May 31st, 2008
Artnet has posted its Basel Preview with this lede: “In 2007, when Art 38 Basel coincided with the 52nd Venice Biennale and Documenta 12, many observers noted that the commercial art festival outshone its scholarly cousins, in terms of both the blue chip art on view and the new art being shown. Art dealers and the art market bested art curators and government art institutions. In a politically liberal art world, it seemed like a contrarian triumph of capital.”
Granted, Artnet is biased toward the market, but could it be that market is an efficient mechanism for bringing out the best art?
May 30th, 2008
In honor of Art Basel 39, the IHT devotes a lot of space to AXA’s point of view on art. Something to think about after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
May 30th, 2008
Bloomberg covers Christie’s sales in depth finding weakness in the market for antiquities but Contemporary Asian art is still hot:
“Prices of Chinese contemporary artworks, especially those that contain the five elements: talent, humor, politics, color and `Chineseness,’ will continue to rise,” said Roderic Steinkamp, a New York-based dealer, in a May 26 interview. “We also have to watch out for the emergence of other Asian works.”
What to look out for next? Read the rest of this entry »
May 30th, 2008
Speaking on Paper
The New York Times recommends MoMA’s show of drawings entitled Glossolalia.
Bourgeois Spider and Fees
Bloomberg reports on the sale of Bourgeois Spider sculpture and new break points for auction fees at $50k and $1 million.
Picasso Reward
Palm Beach Post reports on an art theft and the $25k reward AXA Insurance is offering for information. (Quotes after the jump.) Read the rest of this entry »
May 30th, 2008
Just when you thought both the complaining and the insanity of the art market was confined to the three major sales centers, comes this report from South Africa. Equal parts nasty cynicism and cold-eye realism, it does show you the wealth effect on the art market is being felt world over. Quotes after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
May 30th, 2008
Under the grime and varnish, an authentic Frans Hals portrait has been lurking
Both the New York Sun and Carol Vogel in the New York Times, explore the story behind the Frans Hals portrait recently re-discovered.
May 30th, 2008
Kelly Crow takes on Art Basel 39 and Football Hooligans in the WSJ
Don’t miss the Wall Street Journal’s Basel preview with this warning:
At least 55,000 people are expected to attend the weeklong Art Basel, and an additional 160,000 will turn up midweek to prepare for the Euro Cup’s Saturday opening match between the national teams of Switzerland and the Czech Republic at Basel’s soccer stadium. Nearly all these out-of-towners are vying for the local area’s 5,400 hotel rooms, not to mention tables at the city’s top restaurants and hangouts.
May 29th, 2008
Christie’s Week of Sales in Hong Kong nets $310 million; 50 Lots sell for more than $1 million.
Christie’s holds a broad range of sales in Hong Kong from Watches to Ceramics to Contemporary art. The auction house’s highlights, records and market trends (as identified by their press office) after the jump
Read the rest of this entry »
May 29th, 2008
A Conservator’s Dilemma:
The New York Sun gives a brief tour of art conservation with the Guggenheim’s Chief art doctor, Carol Stringari. Technology, non-traditional materials and philosophical challenges are some of the unexpected issues raised by Contemporary art. In July, the Guggenheim puts a damaged Ad Reinhardt on display to illustrate the challenges.
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