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ART BASEL/MIAMI BEACH DAILY NEWSPAPER

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UMBERTO ALLEMANDI & CO. PUBLISHING EVENTS, POLITICS AND ECONOMICS - SPECIAL EDITION SUNDAY 5 DECEMBER 2004

The art market Speculators enter the scene again Young financiers want to build a diversified portfolio

MIAMI BEACH. From the Christian Holstad, Dana home to Assume Vivid Astro early to mid-30s, with buck- in the middle between real money and it’s not a healthy standpoint of a gallery, the Schutz, Robyn O’Neil and Focus and Matthew Greene, ets of money from venture- collectors and these hedge- thing for the art world, but fundamental purpose of a fair Hernan Bas, collectors were two of the market’s newest capitalism deals or Wall fund guys.” they’re not really competition is to generate new collectors. jostling each other to get shining stars. And newness is Street bonuses,” says one Often, such old-school col- for me. They have no idea Yet not all new collectors are work and scurrying from a critical attribute. prominent advisor. “They lectors regard the new arrivals who Ugo Schmolz or Adolf equal: disposable income Lozzi are.” (Nor does this Art matters very much, obvious- Newspaper writer, but assum- ly, but the attitude toward art ing they actually exist, their buying can also vary enor- market value jumped the mously, and at the moment Queenie psychedelia moment the preceding sen- there is a sharp financial tence was printed.) focus to the buying at high “When you go around to end fairs. booths, you hear people ask- “I’ve never seen so many ing how soon a work will people who are clearly spec- appreciate by 30%, says vet- ulating,” says one LA dealer eran US collector Mickey showing at Art Basel/Miami Cartin. “Often an invest- Beach. “Whenever the name ment advisor is telling them of one of my artists starts to put 10% of their portfolio arousing some buzz, collec- into art.” tors begin calling me up and Yet Mr Petterson thinks it demanding anything avail- facile to blame it all on the able. It doesn’t really matter finance types: “It’s wrong to what the work itself is.” think that financial specula- The phenomenon is tors are some kind of ‘exter- fuelled by the market track nal’ force that has suddenly records of artists relatively arrived. This speculative unknown a few years ago. behaviour is also fuelled by collector Michael the art dealers themselves”. Hort, for example, was And to the extent that dealers reportedly offered half a mil- are encouraging such specu- lion dollars for a painting by lation, by implying that some Kai Althoff that he bought at artists will offer profits down $10,000 several years ago. the road, they may be slowly Similarly market stoking, slicing their own throats. Marcel Dzama, Wilhelm “Art may be treated as a kind Sasnal and Tal R drew strong of currency,” points out Mr bidding at New York’s Cartin. “But it’s not like November auctions. Sasnal gold, and the first people to in particular soared—esti- exit the market will be those mated at $20,000-30,000, in it for the wrong reasons.” one painting reached $62,000 Fearing the financial at Phillips de Pury, reflecting exposure such an exit would the near impossibility of trigger, many galleries fight securing his work on the pri- Photo: Paul Massey back against speculation by mary market. For his recent Drag on stilts in the Dearraindrop performance, “Riddle of the Sphinx”, sponsored by Deitch Projects engaging in a sort of cooper- show at Zurich’s Hauser & in the Collins Building at the Miami Design District party last night ative intelligence service. Wirth, comprised of seven “We keep a list of people paintings and three sculp- who buy with other motives, tures, the gallery had more which we pull together by than 100 offers from eager booth to booth, making the Anders Petterson, founder want to build a diversified with a certain disdain. “These talking with other galleries to clients. scene reminiscent of some of of London’s ArtTactic art- portfolio but they don’t have people are not of the same ilk figure out which collectors Mr Wirth uses a simple the notoriously competitive market specialists, whose any sort of art knowledge.” as collectors like me,” says resell work and how they test to do the initial selecting: action at the Barney’s sample offerings includes analyst- Another advisor, equally Miami’s Martin Margulies. handle it,” says Zach Feuer “When collectors ask about sales in New York. “One col- report-style evaluations of prominent, says the specula- “They’re only interested in of CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 the artist by name without lector explained to me that he the market for various artists, tive frenzy has queered discussing the piece itself, sees the works of art in says, “There is a sense of things for his more serious Anti-speculation basket case that’s a reason to stop talk- NADA as high-risk invest- market euphoria, where collectors. “It means they ing,” he explains. “Those are ments,” says Marisa everything labelled “young have to do a lot more work in On sale at the NADA fair with the not-for-profit Momento not real collectors; they’re Newman of Suite 106 gallery art” seems to be selling, building their collections,” Gallery of is a basket in the form of a traditional private dealers building up in New York, sounding mild- regardless of the risks he explains. “There’s much Navajo weaving by Jed Ela. The piece is made with rolled up inventory.” ly shocked at the bluntness. attached.” more hysteria about access $100 notes and is tagged at $10,152, which represents the value Many of those seeking the “But he said if you buy 10 Not surprisingly, many of and suddenly people are of currency used (it helps that Ela is a member of the Oscar next Althoff or Sasnal in of these artists, one will the people approaching the being forced to make instant Meyer family, bacon and hot-dog kings in the US, although he Miami headed off to the Ice take off.” artworld from a return-on- decisions about whether par- likes to underplay this). If sold, the buyer will have to sign a Palace Studios, home of the Similarly, the action at Art investment perspective hail ticular works fit their collec- fussy six-page contract drawn up by lawyers to ensure he or she New Art Dealers Alliance Positions, aka the beach- from the halls of high tion, because they’re com- can never sell it or exchange it in any way for more than that (NADA) fair. Especially at front containers anchored at finance. peting with speculators who sum. “The artist doesn’t make any money, we don’t make any booths offering work by Collins Park, has been hot “These new market play- just want anything with the money and the buyer won’t make any money. It was important anointed stars such as and heavy, especially at the ers you see running around right name. The galleries and to us to bring this piece to a commercial fair as a commentary Assume Vivid Astro Focus, booth of Peres Projects, the fairs are usually in their consultants are getting stuck on art speculation,” said Michael Wall, gallery director. THIS DAILY NEWSPAPER IS ALSO ONLINE AT WWW.THEARTNEWSPAPER.COM

THE ARMORY IN NEW YORK. AUCTIONS IN LONDON. BE THERE. HASSLE-FFREE. ® ART BASEL/MIAMI BEACH DAILY NEWSPAPER • SUNDAY 5 DECEMBER 2004 THE ART NEWSPAPER • 5

Fair review: NADA “Please form an orderly queue” The fair was mobbed and the spirit of cooperation Norman Braman made his between dealers worked well

fortune in motor cars he prognosis was always good, but immediately on the first day–including to this year the response to the NADA gallerist-collector Yvonne Force who TFair has surpassed all expectations bought one of each. However, in face of and has put together with the scrum accompanying the opening keen interest from Jay Jopling, who turned brunch described by one weary collector as up just too late to make an initial purchase, being more like a sample sale than an art the artist has apparently agreed to make the one of the greatest collections fair. And the momentum has continued, famously persuasive gallerist his own per- with smiles from every stand on NADA’s sonal version. penultimate day as collectors still flooded Certainly, some complimentary simulta- of classic American art in to snap up the newest of the new. neous exposure in one of Miami’s top col- “Last year’s fair was awesome, but this lections is always a good thing for a young time we have sold more on the first day artist, as can be confirmed by the meteoric in private hands. than we did in the entire week last year,” success of Miami artist Cristina Lei declares Jessica Murray of Jessica Murray Rodriguez. One of her glittery floral sculp- Projects, who has had a particularly keen tures in plastic and resin can currently be Where does it go now? response to a striking duo of videos by viewed in the newly opened sculpture gar- Chris Doyle, entitled Hotel Bernini 1 and 2 den at the Rubell Family Collection, with (each in an edition of six, $6,000). the result that there is now a huge waiting NADA newcomer Paul Hedge of list for the three other examples of her work London’s Hales Gallery agrees: “We on the stand of Rocket Projects Miami, all thought of installing a checkout–it’s the swiftly snapped up for $4,000. only art fair we’ve attended where we’ve Miraculously, amid all this feverish art had to ask people to form an orderly queue; purchasing, the famous desire of NADA’s and after the first day rush, we’ve continued founders to “promote collective energy” to do a lot of business.” Texan newcomers also seems to have been achieved–with Angstrom Gallery have also done well, interest. “Everyone’s been sharing invento- especially with New York artist Kevin ry, taking things that they love and selling Landers’ sculptural installation of a flock of things from other booths that they think papier maché pigeons eating pieces of they can sell,” reveals “Zac Feuer of LFL pizza, which swiftly sold for $15,000; “I Gallery, one of the fairs four founder- just wish I’d had a hundred of those organisers, adding that, “This is the point of pigeons,” associate director Mark Babcock NADA: instead of killing each other, art was heard to sigh. dealers should be collaborating like this”. One of NADA’s busiest booths has been His NADA near-neighbours KS Art’s Kerry New York/Brooklyn based Roebling Hall, Schubbs (from whom Mr Feuer has pur- with two pieces by Chilean Ivan Navarro chased several pieces by late-blooming attracting especially keen attention. Philip Travers, the 90-year old former pupil Navarro, whose neon remake of Gerrit of George Grosz), agrees. “I don’t think Rietveld’s classic De Stijl chair can cur- there’s been a dealer who has complained. rently be seen at the Margulies collection, “What has also been special is the cama- sold out both editions of his floor-based raderie, with the dealers all buying each “Vertigo” and his wall piece “War hole” others’ work; I’ve never been so excited”. [sic] (each $10,000 for an edition of three) Louisa Buck

Fair review: -scope Varied success BMW/Thomas Loewy The Calder mobile, 1969 and “Grand Critter: Bleu, rouge, noir” of 1974 in the NADA squeezes this alternative event drawing room, with part of an Ellsworth Kelly of 1964 on the left hand wall ll the major collectors, including ure paintings. Dozens of them had sold bringing the Basel Fair to Miami, as remember his origins, in which case, it the Rubells, Martin Z. Margulies from $450 up; some of Brown’s earlier everyone could see the benefits it would would be the Museum of “Aand someone from the Saatchi work figures in Craig Robins’ Dacra collec- bring the community. Fine Art, or even the Israel Museum in collection have been through,” says Michael tion. Andrew Edlin of New York had sold a The fact is that the Braman Collection is Jerusalem to benefit from his private pas- Sellinger, organiser of -scope, the alternative number of works by the self-taught artist simply too grand for any existing Miami sion. fair that ends tonight with a closing party Vahakn Arslanian in the $600-$8,500 institution, and Mr and Mrs Braman have On the other hand, he might go against (from nine until late, at buck15, 707, Lincoln range. Rudolph Projects had sold six of not lent more than token patronage to any the trend of setting up personal memori- Lane). He calculates that by today, over eight attractive, peaceful paintings of a of them, the Miami Art Museum includ- als in museums through bequest or gift, 4,000 people will have attended the fair, in greenish sky by Janaki Lennie (about ed. The only museum to which Mr and instead leave the lot to be sold for the which exhibitors display art in the simple $2,200), while Christopher Cutts, accompa- Braman has given significant works is benefit of some good cause, perhaps edu- white bedrooms of the TownHouse hotel nied by the moody brothers Carlos and the very small Samuel P. Harn Museum cation–for education is the way ahead, he (150, 20th Street, at Collins Avenue). Jason Sanchez, had sold five of their attrac- of Art of the University of Florida (a has said in the past. That would be in The atmosphere here is more relaxed than tive C-prints of works featuring water, Ross Bleckner, a Fischl and a Tapies), keeping with his reputation as a generous at ABMB, with a Park your Art van outside including an interesting piece, “Red dress but this is unlikely to be a pointer to the man, but one who goes his own way. and the subversive artist Eric Doeringer II” of a swimmer stretched on a frozen future. It may be that Mr Braman will Anna Somers Cocks hawking his “bootlegs”, replicas of more swimming pool (two sold, at $3,600 each). famous artists’ works for a mere $60–with- Despite moderate prices (only $400 to out an eyebrow being raised. Prancing $1,400), business was slower at W/O Walls around the corridors yesterday was Natasha (property of the organiser), which had one Tsakos in a combination drag queen/Marcel of the more interesting artists, John Breiner, Marceau outfit, with a blue and silver rinse who illustrates the insides of torn-out to die for (Artemis Gallery), while a pair of books. ghostly paper feet dangled from the roof of All in all, -scope seems to be in a precar- the (deathly slow) elevator cabin. ious position, having lost its slot as the hip The quality of the work on show varied young add-on event to ABMB. It is being enormously, as did the commercial success. squeezed by NADA which is draining away Many dealers said they were very happy galleries and clients, leaving with sales, without being more precise. Le it with just the faint whiff of a salon des Salon des Collectionneurs had scored well refusés. with local artist Carol K. Brown’s small fig- Georgina Adam Speculators enter the scene again

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE when the artist’s market has not taken off. Sometimes, dealers just grit their teeth New York’s Zach Feuer/LFL, whose artist while selling to known speculators, antici- Schutz, among others, has been seen as a pating having to clean-up secondary-mar- prime target for speculators. ket messes down the road as works get While such frenzies give dealers the flipped. “When you’re a small business, opportunity to be highly selective in the it’s noble to turn down that money,” placement of the pieces and to resist deep- observes Oliver Kamm of 5BE Gallery. discounting demands, they sometimes also “But you can’t always afford to prioritise create an unwelcome, ephemeral buzz. long-term over short-term issues like pay- “Many of the really interesting collectors ing rent. What you can never do is let one BMW/Thomas Loewy are scared off by hype,” explains Mr Wirth, of those guys have five works at same Kienholz’s “Soup Course at the She She Café’, 1982, in the gallery “I have to convince them that Sasnal’s a time; it just gives them too much serious artist despite the hype.” leverage.” Things get even trickier for the dealer Marc Spiegler