One of things that makes Larry Gagosian so important as a dealer has been his grasp of the globalizing art market ahead of all others. So it is interesting to read his comments on emerging markets in this interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Kelly Crow:
- We’ve opened private offices in Beijing and Indonesia, but Hong Kong remains our hub, and interest there remains high for some of our artists like Zeng Fanzhi. This summer, we did some deals for him out of Hong Kong. But the thing is, I can’t get a huge Richard Serra sculpture into our Hong Kong gallery, so I’m looking to get another space, maybe a big industrial space in the warehouse area where the rents are comparatively reasonable, at least for Hong Kong.
India
- We have some Indian collectors who buy from us in London, but we’re not really selling to collectors in India. Maybe we’re not approaching it the right way, or maybe we don’t have the relationships. Usually when the business is there and the appetite for collecting is there, it trickles up. It’s not happening yet. India remains focused on its local art, and its museums aren’t showing international art often enough.
Middle East
- We have some interesting collectors in Turkey, though, and over in the Middle East we’re starting to see a slight broadening of the collector base. Right now it’s mostly the sovereign families, but I think that’ll change when [the Louvre and Guggenheim branches] open in Abu Dhabi in a few years.
An Art Mogul Talks Shop (WSJ)
