How Do We Assess Contemporary Art?

#237 22 february 2016

How do we assess contemporary art?

Mesk-ellil (2015) Hicham Berrada

Courtesy of Kamel Mennour and Biennale de Lyon 2015 © Blaise Adilon  #237 • 22 february 2016 table of contents

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How do we assess contemporary art? top stories

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gaLle- musEUMS thomas bernard ries

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fondation data hippocrène artists léon spilliaert

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auctions fairs and festivals

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n a novel retracing the life of Van Gogh’s post- man Joseph Roulin (La vie de Jospeh Roulin), writer Pierre Michon raises a question that has probably crossed the minds of all art lovers: “Who decides what’s beautiful and, on Ithis basis, what’s expensive or worth nothing among humans?” The question of a work’s value is continually raised, and may sometimes be accompanied by bafflement — a feeling to which even experts may be prone. So then: how is it that contemporary art is assessed? Who are the players who take part in this game of meaning, that sometimes resembles a game of fools? Eva- luating an artwork means placing a value upon it. An aesthetic value, implicitly, but values are a porous field where different horizons mix, in a monumental and plural edifice that we custo- marily call “culture”. So who is responsible for us scrutinising a Jeff Koons sculpture or Henri Dar- ger drawings?

Museo Soumaya Carlos Slim's private museum

Courtesy of Museo Soumaya  #237 • 22 february 2016 Aotw • How do we assess cont. art?

As ingenious or inspiring as the works of the past may be, they belong to a world that is no longer ours. It is up to artists to continue to create new forms for our present time. In L’Atelier d’Alberto Giacometti, Jean Genet writes that an artwork is not aimed at future generations, but rather, “it is offered up to the countless people of the dead”. When an artist invents a new form, it is almost always a homage to the past that manifests the necessity to update the way we perceive and think about the world. For example, when Kader Attia explored the theme of repair at the last Biennale de Lyon, in Traditional Repair, Immaterial Injury (2015), we encountered a form that translates, into matter and signs, certain elements in our societies where the issue of repair is backed up by a nostalgic feeling of loss. Many observers agree to say that we are in the midst of a crisis, in other words, a period Biwat Flute Stopper Yuat River of mutation, deep and violent questioning of Papua New-Guinea our societies. A break with the past, especially when the past is close, is the object of grief — © Sotheby's Art Digital Studio a loss that must at all costs be compensated For American sociologist Howard Becker, the and repaired. The work of Kader Attia is in line art world is a "collective action" (Art Worlds, with this perspective and gives us, through 1982). Evaluation is based on several criteria — what can be perceived, keys for deepening our not merely formal ones — and can be divided understanding of our situation as Europeans into various temporalities at which different and Westerners. There is something necessary players intervene. And yet, the process is not so about this form and it speaks to “us” even when transparent in the eyes of the public in a broad we turn our backs on it. sense. Perhaps this is because the evaluation process is not as rigid as one might think, but The three stages of recognition based instead on a fragile balance, subject During a conference held at the Collège de to ongoing reconfigurations. It seems quite France, “Évaluer l'art contemporain”, Philippe obvious that the reality is somewhere between Dagen suggested distinguishing between two extremes: the relativism of taste-based three stages in the process under analysis. judgments that amounts to implying that a Before an artist becomes an artist, many players work’s value is strictly subjective, and the idea are deployed in a relatively long temporality, that the work innately carries objective value. beyond the very short time occupied by the In the end, who should we hold responsible? market. Between the illusion of a whim underlying a judgment and the illusion of a work’s objective value, what is there left for us to understand how we evaluate contemporary art?

Aesthetic evaluation What criteria do we use to evaluate the art of our time? There is one crucial criterion in assessing a work, and that is the question of form and formal analysis. What we ask an artist to do is to invent new forms and new creative procedures. Since the imitation of what already exists lacks interest, invention — of new forms and new procedures — is a basic element by which to consider art history.

Inventing a new form comes from feeling the necessity to express a new situation in a form that corresponds to it. This new situation is that of our contemporary era; it may be personal as well as collective, with both often joining up if Traditional Repair, Immaterial Injury (2015) they are not inextricably linked. This is also the Kader Attia reason why it is necessary to renew the forms by which our world expresses, considers and Courtesy of the artist, Biennale de Lyon, Nagel Draxler and represents itself. Lehmann Maupin Gallery

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The first stage of the evaluation process is a the opposite can also be said to be true! critical one. Indeed, this is a selection process The process of recognition is thus two-way. that is set off — one that singles out, amongst Obviously, the Centre Pompidou could make all contemporary creations, those that deserve no claims of being a great modern-art museum to be shown. Works are firstly selected through without presenting the works of Jeff Koons, but the training of artists, in specialised schools. reciprocally, Jeff Koons is a major artist on the The profession is learned and transmitted while contemporary art scene in that he is part of this taking stock of its specificities. Of course, artistic museum’s collection. movements such as outsider art do not include this first stage, but this is not reason enough to Finally, the third stage of evaluation is played ignore them in the midst of all contemporary out at the time when art is received by the artistic creations. The work of an artist who media. At this stage, art is in the hands of graduates from art school is evaluated by his what Philippe Dagen calls a “collective social or her teachers but also by critics or gallerists operation” on which critical authority no longer or curators. This first stage of evaluation thus has any real influence. It is replaced by the ballet takes place under an authority recognised as of auction sales, the sparkling acquisitions of such by its institutional function. In this way, Walter Vanhaerents major collectors or else subject to the opinion this is a critical stage that consists in sorting of the public who do not necessarily take and selecting, detecting what may emerge © Karel Duerinckx aesthetics alone into account. Recently, debate as a new form. At this stage, the economic surrounding Anish Kapoor’s Dirty Corner in question is practically absent, or at least no Versailles clearly shows a shift in evaluation more than a than a thought at the back of the criteria, whereby ideologies contaminate the mind. Evaluation is expressed through support aesthetic experience at the risk of sometimes or reticence, but from the perspective of an overtaking it. authority figure. In contemporary art, it is not rare to see artists accompanying their work with Finally, a work’s monetary value is an evaluation discourse that also offers keys to its evaluation subject to great variability — as well as visibility. without clamping down the work’s meaning. The work’s objective quality and its formal After this first circle of critics has operated, it is description are swapped for a symbolic up to institutional networks to confirm this first exchange value; in other words, we give a work evaluation. This time, it is the gallerist-collector a meaning that applies for the time present and duo that takes over. that plays on the intersubjective mode. The symbolic chain is now at work. The second stage of evaluation consists in widening the public’s recognition. It is at this The issue of values and symbols point that an artist’s internationalisation comes The issue of a work’s symbolic value arises into play, through big international fairs such as during auction sales. Works become something Art Basel, the FIAC, Frieze, etc. but also public like brands, and to design them, we often institutions — the FRAC, kunsthallen, museums, Dirty Corner (2011) use metonymy. “It’s a Basquiat.” Descriptive art centres… — via their exhibition programming. Anish Kapoor evaluation gives way to prescriptive And while the museum legitimates the artist, © François Guillot evaluation.

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This prescriptive power is exercised by great art collectors, and in their trail, great museums, both private and public. When Budi Tek chooses to add to his collection a work by Adel Abdessemed, Anselm Kiefer or Maurizio Cattelan, this is a major mark of recognition for the work of these artists at the same time as a mark of the artist’s internationalisation. The same thing applies when Eli Broad, Steve Cohen, or François Pinault buy a work; the act itself causes the work’s value to be reconsidered, not merely on an economic level — even if the phenomenon remains much more complex as collectors don’t divulge all their acquisitions.

Risk-taking is therefore relatively moderate. Of course, these are still bets on the future, especially for French museums that cannot sell the works that they have purchased in that they belong to the country’s heritage. In such a system, it’s better not to make any mistakes.

As the evaluation of contemporary creation lacks the perspective of art history, it may be a prisoner of its time. It is like a snapshot taken at a specific moment, revealing the trend of the moment, the values of an era, that may sometimes overlook certain aspects. It also « Fernando Botero » The perspective of history sometimes happens that some creations are Würth's Collection Attempts to rationalise on the evaluation of so new that they take all their contemporaries contemporary art are perhaps vain. The issue of unawares, placing the present into such a deep Courtesy of Collection Würth values does not hinge on rationality alone. It is crisis that they will only reach the public later. accompanied by an element of imagination and Without the distance of art history, evaluation symbolism that makes the evaluation process is based on the laws of desire and the mimetic somewhat opaque. This is inevitable but all the attitude that this encourages; in other words a more significant as we lack perspective, and fashion effect which is sometimes very difficult history has not yet operated its selection. to shake off. What this also indicates is the fragility of the Art history shows us the extent to which our construction of meaning; an inherent fragility evaluation of contemporary art evolves, and that we need not regret, but can uphold in order Kar-a-sutra (2015) therefore how there is something contingent Hamilton Anthea to better evaluate our evaluation. It is normal about it. It shows us that our evaluation can be for us to overvalue art from our lifetime. Given reversible. Courtesy of Biennale de Lyon that this art’s meaning is not yet stabilised, © Blaise Adilon it is endowed with a patent symbolic reach that gives artworks the status of an object of positioning where rivalry can be played out. Meanwhile, old art is evaluated differently, with more perspective. This explains why speculation about its symbolic reach is less significant.

The mechanism of evaluating contemporary art is complex and multifaceted, offering a reflection of the spirit of the times. It is highly instructive to observe evolutions in how a work is received. Spectators are generally more conservative than artists or players on the art field. Thankfully, in most cases, it is still the work that has the last word. Evaluation is the fruit of various temporalities juxtaposing different players, and the work of the symbolic that links all of these. Evaluation is a fragile mechanism, requiring prudence and a certain humility. It is a continually renewed venture that has something contingent about it, but that ultimately applies with the firmness of a necessity associated with the present time.

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École des chartes’ official conference-dinners

Inaugural date : 18th of March 2016, 8 p.m. Bear : a Cultural History With Professor Michel Pastoureau

Leading institution specialized in historical sciences and preservation of cultural heritage, the École des chartes inaugurates in 2016 high level speakers conference-dinners. The first conference-dinner will take place at the Club de la chasse et de la nature at the Hôtel Guénégaud in Paris.

The first guest will be Michel Pastoureau, professor of Conference-dinner fees medieval history and author of numerous books on symbo- from 95 euros and upwards lic of colors and heraldic. He will give a lecture in French All greater amounts will contribute to the on Friday 18th of March 2016 on the following theme : creation of an endowment for a student scholarship. “Bear : a Cultural History” . Location The program of future conference-dinners will cover Hôtel de Guénégaud various topics like “Diamonds of the French monarchy”, Comité culturel du Club de la chasse “Women and landscapes in the 19th century”, “Could et de la nature animal become the future of human being ?”, “Animals, human and plants in Amazonia : a network of history”. 60, rue des Archives - 75003 Paris Contact École nationale des chartes Lifelong Learning Department 01 55 42 21 53 [email protected]

Registration http://www.enc-sorbonne.fr/fr/actualite/ ours-histoire-culturelle-michel-pastoureau Bernard Buffet February 19 L’AteLier March 4, 2016

Marseille, le Vallon des Auffes, 1957 - Oil on canvas

ONLiNe CAtALOGUe

134 New Bond Street, London W1S 2TF T +44 (0)207 491 2999 [email protected] operagallery.com  #237 • 22 february 2016 top stories

cultural war Exact replicas of Timbuktu mausoleums reconstructed hree years after the destruction of Timbuktu ding of the Koran and a collective prayer session, the mausoleums’ keys were Tmausoleums by Jihadists, Mali declares that it handed over to the families in charge of the sanctuaries. has regained possession of its sanctuaries, repro- The “City of 333 Saints” was occupied by Jihadists in 2012 before the latter duced identically and completed on 4 February. were dispelled by an international military operation initiated by France. The The replicas of these mausoleums were produced “Pearl of the Desert” nonetheless remains under threat because an attack car- thanks to the traditional knowhow of Timbuktu ma- ried out by presumed Jihadists took place in February this year, on the base of sons, using the remains of the original walls. After the UN Mission in Timbuktu. This attack caused the death of one soldier and “at a ritual sacrifice and ceremony including a full rea- least four terrorists” according to the Malian army.

project France launches two initiatives for developing artistic creation he city of Paris will be launching, on 1 April, “Les Toeuvres d'art investissent la rue” (Artworks in the Streets), financed by the 2014 participatory budget, envisaging the creation of a Street Art fresco for each arrondissement in the French capital. The artists selected for the project include Noe Two, Hopare, 2shy, Shaka, Marko93, Da Cruz, Psy- ckoze, Alex, Zenoy, Astro and Lazoo. This is not an isolated project. On a national level, on 16 December 2015, Fleur Pellerin, then Minis- ter of Culture and Communication, launched the “1 immeuble 1 oeuvre” (1 Building 1 Work) charter aimed at encouraging building developers to com- mission or acquire an artwork from an artist for all building construction or renovation programmes. Companies such as Accor, BNP and Vinci have signed the charter. According to the then minister, “over a thousand works will thus be created or acquired every year and exhibited in all French terri- tories”. This project was launched at the instigation of Laurent Dumas, CEO of the Emerige group.

nomination Audrey Azoulay named Minister of Culture by François Hollande rench president François Hollande has chosen Djingareyber Mosque, Timbuktu FAudrey Azoulay to take over the helm of the © Ka Tzetnik French Ministry of Culture and Communication, re- placing Fleur Pellerin. forgery Could Eric Spoutz have sold fakes? The former presidential culture counsellor is therefore new forgery affair rocking the world of art being given the opportunity to replace her previous may even affect the Smithsonian Institute in A supervising minister – a boon for the ex-number two Washington, D.C. at the Centre National du Cinéma (CNC) who main- The forger, Eric Ian Hornak Spoutz, who claims tains good relationships with the world of culture. to be the nephew of American artist Ian Hornak, Unlike her predecessor, Audrey Azoulay can claim is being accused of swindling, apparently having special knowledge about the creative world, na- sold a dozen fakes to trusting buyers in the last mely thanks to her training in film. This appoint- five years. While Spoutz seems to be a bona fide ment comes at a time when the Senate is exami- relative of the American artist, it wasn’t by using ning the Pellerin Bill on the “freedom of creation, this identity that he managed to cheat his clients. architecture and heritage”, aiming to establish and Indeed, Eric Spoutz used multiple pseudonyms Audrey Azoulay guarantee the freedom of creation and to update such as Robert Chad Smith, John Goodman or the protection of heritage.  James Sinclair to cover up his tracks. On his web via Gouvernement.fr site, Spoutz describes himself as “freelance museum exhibition curator, private art dealer”. In 2013, he apparently helped the Smithsonian Ins- titute to acquire several works by Eugene Alain Seguy and Franz Kline. But according to autho- rities, the Klines are fakes. A Danish web site suggests that Spoutz may even have started his swindling by selling Picasso, Kandinsky, Chagall or Matisse imitations before devoting himself to great American masters. This new forgery affair is shaking up the US art world after the Knoedler affair in New York. 

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ARt News At A GLANCe Free subscription at www.showonshow.com

this week: New YORk!

THE PLACE TO BE

THE ARMORY SHOW. 3 - 6 March 2016 PiERS 92 & 94, NEW YORK, NY, USA

As a leading international art fair and a New York institution, The Armory Show continues to evolve as the premier destination for discovering and acquiring modern and contemporary art in New York. Now in its 22nd year, The Armory Show remains a highly-anticipated event on the global arts calendar, connecting the world’s leading galleries with international collectors, curators and art professionals in the capital of the art world.

MUSEUM ExHIBITS

MARCEL BROOdTHAERS: A RETROSPECTiVE JUST OPENED The Museum of Modern Art. Until 15 May 2016.

VigéE LE BRUN. WOMAN ARTiST iN REVOLUTiONARY FRANCE JUST OPENED Metropolitan Museum of Art. Until 15 May 2016. WARHOL BY THE BOOK The Morgan Library & Museum. Until 15 May 2016.

ANRi SALA. ANSWER ME The New Museum. Until 10 April 2016.

gREATER NEW YORK FINAL DAyS MoMA PS1. Until 7 March 2016.

OTHEr FAIrS GALLEry ExHIBITS VOLTA | NEW YORK Pier 90. 2 - 6 March 2016. LUigi gHiRRi. THE iMPOSSiBLE LANdSCAPE Matthew Marks gallery. Until 30 April 2016. AdAA - THE ART SHOW Park Avenue Armory. 2 - 6 March 2016. LARRY BELL. FROM THE ‘60S Hauser & Wirth Uptown. Until 9 April 2016.

HENRiK OLESEN FINAL DAyS AUCTIONS galerie Buchholz. Until 5 March 2016. CONTEMPORARY CURATEd PERSONAL WORK - iRViNg PENN FINAL DAyS Sotheby’s. 3 March 2016. Pace gallery. Until 5 March 2016. FiRST OPEN: POST-WAR ANd CONTEMPORARY ART LiAM giLLiCK. PHANTOM STRUCTURES FINAL DAyS

. 1965. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. © 2015 Estate of Marcel Broodthaers/Artists of Broodthaers/Artists © 2015 Estate Marcel York. New Museum ofArt, The Modern 1965. blanche et table . Armoire Broodthaers. Marcel Armory Show. The for Chamorro of image courtesy Roberto Armory Show, The i mages: / Artists i nc. Arts, Visual for the Foundation Warhol Andy The © 2016 Pittsburgh, Museum, Warhol Andy The 1956]. ca. York, of [New (1928–1987) In the Bottom My Garden Warhol Andy Brussels. York/SABAM, New Rights Society (ARS), Foundation. i rving Penn The © 1967. San Francisco, of San Francisco), Workshop (A) (Dancers Bath The i rving Penn, York. New Emily Harvey Foundation, Collection 1979. SAMO© Graffiti. The Henry Flynt. York. New Rights Society (ARS), Christie’s. 4 March 2016. Casey Kaplan gallery. Until 19 March 2016.

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www.artdiners.com

Hervé Aaron Directeur de la galerie Didier Aaron, New York, Londres, Paris Président d’honneur du Salon du Dessin

Le Salon du Dessin : 25ᵉ édition L'Histoire d’une manifestation de renommée internationale

lundi 21 mars 2016, 20h 60 rue des Archives, F-75003 Paris, France 80 € par personne, réservation obligatoire.  #237 • 22 february 2016 museums

announcement The Serpentine Gallery reveals the architect of its 2016 architecture pavilion he Serpentine Gallery has announced that it has se- architects Yona Friedman, Asif Khan, Barkow Leibinger, and Kunlé Adeyemi have Tlected five architects this year — instead of the usual been commissioned to produce summerhouses. The latter are to be inspired one — for its yearly exhibition dedicated to architecture. from the classically styled Queen Caroline's Temple, constructed in 1734. But as is the case every year, the exhibition will be Co-director of the Serpentine Gallery Julia Peyton-Jones, made the following organised around the pavilion constructed in the declaration in what is her last year at the head of the institution: “After fifteen Kensington Gardens. For this new edition, the se- years, the pavilion program has expanded. It now comprises five structures, each lection has gone to architect Bjarke Ingels and his designed by an architect of international renown, aged between thirty-six and agency Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). At the same time, ninety-three.”

closure Closing of the Paris Pinacothèque t’s been official since 12 February: the Paris Pi- Inacothèque is closing its doors on Place de la Madeleine. The establishment, in receivership since the start of November, has encountered difficulties due to a variety of causes: tepid visitor rates in recent years, all the more affected by the attacks in Paris in 2015. The institution is nevertheless looking for new projects, and hopes to open two new sites in the next three to four years: one first site dedicated to contemporary art, the other to sculpture and tribal arts, on “economically more bearable” premises, declared the Pinacothèque’s president and founder Marc Restellini. The establishment is setting its sights overseas, namely in Asia and the Near East. The closure is more an “act of mana- gement” than a bankruptcy, reassures Marc Res- tellini, who offers a disturbing assessment of the situation in France to The Art Newspaper: “As a private museum, we provide a public service, but we face unfair competition compared to other museums that do not pay 10 % VAT on ticket sales or rent or insurance for works guaranteed by the State. There is work to be done in France on this issue of general interest. There should be more opportunities for setting up projects. The Fernando Cocchiarale project New edition of the Wikipedia EDIT- private realm contributes a great deal.” A-THON at the MoMA While the institution’s financial difficulties were he third edition of the Wikipedia EDIT-A-THON no secret, the news has still produced the effect Twill be taking place on 5 March, in hope that it of a small electric shock. The biggest jolt is the will achieve the same success as its previous edi- cancellation of the photo exhibition “Karl Lager- tions. It will be held at the Dorothy and Lewis B. feld, a Visual Journey”, initially scheduled to run Cullman Education and Research Building of the until 20 March, which thus closed on Monday at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in New York. 6 p.m. The EDIT-A-THON lasts one day and aims to create more Wikipedia pages dedicated to female ar- hr Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro tists and feminist artistic movements. During the has a new visual arts curator previous edition, over 330 articles were added to ccording to Artnexus, the Museu de Arte Wikipedia by 1,500 volunteers. This year, the edi- AModerna (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro has ap- tion will include discussions on child protection pointed a new visual arts curator: Fernando as well as tutorial sessions on publishing articles Cocchiarale. on Wikipedia. The edition is being organised in This philosophy and aesthetics professor at the partnership with the association Art + Feminism — Pontifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro with already a Wikipedia workshop scheduled at has also notched up over twenty years of tea- the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on 16 Fe- ching experience at the Visual Arts School in Par- bruary. que Lage. According to Art + Feminism, other similar events A former curator of the cultural programme “Ru- will be taking place in 2016, at nearly 100 sites in- mos: Itaú Cultural”, the curating career of Fernan- cluding the Tate Britain, the Los Angeles County do Cocchiarale is now taking a new turn.  Museum of Art, Yale University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporàneo in Mexico, and the Archives Na- tionales in Paris. 

 13 This document is for the exclusive use of Art Media Agency’s clients. Do not distribute. Subscribe for free. Thomas Bernard, the gamble to leave Bordeaux

he Galerie Thomas Bernard - Cortex Atlan- tico recently moved to Paris after earning its stripes in Bordeaux. This was the opportunity for Art Media Agency to ask Thomas Bernard about the prospects opened up by Tsuch a change and to hear his lucid, critical views on the art market.

Exhibition View "Franck Eon, Abstraction faite d'une conception plutôt magique de la situation."

Photo Rebecca Fanuele Courtesy of Galerie Thomas Bernard - Cortex Athletico  #237 • 22 february 2016 interview • thomas bernard

We could have kept our Bordeaux space as a la- boratory, a more alternative place. But for now, the priority is to develop our activity on the spot. There’s still so much work to do!

Have you kept your Bordeaux clientele? The Bordeaux clientele has never been very significant — but faithful. It’s the long experience of a gallery that’s important.

You know, it’s not often that people push open the door of a gallery by chance… Clients always know where they’re going, and this implies the establishment of mutual trust. It’s a matter of winning loyalty, accompanying certain buyers in their first choices, training new collectors. This is what we’ve done since 2003 in Bordeaux, where we initiated new collectors who now see with ex- perienced eyes.

You recently moved your Bordeaux gallery to Exhibition View Paris. Can you tell us what motivated this de- "Franck Eon, Abstraction faite The art market is a centrifuge system; it’s the cision? d'une conception plutôt magique edges that construct the core. And in this core, de la situation." The move took place in two stages. We arrived we find gallerists such as Taddeus Ropac or Al- mine Rech. Some of our clients are continuing to in Paris in 2013 as a branch of our Bordeaux Photo Rebecca Fanuele gallery. The idea was to arrive gently in Paris, to Courtesy of Galerie Thomas follow us to Paris. Here, we’ve gained in speed take the time to test, observe, take stock of this Bernard - Cortex Athletico what we’ve lost in comfort. In Bordeaux, galleries change and this new city. I don’t like rushing into are in the shadows; we can take risks and if we things, going too fast, and above all imposing fail, it’s no big deal. We can adopt an experimen- myself. We needed to take our time. In 2015, we tal approach. In Paris, it’s different. acquired this new space and we closed the Bor- deaux gallery for good. In Bordeaux everyone knew your gallery. In Paris, competition is fiercer. Why did you close the Bordeaux gallery? In Bordeaux, people would come about once a We’ve come to a more functional venue. The year. You had to be ready that day! The risk in gallery has four spaces: one for exhibitions, one Paris is not the same as in Bordeaux. That said, in Exhibition View for offices, a showroom, and a storage space. our profession, you need to always be ready to "Franck Eon, Abstraction faite welcome clients. To do so, you need to be avai- It’s also a warmer, more convivial, larger, more d'une conception plutôt magique comfortable place. de la situation." lable, to be generous. The gallery’s site should enable this. When we sell a work to the FIAC, Photo Rebecca Fanuele what do we represent? The packaging, and that’s Our initial experience revealed a few things. Courtesy of Galerie Thomas First – and perhaps it’s surprising for me to say Bernard - Cortex Athletico about it! so –, everything’s less expensive in Paris! I’m talking about the gallery’s structural costs. The professionals are very specialised – for example accountants or framers who work only with galleries – and this allows them to offer more attractive prices.

Above all, the professionals here have skills that are specifically adapted to our needs.

Secondly, inviting people to Paris is more prac- tical, especially when they come from overseas. If you bring over an Australian artist to Bordeaux, it’s very likely that he doesn’t even know where Bordeaux is… Finally, there are structures that allow us to exist. Bordeaux, like other cities outside of Paris, isn’t big enough for the market to have its own identity. The way in which the market is constructed depends on institutions taking things in control. In Bor- deaux, culture is in the hands of the municipa- lity. In Paris, we – the gallerists – are numerous enough to hold weight in the face of these institutional structures.

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What makes galleries different from mu- Internet platforms will never take the same place seums or fairs? or play the same role as physical galleries. In my opinion, the gallery is the place that has the most potential in the art world. It’s here that The gallerist’s role is to take care of the cura- we can manipulate works, think about them with torship of his own gallery. This is why fairs are so our hands – this is something that I understood different: the spaces there follow norms, they’re when I was an artist’s assistant. The gallery re- all identical. Generally, the riskier and more in- mains a central place. We’ve reached the end novative a gallery’s offer, the more original the of a consumption system and at the same time, stand’s furnishings. This is a sign of the times. The a certain idea of luxury. I’m not going to sing issue is to bring domesticity back to this type of the praises of slowness but things are gradually place. This is possible through more intimate sta- being relocated, recontextualised. ging, based on the model of curiosity cabinets for example. I’ve done a good deal of thinking thanks to the Thomas Bernard book by Yves Michaud, Le Nouveau luxe: expé- What are your future plans? riences, arrogance, authenticité. He questions © Florent Larronde - Same O I’m giving myself about three years to really get experience. And the gallery is the place of an settled in Paris. We’re young here, but not new. ultimate experience. When we ask Axel Dumas Next, the issue will be to find an exit path so that from Hermès what luxury is, his answer is, I find, we’re not exclusively Parisian. I’d like to look at extraordinary: luxury is what can be fixed... London, with the possibility of setting up connec- tions over there. Today, the market has been divided up, so it’s necessary to keep looking for new clients and I’m confident, I can rely on a great team and on ensure a high visibility coefficient for artists. the special relationships that we have with our When I see the photograph by Ai Weiwei on Exhibition View artists. We still have a lot of room for improve- which he reproduces the position of the Sy- "Franck Eon, Abstraction faite ment, but we don’t want to rush ahead. We’re ad- d'une conception plutôt magique rian child Aylan on the beach, I’m not afraid de la situation." vancing one step at a time, calmly. People have a of saying that I find that disgusting. This stems good opinion of our work. Our exhibitions have from intellectual misery. And yet, this artist has Photo Rebecca Fanuele followers, including students. Our Parisian clien- been constructed by a system capable of absor- Courtesy of Galerie Thomas  Bernard - Cortex Athletico tele will build up over time. bing and creating that.

As for fairs, I think that they’ve created an aesthetic of sparkle. A fair is a very concentrated unit of space-time. As a result, it keeps out a huge share of the field of art. Driven by the desire to be the world’s most beautiful fair, Art Basel can become deformed. Sure, it’s a magnificent fair, but I do not know what I can think about Unli- mited section with its 300-metre-long hangars.

It’s up to us to make things change in an institutional system where public money is short. But as soon as we call on private sponsorship, auto- matically the law of the strongest applies. Today in Versailles (and this is only an example), you need to get people in through the door, however you do it. We’ve gone from a best-efforts obligation to obligatory results.

Should local fairs be favoured over international fairs? The issue of proximity is far more complex than one might think. Paris and London are two cities that are geographically very close, but in reality they are very different. As a result, they are further away from one another might appear. London not only has another language, another currency and another culture, but above all it has another art market and history of art.

What are the challenges for a gallery today? The question of place is crucial – or in the process of rebecoming crucial.

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crisis The Brazilian art market crumbles due to economic crisis hile observers have praised its resistance in have melted by 30 %. At the Galeria Luisa Strina, the strategy is to look Wthe face of the country’s economic problems, overseas to boost activity (ARCOmadrid and The Armory Show). And yet, Brazil’s art market has now well and truly plumme- sales globally increased between 2014 and 2015, producing $67 million in ted into the crisis. 2015 as opposed to $34 million in 2014. The Galeria Nara Roesler opened The past year has not been a good one for the a showroom in New York on top of its two spaces in Sao Paulo and Rio de country, and many gallerists have come out with Janeiro. turnovers down by 50 %. If 2016 continues on Faced with this situation, gallerists reveal signs of concern about the country’s this note, it will be a disastrous year, announce economic situation: the Brazilian currency has lost almost a quarter of its va- commentators. The Galeria Millan, for example, lue compared to the dollar, unemployment is on the rise, the economy is one of Brazil’s oldest galleries, is losing 40 % of out of breath, and the government has acknowledged that it is undergoing its income while at the Galeria Fortes Vilaça, sales recession. expansion Lazarides: fundraising, development and e-commerce ccording to the Financial Times, galle- Ary owner Steve Lazarides has signed an agreement with wealthy Qatari investor Wissam Al-Mana. This financial contribution is expected to allow the gallery on Oxford Street (London) to move, and enable Steve Lazarides to develop on Internet. Last week, to mark the gallery’s 10th birthday, the exhibition “A Decade of Lazarides” opened to the public, comprising new creations by the most significant street artists including Jonathan Yeo, JR and Invader. Lazarides thus sends out a message to the whole of the art world, hinting at vengeance for this atypical figure in the gallery milieu. The gallerist makes the following declaration: "Firstly, no one can ever pronounce the name so we're changing it to LazInc. Secondly, we're moving to Mayfair. We've spent years working from a position of isolation, and now it's time to challenge the status quo from the inside. I can hear the shouts of 'Sell-out!' on the Internet from here. But find out opening A new space on the Lower East Steve Lazarides and Shepard what we have planned before you dish out any Side: Totah Fairey avid Totah is opening a new space, Totah, hate." © Shepard Fairey Don the Lower East Side, demonstrating the So is Street Art in full expansion? At the start of his deep-running trend of galleries settling in this relationship with Banksy, Lazarides would sell the New York district. artist’s screen prints for £25. In 2014, they were Obscene (2006) worth 10 or 100 times more. A sure way to keep Totah will be opening on 25 February at 183 Mel Bochner Stanton Street with an exhibition co-featuring growing, perhaps at the risk of somewhat losing  conceptual artist Mel Bochner and the master Courtesy of Totah one’s street cred. of Arte Povera Alighiero Boetti. The exhibition, called “Verba Volant Scripta Manent”, will tackle the whimsical theme of puns. The space will be dedicated to modern and contemporary art, with an aim to “acknowledge and channel the creative dialogue between the artist, their perception and their work through our platform.” 

opening Massimo De Carlo to open a new space in Milan in April ot on the heels of his January announcement Hof the opening of a third space in Hong Kong in March 2016, Massimo De Carlo is now opening a fourth space in Milan in April. For his second gallery in Milan, Massimo De Car- lo has chosen to set up in the Palazzo Belgioioso, in the city’s historic district. The inaugural exhibition programme has not yet been released, unlike that of the Hong Kong gallery that will be welcoming new works by Yan Pei- Ming. 

 17 This document is for the exclusive use of Art Media Agency’s clients. Do not distribute. Subscribe for free. Hippocrene, a blend of family and philanthropic values

aking over from her father as head of the Hippocrene Foundation (Paris) in 2006, Mi- chèle Guyot-Roze can be said to have in- herited the foundation’s genes: family and philanthropy. To celebrate her tenth year in Tthis position, Art Media Agency went to meet her.

Propos d’Europe 14 "Thoughts that breathe" Exhibition view

Photo Aurélie Cenno Courtesy of Fondation Hippocrène  #237 • 22 february 2016 interview • fondation hippocrène

Could you present the foundation to us? I mention our contemporary art initiatives but The Hippocrene Foundation is an independent, we need to bear in mind that these only repre- family-run public utility foundation. Our positio- sent 10 % of our activity, and only in the last fif- ning is very much European because our mis- teen years or so. sion is to create a real European citizenship. So this is why we support projects and set up How did this develop? partnerships in the wide-ranging domains of My father started organising contemporary art culture, education, humanitarian and social exhibitions in 2002. He wasn’t a collector in action. For example, in 2010 we launched the the way this term is understood today, but he Hippocrene Prize for Education about Europe, a owned a few works. Today, people are conside- competition organised in schools in partnership red collectors as long as they actively buy art. In with the French Ministry of Education. my father’s time, things were different: people would buy a decent number of works to hang What activities do you develop in contempo- Jean Guyot on walls. rary art? Courtesy of Fondation Hippocrène First of all, we organise one exhibition per year My father’s tastes tended towards modern art, since 2002 : Propos d’Europe. These exhibitions but thanks to the foundation, he was in contact aim to highlight the artistic scene of a country with young artists. He started buying works for and the richness of cultural diversity in Europe. the foundation, about once a year at first. I car- For example, in autumn and winter 2015, we ried on this project. Today, it’d be presumptuous held the exhibition “Thoughts That Breathe” in to declare that our foundation owns a contem- the framework of our “Propos d’Europe” pro- porary art collection – we only have around forty gramme, featuring artists Carol Bove, Martin works. Perhaps one day, but today we focus on Boyce, Bojan Sarcevic and Markus Schinwald — our core activity: spreading the arts throughout in partnership with the Haubrok foundation. Europe.

We also support many initiatives. We lend our How is the foundation organised? space to the association Les Pépinières Euro- Like any foundation of public utility, we have péennes that carries out many projects to do a board of directors - which I chair. I have two with young artists. We are letting them put on an vice-presidents, my sister and my nephew. Do- Propos d’Europe 14 exhibition here. In March 2015, we also allowed "Thoughts that breathe" rothée, my niece, is in charge of communication. collector Daniel Bosser to organise an exhibi- Exhibition view The board of directors includes one of my sons tion on Claude Rutault: “AMZ ou le soleil brille and one of my nephews. So our family commit- pour tout le monde”. Photo Aurélie Cenno Courtesy of Fondation Hippocrène ment is very strong.

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How are you financed? architecture, unlike Corbusier. It was thanks to We benefit from the fruit of our capital — which an exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2005 can cover both operating costs and the basis of that he came back to centre stage – we also held our action. But this alone is not enough for us to an exhibition at the foundation echoing the one finance ourselves. So we use family money with at the Centre Pompidou. gifts. Since 2011, we’ve set up the Circle of Hip- pocrene’s Friends that contributes to our activity. Why did you choose this site? In 1992, my father decided to set up a founda- Finally, we dedicate a limited budget to our tion. He started developing it without having operational fees. In this way, 75 % of our budget any special site. He ran it by himself, which in is devoted to grants. a way was quite modern. Today, there are many more family foundations – and perhaps even The building that you’ve occupied since 2001 more endowment funds, which have the advan- is the former agency of architect Robert Mal- tage of flexibility. let-Stevens. That’s right. Very surprisingly, when we bought In 2000, he was invited to visit the agency that it, hardly any mention was made of this “detail”. we currently occupy. He liked what he saw and Propos d’Europe 14 Renowned architects or artists can stay in the "Thoughts that breathe" things progressed very quickly after that. The shadows for a long time before being redisco- Exhibition view foundation developed and we needed pre- vered. In the case of Robert Mallet-Stevens, it’s mises. Today, this site allows us to keep the very clear that he was a poor relative of modern Photo Aurélie Cenno  Courtesy of Fondation Hippocrène foundation alive.

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prize Announcement of winners of the ICP InfinityA ward 2016 he International Center of Photography (ICP, graphy critic for The New York Times Magazine and Brian Sholis, curator at the TNew York) has announced the winners of its Infi- Cincinnati Art Museum. nity Awards. Prizes will be awarded in New York on David Bailey received a prize honouring his entire career from the board of 11 April. trustees and senior staff. Other prizes were awarded to Walid Raad in the “art” This year, the different Infinity Awards have been category, Matthew Connors in the “artist’s book” category for his Fire in Cairo, attributed by a committee including Charlotte Cot- Jonathan Harris and Gregor Hochmuth in the category of "online platform/ ton, curator in residence and director of the new new media", Zanele Muholi for "documentary and photojournalism", and Su- ICP's space program, as well as Teju Cole, photo- san Schuppli for "critical writing and research". 

exhibition The Collège des Bernardins to host the exhibition “Solitaire”, giving carte blanche to Stephane Thidet he exhibition “Solitaire” can be seen from 1 TApril to 10 July 2016 in the former Sacristy of the Collège des Bernardins (Paris), in association with the Rubis Mécénat Cultural Fund. For this exhibition, the institution is according carte blanche to Stéphane Thidet, the third guest in the residence programme initiated by curator Gaël Charbeau. Stéphane Thidet’s work is characterised by reflection on the perception of time and the aura specific to each material. In the former Sacristy at the Bernardins site, the artist will be offering a metamorphosis of this space that is blatantly loaded with history and symbolism. An installa- tion has been designed by the artist, associating a “drawing machine” with the “bachelor machine” model invented by Michel Carrouges, performing a “liquid, mineral and solitary choreography”. We’ve previously had the chance to see an ins- tallation by Stéphane Thidet at the “Inside” exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo: his “refuge”, a small contestation A group of Croat artists Le Refuge (2007) wooden cabin inside which torrential rain fell demands the resignation of the Minister of Stéphane Thidet continually. Culture © Stéphane Thidet ulturnjaci 2016, a group of Croat artists, has death Death of David Weinrib (1924-2016) Klaunched a protest campaign against the Mi- culptor and multimedia artist David Weinrib nister of Culture, historian Zlatko Hasanbegovic. Shas died. In a press release whose virulence recalls cer- Recognised in the 1960s for his abstract sculp- tain Surrealist tracts from the 1920s, the artists tures, David Weinrib worked with different me- consider the minister incompetent in the culture dia, namely sculptures from resin moulds. His domain, and assert that some of his decisions more recent work has consisted in cut-outs of pa- flirt with fascism. per forms, 3-D acrylic collages and nude self-por- A few choice morsels: “We, the cultural workers traits. He taught at Pratt University for over twenty signed below, believe that we are witnessing years, and set up the Clinton Hill sculpture gar- the threatening and humiliation of the field of den at Pratt University in 1999, showing nearly 50 culture by the decision of the new Croatian Go- works per year.  vernment to appoint Zlatko Hasanbegović who, on top of being entirely incompetent in the ma- nagement of cultural institutions, local and international collaborations as well as the use of the European cultural funds, holds completely unacceptable reactionary ideological positions. “We believe that culture has to be defended from all ideologies that champion bigotry, nar- row-mindedness, revisionism and nationalist concepts of cultural politics and production. A culture robbed of humanist principles and rolled in the mud of dictatorship no longer re- La Crue (2010) presents freedom but is only a medium for poli- Stéphane Thidet  tical pragmatism.” ©Stéphane Thidet

 21 This document is for the exclusive use of Art Media Agency’s clients. Do not distribute. Subscribe for free. Léon spilliaert

éon Spilliaert (1881-1946) is a Belgian Symbolist artist, renowned for his melancholic watercolours, gouaches and pastels, characterised by wide empty spaces and an ingenious use of chiaroscuro. Léon Spilliaert was born in Ostende (Belgium) on L28 July 1881. He was the son of a perfumer whose clients included King Leopold II. His childhood was happy until he started school. His letters reveal the following: “I keep a wonderful memory of my childhood until the day I was sent to school. From that point, my soul was stolen and I never again found it. This painful search is the full story of my painting.” Between 1899 and 1900, Léon Spilliaert had a short stint at the Bruges Academy of Fine Arts. He signed his first drawing in 1899. However, he was essentially self-taught, namely from his time in Ostende. In 1902, the Brussels publisher Deman hired Léon Spilliaert as a salesman and public relations manager. He worked in this capacity only briefly, preferring to continue his artistic learning. In 1904, he painted his well-known Self-Portrait with Masks. Still in 1904, Léon Spilliaert met Émile Verhaeren for the first time, in Saint-Cloud. The meeting was life-changing. Léon Spilliaert was born twenty years after the main Symbolists, but he followed in their footsteps and perpetuated the movement in the early 20th century. He read Nietzsche and Lautréamont. He also attended Symbolist salons alongside Maurice Maeterlinck and even Émile Verhaeren. He also became close to James Ensor. During this period, Léon Spilliaert painted a great deal, mainly in Ostende. He drew inspiration from long nocturnal strolls, for example by the sea. Between the age of 26 and 27, he created a series of nocturnal self-portraits, lit by moon or artificially, showing plays on light to advantage. In 1908, Stefan Zweig bought four of his works and gave him a letter of introduction addressed to Hugo Heller. In 1909, he exhibited his works for the first time, at the Salon de Printemps, in Brussels. Then came the war. In 1915, Léon Spilliaert met Rachel Ver- gison, and the two married in December 1916. For good reason, because in the same year, the artist was called up to join the Civil Guard. This contact with the war plunged him into violent fits of anguish. In 1917, the couple settled near Brussels and their daughter Madeleine Spilliaert was born. The new father changed his artistic practice. His pa- lette opened up to more colours, and Léon Spilliaert tried his hand at painting. As of 1922, the couple returned to Ostende where he stayed until 1935. Léon Spilliaert devoted himself to marine art, a genre that he handled in a quasi-abstract manner. He and Rachel Vergison would live their final years near Brus- sels. The artist died from an angina pectoris attack in 1946.

Digue de mer, Ostende, reflets de lumière (1908) Léon Spilliaert  #237 • 22 february 2016 Data • léon spilliaert Art Analytics

Léon Spilliaert earned very little institutional recog- was 60 years since the artist’s death and two major nition even if museums have hosted 81 % of the ex- retrospectives were organised: “Spilliaert” in 2006 hibitions dedicated to him. His work continues to at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium (Brus- be little shown to the public – an average of barely sels) and “Léon Spilliaert – Autoportraits” in 2007 at two exhibitions per year since 2000. Between 1998 the Musée d´Orsay (Paris). and 2015, only a handful of personal exhibitions were dedicated to him. Evolution of the number of The work of Léon Spilliaert is found in several emi- exhibitions by type nent public collections including those of the Mu- Only 2006 and 2007 stood out, with eight exhibi- sée d’Orsay or the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Evolution of the number of Belgium. tions in the space of a few months. The reason? It exhibitions by type of venue

0 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 group shows solo shows

0 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 gallery museum biennials other

Autoportrait, 2 novembre 1908 (detail)(1908)

Léon Spilliaert

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Owing to his nationality, it is in Belgium that Léon Léon Spilliaert has most often been exhibited Spilliaert has been exhibited the most. Belgium has alongside Belgian Symbolist painters Maurice hosted 38 % of his exhibitions, followed by France, Maeterlinck and Émile Verhaeren. the artist’s second home, with 17 % of his exhibitions. The Mu.ZEE (Ostende) has hosted five exhi- Evolution of the number of bitions featuring Léon Spilliaert. exhibitions by country

0 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 Belgium other

5 % 10 % 17 % 33 % 38 %

12 % 81 % 83 % 17 % Distribution by venue type

Distribution by exhibition type gallery museum group shows Belgium France Distribution by country events other solo shows Italy other

In terms of media, coverage of Léon Spilliaert leapt the most number of articles about him have been up between 2006 and 2008. This was a logical con- published (respectively 40.7 and 40.4 % of his sequence of the major exhibitions (two retrospec- media coverage). The most prolific journalists tives at the Musée d’Orsay and the Royal Museums writing about him have been Éric Rinckhout (De of Fine Arts of Belgium) devoted him on the 60th Morgen), Guy Gilsoul (Le Vif / L’Express), Ger- anniversary of his death. rit van den Hoven (Brabants Dagblad) and Suzy Evolution of the number of Dutch and French are the two languages in which articles about Léon Spilliaert Menkes (Vogue).

200

150

100

0 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

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At auctions, the works of Léon Spilliaert have sold a watercolour, The Absinthe Drinker (1907) yielded $18.4 million in 856 lots, in other words for $440,800. The artist’s third-best auction sale an average price of $21,476 per lot placed on was also concluded at Sotheby’s Paris, in June sale and $13,980 per lot sold. The artist’s unsold 2013, with Dike, Ostende, Light Reflects (1908), rate is high (33 %) – a phenomenon that has in- sold for $392,430. tensified since the start of the 2000s (an average of 42 % over the period 2000 - 2015). In 2003, Unsurprisingly, the artist’s drawings and waterco- out of 39 lots placed on sale, 24 were withdrawn lours are his most sought-after works. His most from sale. lucrative period is the intense creative phase taking place between 1906 and 1910, a time at The record price for a work by Léon Spilliaert which Léon Spilliaert was violently distressed sold on auction was reached by De Vuyst in Loke- and deeply nourished by Symbolist ideas. The Distribution of lots by ren (Belgium) in October 2015, with Self-Portrait, medium and revenue self-portraits produced over this period include 3 November 1908 (1908), going for $665,100. A his most famous ones — those that are the most few months earlier, in June 2015, Sotheby’s Paris Distribution of lots by in demand. country and revenue

5 % 6 % 6 % 8 % 9 % 17 % 11 % 51 % 20 % 72 % 87 % 93 % 11 %

Drawing Multiples Painting Belgium T e Netherlands France United Kingdom other

Rate of sold lots vs. bought-ins 22 % 23 % Distribution of lots and revenue 30 % by auction house 33 % 33 %

12 % 67 % 24 % 10 % 18 % 10 % 20 %

sold bought in De Vuyst Campo Christie’s Sotheby’s other

Evolution of unsold rate

100 %

75 %

50 %

25 %

0 % 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 sold bought in

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Evolution of the 80 number of lots

0 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

Evolution of the $60k average value per lot

$40k

$20k

$0 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

Evolution of $3m the yearly turnover $2m

$1m

$0 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015

> $100k Turnover and number of lots 21 by price range $50-100k 35 $20-50k 84 $10-20k 163 $5-10k 167 < $5k 259 $0 $1m $2m $3m $4m $5m

> $100k Rate of unsold lots by estimates range $50-100k $20-50k $10-20k $5-10k < $5k 0 % 25 % 50 % 75 % 100 %

sold bought in

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De Vuyst 46 % 34 % 21 %

Campo 21 % 39 % 40 % 26 % 41 % 33 % Christie’s 24 % 40 % 36 %

Sotheby’s 18 % 61 % 21 %

Percentage of works sold Percentage of works sold below, within, below, within, and above estimates and above estimates per auction house

Léon Spilliaert‘s popularity is stable. Could the significant unsold rate of the artist’s works at auctions cause auction houses to undervalue him? 33 % of his works have sold over their high estimates. Only the auction De Vuyst seems to slightly overvalue Léon Spilliaert (46 % of lots sold below their low estimates). Number of lots presented, and sales figures by year of creation

80 $2m

60 $1.5m

40 $1m

20 $0.5m

0 $0 1900 1903 1906 1909 1912 1915 1918 1921 1924 1927 1930 1933 1936 1939 1942 1945 lots turnover

At the moment, Léon Spilliaert’s works are visible at the Museum Kranenburgh Auctions results in Bergen (Norway), at the exhibition “Silence out loud”, open until 12 June from Artprice.com 2016. 

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hr Melanie Clore, chairman of Sotheby's Europe, steps down elanie Clore, chairman of Sotheby's Europe Art in 2000, and chairman of the Europe zone in 2011. Her trajectory Mand worldwide co-chairman of Impressio- led her to become the first woman auctioneer to take charge of a sale nist and Modern Art, is leaving Sotheby’s after in 2000 and to be appointed as trustee of the Tate Gallery by Tony Blair 35 years with the auction house. in 2004. tHer career began in 1981 as an intern. She Her departure is possibly prompted by a voluntary redundancy plan in then climbed up the ranks until she became place at Sotheby's since the end of 2015, instigated by Tad Smith. An alle- vice-chairman of the Impressionist and Modern gation that Melanie Clore refuses to confirm.

results 2016, a good year for Rodin in auction rooms? n 16 February 2016, at Drouot (Paris), auc- Otioneers Binoche et Giquello dispersed around fifteen lots from the collection of former gallerist Jean de Ruaz. The collection namely included five Rodin bronzes. An American buyer acquired the sale’s two major lots: a Baiser “the size of a door”, cast by Alexis Rudier, going for €2.2 million, expenses included, Meuble de collectionneur (circa 1937) and L'Éternel Printemps, cast between 1935 and Eugène Printz 1945 by Alexis Rudier, for €693,000. Out of the five Rodin lots, four sold for over their high esti- Hebey's Collection mates. The sale also featured furniture pieces by © Artcurial Paul Iribe, including a Fauteuil Nautile, estimated results Shower of records for Artcurial “Ur- as being worth between €100,000 and 120,000, ban Art” sales purchased by a buyer from the Middle East for he “Urban Art” sale on 14 February 2015 in Pa- €226,800, expenses included. Tris was marked by a shower of records, adjudi- These pleasing results are not just one-offs. On cated by the licensed auctioneer Artcurial. 3 February 2016, Sotheby's sold Iris, Messagère 600 collectors and urban-art lovers gathered for des Dieux in London for £11.6 million, expenses the occasion. The sale raised a total of $1,567,050 included (€15.3 million) — a record for a Rodin (€1,386,770) with 82% of lots sold. A new world work and one of the two last bronzes cast during record was set for a work by artist Speedy Graphi- the artist’s life to still be on the market. Then on to, Captain Spray, selling for €37,700 ($42,601). 4 February, it was Bonhams that sold a version of Ditto for Toxic’s Ach, selling at $29,380. Ten other L'Éternel Printemps, cast between 1905 and 1907 records were set for artists in this category. by caster Barbedienne, for £938,500 (€1.21 mil- Director of the Urban Art department of Artcu- lion).  rial, Arnaud Oliveux, expressed his satisfaction with this success: “This tenth session on urban art was a lively celebration of this movement, today recognised internationally. There is wide interest in historic graffiti as well as in the contemporary scene. The new records set this evening confirm Artcurial as a reference spot for urban art.” 

announcement Sale of Pierre Hebey’s collection at Artcurial rtcurial is organising, on 22 and 23 February A2016, a sale called “Le regard de Pierre Hebey - Les Passions modérées”. The sale is divided into four chapters: decora- tive arts, books and manuscripts, modern and contemporary paintings, and French 19th century bronzes. The collection is estimated at being worth between 6 and 8 million dollars. Pierre Hebey, a former lawyer specialising in intellectual pro- perty, defended many artists with whom he became close, including Max Ernst, Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Bram Van Velde, Chagall and Alechinsky. As of the 2000s, Pierre Hebey devoted himself to writing. This sale, offering around sixty works for sale, will Carouge (1967) also be the opportunity to retrace the itinerary of Bram van Velde this atypical collector and his collection gathered Hebey's Collection th  via his contact with major 20 century artists. © Artcurial

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announcement Reed Expositions announces the end of Paris Photo Los Angeles and renounces setting up the FIAC in LA he Paris Photo Los Angeles fair, initially sche- Compain, head of the culture, luxury and entertainment division at Reed Expo- Tduled to run from 29 April to 1 May 2016, has sitions France, by the “lack of the market’s maturity” that fails to offer adequate been cancelled despite the popular success of its guarantees for exhibitors. He nonetheless reassures that alternatives are being previous editions. The project to set up the FIAC in explored for the international development of Reed Expositions’ fairs. Los Angeles has also been abandoned. Paris Photo will be taking place from 10 to 13 November this year at the Grand This withdrawal has been explained by Jean-Daniel Palais, and will be celebrating its 20th edition. 

announcement The Contemporary Afri- can Art Fair 1:54 unveils its list of exhibitors or its second year in America, the fair 1:54 Fwill be taking place in New York. It will be gathering 70 galleries, 25 countries, and a selection of works by sixty or so artists including Derrick Adam, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Edson Chagas, William Kentridge, Otobong Nkanga and Billie Zangewa. The fair will be opening at the Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn from 6 to 8 May. The countries represented include Angola, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Fair director Touria El Glaoui said the following: “The energy, interest, and overall success of the inaugural US fair in 2015 has led us to return this th birthday ArteBA celebrates its 25 anni- Pàtric Marin May in hopes of broadening our reach and ex- versary in 2016 panding the art world's knowledge of Africa and o mark its 25th birthday, the arteBA fair (Bue- Courtesy of Festival the ever-evolving African art market.”  Circulation(s) Tnos Aires) will be held at La Rural convention centre, from 19 to 22 May 2016. In the context of the Dixit section, we will be (re) discovering three winners of the Young Cura- tors section — Federico Baeza, Lara Marmor and Sebastián Vidal Mackinson — who will be putting forward a curatorial project covering the last 25 years in Argentinean artistic creation. This year, the selection committee will include Mercedes Casanegra (curator), Orly Benzacar (director of the gallery Ruth Benzacar), Eduar- do Brandão (director of the gallery Vermelho), Ignacio Liprandi (director of Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo) and Sabine Schmidt (director of PSM).

incoming The European festival Circu- lation(s), for young photography, from 26 March to 26 June 2016 he Circulation(s) festival will be taking place Tat the Centquatre in Paris, from 26 March to 26 June 2016, in the presence of Agnès b., god- mother of the 2016 edition. Circulation(s), a European festival for young photography is back for the sixth consecutive year for a three-month duration. The festival’s ambition is to promote the emergence of young photography artists while offering a series of cross perspectives on Europe today. The programming will draw together a guest jury, gallery and school, as well as a child-high section, “Little Circulation(s)” including a series of activities for young attendees. The exhibition will gather some 51 European Camille Sonally photographers, with the hope of reproducing  Courtesy of Festival the success of the 2015 edition. Circulation(s)

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