Thursday, January 22, 2009
Details Emerge About Auction House Layoffs
Published: January 14, 2009
Christopher Gaillard, who headed the contemporary print department at Sotheby's, was let go in a recent wave of layoffs.
NEW YORK—Details have begun to emerge about Sotheby’s cost-cutting layoffs, which the house announced last December. According to a report in Bloomberg, the auction house has laid off approximately 60 employees in the U.S. since mid-December, including, most prominently, Christopher Gaillard, the head of the contemporary print department who was thought to be a potential star auctioneer, and John Tancock, an art scholar and senior vice president who had been with the company for three and a half decades.The layoffs reached all departments and levels of seniority within the company. Experts in ceramics and French and English furniture were let go, as were employees in the Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami offices. At the end of December 2007, according to company filings, Sotheby’s had 605 employees in North America, and 1,555 worldwide. The house, which has yet to announce its fourth-quarter earnings for 2008, declined to provide more updated numbers or to comment on the recent layoffs. Meanwhile, rival Christie’s began its announced “reorganization” on Monday. The house let go approximately 80 employees from the New York office, according to a staffer who was terminated. “Virtually all departments and geographies are affected by the reorganization,” a Christie’s spokesman said in an e-mail statement.
Christopher Gaillard, who headed the contemporary print department at Sotheby's, was let go in a recent wave of layoffs.
NEW YORK—Details have begun to emerge about Sotheby’s cost-cutting layoffs, which the house announced last December. According to a report in Bloomberg, the auction house has laid off approximately 60 employees in the U.S. since mid-December, including, most prominently, Christopher Gaillard, the head of the contemporary print department who was thought to be a potential star auctioneer, and John Tancock, an art scholar and senior vice president who had been with the company for three and a half decades.The layoffs reached all departments and levels of seniority within the company. Experts in ceramics and French and English furniture were let go, as were employees in the Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami offices. At the end of December 2007, according to company filings, Sotheby’s had 605 employees in North America, and 1,555 worldwide. The house, which has yet to announce its fourth-quarter earnings for 2008, declined to provide more updated numbers or to comment on the recent layoffs. Meanwhile, rival Christie’s began its announced “reorganization” on Monday. The house let go approximately 80 employees from the New York office, according to a staffer who was terminated. “Virtually all departments and geographies are affected by the reorganization,” a Christie’s spokesman said in an e-mail statement.
London Art Fair Comes of Age
By Oliver Basciano
Published: January 16, 2009
LONDON—It’s easy to be satisfied when you are expecting the worst. This seems to be prevailing opinion among exhibitors at the London Art Fair, which previewed on January 13 and runs through January 18. Comprising 112 galleries, the vast majority from the U.K., the fair is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. Founded to promote the contemporary scene in Britain, LAF was eventually surpassed in relevance by the Frieze Art Fair, founded after the boom of the 1990s in 2003. But of late, LAF has reinvented itself as a mid-market destination for local collectors, and judging by the foot traffic and positive exhibitor reports so far at this year’s edition, has done so successfully. “It’s not the best year, but it’s not the worst, which is all you can ask for given the economy,” said prints dealer David Cleaton-Roberts, director of Alan Cristea Gallery, which enjoys a prominent position near the entrance of Business Design Centre in north London. “We’ve sold across the board. A couple of Julian Opie editions — This is Shahnoza in 3 parts (2008) — which were priced at £10,350 [$15,180] have gone, as have a couple of original works.” Anthony Hartley, manning the James Hyman Gallery stand, agreed. “We’ve done surprisingly well so far, better than last year, which itself was a success. We’ve sold several paintings by both Hughie O'Donoghue and Frank Auerbach — I can’t tell you for how much, but they are certainly some of the more expensive works we brought.” The gallery was also drawing a lot attention for a display of photographic works by the late Linda McCartney, wife of the former Beatle, priced at £5,500 each; and a Lucian Freud etching on paper, Head of Bruce Bernard (1985), priced at £25,000. While Cleaton-Roberts commented that there was a “very local audience of North London collectors,” Julia Alvarez, director of South London’s Bearspace gallery, noted that there were some serious buyers among them nonetheless. “I saw some big names on the preview night, and we’ve sold some of our most expensive works, like Isabel Rock’s Ladder of Virtue (2008) at £1,550.” Paris dealer Olivier Waltman, one of the few foreign exhibitors, was pleased that the attendees were mostly locals. “It’s nice to meet our London collectors and showcase what our artists have been up to and how their careers are progressing. It’s always hard to say how a fair has gone until the end, but we’ve sold three works, which is good: two by 3-D pop artist Charles Fazzino and a photograph by Aleix Plademunt for £3,900.” This final work is from the 29-year-old Spanish photographer’s "Espectadores" series (2008), in which he set up and documented neatly laid rows of folding chairs on sports lawns, putting greens, and soccer pitches. The works offer an intriguing dichotomy, simultaneously promising action through the prospect of an audience and preventing it by putting the audience in the center of the field of play.
Published: January 16, 2009
LONDON—It’s easy to be satisfied when you are expecting the worst. This seems to be prevailing opinion among exhibitors at the London Art Fair, which previewed on January 13 and runs through January 18. Comprising 112 galleries, the vast majority from the U.K., the fair is celebrating its 21st anniversary this year. Founded to promote the contemporary scene in Britain, LAF was eventually surpassed in relevance by the Frieze Art Fair, founded after the boom of the 1990s in 2003. But of late, LAF has reinvented itself as a mid-market destination for local collectors, and judging by the foot traffic and positive exhibitor reports so far at this year’s edition, has done so successfully. “It’s not the best year, but it’s not the worst, which is all you can ask for given the economy,” said prints dealer David Cleaton-Roberts, director of Alan Cristea Gallery, which enjoys a prominent position near the entrance of Business Design Centre in north London. “We’ve sold across the board. A couple of Julian Opie editions — This is Shahnoza in 3 parts (2008) — which were priced at £10,350 [$15,180] have gone, as have a couple of original works.” Anthony Hartley, manning the James Hyman Gallery stand, agreed. “We’ve done surprisingly well so far, better than last year, which itself was a success. We’ve sold several paintings by both Hughie O'Donoghue and Frank Auerbach — I can’t tell you for how much, but they are certainly some of the more expensive works we brought.” The gallery was also drawing a lot attention for a display of photographic works by the late Linda McCartney, wife of the former Beatle, priced at £5,500 each; and a Lucian Freud etching on paper, Head of Bruce Bernard (1985), priced at £25,000. While Cleaton-Roberts commented that there was a “very local audience of North London collectors,” Julia Alvarez, director of South London’s Bearspace gallery, noted that there were some serious buyers among them nonetheless. “I saw some big names on the preview night, and we’ve sold some of our most expensive works, like Isabel Rock’s Ladder of Virtue (2008) at £1,550.” Paris dealer Olivier Waltman, one of the few foreign exhibitors, was pleased that the attendees were mostly locals. “It’s nice to meet our London collectors and showcase what our artists have been up to and how their careers are progressing. It’s always hard to say how a fair has gone until the end, but we’ve sold three works, which is good: two by 3-D pop artist Charles Fazzino and a photograph by Aleix Plademunt for £3,900.” This final work is from the 29-year-old Spanish photographer’s "Espectadores" series (2008), in which he set up and documented neatly laid rows of folding chairs on sports lawns, putting greens, and soccer pitches. The works offer an intriguing dichotomy, simultaneously promising action through the prospect of an audience and preventing it by putting the audience in the center of the field of play.
Financial Firm ING to Sell Work From Its Collection
Published: January 9, 2009
AMSTERDAM—The Amsterdam-based financial-services company ING is selling works from its art collection for the first time since it was begun in 1974, reports Bloomberg.The firm, which got a €10 billion ($14 billion) bailout from the Dutch government in October, boasts a collection of about 25,000 artworks, including pieces by Karel Appel, Michael Raedecker, and Diego Rivera, on display in 1,300 locations. It will sell about a tenth of the works, valued at an average of €200.ING posted a loss of €478 million for the quarter that ended September 30, 2008, its first in 18 years.The company will sell 50 artworks every week on eBay through the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage. A portion of the proceeds will go to ING Chances for Children, a social-development program founded with the help of Unicef. Annabelle Birnie, head of the collection, says that ING will continue to buy works for the collection but will “of course, take into account ING’s current financial situation” and spend “modestly.”
AMSTERDAM—The Amsterdam-based financial-services company ING is selling works from its art collection for the first time since it was begun in 1974, reports Bloomberg.The firm, which got a €10 billion ($14 billion) bailout from the Dutch government in October, boasts a collection of about 25,000 artworks, including pieces by Karel Appel, Michael Raedecker, and Diego Rivera, on display in 1,300 locations. It will sell about a tenth of the works, valued at an average of €200.ING posted a loss of €478 million for the quarter that ended September 30, 2008, its first in 18 years.The company will sell 50 artworks every week on eBay through the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage. A portion of the proceeds will go to ING Chances for Children, a social-development program founded with the help of Unicef. Annabelle Birnie, head of the collection, says that ING will continue to buy works for the collection but will “of course, take into account ING’s current financial situation” and spend “modestly.”
Estimates Way Down for London Contemporary Auctions
Published: January 15, 2009
LONDON—The estimates for next month’s London contemporary art sales are less than a quarter of what they were for equivalent sales one year ago, according to calculations compiled by Bloomberg. The evening sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips de Pury carry a total low estimate of £38.4 million ($55.9 million), a mere 23 percent of the £164.3 million estimate for the 2008 February sales. Although global auction sales of contemporary art quadrupled between 2005 and 2007, the numbers declined precipitously in the final quarter of 2008, and owners are now reluctant to sell valuable pieces. Still, with works by the likes of Francis Bacon, Lucio Fontana, and Jeff Koons on offer, the auctions are not without their star power.“The auction houses have found it difficult getting material,” said London dealer Thomas Dane. “On the other hand they didn’t want to take on a lot.” Indeed, the sales feature many fewer lots than in previous years. Sotheby’s February 5 sale has 27 lots, down from 70 last February. Christie’s February 11 sale has 31 lots, compared to 54 in last year’s equivalent sale. And on February 12, Phillips will have 53 lots, as opposed to 111 last year.“We wanted to create a tightly edited selection with quality works that were fresh to the market and correctly priced,” said Pilar Ordovas, Christie’s European head of contemporary art. “We were presented with quite a few incorrectly priced works that we didn’t accept for the sale.”
LONDON—The estimates for next month’s London contemporary art sales are less than a quarter of what they were for equivalent sales one year ago, according to calculations compiled by Bloomberg. The evening sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips de Pury carry a total low estimate of £38.4 million ($55.9 million), a mere 23 percent of the £164.3 million estimate for the 2008 February sales. Although global auction sales of contemporary art quadrupled between 2005 and 2007, the numbers declined precipitously in the final quarter of 2008, and owners are now reluctant to sell valuable pieces. Still, with works by the likes of Francis Bacon, Lucio Fontana, and Jeff Koons on offer, the auctions are not without their star power.“The auction houses have found it difficult getting material,” said London dealer Thomas Dane. “On the other hand they didn’t want to take on a lot.” Indeed, the sales feature many fewer lots than in previous years. Sotheby’s February 5 sale has 27 lots, down from 70 last February. Christie’s February 11 sale has 31 lots, compared to 54 in last year’s equivalent sale. And on February 12, Phillips will have 53 lots, as opposed to 111 last year.“We wanted to create a tightly edited selection with quality works that were fresh to the market and correctly priced,” said Pilar Ordovas, Christie’s European head of contemporary art. “We were presented with quite a few incorrectly priced works that we didn’t accept for the sale.”
No Job Cuts at Sotheby’s Asia
Published: January 21, 2009
HONG KONG—Sotheby's Asia will not be letting go any of its staff despite recent company-wide layoffs, Bloomberg reports. "It has been very, very lean, so we are not cutting anybody," said Kevin Ching, Sotheby's CEO for the region.Of the 120 Sotheby's employees in the Asia-Pacific region, 80 are based in Hong Kong; the company also has offices in Melbourne and Sydney. Asia accounts for roughly eight percent of the house's sales. Ching said that his branch may offer wines worth some $3 million at its April Hong Kong sale, as the category seems to be defying the auction slump in the region — at Christie's and Acker Merrall & Condit Co.'s recent wine sales in Hong Kong, more than 80 percent of lots found buyers.
HONG KONG—Sotheby's Asia will not be letting go any of its staff despite recent company-wide layoffs, Bloomberg reports. "It has been very, very lean, so we are not cutting anybody," said Kevin Ching, Sotheby's CEO for the region.Of the 120 Sotheby's employees in the Asia-Pacific region, 80 are based in Hong Kong; the company also has offices in Melbourne and Sydney. Asia accounts for roughly eight percent of the house's sales. Ching said that his branch may offer wines worth some $3 million at its April Hong Kong sale, as the category seems to be defying the auction slump in the region — at Christie's and Acker Merrall & Condit Co.'s recent wine sales in Hong Kong, more than 80 percent of lots found buyers.
Confidence in Contemporary Art Market Has Crashed, Survey Says
Published: January 21, 2009
The art market pundits are speaking, and their predictions, at least for the short term, are grim. As reported by Bloomberg, a new survey by the London-based ArtTactic Ltd. has found that confidence in the contemporary art market has dropped 81 percent since May 2008 and could take three to five years to recover. “Confidence has hit rock-bottom, but prices will fall further,” said Anders Petterson, founder of ArtTactic. The latest twice-yearly survey of 145 collectors, auction-house specialists, dealers, and art advisers was conducted over several weeks following the disappointing contemporary-art auctions last November in New York. Almost a third of lots failed to sell at Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales, and the totals fetched were barely a third of what the equivalent sales earned in 2007. The confidence level was the lowest recorded since ArtTactic launched the survey in May 2005. Also sounding a gloomy note was Daniel Komala, president of Jakarta-based Larasati Auctioneers, who predicts that art prices at auction could drop by 40 percent this year, according to another Bloomberg report. Larasati's next sale is in Singapore in March, and following that it will have a sale in Hong Kong during the Hong Kong International Art Fair in May.Komala said prices will fall as speculators leave the market. “Now the game is back to the more experienced buyers.” He also said that auction houses made the mistake of concentrating too much on a small group of contemporary artists, which inflated those artists' prices. “At the end of the day, you got sick of seeing the same thing again and again,” he said. “Even a beautiful girl, if you see her everywhere, all the time, she looks ordinary.”
The art market pundits are speaking, and their predictions, at least for the short term, are grim. As reported by Bloomberg, a new survey by the London-based ArtTactic Ltd. has found that confidence in the contemporary art market has dropped 81 percent since May 2008 and could take three to five years to recover. “Confidence has hit rock-bottom, but prices will fall further,” said Anders Petterson, founder of ArtTactic. The latest twice-yearly survey of 145 collectors, auction-house specialists, dealers, and art advisers was conducted over several weeks following the disappointing contemporary-art auctions last November in New York. Almost a third of lots failed to sell at Christie’s and Sotheby’s sales, and the totals fetched were barely a third of what the equivalent sales earned in 2007. The confidence level was the lowest recorded since ArtTactic launched the survey in May 2005. Also sounding a gloomy note was Daniel Komala, president of Jakarta-based Larasati Auctioneers, who predicts that art prices at auction could drop by 40 percent this year, according to another Bloomberg report. Larasati's next sale is in Singapore in March, and following that it will have a sale in Hong Kong during the Hong Kong International Art Fair in May.Komala said prices will fall as speculators leave the market. “Now the game is back to the more experienced buyers.” He also said that auction houses made the mistake of concentrating too much on a small group of contemporary artists, which inflated those artists' prices. “At the end of the day, you got sick of seeing the same thing again and again,” he said. “Even a beautiful girl, if you see her everywhere, all the time, she looks ordinary.”
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART TO ARRIVE AT MEETING ART
Written by Silvia Bosi January 14 2009
Although the winds of crisis have been felt everywhere, as more than once we have mentioned, and have blown even against famous international auction houses, Meeting Art is boldly starting its own challenge by opening 2009 with an auction of noticeable proportions, entirely dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Indeed, 750 lots will be put up for auction by the Vercelli auction house, which will divide the event into 6 appointments, distributed during the weekends between Saturday 17th January and Sunday 1st February. It has been possible to visit the exhibition since the 10th January. Arman, Accardi, Adami, Afro, Baj, Beecroft, Boero, Bonalumi, Burri, Campigli, Capogrossi, Cascella, Cattelan, Christo, Crippa, Depero, Dorazio, Dova, Fontana, Francis, Galliani, Gallizio, Grosz, Guttuso, Haring, Hartung, Kounnelis, Lindstrom, Manzù, Mirò, Mondino, Morlotti, Nitsch, Perilli, Pistoletto, Pomodoro, Riopelle, Rotella, Ruggeri, Sassu, Scanavino, Spoerri, Shimamoto, Schifano, Tapies, Turcato, Vasarely, Vedova, Villeglé, Warhol are just some of the names present at this auction, which is anticipated to be a good occasion to buy modern and contemporary works ranging between offers and estimates that start from 55€ and arrive at 140,000 €. If the crisis has mainly hit the sector of contemporary art, Meeting Art has not lost heart and decided to bet on it again, probably strong of the results that characterised the last auction held in 2008. In fact, we can say that for Meeting Art the year 2008 closed positively and the December auction, dedicated once again courageously to modern and contemporary art, gave its fruits with 76,87% of lots sold and a profit equal to 2,081,450 € (excluding auction rights). Of course, some works were not fervently contended for by collectors, given that a good part did not exceed by much the base offer, and most of the hammer prices oscillated between 200 € and 5,000 € - positive sign for buyers who can now dare and try to get works of art at more contained prices - however, there were also richer hammer prices in a moment like this one and, making a comparison with other realities of the same level, Meeting Art achieved excellent results that leave good reasons to hope for its next auctions and for the fate of the Italian art market. For the auction to come, a top lot by Gattuso is expected: “Natura morta con attrezzi e giornale” dated from 1946, starts from an auction base of 70,000 € but is estimated at 125,000-140,000 €; it is a 50×60 oil that gives evidence of the stylistic, political and personal closeness to his friend Pablo Picasso, met in those years in Paris. Very appreciated Vasarely and Arman, of whom various works are being proposed, from screen prints estimated between 500 and 1,000 € to 105-120,000 € -starting from a base of 60,000 € - for an optical oil on canvas by Vasarely dated 1975. Lovers of spatialism will be very glad as it will be celebrated in this auction mainly through the figure of Roberto Crippa, the artist who will have the most works auctioned - precisely 17. Various collages on paper and on panel by Crippa realised between the Sixties and Seventies, available starting from free minimum offers and with estimate values that reach 12,000-14,000 €, while for previously dated oils on canvas – realised in the Fifties – the estimates are higher and reach their peak with a tangled “Spirale” dated from 1951 (auction base 30,000 €, estimate: 54,000-60,000€).It is worth mentioning also a work by the famous artist George Grosz (auction base 30,000€, estimate: 54,000-60,000€) entitled “Model and artist” realised in 1942, in the painter’s American period, when the polemic and caustic tones of the first post-war period were replaced by a less sharp production: the artist and his canvas are just slightly outlined on the background while in front line a dense weave of carnose brushstrokes gives life to the body of a model.In the last auction Morlotti was appreciated -starting from an auction base of 50,000, it sold for 57,000 € - and a certain favour is foreseeable for “Foglie” from 1970 by the artist from Brianza, which will start from an auction base of 25,000 € and an estimate of 45,000-50,000€. We should point out an unusual and particular piece of Enrico Baj’s production “Nell’oasi o Seil-Kor e Nina si avventurano nella foresta degli specchi”from 1990, realised with a mixed technique (acrylic, charcoal and collage on canvas applied on cardboard).An interesting section is the one dedicated to photography in which Vanessa Beecroft’s works stands out with “VB01” from 1998 (auction base 20,000 € estimate 40,000 €) and “VB55” from 1998 (auction base 2,000 €, estimate: 3,500- 4,000 €).
For further information http://www.meetingart.it/
Although the winds of crisis have been felt everywhere, as more than once we have mentioned, and have blown even against famous international auction houses, Meeting Art is boldly starting its own challenge by opening 2009 with an auction of noticeable proportions, entirely dedicated to modern and contemporary art. Indeed, 750 lots will be put up for auction by the Vercelli auction house, which will divide the event into 6 appointments, distributed during the weekends between Saturday 17th January and Sunday 1st February. It has been possible to visit the exhibition since the 10th January. Arman, Accardi, Adami, Afro, Baj, Beecroft, Boero, Bonalumi, Burri, Campigli, Capogrossi, Cascella, Cattelan, Christo, Crippa, Depero, Dorazio, Dova, Fontana, Francis, Galliani, Gallizio, Grosz, Guttuso, Haring, Hartung, Kounnelis, Lindstrom, Manzù, Mirò, Mondino, Morlotti, Nitsch, Perilli, Pistoletto, Pomodoro, Riopelle, Rotella, Ruggeri, Sassu, Scanavino, Spoerri, Shimamoto, Schifano, Tapies, Turcato, Vasarely, Vedova, Villeglé, Warhol are just some of the names present at this auction, which is anticipated to be a good occasion to buy modern and contemporary works ranging between offers and estimates that start from 55€ and arrive at 140,000 €. If the crisis has mainly hit the sector of contemporary art, Meeting Art has not lost heart and decided to bet on it again, probably strong of the results that characterised the last auction held in 2008. In fact, we can say that for Meeting Art the year 2008 closed positively and the December auction, dedicated once again courageously to modern and contemporary art, gave its fruits with 76,87% of lots sold and a profit equal to 2,081,450 € (excluding auction rights). Of course, some works were not fervently contended for by collectors, given that a good part did not exceed by much the base offer, and most of the hammer prices oscillated between 200 € and 5,000 € - positive sign for buyers who can now dare and try to get works of art at more contained prices - however, there were also richer hammer prices in a moment like this one and, making a comparison with other realities of the same level, Meeting Art achieved excellent results that leave good reasons to hope for its next auctions and for the fate of the Italian art market. For the auction to come, a top lot by Gattuso is expected: “Natura morta con attrezzi e giornale” dated from 1946, starts from an auction base of 70,000 € but is estimated at 125,000-140,000 €; it is a 50×60 oil that gives evidence of the stylistic, political and personal closeness to his friend Pablo Picasso, met in those years in Paris. Very appreciated Vasarely and Arman, of whom various works are being proposed, from screen prints estimated between 500 and 1,000 € to 105-120,000 € -starting from a base of 60,000 € - for an optical oil on canvas by Vasarely dated 1975. Lovers of spatialism will be very glad as it will be celebrated in this auction mainly through the figure of Roberto Crippa, the artist who will have the most works auctioned - precisely 17. Various collages on paper and on panel by Crippa realised between the Sixties and Seventies, available starting from free minimum offers and with estimate values that reach 12,000-14,000 €, while for previously dated oils on canvas – realised in the Fifties – the estimates are higher and reach their peak with a tangled “Spirale” dated from 1951 (auction base 30,000 €, estimate: 54,000-60,000€).It is worth mentioning also a work by the famous artist George Grosz (auction base 30,000€, estimate: 54,000-60,000€) entitled “Model and artist” realised in 1942, in the painter’s American period, when the polemic and caustic tones of the first post-war period were replaced by a less sharp production: the artist and his canvas are just slightly outlined on the background while in front line a dense weave of carnose brushstrokes gives life to the body of a model.In the last auction Morlotti was appreciated -starting from an auction base of 50,000, it sold for 57,000 € - and a certain favour is foreseeable for “Foglie” from 1970 by the artist from Brianza, which will start from an auction base of 25,000 € and an estimate of 45,000-50,000€. We should point out an unusual and particular piece of Enrico Baj’s production “Nell’oasi o Seil-Kor e Nina si avventurano nella foresta degli specchi”from 1990, realised with a mixed technique (acrylic, charcoal and collage on canvas applied on cardboard).An interesting section is the one dedicated to photography in which Vanessa Beecroft’s works stands out with “VB01” from 1998 (auction base 20,000 € estimate 40,000 €) and “VB55” from 1998 (auction base 2,000 €, estimate: 3,500- 4,000 €).
For further information http://www.meetingart.it/
ALL SET FOR THE BIG AUCTIONS: IMPRESSIONISM AND MODERN AT CHRISTIE’S
Written by Elena Lanzanova January 20 2009
The pessimism brought on by the financial crashes which occurred last September with the collapse of Lehman Brothers induced all the art market operators to a discrete dose of caution in approaching the sales of works of art. Many rumours were raised in giving evaluations, which were not always founded, of what would be the future of the market, often generating apprehension based on fragmented information and incomplete knowledge of market dynamics. We do not know exactly what the year 2009 reserves for us. After a period in which auction houses registered records in a chain, especially with contemporary art, which multiplied it prices in 2007, the wind suddenly changed. At this point, which strategies should be put into effect with the new year? It is definitely not the case to move away from the economic system of art, considering that with the forecast of difficult times, in which real market values will be readjusted, it will be possible, for who can spend and benefit from other people’s disgraces, to carry out excellent deals (many people need to sell their collections in order to face economic difficulties). It will be possible, for a certain period, to see on sale selected works of good quality.An appointment to note down in our diaries is scheduled for 4th February in London, when Christie’s opens its “Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale”. The audience will see 47 lots of exceptional aesthetic beauty and artistic quality executed by the most important names of the Nineteenth and Twentieth century. Indeed, up for auction there will be works by Claude Monet, Amedeo Modigliani, Kees van Dongen, Edward Vuillard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and many more. The London sale is anticipated to total in excess about 60 million pounds. High expectations due to the presence in the catalogue of six works that come from an important European collection. Among these we can mention “Dans la prairie” by Claude Monet, a marvellous canvas portraying his wife while she was reading in a field and which according to previsions will realise a hammer price equal to 15 million pounds. An extraordinary masterpiece executed by the French painter in 1876 in Argenteuil, and then exposed in the third exhibition of the Impressionists’ Salon. Besides this painting, Christie’s will put up for auction another work by Monet, “La promenade d’Argenteuil” from 1872, offered with an estimate between 3,500,000 and 5,000,000 pounds. As this is not one of the easiest moments for the market and especially for the most expensive works of art pursued only by large investors, it is difficult to establish whether Monet’s works will enjoy their moment of glory. We only know that Christie’s is maintaining its “logic” in the department of impressionism and modern art. Indeed, Monet is an author who brings luck to the auction house, which in the last years has offered an extraordinary selection of the French master’s works. We all remember “Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil” sold in the New York venue last 6th May for 41.5 million dollars. But even “Le bassin aux nymphèas” from 1919, sold on 24th June in London for 80.5 million dollars, setting the world record for the artist. The “clamour” of the auction seems to be announced by the names that are to be presented. In a difficult moment for the world economy and for the US economy in particular, Christie’s has decided to make the wisest choice: to aim at the great authors and at pieces of undisputed quality. Among these on 4th February in London, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s “L’Abandon (lex deux amies)” will be presented (estimate 5-7 million pounds). Painted in 1895, it is an intimate, suggestive and intriguing composition, displayed in almost all the artist’s retrospectives and present in many publications. Among the other highlights present in Christie’s catalogue we should also mention “Les Couturières” painted by Edouard Vuillard when he was only 21 years old and offered at the auction with an estimate between 5.5 and 7.5 million pounds. But even “Les deux filles”, a rare double portrait by Amedeo Modigliani (estimate 3.5 -5.5 million pounds) and “Les Deux Souers” by Fernand Lèger, valued between 2 and 3 million pounds.
The pessimism brought on by the financial crashes which occurred last September with the collapse of Lehman Brothers induced all the art market operators to a discrete dose of caution in approaching the sales of works of art. Many rumours were raised in giving evaluations, which were not always founded, of what would be the future of the market, often generating apprehension based on fragmented information and incomplete knowledge of market dynamics. We do not know exactly what the year 2009 reserves for us. After a period in which auction houses registered records in a chain, especially with contemporary art, which multiplied it prices in 2007, the wind suddenly changed. At this point, which strategies should be put into effect with the new year? It is definitely not the case to move away from the economic system of art, considering that with the forecast of difficult times, in which real market values will be readjusted, it will be possible, for who can spend and benefit from other people’s disgraces, to carry out excellent deals (many people need to sell their collections in order to face economic difficulties). It will be possible, for a certain period, to see on sale selected works of good quality.An appointment to note down in our diaries is scheduled for 4th February in London, when Christie’s opens its “Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale”. The audience will see 47 lots of exceptional aesthetic beauty and artistic quality executed by the most important names of the Nineteenth and Twentieth century. Indeed, up for auction there will be works by Claude Monet, Amedeo Modigliani, Kees van Dongen, Edward Vuillard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and many more. The London sale is anticipated to total in excess about 60 million pounds. High expectations due to the presence in the catalogue of six works that come from an important European collection. Among these we can mention “Dans la prairie” by Claude Monet, a marvellous canvas portraying his wife while she was reading in a field and which according to previsions will realise a hammer price equal to 15 million pounds. An extraordinary masterpiece executed by the French painter in 1876 in Argenteuil, and then exposed in the third exhibition of the Impressionists’ Salon. Besides this painting, Christie’s will put up for auction another work by Monet, “La promenade d’Argenteuil” from 1872, offered with an estimate between 3,500,000 and 5,000,000 pounds. As this is not one of the easiest moments for the market and especially for the most expensive works of art pursued only by large investors, it is difficult to establish whether Monet’s works will enjoy their moment of glory. We only know that Christie’s is maintaining its “logic” in the department of impressionism and modern art. Indeed, Monet is an author who brings luck to the auction house, which in the last years has offered an extraordinary selection of the French master’s works. We all remember “Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil” sold in the New York venue last 6th May for 41.5 million dollars. But even “Le bassin aux nymphèas” from 1919, sold on 24th June in London for 80.5 million dollars, setting the world record for the artist. The “clamour” of the auction seems to be announced by the names that are to be presented. In a difficult moment for the world economy and for the US economy in particular, Christie’s has decided to make the wisest choice: to aim at the great authors and at pieces of undisputed quality. Among these on 4th February in London, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s “L’Abandon (lex deux amies)” will be presented (estimate 5-7 million pounds). Painted in 1895, it is an intimate, suggestive and intriguing composition, displayed in almost all the artist’s retrospectives and present in many publications. Among the other highlights present in Christie’s catalogue we should also mention “Les Couturières” painted by Edouard Vuillard when he was only 21 years old and offered at the auction with an estimate between 5.5 and 7.5 million pounds. But even “Les deux filles”, a rare double portrait by Amedeo Modigliani (estimate 3.5 -5.5 million pounds) and “Les Deux Souers” by Fernand Lèger, valued between 2 and 3 million pounds.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Changes in Tokyo’s art scene 2008 - new fair, art district, art guides
Posted by artradar on January 6, 2009
ART JAPAN
Tokyo Art Beat, a rare source of information in English about what is happening on the Japanese art scene, has produced a review of art events and news in Tokyo in 2008. Here is a summary of some of the changes.
Last year for art fair Art@Agnes
Art@Agnes, a compact art fair with just 33 galleries and 2500 visitors, held every January at the luxury Agnes Hotel and Apartments in Iidabashi is to close in 2010.
Citing that it has achieved its goal of establishing a new and fresh art fair in Tokyo, the Art@Agnes committee have declared 2009’s edition of the event to be the last, with plans for it to evolve into a new, as yet unspecified event in 2010.
Gallery movements
A new art district is potentially developing in Bakurocho
Two galleries formerly located in Roppongi have relocated to the blue-collar neighbourhood of Bakurocho in East Tokyo, where they join a handful of spaces that were already there. Taro Nasu Gallery now occupies the same building as Foil Gallery and Roentgenwerke (now renamed Radi-um) finds itself next door to CASHI Contemporary Art. With spaces such as Makii Masaru Fine Art, Motus Fort and Parabolica Bis also already in Bakurocho, the neighbourhood is now something of a fledgling gallery district. Should more spaces open there over the next couple of years, Tokyo’s art scene could conceivably find itself grasping its holy grail: a relatively dense, walkable centre of commercial contemporary galleries.
Tokyo’s first art week
The first week of April was a flurry of art world activity: Tokyo was taken over by art fairs, art awards and numerous gallery openings for what was effectively the first Tokyo Art Week.
Tokyo Art Fair was joined by the inaugural edition of the 101 Tokyo Contemporary Art fair
Created by Julia Barnes of nonaca/Nakaochiai Gallery, Kosuke Fujitaka of Tokyo Art Beat/NY Art Beat and independent curators Agatha Wara and Antonin Gaultier, 101Tokyo aimed to be the antidote to the domesticity and conservatism of Art Fair Tokyo by featuring 28 young galleries - 14 from Japan and 14 from abroad - and injecting a sense of fun and unpredictability into Tokyo’s art market with a lively program of talks, performances, awards and parties.
New art guides
Such a period of heightened activity was ideal for the launch of two new guides to the city’s art scene. After many months of intensive collaboration with Craig Mod of Chin Music Press, I published Art Space Tokyo, a 272-page guide to 12 of the city’s most architecturally and historically distinctive galleries and museums . Tokyo Art Beat released the Tokyo Art Map, a bimonthly, bilingual mini-guide to exhibitions taking place in key art areas around Tokyo.
Tokyo Art Beat
ART JAPAN
Tokyo Art Beat, a rare source of information in English about what is happening on the Japanese art scene, has produced a review of art events and news in Tokyo in 2008. Here is a summary of some of the changes.
Last year for art fair Art@Agnes
Art@Agnes, a compact art fair with just 33 galleries and 2500 visitors, held every January at the luxury Agnes Hotel and Apartments in Iidabashi is to close in 2010.
Citing that it has achieved its goal of establishing a new and fresh art fair in Tokyo, the Art@Agnes committee have declared 2009’s edition of the event to be the last, with plans for it to evolve into a new, as yet unspecified event in 2010.
Gallery movements
A new art district is potentially developing in Bakurocho
Two galleries formerly located in Roppongi have relocated to the blue-collar neighbourhood of Bakurocho in East Tokyo, where they join a handful of spaces that were already there. Taro Nasu Gallery now occupies the same building as Foil Gallery and Roentgenwerke (now renamed Radi-um) finds itself next door to CASHI Contemporary Art. With spaces such as Makii Masaru Fine Art, Motus Fort and Parabolica Bis also already in Bakurocho, the neighbourhood is now something of a fledgling gallery district. Should more spaces open there over the next couple of years, Tokyo’s art scene could conceivably find itself grasping its holy grail: a relatively dense, walkable centre of commercial contemporary galleries.
Tokyo’s first art week
The first week of April was a flurry of art world activity: Tokyo was taken over by art fairs, art awards and numerous gallery openings for what was effectively the first Tokyo Art Week.
Tokyo Art Fair was joined by the inaugural edition of the 101 Tokyo Contemporary Art fair
Created by Julia Barnes of nonaca/Nakaochiai Gallery, Kosuke Fujitaka of Tokyo Art Beat/NY Art Beat and independent curators Agatha Wara and Antonin Gaultier, 101Tokyo aimed to be the antidote to the domesticity and conservatism of Art Fair Tokyo by featuring 28 young galleries - 14 from Japan and 14 from abroad - and injecting a sense of fun and unpredictability into Tokyo’s art market with a lively program of talks, performances, awards and parties.
New art guides
Such a period of heightened activity was ideal for the launch of two new guides to the city’s art scene. After many months of intensive collaboration with Craig Mod of Chin Music Press, I published Art Space Tokyo, a 272-page guide to 12 of the city’s most architecturally and historically distinctive galleries and museums . Tokyo Art Beat released the Tokyo Art Map, a bimonthly, bilingual mini-guide to exhibitions taking place in key art areas around Tokyo.
Tokyo Art Beat
Troubles for Korean art at home, better reception abroad - Korean Herald, New York Magazine
Posted by artradar on January 20, 2009
KOREAN ART
‘Art Market in Doldrums as Auction Bids Plunge’ shouts the title of a story in Chosun.
The Korean art market is reeling from the economic crisis, with the highest bid prices at domestic art auctions plunging 38.2 percent last year. So Jin-su, professor at Kangnam University and manager at an art market researcher, on Monday released a report on Korea’s art market in 2008, which said the sum of the highest bids at domestic art auctions was W119.1 billion (US$1=W1,314) last year, down 38.2 percent from W192.6 billion in 2007.Chosun
The art market has seen a downward trend since the end of 2007 after two years of a boom. The financial crisis is a major cause but the Korean art world has stumbled through a series of setbacks in 2008.
Fire and forgeries hit Korean art
Flames swallowed Namdaemun, Korea’s 600-year-old National Treasure No. 1, on Feb. 10, breaking the hearts of Koreans.
Shin Jeong-ah, a former art professor and curator who forged her academic credentials and embezzled gallery money, was sentenced to a year and six months in prison in April.
Park Soo-keun’s painting “A Wash Place.” was sold for a record 4.52 billion won ($3.4 million) last May but was soon entangled in forgery controversies.
Other pieces by famous artists such as Kwon Ok-yeon and Do Sang-bok were put up at auction but were exposed as fake by the artists themselves or their surviving family. The auctions were canceled at the last minute.
Vacancies and misuse of budgets in art institutions
Important instutions and galleries were left with gaping holes in their ranks and budgets.
Hong Ra-hee, the former head of the Samsung Museum of Art, Leeum and who was selected as the most powerful figure in Korean art industry, announced that she would no longer participate in any of Leeum’s business when she resigned earlier this year. Her resignation was the result of the accusation that she used some of Samsung’s slush funds to supplement her collection of paintings. Roy Lichtenstein’s painting, “Happy Tears,” was at the center of the controversy.
Kim Yun-su, the former director of the National Museum of Contemporary Arts, was dismissed in November, accused of buying Marcel Duchamp’s installation art “La Boite en Valise” for an inappropriately high 600 million won without going through proper purchasing procedures.
Kim Jeong-heon, former chairman of the Arts Council Korea, was also released from the office in December for a similar reason, the misuse of the council’s budget. He was blamed for an investment loss of 5.4 billion won, which allegedly came in the form of regulations violations.
Gallery, fair and auction sales at home down
According to the Korean Herald gallery insiders say ‘with a big sigh that this year was the worst in sales ever’.
The art auction market, which was worth over 192.6 billion won last year, dropped over 40 percent, to 114.9 billion won. More than 80 percent of the bid was successful last year but this year, only 50 percent managed to sell. New auction companies such as D auction and Open auction are delaying the opening of their businesses.
It is the same situation with biennales and art fairs. Many opened this year, including Gwangju Biennale, Busan Biennale, Daegu Photo Biennale and Korea International Art Fair.
In size and quality, they left nothing to be desired. Most of them succeeded in attracting their most visitors ever, as 360 thousand visited Gwangju and 160 visited Busan during the period.The fairs, however, did not result in good sales. More than 61 thousand visitors entered the KIAF this year, but the sales dropped from 17.5 billion won last year to 14 billion won.
New tax on art introduced
Starting from 2011, art pieces that cost more than 60 million won will be taxable. Works of Korean artists are excluded but
galleries worry that the real-name dealings system will make the art market shrink even more, considering how art collectors usually do not open to the public the specifics of the dealings. They also question how exactly the government will be able to estimate the prices of each art piece.
Opportunities in the gloom: Koreans move into world market
A light of hope does shine on the troubled art industry, though. Some auction companies and art galleries are paving their way into the world market, trying to survive through the depression.
Seoul Auction and K auction, the top two auction companies in Korea advanced into Hong Kong and Macao this year and are putting up a good fight. Seoul Auction sold Lichtenstein’s “Still Life with Stretcher, Mirror, Bowl of Fruit” at 9.3 billion won in Hong Kong.
Arario Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, and PKM gallery opened in China, Arario Gallery and Gana Art Gallery in New York, and Pyo Gallery in Los Angeles in the United States.
Korean Herald
And it seems as if the strategy of going global might just have a chance. At Art Basel Miami in December 2008, Korean art sold strongly and conceptualist and sculptor Hyungkoo Lee was a big hit says New York Magazine
KOREAN ART
‘Art Market in Doldrums as Auction Bids Plunge’ shouts the title of a story in Chosun.
The Korean art market is reeling from the economic crisis, with the highest bid prices at domestic art auctions plunging 38.2 percent last year. So Jin-su, professor at Kangnam University and manager at an art market researcher, on Monday released a report on Korea’s art market in 2008, which said the sum of the highest bids at domestic art auctions was W119.1 billion (US$1=W1,314) last year, down 38.2 percent from W192.6 billion in 2007.Chosun
The art market has seen a downward trend since the end of 2007 after two years of a boom. The financial crisis is a major cause but the Korean art world has stumbled through a series of setbacks in 2008.
Fire and forgeries hit Korean art
Flames swallowed Namdaemun, Korea’s 600-year-old National Treasure No. 1, on Feb. 10, breaking the hearts of Koreans.
Shin Jeong-ah, a former art professor and curator who forged her academic credentials and embezzled gallery money, was sentenced to a year and six months in prison in April.
Park Soo-keun’s painting “A Wash Place.” was sold for a record 4.52 billion won ($3.4 million) last May but was soon entangled in forgery controversies.
Other pieces by famous artists such as Kwon Ok-yeon and Do Sang-bok were put up at auction but were exposed as fake by the artists themselves or their surviving family. The auctions were canceled at the last minute.
Vacancies and misuse of budgets in art institutions
Important instutions and galleries were left with gaping holes in their ranks and budgets.
Hong Ra-hee, the former head of the Samsung Museum of Art, Leeum and who was selected as the most powerful figure in Korean art industry, announced that she would no longer participate in any of Leeum’s business when she resigned earlier this year. Her resignation was the result of the accusation that she used some of Samsung’s slush funds to supplement her collection of paintings. Roy Lichtenstein’s painting, “Happy Tears,” was at the center of the controversy.
Kim Yun-su, the former director of the National Museum of Contemporary Arts, was dismissed in November, accused of buying Marcel Duchamp’s installation art “La Boite en Valise” for an inappropriately high 600 million won without going through proper purchasing procedures.
Kim Jeong-heon, former chairman of the Arts Council Korea, was also released from the office in December for a similar reason, the misuse of the council’s budget. He was blamed for an investment loss of 5.4 billion won, which allegedly came in the form of regulations violations.
Gallery, fair and auction sales at home down
According to the Korean Herald gallery insiders say ‘with a big sigh that this year was the worst in sales ever’.
The art auction market, which was worth over 192.6 billion won last year, dropped over 40 percent, to 114.9 billion won. More than 80 percent of the bid was successful last year but this year, only 50 percent managed to sell. New auction companies such as D auction and Open auction are delaying the opening of their businesses.
It is the same situation with biennales and art fairs. Many opened this year, including Gwangju Biennale, Busan Biennale, Daegu Photo Biennale and Korea International Art Fair.
In size and quality, they left nothing to be desired. Most of them succeeded in attracting their most visitors ever, as 360 thousand visited Gwangju and 160 visited Busan during the period.The fairs, however, did not result in good sales. More than 61 thousand visitors entered the KIAF this year, but the sales dropped from 17.5 billion won last year to 14 billion won.
New tax on art introduced
Starting from 2011, art pieces that cost more than 60 million won will be taxable. Works of Korean artists are excluded but
galleries worry that the real-name dealings system will make the art market shrink even more, considering how art collectors usually do not open to the public the specifics of the dealings. They also question how exactly the government will be able to estimate the prices of each art piece.
Opportunities in the gloom: Koreans move into world market
A light of hope does shine on the troubled art industry, though. Some auction companies and art galleries are paving their way into the world market, trying to survive through the depression.
Seoul Auction and K auction, the top two auction companies in Korea advanced into Hong Kong and Macao this year and are putting up a good fight. Seoul Auction sold Lichtenstein’s “Still Life with Stretcher, Mirror, Bowl of Fruit” at 9.3 billion won in Hong Kong.
Arario Gallery, Gallery Hyundai, and PKM gallery opened in China, Arario Gallery and Gana Art Gallery in New York, and Pyo Gallery in Los Angeles in the United States.
Korean Herald
And it seems as if the strategy of going global might just have a chance. At Art Basel Miami in December 2008, Korean art sold strongly and conceptualist and sculptor Hyungkoo Lee was a big hit says New York Magazine
What are the new price levels for contemporary art?
Posted by artradar on January 17, 2009
CONTEMPORARY ART PRICES
Sotheby’s will hold its Contemporary Art sales in London on 5-6 February 2009 , the first set since the November round when the financial crisis triggered weaker demand, slower bidding and lower prices across the art market. As markets for other more liquid investable assets continue to plummet, art collectors have had to wait for this next round of leading auction house sales for a steer.
So what are the new price levels which were established in the November suite of sales? And what is the outlook for the upcoming Spring sales?
In December 2008 Colin Gleadall said in the Telegraph “this month we have seen Impressionist, modern and contemporary art sales falling back to levels set two or three years ago”. And Sotheby’s agrees.
As Tobias Berger explains in the video Private View - Contemporary Art Market - A Candid Look from the Inside, the November suite of sales was held against a ‘dramatically different’ financial environment.
While this slickly-produced video is clearly a tool for promotion which gives more emphasis to confidence-boosting than candour, Sotheby’s say the new price levels for the contemporary art market are equivalent to those of 2004-2006. Of course the claim is heavily-caveated and only applies to ’rare’, ‘great’, ‘fresh’ works of ‘impeccable provenance and quality’ .
But what next for prices? In their video the Sotheby’s team makes a brave - and of course rather more implicit than directly expressed - case for this new level being the potential bottom. But words about pent-up demand from well-informed long-established collectors who are now apparently willing to return to the market after the implied excesses of 2007 and 2008 are not entirely convincing. Still…..it is a courageous call when other investable assets have fallen to prices last seen more than 10 years ago.
CONTEMPORARY ART PRICES
Sotheby’s will hold its Contemporary Art sales in London on 5-6 February 2009 , the first set since the November round when the financial crisis triggered weaker demand, slower bidding and lower prices across the art market. As markets for other more liquid investable assets continue to plummet, art collectors have had to wait for this next round of leading auction house sales for a steer.
So what are the new price levels which were established in the November suite of sales? And what is the outlook for the upcoming Spring sales?
In December 2008 Colin Gleadall said in the Telegraph “this month we have seen Impressionist, modern and contemporary art sales falling back to levels set two or three years ago”. And Sotheby’s agrees.
As Tobias Berger explains in the video Private View - Contemporary Art Market - A Candid Look from the Inside, the November suite of sales was held against a ‘dramatically different’ financial environment.
While this slickly-produced video is clearly a tool for promotion which gives more emphasis to confidence-boosting than candour, Sotheby’s say the new price levels for the contemporary art market are equivalent to those of 2004-2006. Of course the claim is heavily-caveated and only applies to ’rare’, ‘great’, ‘fresh’ works of ‘impeccable provenance and quality’ .
But what next for prices? In their video the Sotheby’s team makes a brave - and of course rather more implicit than directly expressed - case for this new level being the potential bottom. But words about pent-up demand from well-informed long-established collectors who are now apparently willing to return to the market after the implied excesses of 2007 and 2008 are not entirely convincing. Still…..it is a courageous call when other investable assets have fallen to prices last seen more than 10 years ago.
2009十大猜想 当代艺术市场最差
作者：
文章来源：华尔街日报
当过去几年投资艺术品的许多人认识到他们陷入了另一场庞式骗局，艺术品市场也会基本上消失。别指望明年能卖出太多达明安·赫斯特(Damien Hirst)泡在甲醛里的死牛、死羊。
泡沫最大的奢侈品市场将竞相寻找底部，如长岛汉普顿海滩的房屋和纽约市中心的公寓。但当代艺术品市场将是其中最大的输家。当过去几年投资艺术品的许多人认识到他们陷入了另一场庞式骗局，艺术品市场也会基本上消失。别指望明年能卖出太多达明安•赫斯特(Damien Hirst)泡在甲醛里的死牛、死羊。
比预测未来更加费力不讨好的唯一一件事就是公开同别人分享你的预测了。但圣诞节是分享的季节，因此华尔街日报也献上对2009年的预测。当然，读者要擦亮眼睛，其中的许多预测可能会出现错误。
预言1：通用汽车(GM)将在4月底申请破产保护。
问题资产救助计划(TARP)的资金会让通用汽车茍延残喘到2010年吗?门都没有。债券持有人和全美汽车工人联合会(UAW)将争来争去。瓦格纳(RickWagoner)会被炒鱿鱼。而还未到任的政府行业管理者“汽车沙皇”将对这一切感到厌倦。最终，国会不会提供通用汽车真正需要的500亿美元。
预言2：伯纳德·马多夫(BernieMadoff)将在审判中称自己疯了(而不能为自己的行为负责)，但以失败告终。
在这个充斥着藉口的年代，为什么马多夫就不能找个藉口逃脱呢?他会为自己请来能用金钱收买到的最好的律师，这些人会罗列出一大堆证明他疯了的理由。但这没什么用。判决结果呢?他还是有罪。
预言3：高盛(GoldmanSachs)将收购亿创理财(E*Trade)，大举进军网上银行业。
高盛首席执行长劳埃德?布兰克费恩(LloydBlankfein)大张旗鼓地捍卫华尔街的传统业务模式。但他清楚这种表演应该谢幕了。预计高盛将在6月份之前收购亿创理财。高盛还能怎样获得它所需要的其他网上银行和零售经纪业务?当然，它还可以收购嘉信理财(CharlesSchwab)，不过，嘉信理财180亿美元的市值已经是高盛价值的一半左右了。
预言4：华尔街将再收缩25%。
华尔街将会惊恐地发现，这次真地是今非昔比了。到4月份时，会有更多的裁员。到明年秋末时，还会再有一轮裁员。总地来说，华尔街有四分之一的工作将在2009年消失。到年底时，奖金将比2008年更少，哈佛大学的MBA将争相进入谘询业，或是政府部门。
预言5：苹果将迎来新首席执行长。
没什么大惊小怪的。最终，乔布斯(SteveJobs)和苹果董事会将对无休止的质疑和困惑感到厌倦。乔布斯将继续担任董事长，苹果的一位内部人士将被任命为首席执行长──拜你所赐，苹果的表现还是会不错。
预言6：彭博资讯的创始人布隆伯格(Bloomberg)将收购纽约时报公司(NewYorkTimes)。
另一个让人耳朵磨出老茧的传言最终也将变成现实。苏兹伯格家族(Sulzbergers)现在害怕的不是失去股息，而是失去整个公司了。最终，苏兹伯格家族将会迁怒于首席执行长小亚瑟·苏兹伯格(ArthurJr.)。
在竞购大战中，布隆伯格将会胜出，使其在纽约的影响力超出第三任市长任期。
预言7：原油价格2009年大多数时间将在每桶30美元左右徘徊。
欧佩克(OPEC)对每桶30美元的油价不会满意。但如果奥巴马大力推行其狂热的反化石燃料计划，欧佩克会更不高兴。因此欧佩克会继续将油价维持在低位，直到美国会再次认为每加仑汽油1.50美元的价格会一直保持下去。这会持续一年左右时间。油价在2009年底将重回每桶50美元。
预言8：2009年表现最差的全球市场将是当代艺术品市场。
泡沫最大的奢侈品市场将竞相寻找底部，如长岛汉普顿海滩的房屋和纽约市中心的公寓。但当代艺术品市场将是其中最大的输家。当过去几年投资艺术品的许多人认识到他们陷入了另一场庞式骗局，艺术品市场也会基本上消失。别指望明年能卖出太多达明安·赫斯特(DamienHirst)泡在甲醛里的死牛、死羊。
预言9：标准普尔500指数2009年将收于1200点，上涨30%。
在上周末的《巴伦周刊》(Barrons)上，12位华尔街精明的策略师中有11人预计2009年标准普尔500指数将收于975点至1100点之间。这种共识几乎从来都是错误的。到明年夏末时，四分之三的公司收益将会开始上升，投资者的贪婪将取代退缩，年末时的反弹将推动标准普尔指数攻上1200点。
预言10：奥巴马总统将迎来总统历史上最为成功的上任之年。
没有什么能比别人的失败更能衬托出你的优秀了。到2010年初，随着经济的好转，美国人会将奥巴马同拉什莫尔山中的那些总统相提并论。
文章来源：华尔街日报
当过去几年投资艺术品的许多人认识到他们陷入了另一场庞式骗局，艺术品市场也会基本上消失。别指望明年能卖出太多达明安·赫斯特(Damien Hirst)泡在甲醛里的死牛、死羊。
泡沫最大的奢侈品市场将竞相寻找底部，如长岛汉普顿海滩的房屋和纽约市中心的公寓。但当代艺术品市场将是其中最大的输家。当过去几年投资艺术品的许多人认识到他们陷入了另一场庞式骗局，艺术品市场也会基本上消失。别指望明年能卖出太多达明安•赫斯特(Damien Hirst)泡在甲醛里的死牛、死羊。
比预测未来更加费力不讨好的唯一一件事就是公开同别人分享你的预测了。但圣诞节是分享的季节，因此华尔街日报也献上对2009年的预测。当然，读者要擦亮眼睛，其中的许多预测可能会出现错误。
预言1：通用汽车(GM)将在4月底申请破产保护。
问题资产救助计划(TARP)的资金会让通用汽车茍延残喘到2010年吗?门都没有。债券持有人和全美汽车工人联合会(UAW)将争来争去。瓦格纳(RickWagoner)会被炒鱿鱼。而还未到任的政府行业管理者“汽车沙皇”将对这一切感到厌倦。最终，国会不会提供通用汽车真正需要的500亿美元。
预言2：伯纳德·马多夫(BernieMadoff)将在审判中称自己疯了(而不能为自己的行为负责)，但以失败告终。
在这个充斥着藉口的年代，为什么马多夫就不能找个藉口逃脱呢?他会为自己请来能用金钱收买到的最好的律师，这些人会罗列出一大堆证明他疯了的理由。但这没什么用。判决结果呢?他还是有罪。
预言3：高盛(GoldmanSachs)将收购亿创理财(E*Trade)，大举进军网上银行业。
高盛首席执行长劳埃德?布兰克费恩(LloydBlankfein)大张旗鼓地捍卫华尔街的传统业务模式。但他清楚这种表演应该谢幕了。预计高盛将在6月份之前收购亿创理财。高盛还能怎样获得它所需要的其他网上银行和零售经纪业务?当然，它还可以收购嘉信理财(CharlesSchwab)，不过，嘉信理财180亿美元的市值已经是高盛价值的一半左右了。
预言4：华尔街将再收缩25%。
华尔街将会惊恐地发现，这次真地是今非昔比了。到4月份时，会有更多的裁员。到明年秋末时，还会再有一轮裁员。总地来说，华尔街有四分之一的工作将在2009年消失。到年底时，奖金将比2008年更少，哈佛大学的MBA将争相进入谘询业，或是政府部门。
预言5：苹果将迎来新首席执行长。
没什么大惊小怪的。最终，乔布斯(SteveJobs)和苹果董事会将对无休止的质疑和困惑感到厌倦。乔布斯将继续担任董事长，苹果的一位内部人士将被任命为首席执行长──拜你所赐，苹果的表现还是会不错。
预言6：彭博资讯的创始人布隆伯格(Bloomberg)将收购纽约时报公司(NewYorkTimes)。
另一个让人耳朵磨出老茧的传言最终也将变成现实。苏兹伯格家族(Sulzbergers)现在害怕的不是失去股息，而是失去整个公司了。最终，苏兹伯格家族将会迁怒于首席执行长小亚瑟·苏兹伯格(ArthurJr.)。
在竞购大战中，布隆伯格将会胜出，使其在纽约的影响力超出第三任市长任期。
预言7：原油价格2009年大多数时间将在每桶30美元左右徘徊。
欧佩克(OPEC)对每桶30美元的油价不会满意。但如果奥巴马大力推行其狂热的反化石燃料计划，欧佩克会更不高兴。因此欧佩克会继续将油价维持在低位，直到美国会再次认为每加仑汽油1.50美元的价格会一直保持下去。这会持续一年左右时间。油价在2009年底将重回每桶50美元。
预言8：2009年表现最差的全球市场将是当代艺术品市场。
泡沫最大的奢侈品市场将竞相寻找底部，如长岛汉普顿海滩的房屋和纽约市中心的公寓。但当代艺术品市场将是其中最大的输家。当过去几年投资艺术品的许多人认识到他们陷入了另一场庞式骗局，艺术品市场也会基本上消失。别指望明年能卖出太多达明安·赫斯特(DamienHirst)泡在甲醛里的死牛、死羊。
预言9：标准普尔500指数2009年将收于1200点，上涨30%。
在上周末的《巴伦周刊》(Barrons)上，12位华尔街精明的策略师中有11人预计2009年标准普尔500指数将收于975点至1100点之间。这种共识几乎从来都是错误的。到明年夏末时，四分之三的公司收益将会开始上升，投资者的贪婪将取代退缩，年末时的反弹将推动标准普尔指数攻上1200点。
预言10：奥巴马总统将迎来总统历史上最为成功的上任之年。
没有什么能比别人的失败更能衬托出你的优秀了。到2010年初，随着经济的好转，美国人会将奥巴马同拉什莫尔山中的那些总统相提并论。
市场真相：亚洲艺术市场仍然呈现规模性的增长
作者：赵成龙
文章来源：中国艺术新闻网专稿
受经济危机影响，亚洲艺术品市场正在产生着变化。此前亚洲地区的现当代艺术品市场的价格主要是以佳士得和苏富比国际拍卖价格来决定，买家主要是海外华人和国际买家，也就是说中国现当代艺术品的市场是在境外形成的。海外华人出于对本土艺术的推荐和自己购买力的表达，进行了大肆的购买并不断的推高价格，带有一定的操控性。国际的买家们则是根据股市中的SP指数（标准普尔指数）和梅墨指数来投资艺术品，这中间必然存在一定的泡沫。他们自2003年进入艺术品市场并获得了丰富的收益。中国这几年来当代艺术市场增长很大程度上是海外购买力和华人购买力的合力作用的结果。但当金融危机到来后，这些主要靠国际购买力的地区的购买力明显下降，而这样正给亚洲本土的市场资源带来了契机。
正是因为经济危机的压力，亚洲当代艺术品市场泡沫逐渐缩小，艺术品价格降低，尤其是100-1000万美元价格区间的艺术品，产生了很大的波动，这正是艺术作品价值体现出来的过程。此外，2007年Artprice的数据显示全球的艺术家中亚洲艺术家所占的比率为60%，而市场上所占比率仅为10% ，可以看出亚洲艺术品市场的资源已经存在，欠缺的只是市场占有率。此次危机，正好可以使亚洲艺术品市场变得更具规模，未尝不是一种机遇。
亚洲艺术品市场资源开始变得更具规模化的首要表现，是艺术资源的扩张。表现出来则是：一、印度、印尼、越南等泛亚洲地区的一些有实力的艺术家作品在拍卖市场上保持坚挺，因为这些作品有足够的收藏意义。毕竟喜欢艺术品的人大有存在。例如08年11月底的佳士得拍卖会上，高价当代艺术作品大部分流标，而那些性价比高的作品则出现了增长。二、亚洲有前途的青年艺术家的作品登场，特别是韩、日一些青年艺术家过去少有机会登上国际舞台，现在随着市场的扩大，进入到拍卖市场上的机会增多了。三、随着这次的市场冷静，艺术家们将更多地开始考虑艺术的自身形式、风格的创作问题，将会推动新艺术门类的发展，特别是将出现更多具本土特色的具有市场竞争力的艺术来吸引收藏者的关注。像11月印度的摄影艺术就开始大量出现，并转战柏林争夺国际市场。
就这几点来看，亚洲艺术市场的整体范围事实上是在扩大中，中国、印度、菲律宾、印尼等地新艺术家的作品会占领更多的国际市场，也会在国际上更具挑战实力，更具本土特色。
而当艺术资源有了丰富的保障后，亚洲地区的购买群体和收藏家的格局也会形成了相应的规模和多元化的模式：一、本土一些有远见的投资商们考虑到未来可能出现的更好的市场环境纷纷进场，经济危机带来的“逆市”中，存在有艺术品投资、收藏的更大空间。二、一些有雄厚资本的国有艺术机构进入市场，艺术品价格泡沫缩小、价格降低，正是这些重要收藏机构进场的好时机。三、一直有收藏喜好或纯为装饰的购买群体。四、专门购买新艺术家的作品的收藏家。五、因为价格的降低，出现对中等价格而价值高的作品的购买新人群。据Artprice的数据统计报告说：现在刚开始购买艺术作品的新购买力达到了40%。新的收藏群体达到了20%，买5幅作品左右的购买力达到了20%。在这种经济情况下，这40%的购买群体会影响到市场新的变化，以前以具有投资意向的购买者为主体的市场会让位于新的购买力的变化。最近在ebay等网上销售交易额增加反映了这一新市场购买力和方式的变化。而针对这些新购买群的调研上又显示80%以上的购买群都有很高的期待感，换句话说，也就是艺术品市场将迎来新的春天。
总体来说危机下，亚洲艺术品市场将会走上艺术资源多元化、收藏家阶层多元化、艺术社会细分化的格局，从而带来亚洲艺术市场规模化的扩张。
文章来源：中国艺术新闻网专稿
受经济危机影响，亚洲艺术品市场正在产生着变化。此前亚洲地区的现当代艺术品市场的价格主要是以佳士得和苏富比国际拍卖价格来决定，买家主要是海外华人和国际买家，也就是说中国现当代艺术品的市场是在境外形成的。海外华人出于对本土艺术的推荐和自己购买力的表达，进行了大肆的购买并不断的推高价格，带有一定的操控性。国际的买家们则是根据股市中的SP指数（标准普尔指数）和梅墨指数来投资艺术品，这中间必然存在一定的泡沫。他们自2003年进入艺术品市场并获得了丰富的收益。中国这几年来当代艺术市场增长很大程度上是海外购买力和华人购买力的合力作用的结果。但当金融危机到来后，这些主要靠国际购买力的地区的购买力明显下降，而这样正给亚洲本土的市场资源带来了契机。
正是因为经济危机的压力，亚洲当代艺术品市场泡沫逐渐缩小，艺术品价格降低，尤其是100-1000万美元价格区间的艺术品，产生了很大的波动，这正是艺术作品价值体现出来的过程。此外，2007年Artprice的数据显示全球的艺术家中亚洲艺术家所占的比率为60%，而市场上所占比率仅为10% ，可以看出亚洲艺术品市场的资源已经存在，欠缺的只是市场占有率。此次危机，正好可以使亚洲艺术品市场变得更具规模，未尝不是一种机遇。
亚洲艺术品市场资源开始变得更具规模化的首要表现，是艺术资源的扩张。表现出来则是：一、印度、印尼、越南等泛亚洲地区的一些有实力的艺术家作品在拍卖市场上保持坚挺，因为这些作品有足够的收藏意义。毕竟喜欢艺术品的人大有存在。例如08年11月底的佳士得拍卖会上，高价当代艺术作品大部分流标，而那些性价比高的作品则出现了增长。二、亚洲有前途的青年艺术家的作品登场，特别是韩、日一些青年艺术家过去少有机会登上国际舞台，现在随着市场的扩大，进入到拍卖市场上的机会增多了。三、随着这次的市场冷静，艺术家们将更多地开始考虑艺术的自身形式、风格的创作问题，将会推动新艺术门类的发展，特别是将出现更多具本土特色的具有市场竞争力的艺术来吸引收藏者的关注。像11月印度的摄影艺术就开始大量出现，并转战柏林争夺国际市场。
就这几点来看，亚洲艺术市场的整体范围事实上是在扩大中，中国、印度、菲律宾、印尼等地新艺术家的作品会占领更多的国际市场，也会在国际上更具挑战实力，更具本土特色。
而当艺术资源有了丰富的保障后，亚洲地区的购买群体和收藏家的格局也会形成了相应的规模和多元化的模式：一、本土一些有远见的投资商们考虑到未来可能出现的更好的市场环境纷纷进场，经济危机带来的“逆市”中，存在有艺术品投资、收藏的更大空间。二、一些有雄厚资本的国有艺术机构进入市场，艺术品价格泡沫缩小、价格降低，正是这些重要收藏机构进场的好时机。三、一直有收藏喜好或纯为装饰的购买群体。四、专门购买新艺术家的作品的收藏家。五、因为价格的降低，出现对中等价格而价值高的作品的购买新人群。据Artprice的数据统计报告说：现在刚开始购买艺术作品的新购买力达到了40%。新的收藏群体达到了20%，买5幅作品左右的购买力达到了20%。在这种经济情况下，这40%的购买群体会影响到市场新的变化，以前以具有投资意向的购买者为主体的市场会让位于新的购买力的变化。最近在ebay等网上销售交易额增加反映了这一新市场购买力和方式的变化。而针对这些新购买群的调研上又显示80%以上的购买群都有很高的期待感，换句话说，也就是艺术品市场将迎来新的春天。
总体来说危机下，亚洲艺术品市场将会走上艺术资源多元化、收藏家阶层多元化、艺术社会细分化的格局，从而带来亚洲艺术市场规模化的扩张。
2009艺术市场大猜想
作者：卜松竹 文章来源：《广州日报》
对于许多人来说，2008年是一个大起大落、大开大阖、大喜大悲之年。艺术市场也同样如此，在短短的时间里经历了冰火两重天：就在9月15日，美国第四大投资银行雷曼兄弟银行破产的同时，英国伦敦的苏富比拍卖会场中，被视为国际当代艺术风向标的艺术家达米恩·赫斯特的“私人专拍”依旧创下了1.11亿英镑的惊人数额，49件作品拍出50万英镑以上的高价。然而仅仅一个多月之后的纽约秋拍，苏富比、佳士得和菲利普斯拍行的17件赫斯特作品中，只成交6件。随后，这位明星艺术家公开表示，愿意“降价”出售自己的作品，并裁减了自己工作室的20名员工。
向来稳定的赫斯特也出现摇摆，给全球飘摇的艺术市场写下了一个极有说服力的注脚。2008年如此跌宕起伏，那么即将到来的2009年呢?
过去几年，北京798、宋庄、草场地、上海莫干山、五角场800号，淮海路等地爆发式地出现了大批画廊。但在金融海啸袭来之后，“关张”似乎成为这些艺术区中不少画廊的唯一选择。一些观察家因此对中国画廊未来几年的发展持悲观态度，因为中国的艺术家习惯自己单打独斗，或者通过二级市场的拍卖行来完成艺术品交易。在金融海啸之后，随着市场萎缩和收入减少，艺术家对画廊的依赖和信任也将打个折扣。对于在欧美国家已经成为艺术市场最主要的推广力量的画廊来说，这并不是一个好消息。资深艺术顾问和独立经纪人陆洁民分析，美国当年金融危机时，几千家画廊几乎关掉了一半以上，中国画廊也可能面临类似的洗牌。新兴的中国画廊将面临第一次危机。因为其中很多画廊没有多年积累的经营根底，没有足够“深”的仓库。但比较有实力的画廊会继续经营下去，因为中国的消费潜力尚在。
艺术品可以回归价值导向?
金融海啸之后，艺术品的价格是否真的如很多分析人士所讲，能够回归到与实际艺术价值相符的位置?部分行内人对此并不乐观。“没错，这是一次极好的市场洗牌的机会，能够清理出去一大批的热钱炒家，但是他们很快还是会回来的。”一位资深藏家如此表态。从世界范围内来看，艺术品作为一种投资工具，很大程度上已经被资本化，相对于股票、债券和期货来讲，艺术品的最大不同或许只在于回报和风险的差异。
但总体上而言，舆论多认为“尊重艺术规律”、“尊重市场规律”将成为下一阶段中国艺术市场的主题。
对于许多人来说，2008年是一个大起大落、大开大阖、大喜大悲之年。艺术市场也同样如此，在短短的时间里经历了冰火两重天：就在9月15日，美国第四大投资银行雷曼兄弟银行破产的同时，英国伦敦的苏富比拍卖会场中，被视为国际当代艺术风向标的艺术家达米恩·赫斯特的“私人专拍”依旧创下了1.11亿英镑的惊人数额，49件作品拍出50万英镑以上的高价。然而仅仅一个多月之后的纽约秋拍，苏富比、佳士得和菲利普斯拍行的17件赫斯特作品中，只成交6件。随后，这位明星艺术家公开表示，愿意“降价”出售自己的作品，并裁减了自己工作室的20名员工。
向来稳定的赫斯特也出现摇摆，给全球飘摇的艺术市场写下了一个极有说服力的注脚。2008年如此跌宕起伏，那么即将到来的2009年呢?
过去几年，北京798、宋庄、草场地、上海莫干山、五角场800号，淮海路等地爆发式地出现了大批画廊。但在金融海啸袭来之后，“关张”似乎成为这些艺术区中不少画廊的唯一选择。一些观察家因此对中国画廊未来几年的发展持悲观态度，因为中国的艺术家习惯自己单打独斗，或者通过二级市场的拍卖行来完成艺术品交易。在金融海啸之后，随着市场萎缩和收入减少，艺术家对画廊的依赖和信任也将打个折扣。对于在欧美国家已经成为艺术市场最主要的推广力量的画廊来说，这并不是一个好消息。资深艺术顾问和独立经纪人陆洁民分析，美国当年金融危机时，几千家画廊几乎关掉了一半以上，中国画廊也可能面临类似的洗牌。新兴的中国画廊将面临第一次危机。因为其中很多画廊没有多年积累的经营根底，没有足够“深”的仓库。但比较有实力的画廊会继续经营下去，因为中国的消费潜力尚在。
艺术品可以回归价值导向?
金融海啸之后，艺术品的价格是否真的如很多分析人士所讲，能够回归到与实际艺术价值相符的位置?部分行内人对此并不乐观。“没错，这是一次极好的市场洗牌的机会，能够清理出去一大批的热钱炒家，但是他们很快还是会回来的。”一位资深藏家如此表态。从世界范围内来看，艺术品作为一种投资工具，很大程度上已经被资本化，相对于股票、债券和期货来讲，艺术品的最大不同或许只在于回报和风险的差异。
但总体上而言，舆论多认为“尊重艺术规律”、“尊重市场规律”将成为下一阶段中国艺术市场的主题。
当代艺术：战线收缩 平盘调整
不久前在广东美术馆举行的“冷与热”当代艺术论坛上，中山大学艺术设计学系主任冯原指出，金融危机造成艺术从业人员的大量流失，给市场提供了一批职位空档，对年轻艺术家来说是个好消息。当代艺术人才的需求在2009年反而可能出现增长，以便为下一个艺术品周期做储备。
不少业内人士对2009年的艺术市场保有谨慎的信心。这种信心大多来自两个方面：一是经过这次洗牌，经过数年快速上涨的当代艺术开始重新回归价值导向之路;二是不少艺术家的价格出现回落之后，值得买了。虽然许多拍行的冬拍将当代艺术板块低调处理，但画廊和拍卖公司方面更多地将之视为暴涨之后的正常调整。不少行内人认为，2009年的当代艺术市场，将呈现由“炒家市场”到“藏家市场”的转变。由于热钱的退出，天价作品的出现将会比较稀少。同时，艺术价值已经得到认可的艺术家的代表作品，在藏家“惜售”心理的作用下，也将较少出现在市场上。至于之前一些被炒至天价的艺术家，也不能单纯地认为是热钱的效用，其中一些精品，从长期来看，仍是有上升空间。
传统写实：短期稳定 前景看好
2008年各大拍行的秋冬拍卖中，以往与中国书画、瓷杂古玩并列的几大拍卖业务板块之一的油画雕塑板块表现欠佳，特别是当代油画和雕塑部分，能够进入拍场的作品数量比之前两年都有大幅下降。但传统写实方面则有不俗的表现。业内人士预计，2009年的传统写实油画将会迎来比较好的时期。2008年12月举行的广州嘉德冬拍油画专场中，中国传统写实油画的代表人物靳尚谊的作品拍出了约600万元的价格，被业界评价为“正常”。专家评价，传统写实油画具有一套比较完整的价值评价系统，目前不少作品的价格也比较有吸引力，部分藏家的审美取向和艺术价值判断标准也逐渐成熟，2009年有可能是传统写实油画的一个稳定发展期。
古代书画进入上升通道
中国古代书画在艺术拍卖市场上的表现，距离其价值仍有空间。许多藏家对之尚处于认识和研究阶段，仍是明显的卖方市场。加上古代书画已经经历了连续两年多的调整，有望企稳。从今年多次拍卖中可以看出，古代书画有进入上升通道的迹象。古代书画中的文人书法、文人画部分有望受到市场格外偏重。
“10万元～15万元”级别中青年艺术家冒头
部分画廊已经开始有计划地收购年轻艺术家的作品。多位业内人士表示，2009年将是一些“新面孔”的机会，目前“10万元～15万元”级别的中青年艺术家，将最有可能冒头。这一方面是画商需要为下一个艺术市场周期囤积作品，另一方面也因2008年年底中国美术界进入“换届期”，为新人上位提供了空间。在2008年下半年的一些展览中，这种苗头已出现。
传统水墨画、油画凸现价值
当代艺术的收缩，让市场需要找寻新的艺术形式填补空档。传统写实的，以及本土化、民族化特色的精品，如传统水墨画、油画，一些艺术价值已经得到公认、市场“盘子”足够大的艺术家如靳尚谊、陈逸飞等，有可能吸引部分资金。同时海派作品、京津画派作品得益于本土较高水平的藏家队伍，也可能造成一些亮点。
前苏联作品流入市场
有业内人士表示，此次金融危机对俄罗斯的影响远甚于中国，预计会有部分前苏联的优秀作品流入市场。由于历史和文化的渊源，加上前苏联作品的价位多数在中国藏家的接受范围之内，估计一定额度的资金会流向这方面。但苏联作品不可能成为市场主流，更可能是一道具有怀旧意味的调味菜。
对于许多人来说，2008年是一个大起大落、大开大阖、大喜大悲之年。艺术市场也同样如此，在短短的时间里经历了冰火两重天：就在9月15日，美国第四大投资银行雷曼兄弟银行破产的同时，英国伦敦的苏富比拍卖会场中，被视为国际当代艺术风向标的艺术家达米恩·赫斯特的“私人专拍”依旧创下了1.11亿英镑的惊人数额，49件作品拍出50万英镑以上的高价。然而仅仅一个多月之后的纽约秋拍，苏富比、佳士得和菲利普斯拍行的17件赫斯特作品中，只成交6件。随后，这位明星艺术家公开表示，愿意“降价”出售自己的作品，并裁减了自己工作室的20名员工。
向来稳定的赫斯特也出现摇摆，给全球飘摇的艺术市场写下了一个极有说服力的注脚。2008年如此跌宕起伏，那么即将到来的2009年呢?
过去几年，北京798、宋庄、草场地、上海莫干山、五角场800号，淮海路等地爆发式地出现了大批画廊。但在金融海啸袭来之后，“关张”似乎成为这些艺术区中不少画廊的唯一选择。一些观察家因此对中国画廊未来几年的发展持悲观态度，因为中国的艺术家习惯自己单打独斗，或者通过二级市场的拍卖行来完成艺术品交易。在金融海啸之后，随着市场萎缩和收入减少，艺术家对画廊的依赖和信任也将打个折扣。对于在欧美国家已经成为艺术市场最主要的推广力量的画廊来说，这并不是一个好消息。资深艺术顾问和独立经纪人陆洁民分析，美国当年金融危机时，几千家画廊几乎关掉了一半以上，中国画廊也可能面临类似的洗牌。新兴的中国画廊将面临第一次危机。因为其中很多画廊没有多年积累的经营根底，没有足够“深”的仓库。但比较有实力的画廊会继续经营下去，因为中国的消费潜力尚在。
艺术品可以回归价值导向?
金融海啸之后，艺术品的价格是否真的如很多分析人士所讲，能够回归到与实际艺术价值相符的位置?部分行内人对此并不乐观。“没错，这是一次极好的市场洗牌的机会，能够清理出去一大批的热钱炒家，但是他们很快还是会回来的。”一位资深藏家如此表态。从世界范围内来看，艺术品作为一种投资工具，很大程度上已经被资本化，相对于股票、债券和期货来讲，艺术品的最大不同或许只在于回报和风险的差异。
但总体上而言，舆论多认为“尊重艺术规律”、“尊重市场规律”将成为下一阶段中国艺术市场的主题。
对于许多人来说，2008年是一个大起大落、大开大阖、大喜大悲之年。艺术市场也同样如此，在短短的时间里经历了冰火两重天：就在9月15日，美国第四大投资银行雷曼兄弟银行破产的同时，英国伦敦的苏富比拍卖会场中，被视为国际当代艺术风向标的艺术家达米恩·赫斯特的“私人专拍”依旧创下了1.11亿英镑的惊人数额，49件作品拍出50万英镑以上的高价。然而仅仅一个多月之后的纽约秋拍，苏富比、佳士得和菲利普斯拍行的17件赫斯特作品中，只成交6件。随后，这位明星艺术家公开表示，愿意“降价”出售自己的作品，并裁减了自己工作室的20名员工。
向来稳定的赫斯特也出现摇摆，给全球飘摇的艺术市场写下了一个极有说服力的注脚。2008年如此跌宕起伏，那么即将到来的2009年呢?
过去几年，北京798、宋庄、草场地、上海莫干山、五角场800号，淮海路等地爆发式地出现了大批画廊。但在金融海啸袭来之后，“关张”似乎成为这些艺术区中不少画廊的唯一选择。一些观察家因此对中国画廊未来几年的发展持悲观态度，因为中国的艺术家习惯自己单打独斗，或者通过二级市场的拍卖行来完成艺术品交易。在金融海啸之后，随着市场萎缩和收入减少，艺术家对画廊的依赖和信任也将打个折扣。对于在欧美国家已经成为艺术市场最主要的推广力量的画廊来说，这并不是一个好消息。资深艺术顾问和独立经纪人陆洁民分析，美国当年金融危机时，几千家画廊几乎关掉了一半以上，中国画廊也可能面临类似的洗牌。新兴的中国画廊将面临第一次危机。因为其中很多画廊没有多年积累的经营根底，没有足够“深”的仓库。但比较有实力的画廊会继续经营下去，因为中国的消费潜力尚在。
艺术品可以回归价值导向?
金融海啸之后，艺术品的价格是否真的如很多分析人士所讲，能够回归到与实际艺术价值相符的位置?部分行内人对此并不乐观。“没错，这是一次极好的市场洗牌的机会，能够清理出去一大批的热钱炒家，但是他们很快还是会回来的。”一位资深藏家如此表态。从世界范围内来看，艺术品作为一种投资工具，很大程度上已经被资本化，相对于股票、债券和期货来讲，艺术品的最大不同或许只在于回报和风险的差异。
但总体上而言，舆论多认为“尊重艺术规律”、“尊重市场规律”将成为下一阶段中国艺术市场的主题。
当代艺术：战线收缩 平盘调整
不久前在广东美术馆举行的“冷与热”当代艺术论坛上，中山大学艺术设计学系主任冯原指出，金融危机造成艺术从业人员的大量流失，给市场提供了一批职位空档，对年轻艺术家来说是个好消息。当代艺术人才的需求在2009年反而可能出现增长，以便为下一个艺术品周期做储备。
不少业内人士对2009年的艺术市场保有谨慎的信心。这种信心大多来自两个方面：一是经过这次洗牌，经过数年快速上涨的当代艺术开始重新回归价值导向之路;二是不少艺术家的价格出现回落之后，值得买了。虽然许多拍行的冬拍将当代艺术板块低调处理，但画廊和拍卖公司方面更多地将之视为暴涨之后的正常调整。不少行内人认为，2009年的当代艺术市场，将呈现由“炒家市场”到“藏家市场”的转变。由于热钱的退出，天价作品的出现将会比较稀少。同时，艺术价值已经得到认可的艺术家的代表作品，在藏家“惜售”心理的作用下，也将较少出现在市场上。至于之前一些被炒至天价的艺术家，也不能单纯地认为是热钱的效用，其中一些精品，从长期来看，仍是有上升空间。
传统写实：短期稳定 前景看好
2008年各大拍行的秋冬拍卖中，以往与中国书画、瓷杂古玩并列的几大拍卖业务板块之一的油画雕塑板块表现欠佳，特别是当代油画和雕塑部分，能够进入拍场的作品数量比之前两年都有大幅下降。但传统写实方面则有不俗的表现。业内人士预计，2009年的传统写实油画将会迎来比较好的时期。2008年12月举行的广州嘉德冬拍油画专场中，中国传统写实油画的代表人物靳尚谊的作品拍出了约600万元的价格，被业界评价为“正常”。专家评价，传统写实油画具有一套比较完整的价值评价系统，目前不少作品的价格也比较有吸引力，部分藏家的审美取向和艺术价值判断标准也逐渐成熟，2009年有可能是传统写实油画的一个稳定发展期。
古代书画进入上升通道
中国古代书画在艺术拍卖市场上的表现，距离其价值仍有空间。许多藏家对之尚处于认识和研究阶段，仍是明显的卖方市场。加上古代书画已经经历了连续两年多的调整，有望企稳。从今年多次拍卖中可以看出，古代书画有进入上升通道的迹象。古代书画中的文人书法、文人画部分有望受到市场格外偏重。
“10万元～15万元”级别中青年艺术家冒头
部分画廊已经开始有计划地收购年轻艺术家的作品。多位业内人士表示，2009年将是一些“新面孔”的机会，目前“10万元～15万元”级别的中青年艺术家，将最有可能冒头。这一方面是画商需要为下一个艺术市场周期囤积作品，另一方面也因2008年年底中国美术界进入“换届期”，为新人上位提供了空间。在2008年下半年的一些展览中，这种苗头已出现。
传统水墨画、油画凸现价值
当代艺术的收缩，让市场需要找寻新的艺术形式填补空档。传统写实的，以及本土化、民族化特色的精品，如传统水墨画、油画，一些艺术价值已经得到公认、市场“盘子”足够大的艺术家如靳尚谊、陈逸飞等，有可能吸引部分资金。同时海派作品、京津画派作品得益于本土较高水平的藏家队伍，也可能造成一些亮点。
前苏联作品流入市场
有业内人士表示，此次金融危机对俄罗斯的影响远甚于中国，预计会有部分前苏联的优秀作品流入市场。由于历史和文化的渊源，加上前苏联作品的价位多数在中国藏家的接受范围之内，估计一定额度的资金会流向这方面。但苏联作品不可能成为市场主流，更可能是一道具有怀旧意味的调味菜。
The World's Top 20 Selling Artists
The World's Top 20 Selling Artists
Of the world's 20 top-selling artists, 13 are from Asia, with 11 coming from China. Asian artists make up six of the top 10 biggest sellers at auction, five of which are Chinese. Experts predict that within a decade, the term "Asian art" will be as widely used as "Western art" and will be responsible for most global sales.
The annual survey of the global art market by the auction tracking site Artprice and the Axa insurance company lists the 500 top-selling artists at 2,900 auctions between July 2007 and June 2008. While the top four selling contemporary artists at auction were the Western superstars Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst and Richard Prince, almost all the rest are Asian. Other Chinese artists in the top 10 include Wang Guangyi and Yan Pei-Ming. Japan's Takashi Murakami comes in at number eight, while the Indian-born Anish Kapoor, who lives in England, is number 18. It is a seismic shift in an art market dominated by the Western tradition for almost 500 years.
World’s 20 top selling artists - Introducing 4 prominent Asian MastersWang GuangyiThe Chinese artist is seen as an exponent of 'political pop'. His work, including 2005'2 'Porsche', left, combines the styles of communist propaganda posters with consumer logos. 'Stylistically merging the government enforced aesthetic of agitprop with the kitsch sensibility of American pop, Guangyi's work adopts the Cold War language of the 1960s to ironically examine the contemporary polemics of globalisation,' according to the Saatchi Gallery.Takashi MurakamiMurakami is regarded as one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking Japanese artists of the 1990s. His work ranges from cartoon-like paintings and almost minimalist sculptures to giant inflatable balloons. He also puts on performance events and designs factory-produced watches, T-shirts and many other commercial products. Murakami, 46, is credited with creating the 'superflat' style of painting, which features flat planes of colour and graphic images derived from the Japanese traditions of anime and manga. Much of his work is emblazoned with his signature character, Mr DOB.Zhang XiaogangZhang is known for his surrealist paintings, with Picasso and Dali among his influences. His Bloodline series of paintings, including 'Big Family', right, feature stylised and monochrome portraits of Chinese people in stiff, formal poses, which recall portraits done in the 1950s and 1960s.Zeng FanzhiZeng is among the most sought-after Chinese contemporary artists. He combines expressionist and realist styles in his work, which often deals with relationships between people. His series of Great Man paintings – featuring Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao among others – appear at first glance to be official portraits, but subvert the traditional representations with use of monochrome and expressive brush strokes. Pictured above: 2004's 'Tiananmen'.Yue MinjunYue is a member of the Chinese 'cynical realist' movement. He is noted for depicting 'cloned doppelgängers', grotesquely contorted with maniacal grins, such as 2005's 'Backyard Garden', left. The forced jollity of his anti-heroes echoes modern anxieties.
World's 20 top selling artists
1 Jeff Koons, born 1955 in Pennsylvania, incorporates kitsch imagery. Sold £69.4m in the past year.
2 Jean-Michel Basquiat, born 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, was a graffiti artist who died in 1988. Sold £54.3m.
3 Damien Hirst, born 1965 in Bristol, a key member of the Young British Artists. Sold £45.7m.
4 Richard Prince, born 1949 in Panama, is an American painter and photographer. Sold £33m.
5 Zhang Xiaogang, born in 1958 in China's Yunnan province. Sold £32.3m.
6 Zeng Fanzhi, born in 1964 in Wuhan, holds the auction record for a contemporary Asian artist. Sold £27.8m.
7 Yue Minjun, born 1962 in Heilongjiang. Sold £27.8m.
8 Takashi Murakami, born 1962, Tokyo, Japan. Possibly the best known Eastern artist on the list. Sold £15.5m.
9 Wang Guangyi, born 1957, in Heilongjiang. Sold £11.7m
10 Liu Xiaodong, born 1963, Liaoning. Painter and photographer documented the controversial
Three Gorges Dam project. Sold £10.5m.11 Cai Guo-Qiang, born 1957. Performance artist who uses gunpowder to produce 'explosive events'. Sold £10.1m.12 Yan Pei-Ming, born 1960, Shanghai. Best known for epic portraits of Mao Zedong and Bruce Lee. Sold £9.9m.13 Chen Yifei, born 1946 in Zhejing. Among the first to break into Western art market. Died in 2005. Sold £9.7m.14 Fang Lijun, born 1963, Hebei. Painter of the 'cynical realism' school. Sold £9.6m15 Liu Ye, born 1964, veteran of the post-1989 avant-garde movement. Sold £8.8m.17 Zhou Chunya, born 1955, Sichuan. Renowned for green portraits. Sold £8.3m.18 Anish Kapoor, born 1954, in Mumbai, India. Turner Prize-winning sculptor who has lived in England since 1972. Sold £6.7m19 Peter Doig, born 1959. The Scottish artist's paintings are among Europe's most expensive. Sold £6.7m.20 Rudolf Stingel, born 1956, in Merano, Italy. Sold £6.5m.
Of the world's 20 top-selling artists, 13 are from Asia, with 11 coming from China. Asian artists make up six of the top 10 biggest sellers at auction, five of which are Chinese. Experts predict that within a decade, the term "Asian art" will be as widely used as "Western art" and will be responsible for most global sales.
The annual survey of the global art market by the auction tracking site Artprice and the Axa insurance company lists the 500 top-selling artists at 2,900 auctions between July 2007 and June 2008. While the top four selling contemporary artists at auction were the Western superstars Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst and Richard Prince, almost all the rest are Asian. Other Chinese artists in the top 10 include Wang Guangyi and Yan Pei-Ming. Japan's Takashi Murakami comes in at number eight, while the Indian-born Anish Kapoor, who lives in England, is number 18. It is a seismic shift in an art market dominated by the Western tradition for almost 500 years.
World’s 20 top selling artists - Introducing 4 prominent Asian MastersWang GuangyiThe Chinese artist is seen as an exponent of 'political pop'. His work, including 2005'2 'Porsche', left, combines the styles of communist propaganda posters with consumer logos. 'Stylistically merging the government enforced aesthetic of agitprop with the kitsch sensibility of American pop, Guangyi's work adopts the Cold War language of the 1960s to ironically examine the contemporary polemics of globalisation,' according to the Saatchi Gallery.Takashi MurakamiMurakami is regarded as one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking Japanese artists of the 1990s. His work ranges from cartoon-like paintings and almost minimalist sculptures to giant inflatable balloons. He also puts on performance events and designs factory-produced watches, T-shirts and many other commercial products. Murakami, 46, is credited with creating the 'superflat' style of painting, which features flat planes of colour and graphic images derived from the Japanese traditions of anime and manga. Much of his work is emblazoned with his signature character, Mr DOB.Zhang XiaogangZhang is known for his surrealist paintings, with Picasso and Dali among his influences. His Bloodline series of paintings, including 'Big Family', right, feature stylised and monochrome portraits of Chinese people in stiff, formal poses, which recall portraits done in the 1950s and 1960s.Zeng FanzhiZeng is among the most sought-after Chinese contemporary artists. He combines expressionist and realist styles in his work, which often deals with relationships between people. His series of Great Man paintings – featuring Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao among others – appear at first glance to be official portraits, but subvert the traditional representations with use of monochrome and expressive brush strokes. Pictured above: 2004's 'Tiananmen'.Yue MinjunYue is a member of the Chinese 'cynical realist' movement. He is noted for depicting 'cloned doppelgängers', grotesquely contorted with maniacal grins, such as 2005's 'Backyard Garden', left. The forced jollity of his anti-heroes echoes modern anxieties.
World's 20 top selling artists
1 Jeff Koons, born 1955 in Pennsylvania, incorporates kitsch imagery. Sold £69.4m in the past year.
2 Jean-Michel Basquiat, born 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, was a graffiti artist who died in 1988. Sold £54.3m.
3 Damien Hirst, born 1965 in Bristol, a key member of the Young British Artists. Sold £45.7m.
4 Richard Prince, born 1949 in Panama, is an American painter and photographer. Sold £33m.
5 Zhang Xiaogang, born in 1958 in China's Yunnan province. Sold £32.3m.
6 Zeng Fanzhi, born in 1964 in Wuhan, holds the auction record for a contemporary Asian artist. Sold £27.8m.
7 Yue Minjun, born 1962 in Heilongjiang. Sold £27.8m.
8 Takashi Murakami, born 1962, Tokyo, Japan. Possibly the best known Eastern artist on the list. Sold £15.5m.
9 Wang Guangyi, born 1957, in Heilongjiang. Sold £11.7m
10 Liu Xiaodong, born 1963, Liaoning. Painter and photographer documented the controversial
Three Gorges Dam project. Sold £10.5m.11 Cai Guo-Qiang, born 1957. Performance artist who uses gunpowder to produce 'explosive events'. Sold £10.1m.12 Yan Pei-Ming, born 1960, Shanghai. Best known for epic portraits of Mao Zedong and Bruce Lee. Sold £9.9m.13 Chen Yifei, born 1946 in Zhejing. Among the first to break into Western art market. Died in 2005. Sold £9.7m.14 Fang Lijun, born 1963, Hebei. Painter of the 'cynical realism' school. Sold £9.6m15 Liu Ye, born 1964, veteran of the post-1989 avant-garde movement. Sold £8.8m.17 Zhou Chunya, born 1955, Sichuan. Renowned for green portraits. Sold £8.3m.18 Anish Kapoor, born 1954, in Mumbai, India. Turner Prize-winning sculptor who has lived in England since 1972. Sold £6.7m19 Peter Doig, born 1959. The Scottish artist's paintings are among Europe's most expensive. Sold £6.7m.20 Rudolf Stingel, born 1956, in Merano, Italy. Sold £6.5m.
The incredible shrinking saleroom
Dec 24th 2008
From Economist.com
Bad days behind us, worse days ahead
THE moment the art market plummets is almost always signalled by a sudden catastrophic sale. This time was quite different. The top of the market can be narrowed down to the two-hour cocktail slot on Monday, September 15th 2008, when Oliver Barker raised more than £70m ($107.8m) in the first session of “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”, the epic sale of Damien Hirst by Damien Hirst.
Thousands of people came to see the show in London during the ten days it was on view in the run-up to the sale. So many people registered to bid that Sotheby’s had to open up two extra rooms to accommodate the overflow. Against a background of one of Mr Hirst’s colourful spin paintings, Mr Barker worked the rooms hard. Just two lots of 56 failed to sell, and only three sold for less than the low estimate.
Sotheby'sAll downhill from here
Outside, though, it was another story. This was the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and the financial crisis began in earnest. The art market was never the same again.
True, there have been high points since September. On December 3rd , with the recession in full swing, three bidders in Sotheby’s Paris saleroom put their hands up against 12 bidders on the telephone for Georges Seurat’s “Au Divan Japonais”, the winner paying €5m ($7.2m), five times the top estimate for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to buy one of the Impressionist master’s finest works. A week later, at Christie’s in London, Laurence Graff, a London jeweller, fought off Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading, New York, to secure the huge blue Wittelsbach diamond, which had belonged to the Spanish and Bavarian royal families. Mr Graff paid £16.4m for the stone, twice the top estimate, and the highest price ever paid for a diamond at auction.
These were the exceptions, despite the temptation they offer to market optimists who see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. For the most part, though, the autumn results have been stomach-turning, for sellers and auction houses alike. Organised during the summer, against the backdrop of the record-breaking June auctions, the autumn sales took place in a drastically changed climate. Sellers who had not been persuaded to lower their reserves saw lot after lot bought in, while the auction houses, Sotheby’s in particular, that had been happy to promise substantial guarantees found themselves more often than not paying out for pictures that failed to sell.
Sotheby'sThe art market aspin
Third-quarter results, which cover the long summer period when there are no sales, revealed little. Only the fourth-quarter figures, due out in February, will show the full picture.
Auction house executives are already bracing themselves. “We are predicting dramatically reduced sales volumes,” Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive told The Economist on December 18th. “We’ve seen confidence dwindle away. People are not certain where prices are. Buyers all round are being very circumspect.” Death, divorce and debt will continue to provide artworks for the auction market. But discretionary sellers, who don’t have to sell, are likely to want to sit it out until things improve. “We’re not predicting much discretionary selling at all next year,” Mr Dolman said.
Looking ahead, says Helena Newman, vice-chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern art department worldwide, “We are aiming to put together tightly edited sales with estimates set at attractive levels for this market and with a focus on sourcing property for sale that is of high quality, corresponding to the tastes and desires of today's buyers.” Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist and modern art in February 2009 is likely to number no more than 30 pieces, she confirmed, compared with 76 a year earlier.
Neither of the main houses wants to be the first to announce job losses or cancelled sales, but there will be cuts. With smaller auctions comes the opportunity to reduce variable costs such as catalogues and marketing, where there is still a lot of fat.
If there is one lesson to be learned from the autumn it is that there is still an art market, and you can’t say that anymore about all markets. Demand is there for works of exceptional quality. The challenge will be to persuade sellers who don’t need to sell to continue consigning their very best works.
Just how difficult this will be can be seen from the fact that when asked about the coming sales, both houses ignore the Old-Master sales that will be held in New York at the end of January and focus instead on the Impressionist and modern sales the following month. Sotheby’s, for example, has separated a husband-and-wife pair of portraits by Frans Hals in the hope that they will make more apart than together. “The Portrait of a Man Holding Gloves” is estimated at $8m-12m whereas his much plainer consort, shown in “The Portrait of a Woman Holding a Handkerchief” has been set at $7m-9m. The pictures have been consigned by a New York collector and were recently shown in London as part of a marketing tour. Despite that, both pictures are being talked about by dealers and collectors as “not great Frans Hals”.
The outlook for February is brighter. Christie’s has six works from an important European collection. The consignment, which includes works by Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, is led by a painting by Claude Monet. “Dans la Prairie”, which dates from 1876, was exhibited at the seminal third Impressionist exhibition in Paris in 1877 in Paris. It was painted in Argenteuil, where Monet lived between 1871 and 1878, depicts the artist’s wife, Camille, reclined and reading amongst blooming flowers in an open meadow. It is expected to sell for around £15m. Sotheby’s has a rare work by Amadeo Modigliani dating back to 1913, which has been consigned by a British collector and which has not been seen at auction for nearly 30 years. Part of the “Caryatid” series on which Modigliani worked frequently in drawings, this version in oil has a highly sculptural feel. The estimate has been set at £6m-8m.
But the sale that is generating the most excitement is the three-day auction of paintings, furniture, clothes and sculpture belonging to Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Like the Damien Hirst sale, it will be a party. Christie’s is hoping it will be a bash. Sotheby’s, its rival, is also hoping the sale goes well, for if it does it will mean that perhaps things aren’t quite so bad as they seem.
From Economist.com
Bad days behind us, worse days ahead
THE moment the art market plummets is almost always signalled by a sudden catastrophic sale. This time was quite different. The top of the market can be narrowed down to the two-hour cocktail slot on Monday, September 15th 2008, when Oliver Barker raised more than £70m ($107.8m) in the first session of “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”, the epic sale of Damien Hirst by Damien Hirst.
Thousands of people came to see the show in London during the ten days it was on view in the run-up to the sale. So many people registered to bid that Sotheby’s had to open up two extra rooms to accommodate the overflow. Against a background of one of Mr Hirst’s colourful spin paintings, Mr Barker worked the rooms hard. Just two lots of 56 failed to sell, and only three sold for less than the low estimate.
Sotheby'sAll downhill from here
Outside, though, it was another story. This was the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and the financial crisis began in earnest. The art market was never the same again.
True, there have been high points since September. On December 3rd , with the recession in full swing, three bidders in Sotheby’s Paris saleroom put their hands up against 12 bidders on the telephone for Georges Seurat’s “Au Divan Japonais”, the winner paying €5m ($7.2m), five times the top estimate for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to buy one of the Impressionist master’s finest works. A week later, at Christie’s in London, Laurence Graff, a London jeweller, fought off Aleks Paul of Essex Global Trading, New York, to secure the huge blue Wittelsbach diamond, which had belonged to the Spanish and Bavarian royal families. Mr Graff paid £16.4m for the stone, twice the top estimate, and the highest price ever paid for a diamond at auction.
These were the exceptions, despite the temptation they offer to market optimists who see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. For the most part, though, the autumn results have been stomach-turning, for sellers and auction houses alike. Organised during the summer, against the backdrop of the record-breaking June auctions, the autumn sales took place in a drastically changed climate. Sellers who had not been persuaded to lower their reserves saw lot after lot bought in, while the auction houses, Sotheby’s in particular, that had been happy to promise substantial guarantees found themselves more often than not paying out for pictures that failed to sell.
Sotheby'sThe art market aspin
Third-quarter results, which cover the long summer period when there are no sales, revealed little. Only the fourth-quarter figures, due out in February, will show the full picture.
Auction house executives are already bracing themselves. “We are predicting dramatically reduced sales volumes,” Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive told The Economist on December 18th. “We’ve seen confidence dwindle away. People are not certain where prices are. Buyers all round are being very circumspect.” Death, divorce and debt will continue to provide artworks for the auction market. But discretionary sellers, who don’t have to sell, are likely to want to sit it out until things improve. “We’re not predicting much discretionary selling at all next year,” Mr Dolman said.
Looking ahead, says Helena Newman, vice-chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist and modern art department worldwide, “We are aiming to put together tightly edited sales with estimates set at attractive levels for this market and with a focus on sourcing property for sale that is of high quality, corresponding to the tastes and desires of today's buyers.” Sotheby’s sale of Impressionist and modern art in February 2009 is likely to number no more than 30 pieces, she confirmed, compared with 76 a year earlier.
Neither of the main houses wants to be the first to announce job losses or cancelled sales, but there will be cuts. With smaller auctions comes the opportunity to reduce variable costs such as catalogues and marketing, where there is still a lot of fat.
If there is one lesson to be learned from the autumn it is that there is still an art market, and you can’t say that anymore about all markets. Demand is there for works of exceptional quality. The challenge will be to persuade sellers who don’t need to sell to continue consigning their very best works.
Just how difficult this will be can be seen from the fact that when asked about the coming sales, both houses ignore the Old-Master sales that will be held in New York at the end of January and focus instead on the Impressionist and modern sales the following month. Sotheby’s, for example, has separated a husband-and-wife pair of portraits by Frans Hals in the hope that they will make more apart than together. “The Portrait of a Man Holding Gloves” is estimated at $8m-12m whereas his much plainer consort, shown in “The Portrait of a Woman Holding a Handkerchief” has been set at $7m-9m. The pictures have been consigned by a New York collector and were recently shown in London as part of a marketing tour. Despite that, both pictures are being talked about by dealers and collectors as “not great Frans Hals”.
The outlook for February is brighter. Christie’s has six works from an important European collection. The consignment, which includes works by Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, Pierre Bonnard and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, is led by a painting by Claude Monet. “Dans la Prairie”, which dates from 1876, was exhibited at the seminal third Impressionist exhibition in Paris in 1877 in Paris. It was painted in Argenteuil, where Monet lived between 1871 and 1878, depicts the artist’s wife, Camille, reclined and reading amongst blooming flowers in an open meadow. It is expected to sell for around £15m. Sotheby’s has a rare work by Amadeo Modigliani dating back to 1913, which has been consigned by a British collector and which has not been seen at auction for nearly 30 years. Part of the “Caryatid” series on which Modigliani worked frequently in drawings, this version in oil has a highly sculptural feel. The estimate has been set at £6m-8m.
But the sale that is generating the most excitement is the three-day auction of paintings, furniture, clothes and sculpture belonging to Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Like the Damien Hirst sale, it will be a party. Christie’s is hoping it will be a bash. Sotheby’s, its rival, is also hoping the sale goes well, for if it does it will mean that perhaps things aren’t quite so bad as they seem.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Art Market is Not Immune - artmarketblog.com
There are lots of things that bother me about the way that art investment and the art market are portrayed. One of the things that bothers me quite a bit is the frequency of which the art market is referred to as being immune to economic or financial turmoil. To say that the art market is immune to the economy or financial turmoil is not entirely untrue depending on how you interpret the statement or the situation in which the statement is made, however, it is definitely not the whole truth and is often a misleading statement. The art market is a very unique market that reacts to certain events and factors in a way that does not correlate with the way most other investment markets would react. Because of this, the potential for people to incorrectly identify or mistake certain market movements, events or characteristics as evidence that the art market is totally immune to these events is quite high. This is not to say that there are not situations where the art market does display immunity but it is not usually to anywhere near the extent that is many people believe. There also seems to be many people who presume that because one particular artist, artwork, movement or regional art market appears immune to an economic downturn or financial crisis that the whole art market is immune.
As much as I want to advocate art as an investment and the art market I don’t see how misrepresenting the art market and art investment can be a positive move which is why I want to set the record straight. It is virtually impossible for the whole art market to be immune to a financial crisis such as the one we are experiencing at the moment because the crisis is having an effect on so many people and so many of the other investment markets that it is going to have to filter through to the art market at some point. The art market is often referred to as an isolated market which basically means that it has limited connections with other investment markets or, in technical jargon, it has a low correlation with other assets. As a result, the art market is said to not feel the effects of negative movements in other markets to the same extent as markets that have a much stronger connection with the market experiencing the negative movements. Once again, it is virtually impossible for the global art market to not be effected by the fluctuations experienced by other markets as there is always going to be some sort of a connection. The art market does, however, often have a less severe reaction to the movements of other markets and can even have a totally opposite reaction or not react at all. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the art market has a low correlation with other assets because a low correlation does not mean that that there is no connection between the art market and other markets just that the relationship is not as strong as relationships between other asset classes.
Although the global art market is often incorrectly referred to as being immune to economic and financial turmoil there are certain circumstances under which the art market can exhibit characteristics that would suggest that it is immune to negative economic and financial market movements. There are also situations where the art market could genuinely be referred to as being immune. Because the art market is relatively illiquid compared to other asset classes there is usually not enough time for the art market to react to short term fluctuations in markets such as the highly liquid stock market where trading can take a matter of seconds. The art market can also take much longer to react to more severe and wide ranging financial and economic downturns such as the one we are experiencing at the moment which can trick people into thinking that it won’t react at all.
It is also important to recognise the fact that the art markets of different countries often have a low correlation with each other which means that even though the art market of one country may have been affected by a certain economic or financial event that the art market of another country may exhibit a very minor reaction or may not react at all. For example, at the moment the art market in Dubai and neighbouring areas appears to be have been affected very little by the current financial crisis where plenty of money appears to still be available for the purchase of art. It is also possible for particular movements or types of art to react differently than other movements or types of art. Contemporary art has benefited the most from the recent art market boom and as such has also been the most affected by the current financial crisis. Because speculation is far less common when it comes to the market for old master paintings and the value of old master paintings is much more verifiable and justifiable the market tends to be far more stable and less volatile. Although the market for old masters is not immune to market downturns they are often used as a hedge because they react far less to economic downturns than other sectors of the art market and other asset classes. Once again certain painters or certain artists whose work falls under the category of “old master” may exhibit characteristics that suggest that they are immune to economic downturns but a few examples cannot be used as a representation of the whole market for old master paintings.
In summary, suggesting that the global art market is immune to financial crises and economic turmoil is generally incorrect and misleading. There are certain circumstances and situations where a particular country’s art market or a certain sector of the art market could be considered to be exhibiting immunity to certain investment market related events. Just don’t be fooled into believing that an investment in art is a total and infallible hedge against an economic downturn.
As much as I want to advocate art as an investment and the art market I don’t see how misrepresenting the art market and art investment can be a positive move which is why I want to set the record straight. It is virtually impossible for the whole art market to be immune to a financial crisis such as the one we are experiencing at the moment because the crisis is having an effect on so many people and so many of the other investment markets that it is going to have to filter through to the art market at some point. The art market is often referred to as an isolated market which basically means that it has limited connections with other investment markets or, in technical jargon, it has a low correlation with other assets. As a result, the art market is said to not feel the effects of negative movements in other markets to the same extent as markets that have a much stronger connection with the market experiencing the negative movements. Once again, it is virtually impossible for the global art market to not be effected by the fluctuations experienced by other markets as there is always going to be some sort of a connection. The art market does, however, often have a less severe reaction to the movements of other markets and can even have a totally opposite reaction or not react at all. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the art market has a low correlation with other assets because a low correlation does not mean that that there is no connection between the art market and other markets just that the relationship is not as strong as relationships between other asset classes.
Although the global art market is often incorrectly referred to as being immune to economic and financial turmoil there are certain circumstances under which the art market can exhibit characteristics that would suggest that it is immune to negative economic and financial market movements. There are also situations where the art market could genuinely be referred to as being immune. Because the art market is relatively illiquid compared to other asset classes there is usually not enough time for the art market to react to short term fluctuations in markets such as the highly liquid stock market where trading can take a matter of seconds. The art market can also take much longer to react to more severe and wide ranging financial and economic downturns such as the one we are experiencing at the moment which can trick people into thinking that it won’t react at all.
It is also important to recognise the fact that the art markets of different countries often have a low correlation with each other which means that even though the art market of one country may have been affected by a certain economic or financial event that the art market of another country may exhibit a very minor reaction or may not react at all. For example, at the moment the art market in Dubai and neighbouring areas appears to be have been affected very little by the current financial crisis where plenty of money appears to still be available for the purchase of art. It is also possible for particular movements or types of art to react differently than other movements or types of art. Contemporary art has benefited the most from the recent art market boom and as such has also been the most affected by the current financial crisis. Because speculation is far less common when it comes to the market for old master paintings and the value of old master paintings is much more verifiable and justifiable the market tends to be far more stable and less volatile. Although the market for old masters is not immune to market downturns they are often used as a hedge because they react far less to economic downturns than other sectors of the art market and other asset classes. Once again certain painters or certain artists whose work falls under the category of “old master” may exhibit characteristics that suggest that they are immune to economic downturns but a few examples cannot be used as a representation of the whole market for old master paintings.
In summary, suggesting that the global art market is immune to financial crises and economic turmoil is generally incorrect and misleading. There are certain circumstances and situations where a particular country’s art market or a certain sector of the art market could be considered to be exhibiting immunity to certain investment market related events. Just don’t be fooled into believing that an investment in art is a total and infallible hedge against an economic downturn.
Old Masters are victim of slump in art market
Jan 16 2009 Joan Burnie
THE bottom has fallen out of the art market, with even Old Masters making less than half of their reserve.
So does that mean the Duke of Sutherland will stop trying to blackmail the country into forking out £50million for his wretched Titian?
Let's bung the thing in an auction and see what it's really worth.
THE bottom has fallen out of the art market, with even Old Masters making less than half of their reserve.
So does that mean the Duke of Sutherland will stop trying to blackmail the country into forking out £50million for his wretched Titian?
Let's bung the thing in an auction and see what it's really worth.
China’s contemporary art market bubble has burst
France24
Sunday 18 January 2009
After becoming one of the hottest things in the art world over the last decade, galleries are now struggling to sell pieces, works are failing to reach minimums at auction and artists are having to rethink their choice of career…
Many had expected a slowdown in the market after years of explosive growth, but the slump currently hitting the global economy has had a much bigger impact than anyone had foreseen…
“I think the biggest change in the Chinese art World has come from the US financial crisis. It has been like a tsunami.” Qin Feng, founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing, tells France 24. “It has had a major impact on Oriental art, and Asian art in general. I know two or three large exhibitions have had to be postponed, and I have also had to postpone showings…”
Businesses in Beijing’s art quarter, Dashanzi, are all too aware of the effects of the financial crisis…
The area, which helped launch the careers of many of China’s famous contemporary artists, has seen 50 galleries close in the last three months alone…
But despite the current turmoil, many believe the market will emerge from this glut stronger than ever …
“I think that prices will rebound, just like the financial system will. Chinese art has potential and the market will keep growing,” one man tells us…
“Art will be art forever, you just need to look at the Renaissance, the financial crisis won’t affect the art world. The physical price might go down for a while, but its artistic value will exist in people’s hearts forever,” says another.
Chinese contemporary art now accounts for a quarter of the global market, and the boom in recent years has attracted many foreign artists to the country to set up studios…
However, many, like German artist Wolfgang Stiller, find the overall quality of China’s artists much lower than they had expected, and think the financial crisis may turn out to be a blessing in disguise…
“I guess it is good for Chinese art, because now a lot of young artists, or people who want to become artists might reconsider their decision,” Stiller tells France 24, “Because before it was kind of like a dream to become an artist and make lots of money in a short time, and that will definitely change...”
Even before the financial crisis hit, there was widespread talk of the Chinese art market bubble bursting…
And while many people feel that it will recover eventually, things are unlikely to improve until the global economy is back on its feet…
Just another case of art imitating life
http://www.france24.com/en/20090118-report-china-contemporary-art-market-bubble-burst-financial-crisis
Sunday 18 January 2009
After becoming one of the hottest things in the art world over the last decade, galleries are now struggling to sell pieces, works are failing to reach minimums at auction and artists are having to rethink their choice of career…
Many had expected a slowdown in the market after years of explosive growth, but the slump currently hitting the global economy has had a much bigger impact than anyone had foreseen…
“I think the biggest change in the Chinese art World has come from the US financial crisis. It has been like a tsunami.” Qin Feng, founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art Beijing, tells France 24. “It has had a major impact on Oriental art, and Asian art in general. I know two or three large exhibitions have had to be postponed, and I have also had to postpone showings…”
Businesses in Beijing’s art quarter, Dashanzi, are all too aware of the effects of the financial crisis…
The area, which helped launch the careers of many of China’s famous contemporary artists, has seen 50 galleries close in the last three months alone…
But despite the current turmoil, many believe the market will emerge from this glut stronger than ever …
“I think that prices will rebound, just like the financial system will. Chinese art has potential and the market will keep growing,” one man tells us…
“Art will be art forever, you just need to look at the Renaissance, the financial crisis won’t affect the art world. The physical price might go down for a while, but its artistic value will exist in people’s hearts forever,” says another.
Chinese contemporary art now accounts for a quarter of the global market, and the boom in recent years has attracted many foreign artists to the country to set up studios…
However, many, like German artist Wolfgang Stiller, find the overall quality of China’s artists much lower than they had expected, and think the financial crisis may turn out to be a blessing in disguise…
“I guess it is good for Chinese art, because now a lot of young artists, or people who want to become artists might reconsider their decision,” Stiller tells France 24, “Because before it was kind of like a dream to become an artist and make lots of money in a short time, and that will definitely change...”
Even before the financial crisis hit, there was widespread talk of the Chinese art market bubble bursting…
And while many people feel that it will recover eventually, things are unlikely to improve until the global economy is back on its feet…
Just another case of art imitating life
http://www.france24.com/en/20090118-report-china-contemporary-art-market-bubble-burst-financial-crisis
Going, going, gone . . . collapse in art market forces auction house to cut jobs
From The Times
January 19, 2009
Catherine Boyle
Christie's, Britain's oldest auction house, is to let up to a quarter of its 800 London-based staff go as the fine art market reels from the effects of the credit crisis.
Staff at the London office have been told that their jobs are under review and between 20 per cent and 25 per cent will go, in anticipation of a 20 per cent to 30 per cent drop in sales. The restructuring programme will last for four months. Most of the jobs cut will be mid-level staff. Nearly 30 graduate interns — typically recent MA graduates paid £225 a week — at the venerable auction house were told not to come back to work after Christmas and the South Kensington wine department has been shut.
Its New York office has cut back already, with 80 employees dismissed across departments, including contemporary art, prints, 19th-century art and administration.
The main part of Christie's business is devoted to art, but it also auctions fine wine and cars. The fine art market has altered hugely since Lucian Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping was sold for a record $33 million at Christie's in New York last year. The Russian oligarchs and hedge fund billionaires who drove up the prices of contemporary and modern art have suffered from the credit crunch.
Christie's sale of 20th-century British art last month, seen by many as the mainstay of British private art collecting, ended with 57 per cent of the lots successful — down from 81 per cent at 2007's sale. The sales total of £4.1 million was less than half the £9.4 million achieved last year.
Christie's is not the only auction house under pressure. Sotheby's, its main rival, which is listed in New York, has said that it will save $7 million (£4.6 million) by reducing staff levels and other costs this year.
Christie's and Sotheby's are understood to have lost money in recent months through guarantee agreements, which guarantee vendors a certain amount of money from a sale even if the sale doesn't reach it. In the contemporary art auctions of last November, Sotheby's lost $28.2 million from these agreements.
As a privately owned company, Christie's does not have to announce whether it lost money. The auction house, which was founded in 1766 by James Christie, is owned by François Pinault, the French tycoon. Mr Pinault, who has an estimated personal fortune of $16.9 billion, according to Forbes, also owns a clutch of luxury brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and the Château Latour vineyard. Recent reports that the Pinault family may put Christie's up for sale have been firmly denied.
Christie's employs 2,100 people in 85 offices in 43 countries.
The auction house could not be reached for comment
January 19, 2009
Catherine Boyle
Christie's, Britain's oldest auction house, is to let up to a quarter of its 800 London-based staff go as the fine art market reels from the effects of the credit crisis.
Staff at the London office have been told that their jobs are under review and between 20 per cent and 25 per cent will go, in anticipation of a 20 per cent to 30 per cent drop in sales. The restructuring programme will last for four months. Most of the jobs cut will be mid-level staff. Nearly 30 graduate interns — typically recent MA graduates paid £225 a week — at the venerable auction house were told not to come back to work after Christmas and the South Kensington wine department has been shut.
Its New York office has cut back already, with 80 employees dismissed across departments, including contemporary art, prints, 19th-century art and administration.
The main part of Christie's business is devoted to art, but it also auctions fine wine and cars. The fine art market has altered hugely since Lucian Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping was sold for a record $33 million at Christie's in New York last year. The Russian oligarchs and hedge fund billionaires who drove up the prices of contemporary and modern art have suffered from the credit crunch.
Christie's sale of 20th-century British art last month, seen by many as the mainstay of British private art collecting, ended with 57 per cent of the lots successful — down from 81 per cent at 2007's sale. The sales total of £4.1 million was less than half the £9.4 million achieved last year.
Christie's is not the only auction house under pressure. Sotheby's, its main rival, which is listed in New York, has said that it will save $7 million (£4.6 million) by reducing staff levels and other costs this year.
Christie's and Sotheby's are understood to have lost money in recent months through guarantee agreements, which guarantee vendors a certain amount of money from a sale even if the sale doesn't reach it. In the contemporary art auctions of last November, Sotheby's lost $28.2 million from these agreements.
As a privately owned company, Christie's does not have to announce whether it lost money. The auction house, which was founded in 1766 by James Christie, is owned by François Pinault, the French tycoon. Mr Pinault, who has an estimated personal fortune of $16.9 billion, according to Forbes, also owns a clutch of luxury brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and the Château Latour vineyard. Recent reports that the Pinault family may put Christie's up for sale have been firmly denied.
Christie's employs 2,100 people in 85 offices in 43 countries.
The auction house could not be reached for comment
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