Afghanistan to Syria, emblematic sites in
global culture have become the hostages of religious extremists.
According to the UN, in Syria alone, 24historic sites have been
completely wiped out, 300others damaged or looted. In the
context of a cultural state of emergency, the RMN-Grand Palais,
in association with the Muse du Louvre, have joined together to
present, under the patronage of UNESCO, an exhibition (free of
charge) offering discovery of the lost splendours of these greate
archaeological sites that are inaccessible today. The aim? To
raise the general publics awareness of the notion of peril, through
an immersive exhibition plunging the visitor into the heart of
heritage treasures, thanks to the projection of 360images. How?
Using digital recreations and new shooting techniques by means
of drones. For good measure, and in pedagogical interests, the
filmed images are dynamically combined with archive documents,
drawings, old photographs, showing the evolution often
dramatic of various sites.
The exhibition, whose general curatorship was entrusted to
Jean-Luc Martinez, president-director of the Muse du Louvre,
is organised into two sections. One, named The Universal Site,
shows four films, each dedicated to a major archaeological site,
projected in a vast 360panorama. This is the immersive
aspect of the experience, aimed at raising visitor awareness on
the looting of antiquities and illegal trafficking of objects from
Khorsabad in Iraqi Kurdistan, reconstruction issues for Palmyra,
the archaeological (re)discovery of Umayyad Mosque, Islamic
architectural masterpieces, and finally, conservation of the Kerak
Castle ruins which offer rare proof of the presence of Christians
in the East. Each site is represented by a work from the Louvre
collections. The other section, The Image Laboratory, is
organised like a cabinet of curiosities, namely dedicated to more or
less scientific data-collection techniques used by archaeologists,
ranging from engravings to digital images captured by drones.
But as far as recreation goes, everything counts: even images
brought back by tourists before the sites became inaccessible
offer precious documentation today. It is thus that dynamic3D
imaging allows us to witness the destruction, room by room, of the
Palmyra Arch of Triumph, at the hands of the Islamic State and
also to see in augmented reality its simulated reconstruction.
To fill out this programme, bear in mind that the Muse du
Louvre-Lens is presenting, from 2November to 23January2017,
an exhibition on Mesopotamia, situated in modern-day Iraq,
the cradle of the modern economy and of writing (LHistoire
commence en Msopotamie).
[ 16
17 ]
[ TOP STORIES
Jean-Marc Bustamante.
Photo Olivier Blanckart. Courtesy Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
HERITAGE__________________________________
Conservation fund and network set up to protect endangered world heritage
During a conference on
2 and 3
December in Abu Dhabi, the
representatives of 40states approved the creation of a $100million fund
aimed at protecting heritage sites threatened by conflicts and terrorism, as
well as a refuge network for conserving them. France has already pledged
$30million, and the United Arab Emirates, $15million, reports France24.
This conference on endangered world heritage was supervised by French
president Franois Hollande and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed. The Declaration of Abu Dhabi, adopted by
consensus in the presence of UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova
validated these two objectives. The funds head office will be in Geneva,
and while it was hoped that the fund would be larger, Hollande has declared
that we wont complain, nor shall we refuse any additional contributions.
Other Gulf monarchies have committed to the fund as well as China. The
Abu Dhabi conference is, according to Hollande, a rendezvous which will
mark History in the fight against fanaticism. This is the first time that
countries, along with organisations, experts and donors are gathering
together to protect the common property of humanity and to give them the
means to do so, he pointed out. The conference, as readers will note, took
place following recent destruction and looting in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq,
and Mali. The warehouses of the Louvre Lens will be made available for
the conservation of endangered antiquities, and Hollande has asked other
museums to do the same. This diplomatic event comes one year before
the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, scheduled for2018.
Antiquities seized during criminal investigation at Geneva Freeport
HUMAN RESOURCES________________________
Brett Gorvy leaves Christies to join Dominique Lvy in New York
Chairman and international head of post-war and contemporary art at
Christies, Brett Gorvy has decided to join his long-time friend Dominique
Lvy as a partner. His arrival in January2017 will coincide with the
inauguration of the gallery at 909Madison Avenue as Lvy Gorvy. The
auction house states in a press release that Brett will continue to work
closely with Christies on special projects and consignments across the
twentieth-century field. Meanwhile, Dominique Lvy who opened a
space in London in2014 envisages developing in coming years, mainly
in Asia, on the secondary market and also by creating a structure for
advising collectors.
Jean-Marc Bustamente elected to Acadmie des Beaux-arts de Paris
Jean-Marc Bustamante, artist and director of the Beaux-arts de Paris
has been elected to replace Zao Wou-Ki in the painting section of the
Acadmie des Beaux-Arts. As the first artist to run the Beaux-Arts de Paris
in 50years, Jean-Marc Bustamante addressed the Acadmie, during a
talk on 16November, and called for closer collaboration between the two
institutions (which were related to one another until1968). He declared:
I hope that other contemporary artists will follow me to the Quai de Conti!
Bustamante represented France at the So Paulo Biennale in1994, the
Venice Biennale in2003 and Documenta in Kassel (Documenta VIII, IX
and X). He is currently represented by the Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
(Paris, Salzburg, London).
[ 18
EXHIBITION________________________________
Syrian exhibition at the Atassi Foundation in Dubai
Alserkal Avenue will be inaugurating, during Dubai Art Week from 9March
to 3April2017, its new gallery designed by OMA. It will be opening with
the exhibition Syria: Into the Light, the first retrospective on contemporary
and modern Syrian art in the Gulf region, reports Artnet. Works from the
Atassi Foundation are dedicated to promoting Syrian art and culture on
an international level. Syria has a long history of producing some of the
regions most socially engaged artwork, and an exhibition that shines a
light on the countrys incredibly talented contemporary artists is long
overdue, declared Vilma Jurkute, director of Avenue Alserkal. Toufiq
Tarek, Fateh Moudarres, Youssef Abdelke and Omran Younes are some of
the stars of this exhibition featuring historic masters and emerging figures.
The event is curated by Rasha Salti with exhibition design by Michel Zayat.
Conferences and screenings are scheduled.
TOP STORIES ]
VILLAINS___________________________________
FAIR_______________________________________
According to The Art Newspaper, Belgian artist Jan Fabre has roused the
anger of animal rights activists and Russian Orthodox fundamentalists
after opening an exhibition called Knight of Despair/Warrior of Beauty
at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Held until 30April, the
exhibition presents several stuffed animals and is part of the institutions
contemporary art programme. And yet, Jan Fabres intention had been to
sound the alarm on abusive treatment of animals. A label from the exhibition
even reads: Abandoned, starving, hanging around near busy roads,
these animals are afforded a final accolade in this art. Like an exorcist,
Jan Fabre tries to bring them back to life in a carnivalesque set-up. The
general director of the Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has declared that
everything is completely clear with Fabre. You dont have to be a genius
to understand what hes saying, so he definitely does not deserve any
accusation of mistreating animals. He adds that the reaction has shown
the overall level of hatred that exists in Russia. We nonetheless bear in
mind the criticisms already aimed at Fabres work in Antwerp in2012 when
he threw cats around.
This year, Art Basel Miami Beach welcomed 77,000persons over the fairs
5days a lower visitor rate than last year when it drew 90,000visitors. But
dealers say that sales remained strong, reports Artforum. Brussels gallerist
Xavier Hufkens thus declared: The steady flow of visitors and the level
of serious collectors this year has allowed us to do very well. We were
not overwhelmed with crowds, and are very happy to have doubled our
business from last year. Sadie Coles also stated: We had strong sales
throughout the week and were particularly delighted to see an exceptional
range of collectors from China, South America and Europe The response
to Jonathan Horowitz [] was extraordinary. Nova and Positions were also
exceptionally strong the younger generation of galleries put a powerful
foot forward this year. Many American dealers seized the opportunity
to comment on the countrys recent elections. Susanne Vielmetter from
Los Angeles namely presented a large grand portrait of Hillary Clinton by
Karl Haendel, while Blum & Poe offered a piece by Sam Durant on which
could be read End White Supremacy. Coles sold five prints by Jonathan
Horowitz showing Donald Trump playing golf and titled Does she have a
good body? No. Does she have a fat ass? Absolutely (2016).
OBITUARY__________________________________
Death of Ferreira Gullar
Poet and art critic Ferreira Gullar passed away on 4December, as
Hyperallergic informs us. This was the man who, in1959, wrote the NeoConcrete Manifesto to which Lygia Clark and Hlio Oiticica, his friends,
adhered. In1964, when a military coup dtat suddenly overturned the
situation in Brazil, Gullar, a member of the Communist party, abandoned
Neo-Concretism, judging it to be too elitist. He then fled the country for
Lima, Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Moscow for a certain time. During his
exile in1976, he composed his most famous work, Dirty Poem, based
on nostalgic memories of his childhood and the implacable Brazilian
dictatorship. One year later, after returning to Brazil, he was incarcerated
and tortured. Gullar subsequently wrote for television and theatre, and
produced a number of essays.
Ferreira Gullar. DR
19 ]
[ INTERVIEW
Uli Sigg.
Fotoagentur Ex-Press AG
21 ]
FOCUS
The Chinese Contemporary Art Award 2016
Uli Sigg created, in1997, the Chinese Contemporary Art Award
(CCAA), the first prize to be set up in China for contemporary
Chinese art. This year, the biannual award recognised three artists
with international careers. The Best Artist Award went to Cao Fei
(1978), belonging to the xin xin ren lei 1990sgeneration attesting
to the globalisation and extension of contemporary China. The
Contribution Award was attributed to Xu Bing (1955), who has
worked since the1980s on symbols of Chinese society. This artist
lived for 18years in the United States before returning to China.
Since2013, Xu Bing has developed his History without Words
project on a form of writing composed of pictograms that can be
read. He is also vice president of the China Academy of Fine Arts.
The Best Young Artist Award was won by He Xiangyu (1986).
Criticising the effects of globalisation, he presented the Coca
Cola Project, during which 127tonnes of soda were transformed
into solid material, as well as the Tank Project, requiring several
thousand hours of work and tons of leather
[ 22
INTERVIEW
Henri Barande
Uli Sigg
23 ]
[ 24
INTERVIEW
Uli Sigg
You say that its difficult for Chinese artists to escape from the
international tendency towards group exhibitions based on national
and cultural identity. Dont these artists have their role on the
international stage?
Chinese artists are under-represented in global artistic events such as
biennales and even Documenta, most of the time. Those who head up
these events are always predominantly Westerners, and there isnt enough
information on Chinese artists, except in certain networks which show the
same artist all the time. Institutions think about Chinese artists and Chinese
art when they feel that its once again time to put on a Chinese exhibition.
Regarding the 2016Awards, you say that it was rare for you to come
across new ways of thinking and savoir-faire, and that this weakness
reflects the global situation. Do you feel that these artists have
trouble creating individual and singular works?
While in the past many Chinese artists perhaps due to a lack of information
on global art trends produced art that was different from the movements
of the time, today most Chinese artistic production is in line with global
trends. Very few produce art on the strength of their difference. This can
sum up the impression of most of the jury members about current Chinese
production this year.
For a businessman like yourself, or as an ambassador, how would
you describe the role of art?
Are you speaking about my heart, my stomach, or my mind? Well, my
collection occupies me a great deal intellectually, I can remember every
word, every image, its been my way of studying China. Ive studied the
country as a businessman and as an ambassador, but the most colourful
way has been via contemporary art.
Why havent you created a foundation?
Why should I have done so? To have my name out there forever? My aim
was to bring my collection back to the Chinese people. Im more a fan of
public museums than private institutions where were sort of hostages to
other peoples tastes, and also perhaps their weakness In China, several
private museums have gone bankrupt. I think that the public museum is
memory, public memory, and we should support it.
25 ]
[ MUSEUMS
The Winton Gallery, Science Museum.
Nick Guttridge
POST MORTEM_____________________________
Zaha Hadid project at the Science Museum in London
This week, the London Science Museum opened a new room dedicated to
mathematics, designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid. Called the Winton
Gallery, it covers 400years in the history of mathematics, from the first
instruments to contemporary technologies, and explores the disciplines
links with our everyday lives, reports Artnet. This is the first of Zaha Hadids
projects to be launched in England since her death in March2016.The
gallerys layout and lines, from the position of windows and benches to
the structures three-dimensional curved surfaces, represent the flows of
air around a historic plane, the 1929Handley Page Gugnunc, when in
flight. The plane itself is suspended over the room. Zaha Hadid studied
mathematics before taking up architecture. Regarding this new room, lit
up from floor to ceiling, Patrick Schumacher, Zaha Hadids successor at
the head of the agency, declared to The Evening Standard : Mathematics
was part of Zaha Hadids life from a young age and has always been the
foundation of her architecture. The new room opened on the same day
as the Zaha Hadid exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London, an
exclusive showing of her notebooks and first paintings.
HUMAN RESOURCES________________________
RETURNS___________________________________
A Camille Pissarro painting returned to owners
According to AP, a work by Camille Pissarro, Rue St Honor, aprs-midi,
effet de pluie, de1897, currently valued at $30million, is to be restored to
the heirs of Lilly Cassirer, a Jewish woman who sold the painting before
fleeing the Third Reich in Germany. But according to Thaddeus J. Stauber,
lawyer for the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum which today conserves the
painting, this is not a case of a Nazi looting, but one of ownership rights,
for the work was acquired legally. The lawyer argues that Lilly Cassirer
lost all power on the painting when the German government offered her,
in1958, compensation of$13,000. But the lawyer for the Cassirer family
has contested this argument: at that time, Lilly Cassirer had no idea of the
paintings whereabouts and thus did not officially give up her ownership
rights. The works discovery in a museum catalogue in1999 alerted the
family. The painting was purchased and sold several times before being
acquired by Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, from New York
dealer Stephen Hahn, in1976. Thyssen-Bornemisza, after whom the
museum was subsequently named, bequeathed his art collection to the
Spanish government in1993.
Sculpture to be restored to heirs of editor Rudolf Mosse
According to The Art Newspaper, the marble statue Susanna (1869) by
artist Reinhold Begas, currently on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie in
Berlin, will be restored to the heirs of the late Rudolf Mosse, a Jewish
editor at the Berliner Tageblatt. The piece was confiscated by Nazis. It was
in2012 that the heirs of Rudolf Mosse started looking for works from the
collection, including works by Max Liebermann, Carl Spitzweg, Wilhelm
Leibl, Hans Makart and Adolph von Menzel. In2015, the Prussian Cultural
Heritage Foundation returned 8objects to the rightful owners. In June, a
painting by Carl Blechen, kept at the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, was restored to
them; then in October, a work by Anton von Werner representing Mosse at
a dinner, conserved by the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
[ 26
SANTA_____________________________________
Nam June Paik donation to Harvard Art Museums
Ken Hakuta, nephew of Nam June Paik and executor of his estate,
has given $1million and 10works by the Korean artist to Harvard Art
Museums in Cambridge. The director Martha Tedeschi has welcomed
this donation, which she believes will benefit students and researchers
from all over the world. Ken Hakuda has declared: I could not be more
pleased that the Harvard Art Museums will be the centre of Nam June
Paik research for generations to come, working with other institutions
globally with an interest in Paik.
ARTISTS ]
AWARDS___________________________________
BAD ENDING_______________________________
Helen Marten, 31years old, has won the Turner Prize, one of the most
prestigious contemporary-art prizes, after recently also taking out the
Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. The jury, recognising a British artist (or
one working in Great Britain) under 50years, appreciated the young
Londoners installations composed of unusual materials, and hailed the
poetic and enigmatic qualities of her work which reflect the complexities
and challenges of being in the world today. The careers of artists such as
Richard Long (1980), Anish Kapoor (1991) and Damien Hirst (1995) were
launched by their winning of the Turner Prize. In2013, Laure Prouvost
from France was the winner of the prize, this year worth 25,000.
Maria Theresa Alves wins Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics
The Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics, attributed to artists whose
works examine politics and social justice, has been awarded to Maria
Theresa Alves for her project Seeds of change and her floating garden,
reports Connaissance des arts. Awarded for the first time in2012, then
every two years since, to pay homage to collector and philanthropist Vera
List, this years prize recognises a creator whose project explores human
migration through her ballast seed gardens, a metaphor which associates
the idea of cultivation with that of movement (ballasts are water tanks
used to stabilise boats) and which echoes the involuntary dissemination
of seeds via ships holds. Maria Theresa Alvares, who lives and works in
Berlin, has contributed to founding the Green Party in Brazil.
Philip Smith wins the NADA in Miami
The NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) collective and Artadia, a non-profit
organisation which delivers grants to artists, has chosen Philip Smith as
winner of the Miami Beach NADA Award Artadia2016 for his Night photo
series. The prize consists in$5,000, awarded every year to an artist
shown at the NADA Miami Beach fair. The artist, a leading figure of the
Pictures generation, was presented at the Artists Space in1977 alongside
Robert Longo, Sherrie Levine, Troy Brauntuch and Jack Goldstein in the
Pictures exhibition curated by Douglas Crimp. Today, his works can be
found in the collections of the Whitney Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art
and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
OBITUARY__________________________________
Death of artist John M. Miller
Painter John M. Miller, born in
1939 in Pennsylvania, died on
30November2016 in Los Angeles at the age of 77years, reports
Artforum. The artist is recognised as one of the major representatives of
abstract art. His paintings, compared to monochromes, are made up of
coloured angled bars repeated over a canvas. The creator declined this
geometrical motif systematically in his work for four decades, imposing
his own aesthetic style. His pieces are found in the permanent collections
of many museums, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the LACMA, the
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the SFMoMA and the Carnegie
Museum of Art.
John M. Miller. DR
27 ]
[ AUCTIONS
RESULTS____________________________________
Encouraging Russian Art Week in London for auction houses
Londons Russian Art Week sales at Sothebys, Christies, MacDougalls
and Bonhams raised a total of 23.2million. An encouraging result
compared with the 17.2million at the end of November last year, or
the 16.4million in June this year. The market relied heavily on Russian
buyers, The Art Newspaper reminds us. Sothebys scored the weeks
most successful sale with a total of 13.9million while Christies flirted
with 4.5million, MacDougalls, 3.7million and Bonhams, 1.1million.
Alexander Rodchenkos Construction No.195 (1919), estimated at
between 2.5million and 3.5million, sold for a record-making 3.6million,
but it was Ilya Chashniks The Seventh Dimension (from the early1920s)
that stole the show. Valued at between100,000 and150,000, it fetched
2.3million. This is one of the rare works by the artist whose archives in
Vitebsk were destroyed in World War II. Another highlight of the sale was
the Bar-Gera collection composed of 63lots of Russian non-conformist art.
The latter sold for just above its estimate, for 1.4million.
New world record for Hanta
On 6December in Paris, Sothebys sold Simon Hantas m.a.4, the fourth
in his Mariales series, for4,432,500, in other words twice its high estimate
(lot4). This acquisition was bitterly fought out between five bidders.
A total of 17paintings make up this series, a third of which already belong
to museums: the work on offer is the only red Mariale to be painted by
the artist. As a result, m.a.4 smashed the previous world record set
in December2013, by Sothebys Paris once again, for m.a.5, Mariale
(2.5million). The painting was reproduced in the catalogue of the Simon
Hanta exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in2013.
m.a.4 (Mariale, 1960), Simon Hanta.
Sold 4,432,500 at Sothebys Paris on 6 December 2016.
Sothebys
FRANKENSTEIN_____________________________
New research department headed up by James Martin at Sothebys
James Martin is joining Sothebys to run its new scientific research
department, after the acquisition of Martins company Orion Analytical.
This departments role will be to analyse the provenance of works and
wines using techniques comparable to those used by large museums.
James Martin has been a researcher, art conservator and teacher for
over 40years. He has been involved in more than 1,800investigations for
clients on five continents. He has taught at the Getty Conservation Institute,
the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, the FBIs anti-terrorism
department for 20years, as well as the Forensic Science Research Unit.
James Martin teaches at New York University and Williams College. As
reported by The Art Newspaper, he also played an important role in the
investigation into the fake abstract expressionist paintings sold by Knoedler
Gallery in New York. In2011, Sothebys sold a portrait attributed to Frans
Hals to Richard Hedreen for $10million, but this year Orion Analytical
proved that it was a fake. The auction house had to reimburse the collector.
[ 28
COLLECTORS ]
CHICKEN__________________________________
DONATIONS________________________________
The Portland Museum of Arts has recently announced that it has received
the most generous gift in its history: $5million from New York-based
philanthropists and collectors Judy and Leonard Lauder, reports Artnews.
The donors hailed the work of the museums management and team, and
hopes that others will follow their example. Aged 83years, Leonard Lauder,
one of the sons of Este Lauder, already gave, in2013, 78cubist works
from his collection to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, including
paintings by Fernand Lger.
INTERIOR DESIGN___________________________
$25million have been given by J. Landis and Sharon Martin to the Denver
Art Museum for the renovation of the institutions north building. The
ageing structure, dating from1971 and designed by architect Gio Ponti,
needs a makeover, now entrusted to Fentress Architects and Machado
Silvette, with an estimated cost of $150million. The works will be delivered
in2012, the year of the 50thanniversary of the museums north building,
reports The Denver Post.
OBITUARY__________________________________
San Jos scene loses a legendary benefactor
The announcement of the creation of the Museum of the 20thCentury by
architects Herzog and de Meuron prompted Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch to
give their modern-art collection to the city of Berlin, says Artnet. Estimated
at 130million, the Pietzsch collection is considered one of the most
remarkable modern-art collections. Started in1964, the collection focuses on
two areas: European surrealism and its influence on abstract expressionists
in the United States. It thus includes works by Max Ernst, Ren Magritte,
Joan Mir, Salvador Dal, Paul Delvaux, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt,
Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newmann, Frida Kahlo and Diego
Rivera. The project was left hanging for several years as the conditions
required by the couple could not be honoured by the museum.
DONATION_________________________________
Pietzsches give collection to Berlins Museum of the 20thCentury
The announcement of the creation of the Museum of the 20thCentury by
architects Herzog and de Meuron prompted Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch to
give their modern-art collection to the city of Berlin, says Artnet. Estimated
at 130million, the Pietzsch collection is considered one of the most
remarkable modern-art collections. Started in1964, the collection focuses on
two areas: European surrealism and its influence on abstract expressionists
in the United States. It thus includes works by Max Ernst, Ren Magritte,
Joan Mir, Salvador Dal, Paul Delvaux, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt,
Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newmann, Frida Kahlo and Diego
Rivera. The project was left hanging for several years as the conditions
required by the couple could not be honoured by the museum.
Pluto and Proserpina, Jeff Koons.
Oceana Bal Harbour
29 ]
[ DATA
Sothebys
DATA
PAUL GAUGUIN
Art Analytics ]
He was one of the painters who heralded modernity. Some of his masterpieces are currently on display
at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, in Paris. Spotlight on Gauguin, equally appreciated by the art market
as by museum institutions.
Eugne Henri Paul Gauguin was born on
7June1848, in Paris. His father, Clovis Louis Pierre
Guillaume Gauguin, was a Republican journalist
for the National, who would die three years later
off Punta Arenas when the family planned to move
to Peru to flee NapolonIIIs regime. Young Paul
Gauguin and his mother Aline Chazal (1825-1867)
would return to France in1855.
Paul Gauguin kept a taste for travel from his early
years. He signed up with the French Navy in1865,
to serve on the clipper Luzitano, but following the
advice of his tutor Gustave Arosa a painting
collector , he left it in1871 to become a stockexchange agent not without first taking part in
the 1870war. Notching up a certain success in
business, he wed Danish woman Mette-Sophie
Gad (1850-1920) with whom he had five children,
and became a weekend painter
In
1874, Gustave Arosa introduced him to
Impressionists, starting with Camille Pissarro.
Gauguin started to show his works regularly
at Impressionist fairs and at that time painted
in Pontoise, where he invited Jean-Baptiste
Armand Guillaumin and Paul Czanne to join him.
The latter helped to detach Paul Gauguin from
Impressionism.
In1883, economic crisis drove Gauguin away from
the stock market, and he tried to earn his living
from painting. The next year, he spent ten months
in Rouen with Camille Pissarro, and painted some
forty works over this period. When he began to run
short of money, he tried to enter into business in
Denmark with his in-laws. But things didnt work
out: Gauguin did not get on with his wifes family
and he returned to Paris alone in1885.
He made two trips to Pont-Aven, in1886 and1888,
during which he met mile Bernard. They forged
a new aesthetic that took a distance from the
Pointillism in which Gauguin dabbled in Martinique
in1887, and also from neo-Impressionism, taking
a more synthetic approach. From November to
December1888, Paul Gauguin joined Van Gogh
in Arles at the invitation of the latters art-dealer
brother Tho. He left after Vincent Van Gogh had
a violent fit the famous ear-severing episode,
on 23December1888. During these three years,
Gauguin sought inspiration elsewhere: in the
Japanese prints to which Van Gogh introduced
30
20
10
0
1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010
group shows
solo shows
30
20
10
0
1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010
gallery
museum
festivals
other
31 ]
DATA
Paul Gauguin
Evolution of the number of
exhibitions by country.
30
20
10
0
1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010
United States
other
15%
42%
44%
85%
91%
gallery
museums
festivals
other
group shows
solo shows
14%
United States
Germany
other
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
1946 19501954 1958 19621966 1970 19741978 1982 19861990 1994 19982002 2006 20102014
[ 32
DATA
Paul Gauguin
[ 34
31%
by
the
47%
So
tie
12%
29%
40%
an
31%
32%
31%
29%
82%
Sw
37%
as
40%
Pi
40%
ris
Ch
DATA
Evolution of the yearly turnover.
$80m
$60m
$40m
$20m
$0
1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
Evolution of the number of lots offered to sale.
120
80
40
0
1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
Evolution of the average price per lot.
$2m
$1m
$0
1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
Evolution of the bought-in ratio.
100 %
75 %
50 %
25 %
0%
1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
sold
bought in
8% 6%
10%
12%
8%
54%
23%
19%
82%
10%
Multiples
Sculpture
Drawing
other
Painting
78%
sold
bought in
60%
7%
France
Switzerland
United Kingdom
other
8%
20%
48%
31%
26%
United States
Germany
22%
Bought-in ratio.
31%
40%
19%
8%
Christies
Swann
52%
Sothebys
other
Piasa
35 ]
DATA
Paul Gauguin
FOCUS
Turnover, number of lots offered for sale and bought-in ratio by estimate price range.
> $1m
$150k-$1m
$50-150k
< $50k
0%
25 %
50 %
sold
75 %
100 %
bought in
> $1m
59
126
$150k-$1m
$50-150k
83
926
< $50k
$0
$100m
$200m
$300m
$400m
300
$120m
200
$80m
100
$40m
1873
1875
1877
1879
1881
1883
lots
[ 36
1885
1887
1889
1891
1893
1895
turnover
1897
1899
1901
1903
$0
[ GALLERIES
Leo Villareal
DIFFERENT__________________________________
Change to Art Factum in Beirut
After five years of existence, the young gallery Art Factum, located in an
old steel factory in Beiruts Quarantine district, is changing its direction and
address. Previously devoted to contemporary art especially photography
and design, Art Factum has previously participated in the Art Basel fairs
in Basel and Miami. Joy Mardini, founder of the space, now wishes to focus
her activity exclusively on design, to defend the young Lebanese scene
which is just starting to emerge. To mark this shift, the gallery is moving
to the busy Gouraud Street, and changing its name to Joy Mardini Design
Gallery. Until 3 February, the new venue will be gathering a few new local
design names in the Kollectiv exhibition.
Sal or the 120 nights of 40 decors
CLOSING__________________________________
Ann Nathan Gallery closes in Chicago
Ann Nathan, the doyenne of Chicagos North River district, will be closing
her gallery on 31 December as her lease has not been renewed, reports
Crains Chicago Business. The 91-year-old admits that business is comme
ci comme a, her gallerys middling financial situation matching those of
her fellow gallerists. Six dealers in the district, including Judy Saslow, have
recently stopped activity. Echt, which occupies the same building as Ann
Nathan, will be closing in 2017, with a view to moving to another address;
Zygman Voss Gallery, closed since 31 October, is unsure whether it can
reopen elsewhere. Ann Nathan, who started collecting in 1950 and opened
her first space in 1980, is offering a wide range of artistic choices for her
last month of activity: photographs by Art Shay alongside Stephen Martins
comic strips, and Jim Roses metallic furniture. The gallerys spirit will
possibly live on, however, as Victor Armendariz, its current deputy director,
envisages opening another space next spring.
PROTEST___________________________________
Gallery targeted by anti-gentrification activists
In Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, activists have held a demonstration in front
of Nicodim Gallery, which moved into the district in 2015. The district,
made up of different immigrant communities, saw the arrival of its first art
galleries as a sign of imminent gentrification. Worried about the potential
rise in rents, the activists organised a press conference in front of the
gallery whose faade was also vandalized by a tag denouncing white art
trade, reports The Los Angeles Times. Mihai Nicodim swam across the
Danube in 1983 to flee Romania and to attain freedom. He and his wife
saved for years before opening their first gallery in China Town, then in
Culver City. Regarding the attack to his gallery, he is said to have started:
America is a great country. They have the right to demonstrate. I have
the right to be here.
[ 38
The Social Club is dead, long live Sal! The club at number 142, Rue
Montmartre in Paris, run by Manifesto agency, which also manages
Silencio, Wanderlust and Nuits Fauves, is undergoing a radical change in
artistic direction. Taking on a name that refers to Pier Paolo Pasolinis film,
the space seeks to hold freedom up as a standard (thumbing its nose to
the Mussolinian symbol of the city of Sal). In this way, the programme for
the 120 first nights seeks to abolish the barriers between the nightclub and
the gallery by giving carte blanche, every week, to a new artist, invited to
overturn the scenography in his or her own way. Out of the 40 programmed
creators, the first will be Abel Ferrara who is transforming the space into
a souk, followed by Antoine dAgata who plans for a more minimalistic
atmosphere. Also to come: artist-coiffeur Charlie le Mindu, then Larry Clark
and Christophe Honor, according to Les Inrockuptibles.
REPRESENTATION___________________________
Rosenberg & Co. represents Beatrice Mandelman and Louis Ribak estates
New York gallery Rosenberg & Co. on the Upper East Side has announced
that it will now be representing artists Louis Ribak (1902-1979) and
Beatrice Mandelman (1912-1998). The couple followed a sudden whim to
leave New York in 1944 to settle in New Mexico, like a wave of other artists
from their generation with whom they were associated: the Taos Moderns
with a yen for abstraction, including Edward Corbett and Agnes Martin. In
1947, they created the Taos Valley Art School, which would last until 1955.
The Mandelman-Ribak Foundation was launched to manage the couples
estates. In 2014, the Mandelman-Ribak Collection was donated to the
University of New Mexico.
FUTURE_____________________________________
Futurecity and Pace collaborate in public space project
Pace Gallery and Futurecity have announced their partnership in a new
project, dubbed FuturePace, whose aim is to develop an innovative
approach to art in public spaces. The new entity represents an
international group of artists intervening in urban environments on a large
scale, such as Janet Echelman, Kohei Nawa, TeamLab, Carsten Nicolai,
Random International, Michal Rovner, Studio Drift and Leo Villareal. Their
approach goes beyond the traditional notions of public art by using digital
technologies, interaction and kinetics, with monumental propositions that
can be inserted in all types of social spaces, informs Future\Pace, which
claims its interest in the idea of galleries without walls.
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