Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

To Russia, With Hope

September 23, 2009 by Marion Maneker

Bloomberg’s John Varoli reports on the opening night of Art Moscow the fair that was postponed to coincide with the third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art:

“Art Moscow is the most important commercial contemporary event in Russia and will tell us a lot about the art market,” said Marina Goncharenko, director of GMG Gallery in Moscow. “There are only a handful of collectors able to buy very expensive works. Otherwise, the market is mostly about a small group willing to pay between 5,000 euros ($7,395) and 20,000 euros.”

The Russian economy contracted by about 10 percent in the first half of 2009 as prices fell for natural resources, such as oil, on which Russia is heavily dependent. […] More than half of galleries at Art Moscow are Russian, and 17 are foreign, including Volker Diehl Gallery of Berlin, and Knoll Gallery of Vienna. […] “Russia’s contemporary art market was never big to begin with, and so this slowdown makes it more difficult,” said Volker Diehl, a German gallerist with spaces in Berlin and Moscow. “Russians show more interest in reasonably priced art by Russian artists instead of international ones.”

Russian Art Fair Bids to Lure Billionaires After Prices Slashed (Bloomberg)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • The Art & Luxury Equation, Will It Add Up?The Art & Luxury Equation, Will It Add Up?
  • Jeffrey Deitch Doesn’t Want a Big Global Presence as a Dealer—He Just Wants a Big Global PresenceJeffrey Deitch Doesn’t Want a Big Global Presence as a Dealer—He Just Wants a Big Global Presence
  • French Ban Art Fund on Fraud SuspicionFrench Ban Art Fund on Fraud Suspicion
  • Transformative Tate Modern Needs TransformationTransformative Tate Modern Needs Transformation
  • More Theories on Dutch Heist: Criminal with Big DebtsMore Theories on Dutch Heist: Criminal with Big Debts
  • Another Mellon Rothko Comes to Sotheby’s in MayAnother Mellon Rothko Comes to Sotheby’s in May

Filed Under: Art Fairs

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor