Globalisation of contemporary art market evident in growth of art fairs – The Economist

ART FAIRS ECONOMY

A recent article in the Economist comments on the globalisation of art and how art fairs accelerate the transnational exposure of artists, something that could become necessary for artists if they want to attract the attention of serious collectors and art investors. Importantly, it also identifies the current international art fair hot spots. Read on for our summary of this article.

Globalisation of the art market

Globalisation is one of the most important phenomenon in the history of recent art. Contemporary art needs the potential of a global market and thus enters the art fair. Biennials and landmark exhibitions help to initiate global change in the art scene. International art fairs spread belief in contemporary art through the help of banks and royalty, from Deutsche Bank to local rulers in the Middle East.

In addition, the article quotes Marc Spiegler and Annette Schönholzer, co-directors of Art Basel, as saying that private collections are becoming increasingly international. Collectors start by acquiring art from their own nation and eventually acquire internationally. In many countries contemporary art has become an economic project involving collectors, dealers and huge cultural districts with museums and art fairs.

Art Basel 2009.

For an art fair to be properly diverse, careful curation is essential. For good international fairs, this not only means that attending galleries show talented artists, but also that they show artists that live in the country the gallery is located in. As quoted in The Economist,

As Lucy Mitchell-Innes of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, a New York gallery, warns: ‘It’s a problem if four or five booths have the same artist’s work. A good international fair wants Chinese galleries to bring talented Chinese artists, not another Antony Gormley.’

International art fair hot spots

The locational hierarchy of art fairs differs from that in the auction market. For art auctions, the three most prominent cities are New York, London and Hong Kong, in that order. When talking about art fairs, Basel would come first, but what follows this lead is unclear: Miami or London, New York or Paris?

Even more notable are the art fairs currently sprouting up in Asian countries. These are creating alternate markets for art and challenging Western leadership. Adding to the hierarchical ladder are two newcomers: Hong Kong’s ART HK (Hong Kong International Art Fair) and Abu Dhabi Art, operating from the Middle East.

What art fairs mean for artists and their art

In general, art fairs can accelerate the transnational exposure of all artists represented. Art Basel is unrivalled in this category and it may be because it has always defined itself as international. The frenzied demand for new art peaked with the creation of smaller art fairs. Some of them work as satellites to the major European events, the biennials, art festivals and fairs such as Basel. These budding fairs cater to lesser known, emerging artists.

Within the art market, that an artist is “international” has become a selling point. Consequently, the local artist has become almost insignificant, while those called “national” are damned with faint praise.

Art fairs, with their aggregation of art dealers forming a one-stop shoppers’ marketplace for art, attract high-spending collectors, generate greater sales and have to some extent replaced galleries with their increasing drawing power. Still the globalisation of the art is not just about money. There are a growing number of non-profit biennials that are developing along with the market structures. As quoted in The Economist,

Massimiliano Gioni, a curator based in Milan and New York, who is overseeing the Gwangju Biennial, which opens in South Korea in September, recalls that the avant-garde was ‘built on a transnational community of kindred spirits,’ adding, ‘sometimes I long for that.’

This is an Art Radar summary of “Global frameworks – Art-fair musical chairs“, first published in The Economist.

JAS/KN

Related Topics: art fairs, international artists, market watch – globalisation

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• Is globalisation of the art market slowing down? The Economist reports – June 2010 – discusses the dominance of American artists at Christie’s New York’s recent sales
• World’s top collectors and art professionals attend ART HK: a testament to fair’s growing importance – June 2010 – names the collectors in attendance
• Art industry elite meet at inaugural Abu Dhabi Art Fair – December 2009 – a brief overview of the event with images, mentions segregation of new and established galleries
• Art in storage, at fairs and sales – is it getting harder to insure? – October 2009 – this article explains why this may be the case

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for more on prominent trends in the contemporary art market

World’s top collectors and art professionals attend ART HK: a testament to fair’s growing importance

ART HK 10 HONG KONG ART FAIR ART COLLECTORS ART MARKET

ART HK 10 was reportedly more festive than the ’09 edition due to its increasing ability to attract more high-profile and experienced collectors and curators from round the world, indicating its growing importance in the contemporary art arena of Asia.

ART HK 10 attracted many new comers this year.

“There’s been a major shift since last year in terms of the quality of the galleries exhibiting and the quality of the visitors. It’s a broader cross-section of nationalities and there are more serious and experienced collectors. We are pleased that people we met last year have come back to buy from us this year and this has been supported by trips to Asia between shows. We look forward to participating next year.” Daniela Gareh, Director of White Cube, London

Who were the collectors attending ART HK 10?

This year, the art fair attracted high-profile collectors from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, across Europe and the United States. They included Thomas Shao and Li Bing (China); Sir David Tang and Monique Burger (Hong Kong); Richard Chang (New York); Dr. Gene Sherman of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation and Judith Neilson of the White Rabbit Foundation (Sydney); Susan Hayden and Nigel Hurst, Director of the Saatchi Gallery (London); and Sydney Picasso and Diana Picasso (Spain).

Some of the world’s most influential museum directors also attended the fair. They included Richard Armstrong (Director of Guggenheim Museum); Michael Govan (CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of Los Angeles County Museum of Art); Joseph Thompson (Director of MASS MoCA); Olga Viso (Director of Walker Art Centre); Elizabeth Ann MacGregor (Director of the MCA in Sydney); and Jock Reynolds, (Director of Yale Art Gallery).

The fair also attracted specialist Asian curators such as Alexandra Munroe (Senior Curator of Asian Art at the Guggenheim), Maxwell Hearn (Douglas Dillon Curator at Department of Asian Art in Metropolitan Museum of Art), and Jan Stuart (Head of Asia at British Museum).

Some renowned curators attended an ART HK 10 talk organised by Asia Art Archive. They were Shinji Kohmoto (Chief Curator at the National Museum of Art in Kyoto), Yuko Hasegawa (Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo), Yukie Kamiya (Chief Curator at the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art) and Barbara London (Associate Curator at Department of Media and Performance Art in the Museum of Modern Art in New York).

ART HK 10’s sophistication evident in high quality works on show

The significant increase in the number of experienced collectors and curators coming to the event was the result of an expanded scale and an improvement in the of quality of the art being sold and displayed.

“This year’s ART HK had both significant scale and high quality of exhibitors and art. We were also very encouraged by the public interest and positive reaction to Deutsche Bank’s exhibition of recently acquired photography from its corporate collection.” Michael West, Deutsche Bank Head of Communications, Asia Pacific

On the other hand, the improved quality of galleries may also be indicative of the sophistication of art in Asia.

“We’ve met some very interesting collectors from other countries in Asia. The level of sophistication and interest in Western art is rising exponentially.” Ben Brown, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong and London

Magnus Renfrew, director of the ART HK fair, spoke to the Jakarta Post stating that Hong Kong possesses two core strengths that have brought about the success of the fair, its quality and the geographical diversity of its participants. He elaborates:

“We chose Hong Kong as our location for a major international hub art fair over others in the region because this city has many advantages, such as the zero tax on the import and export for art, geographical location at the heart of Asia within easy reach of the collector bases from all over the region, English is commonly spoken, it is an exciting and vibrant city and there is probably nowhere in the world where people from Asia and people from the West feel equally at home.”

Art Radar Asia was determined to hunt down first-hand perspectives of galleries in attendance this year and spoke with 19 during ART HK 10. Reactions to the fair were as varied as the galleries we spoke with. Read what they had to say here.

CBKM/KN

Related Topics: events – fairs, venues – Hong Kong

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• ART HK 10 reports strong sales figures, lists major artworks sold – June 2010
• London’s Michael Hoppen pioneers photography at Art HK 10, pans Hong Kong gallery – interview – June 2010
• What did the galleries say about ART HK 10? Art Radar Asia speaks to 19 dealers – June 2010
• Fotan 2010 – a growing cluster of art studios in Hong Kong – February 2010
• Deutsche Bank signs 5 year lead sponsorship deal with ART HK – December 2009

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for more reports on Asian art fairs and events

ART HK 10 reports strong sales figures, lists major artworks sold

ART HK ART FAIR SALES ARTWORKS LISTED

Strong sales figures have been reported since the third Hong Kong art fair drew to a close in late May this year. Million dollar sales of artwork by Zhang Xiaogang and Damien Hirst, plus high-priced sales of works by Anish Kapoor and Yoshitomo Nara, suggest the event is now able to comfortably position itself as one of the world’s top art fairs.

“It’s our second time at the Fair and sales this year are up 100%. We sold to collectors from Japan, Taiwan and Beijing. I think the fair has increasing energy in the way Miami Art Basel had when it launched,” Johann Nowak, Director, DNA, Berlin.

A post-event press release from ART HK 10 listed six major transactions made at the event:

The Inescapable Truth (2005) by Damien Hirst, sold by White Cube for £1.75 million.

The Inescapable Truth (2005) by Damien Hirst is the first formaldehyde work by the artist to be shown in China.

Green Wall – Husband and Wife (2010) by Zhang Xiaogang, sold by Pace Beijing for US$1 million.

Zhang Xiaogang's Green Wall - Husband and Wife (2010)

More Light (1988) by Sean Scully, sold by Galerie Lelong for US$750,000.

Untitled (2010) by Anish Kapoor, sold by Lisson Gallery for £550,000.

Composition with Bamboo and Grass (2007-08) by Liu Ye, sold by Sperone Westwater for US$650,000.

Liu Ye's Composition with Bamboo and Grass (2007-8)

Rock’n Roll the Roll (2009) by Yoshitomo Nara, sold by Marianne Boesky Gallery for US$350,000.

Yoshitomo Nara's Rock'n Roll The Roll (2009)

Gallerists and dealers had a mostly positive response to this year’s fair and what they had to say seems to mirror the high sales figures reported.

“The response to our solo exhibition by Liu Ye exceeded my expectations. Sales were made to new collectors from Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, and Singapore and to a prominent New York collector. There is so much positive energy here. We look forward to returning next year,” David Leiber, Director and Partner, Sperone Westwater, New York.

“We’ve met some very interesting collectors from other countries in Asia. The level of sophistication and interest in Western art is rising exponentially in Asia,” Ben Brown, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Hong Kong and London.

Art Radar Asia was determined to hunt down first-hand perspectives of galleries in attendance this year and spoke with 19 during ART HK 10. Reactions to the fair were as varied as the galleries we spoke with. Read what they had to say here.

CBKM/KN

Related Topics: events – fairs, market watch, venues – Hong Kong

Related Posts:

• London’s Michael Hoppen pioneers photography at Art HK 10, plans Hong Kong gallery – interview – June 2010
• What did the galleries say about ART HK 10? Art Radar Asia speaks to 19 dealers – June 2010
• Surprising sell-through rates for Chinese art recorded in London’s February auctions – March 2010
• Performance of Asia tops West for first timers at auction in 2008/09 – November 2009
• Liquidity propels prices, Chinese Political Pop is back – Sothebys Contemporary Asian Art Auction 2009 Hong Kong – October 2009

Subscribe to Art Radar Asia for more reports on Asian art fairs and events