Monkdogz Artblog

One of the treats at the Armory Show this week was a collection of ink drawing portraits by Elaine de Kooning, of her naked husband exhibited by Mark Borghi Fine Art.

It’s not that common to see drawings of the male form by female artists. They are elegant drawings and I feel blatantly show Elaine’s love for Bill early on in their marriage.. She first met him when he was teaching art, becoming his student. Five years later in 1943 they married. Although they were married for 46 years, they did spend much of their time apart and were known to each have had several affairs. However eventually they did reconcile.

She was part of the New York school of abstract expressionists and continued to draw but also worked as an art critic for Artnews and also taught. She developed her work as an abstract expressionist but interestingly she also gained a good reputation as a stylized portrait painter which resulted in her being commissioned to create a portrait of John F. Kennedy for the Truman Library.

De Kooning was a very thorough artists and often created hundreds of sketches and several canvases to produce her finished paintings. To see her drawings is to see part of her thought processes and her work in progress which is a treat with any artist.

See more drawings here…

We visited the Armory Show at Piers 94 and 92 today, where there were 287 galleries from around the world showing contemporary and modern art.

The overall mood was settled, a welcome change from the fear and desperation that could be felt last year. There wasn’t a frenzy of activity despite a few such stories being paraded here and there; the mood was rather calmer, a mix of eager anticipation mixed with a little underlying concern that it may not be as good as they hoped. There were enough people wandering around the first day to give the show energy. There certainly were unmistakable red dots and telltale empty hooks and holes in the walls. Sale conversations could also be overheard in many booths.

There were many excellent pieces of art on display. Creativity was clearly abundant with well thought out, intellectual creativity rather than new and different for just the sake of being different. Mixed media was definitely in evidence with many three dimensional works including paintings which starts to blur the edges between paintings and sculpture.

All in all The Armory 2010 is a good show and worth a first look and maybe a second. It is hard not to get overdosed on art from just wondering around this and yet there is plenty more to visit this week as well with Scope, Pulse, Volta and the ADAA show at the Park Avenue Armory. It’s a good time to go wallow in art.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2009 takes place 3-6 December. There are an additional 17 satellite fairs this year including Red Dot, Scope, Art Asia and Ink. Basel has increased the floor space and the number of galleries that will be participating this year to over 250.

Guarded optimism seems to be the key words in the industry which is strong on ‘talking-up’ everything from mood, value and prices. Art is selling around the world; the Chinese auctions of modern and contemporary Asian and International art did well, although modern masters did considerably better than contemporary artists. Russian art sales in London which start today also expect to do well after similar sales in New York in early November did better than expected.

Basel being the premier art fair in the United States it is expected to be a barometer of the current art market. Collectors will be looking for good deals in this buyers’ market. Established and proven artists with good prices will always find buyers. The prices of emerging artists will have to be seriously considered to find any traction in this economy.

Artinfo have an interesting selection of 45 of the artists who will be exhibited at Basel including prices of some of them.

Everyone will be holding their breaths until the first sales are made.  Would you like to make some predictions?

ArtInfo has an excellent article with interviews of several collectors of young and emerging artists. It’s worth a read in it’s entirety but the best quote is from of Marty and Rebecca Eisenberg (of Bed Bath & Beyond fame) at the Frieze Art Fair in London:

“Buy artists early and never look back. I want to be part of the growth of the work. I don’t want to hop on board later.”

What we need are more savvy collectors like the Eisenbergs.

Adrian Searle, the chief art critic for the Guardian’s quotes of the week at London’s Freize Art Fair were:

“I encourage young artists to go to fairs……..because it’s like toilet training………you need to know where your sh*t goes.”

“Your $5000 is the new $50,000.”

Just so you know Searle also contributes to the Frieze Art magazine

With the Dow hitting the psychological 10,000 point barrier today and banks reporting or about to report healthy profits, talk is about whether we are on the road to recovery and how fast that journey will be.

Frieze which previewed today and officially starts tomorrow and the associated London auctions this week-end will be an interesting litmus test of where the art world stands currently. This is followed closely by FIAC in Paris and contemporary and modern art auctions in Dubai.

Frieze in its 7th year appears to have weathered the storm in terms of attending galleries. Only 28 galleries declined the invitation to exhibit this year and 165 galleries from 30countries accepted. This is not a cheap fair; Art & Auction suggested that an 80 sq m booth could cost about $100,000 for the 4/5 day event. The attendant fairs however such as Scope, Red Dot, Pulse and Bridge have not survived this year.

FIAC the international contemporary art fair in Paris starts on October 22nd and is in its 36th year with 196 galleries from 21 countries attending this year. The main part of the event is hosted in the Grand Palais, with several satellite locations.

Initial reports from Artinfo about the preview day today suggest that respectable sales were being made and Judd Tully suggested that “the mood felt better, and a slight aroma of optimism was even detected in the air.” However Tully then continues as he hedges his bets saying “but forget about a complete recovery — or a firm belief that the market has hit bottom. The yellow caution light is still flickering, and the old, (and some might think) glory days of the contemporary bubble are still a thing of the past.”

The New York contemporary and modern art auctions in November will round out the series of tests of the markets. Interestingly, Sotheby’s will have several significant works in their auction from Kandinsky, Picasso, Warhol and Hockney.

Let’s sit back and see how it unfolds.

In the last few weeks, five friends have told me of situations where they’ve been let down by galleries, museums and art dealers. Several of them are desperately trying to get their work returned to them after exhibitions that occurred months ago. Others are trying to deal with un-kept promises and commitments.

In this environment when each sale is so hard and when it happens well earned, the last thing any of us needs is the added aggravation of people trying to take advantage or at worst stealing from us.

The sad thing is that in today’s environment you have to look after yourself and your art. The phrase “artist beware” is an unfortunate truism. There are several things that you can and should do, despite the extra effort that it will take.

Make sure you keep all correspondence and any telephone calls should be logged and annotated. If you’re really good, telephone conversations should be backed up by a letter or email.

Ensure that whoever takes responsibility for your artwork gives you a loan form or similar to cover their responsibilities and commitment as well as laying out your responsibilities. What is the insurance coverage? Who pays for delivery and shipping? Which pieces exactly will they be responsible for? What marketing and exhibition commitments are being offered? What happens when the work is sold? Who owns the copyright? What commission is deducted? How will the money be transferred? If they don’t give you one, write one yourself and ask them to sign and return it. If necessary enclose a stamped self-addressed enveloped so that they can’t find an excuse to return it.

Make sure that you do your research on the dealer, museum or gallery. Talk to as many people who have been involved with them before as possible. Contact an organization such as the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints logged about them.

Much of this seems like common sense, but it’s amazing how many of us don’t do it. We hope that we can trust everyone to act on their integrity, but sometimes we can’t, so take care and protect yourselves.

And if there’s that occasion when you do come a cropper and find yourself caught up in a difficult position, ask for help. Friends are always out there to support you.

Every two years, the Venice Biennale in Italy and Art Basel in Switzerland overlap. There are fundamental differences between the two but in many ways they are symbiotic.

Fundamentally, the Venice Biennale, called by many the “Olympics” of the art world, is an exhibition purportedly of the best artists from the participating countries; 77 this year. It is billed as an art exhibition and little is said to dissuade people of the notion that it is unsullied by commercial considerations. Curated this year by an academic, Daniel Birnbaum, a darling of the art world, it continues to aim for an esoteric status. Many artists are encouraged to prepare work especially created for the Biennale. It allows room for of experimental works and often installations which may not have commercial sale values but could be significant in the development of art….or on the other hand not!

However the circus that the Biennale has become in recent years, results in major ‘horse-trading’ occurring around the periphery of the official exhibitions. Dealers, curators, collectors, museums and philanthropists all congregate well before the official opening of the exhibition and through out much of the first week to buy and sell many of the works that are on display; often in private meetings and parties, resulting in complete exhibitions being sold out before they are even seen by the general public.

On the other hand Art Basel is acknowledged by many as the premier modern and contemporary art fair in the world. 300 dealers and galleries from around the world bring works for sale of over 2500 international artists. Last year the organizers recorded over 60,000 attendees over the 5 day fair. Previous years have seen undignified scrums by well-heeled patrons, rushing to get the best deals first. The economic downturn put an end to that sort of behavior last June but everyone will be anxiously waiting to see what sort of behavior will be exhibited this year.

It is acknowledged that being invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale can significantly boost an artist’s career and pricing. Many buyers who visit Basel will be doing so after having spent several days in Venice. Will they be in a buying mood this year, will pricing be further depressed, or will there be signs of recovery. Will the significant excitement generated by the Biennale spill over into Basel? We can only wait with bated breath!

So the latest trendy phrases are “good works are selling for fair market price” and “people are in observational mode”.  Both heard at the contemporary art auctions this week. 

Artinfo labeled Sotheby’s sales “solid but uninspiring”, with just over $47million in sales resulting in 81% of lots offered and 78% of the pre-sales dollar estimates.  48 lots were offered compared to 83 lots a year ago and $362million and the lowest result Sotheby’s achieved in a contemporary art sale since 2003.  

However an Alexander Calder sculpture sold for $3.5 million which was more than double its estimate.  

Bloomberg spotted Actor Owen Wilson billionaire Eli Broad and former Hollywood agent Michale Orvitz at the sale.  Larry Gagosian was also there and successfully bid for Jeff Koons’ “Baroque Egg with Bow (Turquoise/Magenta)” at $5,458,500.

Christie’s on the other hand did better and according to Artinfo “charged to a sizzling $93,734,500 tally, reassuringly nestled between pre-sale expectations of $71.5 million and $104.5 million” achieving a “sizzling” 91% of lots offered and 94% of pre-sales estimates.  54 lots were offered compared to 57 at last year’s May sales which brought in $348.2 million. This sale was the lowest contemporary result since November 2004 for Christies.

The highest bid went for the David Hockney portrait of Betty Freeman called “Beverly Hills Housewife,” which sold for an artist record $7.9 million. 

Bloomberg spotted Hedge-fund manager Steven Cohen and tennis great John McEnroe at the event.  Larry Gagosian was also there and bid successfully with a record price for Roy Lichtenstein’s “Frolic”

The New York Times suggested that Christies did better because of their strategy of conservative estimates and a wider variety of artists appealing to a wider range of collectors.  They suggest that the winning of Betty Freeman’s estate which included an excellent contemporary art collection was also key.

Phillips did the worst with Artinfo suggesting that it “limp(ed) to the finish line” with only 72% of lots offered, sold and 57% of pre-sale estimate value.

Anecdotal feedback from the Affordable Art Fair also suggested similar results with only half the number of sales compared to last year.  

N.B.  I’m sure everybody already knows that estimates do not reflect commissions, which are 25 percent of the hammer price up to $50,000, 20 percent of the price from $50,001 to $1 million, and 12 percent above $1 million for all three companies.  

The second ART HK opens this week with 110 galleries from 24 countries.  The only galleries from the US are Gagosian and Gebert Contemporary (Santa Fe) plus Frey Norris Gallery (LA), PYO Gallery (LA), Arario Gallery (NY), Gana Art (NY) and Chambers Fine Art (NY), all five of the latter being Asian specialists.  This year, European galleries make up about a fourth of the list of exhibitors, just over 50% from the Asia and 10 from Australia. 

Hong Kong continues to be an attractive region with it’s continued status as a free port, it has 45% of China’s art market according to the Financial Times; a market worth $3.8 billion in 2007 making it the world’s third largest market.  The contemporary market increased more than 200 times in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2007.  With the current recession, this phenomenal growth is likely to slow down, but with the Hong Kong government already approving a $2.7 billion budget to develop nearly 100 acres as a cultural district, including a museum, exhibition space and performance art venues, it may not be as hard hit as some other key cities.  Hong Kong is also bordered to the north by Shenzhen which is currently the wealthiest city in China and one of the fastest growing cities in the world.  

Last year’s ART HK 08 brought in over 19,000 visitors to see 101 international galleries and generated $20million in gross sales.  The fair has some major figures in the art world including Will Ramsey, CEO of Pulse, Mary Dinaburg, Founder of Dinaburg Arts which has been one of the advisors to the Armory show for the few  years, and Charles Mereweather, the artistic director and curator of the 2006 Sydney Biennale.  The list is completed with a stellar list of experienced art world and art fair organizers.  

We look forward to seeing how this year’s Art HK 09 does in the current economic climate.  The fair runs May 14-17.