Colin Gleadell visited the art fair in Marrakech to report on some sales:
- Italian gallery, Continua, was one of the exceptions selling a trio of small iron sculptures by Antony Gormley for £30,000 each as well as a glass figure of a naked man by Cameroon artist, Pascale Tayou, priced at 3,500 Euros.
- Metro Pictures, had an eight foot high picture of a woman wearing a burka by Robert Longo (pictured). So realistic it looked like a photograph, it was in fact an incredibly detailed drawing. Priced at $275,000, it was one of the more expensive items at the fair and had been reserved by a client.
That would be a big sale for this young fair where most galleries pitched their price levels much lower. “We were advised to,” said Moiz Zilberman, a gallerist from Istanbul. “And even we don’t sell anything, we’ll come back,” said Zilberman. “This is the only candidate for an important fair in North Africa, and it will succeed.”
Marrakech Art Fair: Eyes on North Africa (Telegraph)