Susan Adams makes this prediction about a rising star, Ahmed Alsoudani, in Forbes.
This Iraq-born artist with a Masters in fine art from Yale has caught the eye of mega-collectors François Pinault and Charles Saatchi at a time when art from the Middle East is getting hot. Alsoudani, 35, paints colorful, intricate canvases of war and chaos. Pinault is planning a show of his work in one of his Venice museums, Palazzo Grassi, in June 2011. Alsoudani pieces now sell for $24,000 to $65,000. Expect prices to climb much higher.
Adams also warns that rumors of dealer Larry Gagosian being in trouble are more fantasy than reality. Under the headline, ‘Misplaced Assumption,” she writes:
Larry Gagosian, mega-art dealer with 11 galleries across the globe, will scale back. There’s little doubt that his empire was battered by the tumbling, post-crash contemporary art market, but the former schlock poster purveyor-turned-art-world-Svengali, will continue to expand. Gogo not only has deep pockets–his or those of his business friends–but an uncanny eye for what will sell and at what price. He also has the cojones to woo artists ready to jump to the next (price) level.
Susan Adams on Collecting (Forbes)
(Speaking of misplaced assumptions: A previous version of this post questioned Ms. Adams’s judgment based up on the confusing wording of the second paragraph quoted. A reader pointed out the headline–Misplace Assumptions–as an indication Adams was refuting rumors about Gagosian’s operations. To be fair to Ms. Adams, we removed the original comment to avoid further confusion.)
