ARCO MADRID

ARCOmadrid is the international contemporary art fair in Spain that, since 1982, has been one of the main platforms for the art market, as well as having become one of the essential art fairs on the international calendar.

For this year’s edition, having commenced 7 July, the fair will comprise a number of programs including the ARCOmadrid Forum, a series of talks, and ArtsLibris which hosts editions.

As would be expected in this ‘new normal’ covid-era, the fair has implemented a number of health and safety protocols, including monitoring visitation and traffic through the enclosure.  Approximately 130 galleries will be participating, which equates with approximately half of the visitation last seen in February 2020.

Read Ocula’s highlights of the Fair here.

InTouch Edition - 5

InTouch is an online digital exhibition, bringing together galleries from the Middle East and South East Asia. It aims to create an organised and synergistic platform for the galleries to collaborate, and challenge traditional formats of engaging with art.

Provocative works which caught my eye:

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The collages of Maya Varadaraj use vintage images drawn from popular culture of India, to manipulate them into concentricity.

This particular piece represents a woman, questioning her status and history. The centrifugal quality adds a hypnotic character to the piece, transporting the viewer to an alternate universe. Its composition is minimalistic as compared to other Varadaraj pieces exhibited, with the subject’s face as a clear focal point. What is interesting is the subject’s Madonna-like character. She has her head covered with a dark robe; gold embellishments framing her face. She expels a pious, divine nature. She stands as a symbol of life, royalty and purity. 

Dhruvi Acharya is a well-known artist within the industry fabric of India. She is known to be a familiar face represented by one of the most recognised gallery of the country, Chemould Prescott Road in Mumbai. The exhibition, Elusive Recesses, showcases her ink and watercolour works which were made in isolation during the COVID pandemic. They confront the unrest that 2020 brought to the world, including natural disasters, political upheaval in addition to crimes against minorities and women.

The composition of ‘Fifth Elusive Recess’ has a strong textural and compositional quality, drawing the viewer’s eye to the right. While the backdrop balances the image. Presumably, this work points at the patriarchal society prominent in India, with the subject’s defeated heart interlinked with partition of her hair, which holds a sacred place (for vermillion) within Indian culture.

Latif Al Ani’s photographs shed light on ‘heritage lost'. Much of modern Iraq is either lost or is known to the world as a product of conflict. Ani, from the late 1950s to the late 70s, captured the vanishing pageant of Iraqi society. He focussed on not just beauty of his land but also the culture of his people, touching base on the architecture, landscapes and streetscapes. His exhibit of these images is a result of the protection given by the Arab Image Foundation. He ceased shooting from 1979 as Saddam Hussein came to power which led to an invasion by the USA within Iraqi turf.

This particular piece is a quintessential Ani, as it reflects a sense of calm before the country was struck by violence; capturing local architectural ruins as well as natural beauty of the countryside, with the sheep grazing with ease.

For more details regarding this innovative platform please click here

©Shristi Sainani
December 2020

The state of the art market: a brief overview

Pierre Soualges, Peinture 162 x 130cm 14 Avril 1962”, 1962, oil on canvas, 162 x 130cm. SOLD: Sotheby’s Paris, June 2017.

According to Dr Clare McAndrew’s 2019 Art Market Report, the global art market accounted for US$67.4 billion last year, an increase of 6% from the previous year, which points to positive growth in the sector. The three main markets, the United States, the United Kingdom and China, remain the strongest accounting for 84% of the global market’s total value.

The other salient points in McAndrew’s report are:

·         Millennials emerged as active market participants;

·         The online market has witnessed continued growth;

·         Auction figures rose by 3% “year on year”; and

·         Art fairs continue to play a central role in the global art market.

Sotheby’s Mei Moses Index discerns a shift in market trends; up until recently, Impressionist and Modern Art held a prominent position in secondary market growth.  However, over the past two years, it is now the Post-War and Contemporary Art market which has seen the strongest growth, up by 12.8% compared with the Impressionist and Modern Art market at 10.8%. 

This shift in investment has been evidenced in newsworthy, strong results for artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pierre Soulages, Zao Wou-ki and Alberto Giacometti.

Whilst the “Basquiat phenomenon” has garnered an unprecedented command of the art market, with record breaking auction results, and survey/retrospective shows at numerous, prestigious museums and galleries, the perhaps less ‘spectacular’ artists, such as Soulages, Zao Wou-ki and Giacometti for example, have been steadily accruing value; suggestive of a more educated sector of the market re-assessing previously over-looked historical masters and preferring the ‘long game’ investment. 

©Catherine Asquith 2019

PARIS PHOTO 2017

Paris Photo, touted as the world's largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium, will hold its 21st edition at the historic Grand Palais in Paris from November 9th through 12th, 2017.

The annual event for collectors, professionals, artists, and enthusiasts, Paris Photo offers its visitors a selection of quality and diverse artworks alongside an ambitious public programme of events, talks and forums.

Over 180 galleries and publishers will present a complete panorama of the history of photography: from vintage and modern works to contemporary creations, rare and limited editions, and avant-premiere book releases. The recently launched PRISMES sector, held in the prestigious Salon d'Honneur, will feature a curated presentation of large format, series, and video and/or installation works.

An educative art fair, Paris Photo aims to enhance the visitor experience by scheduling exhibitions, awards, signature sessions, special events, talks and discussions with artists, curators, critics, and historians. The "In Paris during Paris Photo" programme, created in partnership with renowned museums and arts organizations throughout the city of lights, offers visitors a complementary selection of exhibitions featuring some of the most important photographic collections in the world.

Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2017

The parameters of Abu Dhabi Art extends beyond the notion of a traditional art fair; its diverse public engagement programme, ranging from art installations and exhibitions, talks and events, takes place in different locations, throughout the year. The culmination of this year-long programme is the Abu Dhabi Art event in November, which provides the sales platform for participating local and international galleries and an audience of over 20,000 visitors.

Making use of the natural landscape of the region, the Fair’s designer, Nilsson Pflugfelder conceptualised the elements of an art fair as an ‘archipelago’: each entity is conceived as an autonomous island that, together, makes up Abu Dhabi Art in the form of an archipelago. Consisting of ubiquitous 450 x 450 x 450 mm open cubes, the various islands are, within the exhibition, conceived as modular intensities of programmatic content.  The aim is to suggest the conscious reconnecting of ideas across an archipelago of time, forming narratives with past eras of utopian interventions.

The Fair’s curatorial programme aims to present a unique iteration, transforming the concept of an art fair to a place of discovery and discourse. The curated series of exhibitions and programme will bring diverse perspectives on global trends to an inspiring schedule of cultural engagement, reflecting the exceptional calibre of contemporary cultural practice for which Abu Dhabi Art is renowned.

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Art Basel Hong Kong, Report

The fifth edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong, which featured 242 premier galleries from 34 countries and territories, has ended on a high note. This year’s show included memorable moments such as:

• Our Conversations and Salon series was well received, offering visitors over 25 engaging sessions including the Salon panel 'Taking Stock: An Art Market Report'. The discussion followed the release of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which covers all aspects of the international art market in 2016.
• Kingsley Ng’s Twenty-Five Minutes Older, a moving installation in which two of Hong Kong’s iconic public trams were transformed into traveling works of art. The project was commissioned by Art Basel and supported by MGM Resorts Art & Culture.
• Another highlight was 'Virtual Frontiers: Artists Experimenting with Tilt Brush' presented by Art Basel and Google Arts & Culture, where visitors explored new virtual reality works created by artists: boychild, Cao Fei, Robin Rhode, Sun Xun, and Yang Yongliang. The works were produced using Google’s Tilt Brush - a 3D drawing and painting application.
• Nonny de la Peña’s project, 'Passage: The Life of a Wall on Lin He Road', a new iteration of 'Safely Manoeuvring Across Lin He Road' by Lin Yilin, presented by Asia Art Archive, also proved very popular amongst visitors as well.

Journalists from across the world attended, writing overwhelmingly positive reviews.  Forbes stated that ‘since its inception five years ago, Art Basel in Hong Kong has transformed the city into one of Asia’s most important cultural hubs.’ In addition, The New York Times observed that '…in the five years since Art Basel first began in Hong Kong, it has become perhaps the most important annual event on the regional art calendar[…] When it comes to Asian art, Art Basel Hong Kong is the place to go[…]' Financial Times reported that ‘Dealers find an audience for more challenging work at the fifth edition of the fair [...] [Art Basel’s] growth maps the burgeoning engagement of the Asia Pacific region with international contemporary art.’

The five show days were attended by private collectors as well as directors, curators, trustees and patrons from nearly 80 leading international museums and institutions across 20 countries, including Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Long Museum, Shanghai; MoMA PS1, New York; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; National Gallery Singapore, Singapore; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; New Museum, New York; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Serpentine Galleries, London; Tate, London and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

With numerous gallery openings and an expanded program of parallel events, the Art Basel week continued to spotlight Hong Kong's vibrant arts and cultural scene.

(from “Art Basel Hong Kong” newsletter 4th April 2017)

Art Basel Hong Kong

The fifth edition of Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong will commence on March 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai.
 
Bringing together gallerists, artists, collectors, curators, museum directors and critics from across the globe, Art Basel HK will present a total of 242 leading galleries from Asia, the Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world.
 
The fair comprises a number sectors: “Galleries”, the fair’s core sector showcases 20th and 21st century works, and also includes the “Insights” sector, the latter highlighting the curatorial projects, and the “Discoveries” sector featuring solo and 2-person projects. 
 
The “Encounters” sector is dedicated to large-scale sculptural installations and performances which punctuate the fair and is invariably a ‘feature’ of the fair, always attracting much attention and appreciation.
 
The “Kabinett” sector, previously only on show at Art Basel Miami Beach, will make its debut at this year’s ABHK, and features curated projects within selected gallery booths.
 
Complemented with a program of film, conversations and salons, (and a few parties!), Art Basel Hong Kong offers a stimulating week of all things art.
 
Beyond the fair, Hong Kong’s thriving arts scene is also on show throughout the week, with exhibitions, events and site-specific installations taking place across the city and beyond.