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Art Market Eye
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Hello,
Another month of lockdown, another month of trying to keep some loose grasp on reality and sanity. Much of this pales into insignificance when you look at the pressing issues the world is confronting. And writing about what remains of the (virtual) art market seems occasionally futile—but that won’t stop us trying.
Once the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, New York City plans to reopen next week, while sirens screech, police helicopters whir overhead and chants ring out against police violence following the shocking killing of George Floyd, with #BlackLivesMatter solidarity marches occurring across the US and worldwide. Below, Anny Shaw highlights a few of the artists drawing attention to this fight against racism.
Some US galleries have boarded up their windows to protect against the looting and vandalism that has accompanied a few of the protests, yet most are preparing to reopen this month for (socially distanced) business along with their peers in the UK. But you can wave goodbye to the bacchanalian crush of private view culture; that won’t be back for a while. Although, as the London dealer Sadie Coles says: “The irony isn’t lost on me that we’re going to introduce all of these [social distancing] measures but then you can have a barbecue in Hyde Park with six friends. It’s bonkers!”
Auction houses, too, are preparing for their delayed spring sales. Though originally hailed as the return to “live sales”, it turns out that what that really means, at least in Sotheby’s case on 29 June, is a lonely Oliver Barker standing on a rostrum in an empty saleroom in London conducting an auction in New York. This will be relayed through a Virtual Reality experience using gaming technology, with what looks like a line-up of avatars-turned-phone bidders.
Next month, Christie’s One “relay” sale on 10 July “takes place” (a loose concept now) in Hong Kong, Paris, London and New York over two hours. Perhaps this will be the new performance art as, Georgina Adam writes below, that art form is all but impossible in these distanced times.
And, as time means nothing anymore, the auction houses have stolen our summer holiday too, with Sotheby’s merrily announcing a mixed-category week of sales in London beginning 27 July, when tumbleweed traditionally rolls down Bond Street. Just as well holidays have retired for 2020.
Meanwhile, Patrick Drahi held his first press conference as Sotheby’s owner last week alongside his new chief executive Charlie Stewart. During the call he praised the auction house’s staff and especially the 75% who are female. Or, as Drahi referred to them, “Charlie’s Angels”.
And on that bombshell, goodbye!
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Anna Brady
Art market editor
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Margaret Carrigan
Deputy art market editor
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The insight
“Standing with black lives and in solidarity means dismantling the structures that perpetuate racial injustice and dehumanise us all.”
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Marie-Ann Yemsi, independent curator
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Opinion
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Georgina Adam
Editor-at-large, The Art Newspaper
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What sort of art will we want after the pandemic ends?
“Excessive, show-off luxury will go through a tough time and luxury will become much more casual.” So wrote the Financial Times in a recent supplement—not about art, but about watches. And yet these words could well apply to the art that people will want to see, buy and display after the Covid-19 crisis finally recedes or is defeated.
One (artistic) victim of these times is sure to be performance art, indeed as its high priestess Marina Abramovic told The Art Newspaper's Week in Art podcast: “Performance is not possible in this period of time, it needs direct contact with the audience; the performer and audiences complete the work, and with social distancing we can’t do that.”
So even if you buy the right to perform a piece, there will not be much point in having it, at least for now. Indeed, my sense is that any non-traditional art form will suffer: history tells us that after a massive shock such as we are living today, there is often a flight back to the tried-and-trusted, the “safe bets”. This is not good news for young unknowns, which collectors might well have had a punt on BC (Before Covid). Read more
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A message from our sponsor
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Will Art Basel and Frieze happen in the autumn? Both fairs sent letters to their exhibitors last week, scrapping their 1 June application deadlines. Frieze will make a decision about its October fair at the end of June while Art Basel may have another update at the end of this week (but nothing as of today, a spokeswoman says). Frieze is still planning to have some form of Frieze week in London, whatever happens.
Museum pieces heading to auction? Persuading vendors to sell is tough work at the moment, so auction houses must be hoping for plenty of post-lockdown divorces to fill their pretty skinny sales. But another recent announcement also pricked their ears: the Association of Art Museum Directors’ loosening of its rules on deaccessioning works from museum collections. Predictably, it’s not quite as simple as cash-strapped museums flogging off the contents of their store cupboards (here is a full explanation), but auction houses and dealers are certainly having conversations…
Art shipping and exports are slowly resuming. The US fine art shipping and logistics company Atelier4 has started up a limited shuttle service once again, all of which were filled with paused shipments, though varying state reopening plans continue to be a constant source of headache and confusion. And as of the end of May, Arts Council England has said it put in place a temporary digital and remote-working alternative to the paper-based export licensing process, in order to allow exporters to return to business “as quickly as possible”.
Hong Kong faces off against Beijing—again. After months of pro-democracy protests and lockdown, dealers in Hong Kong are now concerned that the new national security law imposed by Beijing could cause a clampdown on freedom of expression and lead to some Western galleries and events such as Art Basel to move out of the city if it is no longer separate from Mainland China's influence. It's also unclear whether the law, which is still being drafted and is expected to be completed this summer, could be imposed retrospectively on previous actions.
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Art for a good cause
The Los Angeles artist and activist Nikkolas Smith, whose digital portrait of George Floyd wearing a suit has gone viral in recent days—thanks to re-posts by Michele Obama and the Black Lives Matter group—is one of a number of artists drawing awareness to pro-black and anti-racist causes via social media. Posting Floyd’s portrait on 29 May, Smith described police officer Derek Chauvin’s arrest as “not justice” adding that his conviction “will only be a fraction of justice”. Smith continues: “Black lives in this country are being destroyed by a virus of racism, fear, and hatred. It is up to everyone to take a stand and actively work to tear down this centuries-old pandemic. NOW.”
Other artists calling for donations to funds such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the George Floyd Memorial Fund include Andrew Dat Tran, who has painted a group of people lifting a giant knee off a man lying face first on the ground. Meanwhile, Addie Wagenknecht is offering to send one of her prints depicting the US protests to anyone who donates more than $200 to Black Lives Matter or other organisations dedicated to people of colour, trans people, bail funds and #vote2020.
Anny Shaw
Contributing editor (art market)
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About our sponsor
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Its decision-making processes are asset based, not cash flow based, and funding can be completed within three weeks under most circumstances.
Artemus is located in New York but its services are offered globally to virtually all parties seeking art collateral based financing.
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About us
Art Market Eye is a monthly newsletter delivering commentary, insights and analysis from our market experts. It is written by Georgina Adam (geor...@georginaadam.co.uk), Anna Brady (a.b...@theartnewspaper.com), Margaret Carrigan (m.car...@theartnewspaper.com) and Anny Shaw (a.s...@theartnewspaper.com). It is edited and devised by Julia Michalska (j.mic...@theartnewspaper.com). Please email us with any market news, comments or typos!
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