This week's Art Market News

Posted on April 21, 2008 at 7:12 AM.

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LONDON - Corporate giants take a shine to cutting-edge art 17th April 08

Details the rationale and change in focus of corporate art collecting of London's city financial giants and the way they select their work using art committees, professional freelance curators and dealers such as Prue O'Day of independent art adviser Anderson O'Day. Corporations included in this article are Ernst & Young, WestLB, HSBC, Deutsche Bank. Corporate contacts mentioned are Chris Turner, chairman of the London arts committee at law firm Clifford Chance, Colin Tweedy, head of creative network Arts & Business, Deutsche Bank Alistair Hicks, art adviser at the bank. Artists mentioned Van Gogh, Damien Hirst, Francis Bacon, Kitaj and Langlands & Bell. The article also hypothesises as to the change of buying behaviour expected if there is as an impact of the credit crunch and economic crisis.

By Clara Ferreira-Marques (Reuters)
(Editing by Sara Ledwith) Read more...

http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSL1081346020080417?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

NEW YORK - Don't Believe Your Eyes: Eliasson's Illusion Act at MoMA, P.S.1 18th April 08

``Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson'' started this Sunday and continues through June 30 at the Museum of Modern Art, 11 W. 53rd St., and its affiliate, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. Over the past 15 years, Eliasson, the Danish-Icelandic artist, well known for bringing the startling illusion of real sun and fog to the cavernous entrance hall of London's Tate Modern, has become expert at disorienting viewers through the use of special-effects lighting, mirrors and architectural intrusions that can seem to turn the world upside-down.

by Linda Yablonsky- Bloomberg News. For more details...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=asZ9jk1Af.pI&refer=muse

JOHANNESBURG - The art of business sponsorship

A comprehensive list of

South Africa

's nominees for the eleventh annual Business Day BASA Awards. The eleventh series of awards reflects a growing awareness within the corporate sector both of the inherent value of the arts to society at all levels, and of the business argument for supporting the arts. Some of the numerous businesses included are ABSA Bank, Rand Merchant Bank as art sponsors and MTN, Nando's restaurants, Spier Holdings, Standard Bank as corporate art collectors.

More detail...

http://www.artzone.co.za/template_level2.asp?parentseq=4406

ANTWERP- Antwerp's Discreet Treasury of Art 20th April 08

Given its quietly widening influence in the art and fashion worlds, the author highlights the case for Antwerp as a contemporary art market of note. He points out that the number of big-names that originate from Belgium and often began their careers exhibiting in this city, for example the late René Magritte and Marcel Broodthaers, living artists Luc Tuymans and Marlene Dumas,Dirk Braekman, Francis Alys and Jan De Cock

By RICHARD B. WOODWARD, The New York Times Read more...

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/travel/20antwerp.html?ref=travel

LONDON - Acquisitions take Saatchi back to Iraqi roots 19th April 08

Describes art collector Charles Saatchi track-record for heading up some of the greatest art market trends such as demand for the YBAs (Young British Artists), American paintings and more recently Chinese contemporary artists and the markets have rocketed. How serious is his latest artistic love affair, with contemporary paintings by emerging artists from Iran and Iraq? Artists mentioned include Rokni Haerizadeh and Iraqi Ahmed Alsoudani.

Arifa Akbar, The Independent For more info...

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art-and-architecture/news/acquisitions-take-saatchi-back-to-iraqi-roots-811776.html

NEW YORK/ MOSCOW- Sotheby's Previews N.Y. Contemporary Sales for Russian Jet Set 17th April 08

Sotheby New York's recent effort to encourage rich, young Russian collectors to bid at its May auctions involves shipping some 30 contemporary artworks, worth more than $30 million to an upscale Moscow shopping mall next week. Works by Koons, Prince, Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami and other blue-chip artists will be exhibited at the Barvikha Luxury Village from April 23 to 27. Included in the shipment are Jeff Koons's eight-legged steel caterpillar and Richard Prince's ``Millionaire Nurse'' painting. This preview is co- sponsored by Russia's Alfa Bank whose principal founder, Mikhail Fridman, is a known collector of contemporary Western art.

By Katya Kazakina - Bloomberg For more detail...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=axYvFVEROUHc&refer=muse

DALLAS/ TOKYO - Dallas artist Frances Bagley wins award at 10th Kajima Sculpture Exhibition in Tokyo April 17th 08

Frances Bagley, the only American to have ever won an award in this exhibition, has won one of the five awards given in the 10th Kajima Sculpture Exhibition. The show involves 300 entries from 20 countries and is held in Tokyo every two years and sponsored by the Kajima Corporation, a well known architecture and engineering firm in Japan. Bagley has exhibited extensively in her career; her work is included in several museum and corporate collections, such as The National Museum of Women in Washington D.C., The El Paso Museum, and American Airlines, among others. Her awards include the Individual Artist Grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation and a Legend Award from the Dallas Visual Art Center (now the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art).

By Pegasus News wire Source: William Campbell Contemporary Art Read more...

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/apr/17/dallas-artist-frances-bagley-wins-award-10th-kajim/

PHILADELPHIA - New Installation Celebrates a Milestone for one of Philadelphia's Most Vital Artist Organizations 17th April

About Philadelphia Museum of Art and their collaboration with one of the region's most vital artist organizations to present Emerging to Established: Twenty-Five Years of the Center for Emerging Visual Artists. Organized in conjunction with the CFEVA, the show will be on view through July 6 in the Director's Gallery. Current Fellows included in the exhibition -- Anne Canfield, John Karpinski, Matthew Neff, Serena Perrone, and Jeffrey Stockbridge - offer a broad spectrum of ideas and approaches but are perhaps united by a common interest in ambiguity and fantasy. Also on show are CFEVA alumna Kate Baldwin, Photographer Don Camp and Kate Moran, a Philadelphia native and a former CFEVA fellow. About The Center for Emerging Visual Artists ( CFEVA )

For more info...

http://media-newswire.com/release_1063955.html

LONDON / NEW YORK- Woman with a million dollar image 17th April 08

Reuters (Video) - An interview with Sue Tilley, the sitter for Lucien Freud's portrait nicknamed 'Big Sue', which is to be auctioned on May 13 (2008) in New York. Christies has placed an estimated value of up to 35 million dollars (USD) on the work, saying it could smash all records for a living artist's work.

Hayley Platt reports. View Video...

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=80523&videoChannel=1

COLOGNE - Back to Basics: Art Cologne's New Chief Wants `No-Frills' Fair 17th April 08

The future of Art Cologne, one of the world's oldest art fairs, in an interview with Daniel Hug, a Los Angeles art dealer who takes over its leadership on May 1. Hug defines his philosophy and new focus of bringing collectors the best art possible and should keep supplementary events and programs to a minimum. The art fair's status is suffering from the attraction of competing events in London, Basel, Berlin and Miami. Art Cologne drew 60,000 visitors last year, 10,000 fewer than in 2006 and has been losing exhibitors.
BY Catherine Hickley - Bloomberg, Berlin Read more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asbTZ7wB1RgM

JOHANNESBURG--South Africa Sees Shifts in Power 16th April 08

A general coverage of the big players in the South African contemporary art scene and rumours that Linda Givon, founder of Johannesburg's Goodman Gallery, is considering selling a 50 percent stake in her gallery to an up-and-coming independent dealer, Liza Essers. Some of the artists mentioned include William Kentridge, photographer David Goldblatt, collage artist Sam Nhlengethwa, painters Pat Mautloa and Claire Gavronsky, photographers Roger Ballen and Zwelethu Mthethwa, mixed-media artist Moshekwa Langa, painter Penny Siopis and Eduardo Villa. Also includes recent movements of Cape Town dealer, Michael Stevenson and New York dealer Jack Shainman who represents some notable South African artists.

By ArtInfo.com Read more...

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/27352/south-africa-sees-shifts-in-power/

NEW YORK - In tough times, those who've got it still flaunt it April 19, 2008

Wealthy American consumers seem untouched by the economic slump aren't skimping on big-ticket items and lavish events. Economists have warned that the nation's financial troubles may spread far more widely and could, ultimately, touch even the wealthiest. The Independent Budget Office of New York City has forecasted that the financial sector could lose as many as 20,000 jobs by the end of 2009 and the Federal Reserve board members raised the possibility of a "prolonged and severe economic downturn".

By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY and ERIC KONIGSBERG, New York Times Read more...

http://www.startribune.com/nation/17928304.html

GERMANY

- Modern Art Inspires Bank Employees, Says Head Art Buyer 17th April 08

With over 53,000 individual pieces, Deutsche Bank has accumulated one of the largest corporate art collections in the world. An interview with the head of Deutsche Bank's massive art collection Friedhelm Huette. Huette explained the motivations for collecting and how they go about selecting artists. Its "Art at Work" initiative was started in 1979.

Interview: Kate Bowen, Jennifer Abramsohn For more detail...

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3271358,00.html

BASEL - An International Showing at Art 39 Basel 20th April 08

Art 39 Basel (www.artbasel.com) -- one of the most important shows for modern and contemporary art -- will showcase the work of artists from all over the world in Basel, Switzerland. With Messe Basel, a sprawling exhibition center, as the site, the event will span two spacious halls featuring solo shows by up-and-coming artists like the Glasgow-based Duncan Campbell and the Los Angeles-based Kelly Nipper, conversation panels, gallery exhibitions and art magazine displays. From June 4 to 8

By HILARY HOWARD For more information...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/travel/20DATEbasel.html

NEW YORK- Russian Art Auction Totals $36.1 Million at Sotheby's (Update2) 15th April

Sotheby's sold about $36.1 million of Russian 19th-and 20th-century art today in New York, a signal that rich Russians and Ukrainians will pay top dollar for artworks of cultural significance. About 69 percent of the 191 pre-World War II lots in the morning session sold, and six paintings fetched more than $1 million each. In the afternoon session, about 52 percent of the 130 post-war artworks sold. Russia's economy has grown for nine consecutive years, creating a pool of art collectors willing to spend lavishly. In 2007, Sotheby's reported a 24 percent rise in Russian art sales to $190.9 million. That's more than a 31-fold increase since 2000, when its annual total was $6 million. The article goes on to highlight specific pieces and their sales performance.

by John Varoli -Bloomberg in New York Read more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aK2G3kKgq1ak&refer=muse