Sales of paintings, sculptures and other works set records in the Middle East last year as the region's art market became more firmly established.
At Christie's Middle East, which is based in Dubai, 38 per cent of the works of art sold through the auction house last year topped their highest pre-sale estimates, while 85 world auction records were set as interest in contemporary Middle Eastern art continued to grow.
One wood-and-copper piece, called Message/Messenger, sold for US$842,500 (Dh3.1 million) - 10 times its original estimate.
"We had probably one of the best years for Christie's, because we're seeing not only investors coming into the market but collectors investing more into their collection," said Isabelle de la Bruyère, the director of Christie's Middle East.
Overall, the company has sold about $220m worth of art since it launched in Dubai in 2006.
"The market is healthy and good for buyers, because they can see this is a market that is sustainable and attracting more and more interest," said Ms de la Bruyère.
Five galleries have recently opened in Dubai, in time for Art Week, which officially began in the Emirates yesterday and runs until next Sunday.
The event is expected to attract even more buyers to the region, and experts say that more purchasers are coming not only from the UAE and Saudi Arabia but also from other emerging markets.
More collectors from Pakistan are basing themselves in the Emirates, as are buyers from South Asia, said Antonia Carver, the fair director for Art Dubai, a festival featuring 75 galleries that begins on Wednesday at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel.
"The market is becoming more and more diversified, and Dubai is becoming more and more a global hub for the arts," said Ms Carver.
Globally, the art market has been buffered and, in fact, bolstered thanks in large part to a surge of buyers from China. Buyers from China accounted for 41.4 per cent of last year's global art auction revenue of $11.5 billion.
The total art market now represents about $90bn, according to data released last month by Artprice, a French company that monitors sales in the industry.
"The art market has ridden the global financial crisis … in a way that people had not predicted necessarily," said Ms Carver. "Auctions have held up, and particularly in the Gulf."
Next month in Dubai, Christie's plans to hold a sale of modern and contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art.
The company is also continuing with a programme launched last year to appeal to younger, less affluent investors who are interested in starting art collections. Prices for works in this tier tend to range from $2,000 to $3,000.
"We realise our auctions are intimidating and people do have a tendency to think you need to be a millionaire to come to Christie's," said Ms de la Bruyère. "But that is not actually the case.
"Art is not for the elite. Art is for absolutely everybody."
Through the Art Dubai fair, Ms Carver aims to increase exposure and sales for local galleries by bringing museum directors, curators, boards of patrons and major donors to the Emirates. This year, more than 70 groups are set to attend Art Dubai, including some from the British Museum, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and the Asia Pacific Contemporary Society of Australia.
2012年3月15日星期四
2012年2月9日星期四
Inmate art breaks out for annual display, sale
Inmate No. 83399 took second and third place for his intricate pencil drawings of an infant and a lighthouse at the Riverfront Community Center last week.
A drawing of a fish, by another U.S. Disciplinary Barrack inmate, took first place. The artwork is judged each year by the Leavenworth County Artists’ Association, then sold. Proceeds go back to the inmates, with 20 percent supporting the River City Community Players, a local theater group. If the item doesn’t sell, it goes back to the inmate. The inmates choose which pieces they would like to sell and set the price, with a limit of $300.
The “Hidden Art Locked Away” sale takes place each February in Leavenworth, with two-dimensional art contributions from the USDB and the U.S. Penitentiary.
Gene Young, founder of the Young Sign Company, and Everett Ward, former Multimedia and Visual Information Services employee, judged this year’s contest. Both are active in the Leavenworth County Artists Association and the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth.
Both men agreed that the drawing of the fish, with detailed sketching, was a good piece of artwork.
“The way it’s drawn, the way that the scales are done, it has almost a mechanical look,” Ward said.
Peter Grande, chief of staff of the Military Corrections Complex on Fort Leavenworth, said the arts and crafts program on post is open only to the all-male, long-term inmates at the USDB. The USP, as a nonmilitary program, is a separate facility. It is on federal property adjacent to Fort Leavenworth.
Grande said the art show can be beneficial for the inmates.
“I think it’s a good outlet for them to be able to show their talents outside the facility,” Grande said. “Secondly, it gives them an outlet to express themselves. Guys that don’t want to participate in sports can have another outlet to occupy their time.”
Grande said art instructors have visited the USDB in the past to lend expertise in showing the inmates how to draw or paint. The program is also a benefit for inmates who display good behavior.
“It’s their extracurricular activity,” Grande said. “They do it during their off time from their work detail.”
Inmates can purchase their own materials, procured by the Military Corrections Complex staff. The materials must be on an approved list.
“We have some pretty talented guys here,” Grande said.
A drawing of a fish, by another U.S. Disciplinary Barrack inmate, took first place. The artwork is judged each year by the Leavenworth County Artists’ Association, then sold. Proceeds go back to the inmates, with 20 percent supporting the River City Community Players, a local theater group. If the item doesn’t sell, it goes back to the inmate. The inmates choose which pieces they would like to sell and set the price, with a limit of $300.
The “Hidden Art Locked Away” sale takes place each February in Leavenworth, with two-dimensional art contributions from the USDB and the U.S. Penitentiary.
Gene Young, founder of the Young Sign Company, and Everett Ward, former Multimedia and Visual Information Services employee, judged this year’s contest. Both are active in the Leavenworth County Artists Association and the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth.
Both men agreed that the drawing of the fish, with detailed sketching, was a good piece of artwork.
“The way it’s drawn, the way that the scales are done, it has almost a mechanical look,” Ward said.
Peter Grande, chief of staff of the Military Corrections Complex on Fort Leavenworth, said the arts and crafts program on post is open only to the all-male, long-term inmates at the USDB. The USP, as a nonmilitary program, is a separate facility. It is on federal property adjacent to Fort Leavenworth.
Grande said the art show can be beneficial for the inmates.
“I think it’s a good outlet for them to be able to show their talents outside the facility,” Grande said. “Secondly, it gives them an outlet to express themselves. Guys that don’t want to participate in sports can have another outlet to occupy their time.”
Grande said art instructors have visited the USDB in the past to lend expertise in showing the inmates how to draw or paint. The program is also a benefit for inmates who display good behavior.
“It’s their extracurricular activity,” Grande said. “They do it during their off time from their work detail.”
Inmates can purchase their own materials, procured by the Military Corrections Complex staff. The materials must be on an approved list.
“We have some pretty talented guys here,” Grande said.
2011年10月12日星期三
Prince Edward County focus at Scenes of Sandbanks and Beyond
Local artists are once again being very generous with their talents and contributing to
The 12th annual Scenes of Sandbanks and Beyond annual original art show and sale will celebrate all that is ‘The County’ – particularly the three Provincial Parks and the burgeoning wine industry. Forty-one local artists will exhibit their work using a variety of disciplines including; fabric, glass, sculpture, photography, oil, watercolour, encaustic and acrylic paintings.
This year’s featured artist is Carol Burrill, whose work is featured on this year’s poster. She depicts the diversity of the County with her pendant, a piece of sculpted stone set in sterling silver. Carol, jeweler to The County, owns with her husband Rick, Riccaro’s Design at 388 Main Street in Picton. Three young, upcoming artists in this year’s show are Sarah Renaud Wilkinson, Shelby del Gatto and Jacob Wiens. Sarah wowed visitors to Art in the County with her amazing pencil on board ‘Creature’. Shelby’s art work is featured on a white wine label titled ‘Dragonfly’ produced at her family’s winery Del-Gatto Estates. Master Wiens, a Grade 9 student is a wood carver and spent time this past summer being tutored his grandfather, Bill Naylor, a carver of note. Jacob has won awards in the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland.
Proceeds from this year’s show will be directed through the Friends of Sandbanks Park, toward a permanent sign to mark Lakeshore Lodge in Sandbanks Provincial Park. The sign will commemorate one of the most historic and significantly important buildings in the County.
Visitors are invited to experience Scenes of Sandbanks and Beyond in the relaxing ambiance of Black Prince Winery’s Art Cellar. Renew memories of The County through the creative eye of The County’s many talented local artists and enjoy the delicious wine.
The 12th annual Scenes of Sandbanks and Beyond annual original art show and sale will celebrate all that is ‘The County’ – particularly the three Provincial Parks and the burgeoning wine industry. Forty-one local artists will exhibit their work using a variety of disciplines including; fabric, glass, sculpture, photography, oil, watercolour, encaustic and acrylic paintings.
This year’s featured artist is Carol Burrill, whose work is featured on this year’s poster. She depicts the diversity of the County with her pendant, a piece of sculpted stone set in sterling silver. Carol, jeweler to The County, owns with her husband Rick, Riccaro’s Design at 388 Main Street in Picton. Three young, upcoming artists in this year’s show are Sarah Renaud Wilkinson, Shelby del Gatto and Jacob Wiens. Sarah wowed visitors to Art in the County with her amazing pencil on board ‘Creature’. Shelby’s art work is featured on a white wine label titled ‘Dragonfly’ produced at her family’s winery Del-Gatto Estates. Master Wiens, a Grade 9 student is a wood carver and spent time this past summer being tutored his grandfather, Bill Naylor, a carver of note. Jacob has won awards in the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition in Ocean City, Maryland.
Proceeds from this year’s show will be directed through the Friends of Sandbanks Park, toward a permanent sign to mark Lakeshore Lodge in Sandbanks Provincial Park. The sign will commemorate one of the most historic and significantly important buildings in the County.
Visitors are invited to experience Scenes of Sandbanks and Beyond in the relaxing ambiance of Black Prince Winery’s Art Cellar. Renew memories of The County through the creative eye of The County’s many talented local artists and enjoy the delicious wine.
2011年8月18日星期四
Art in the suburbs
It’s not difficult to pick out John van der Hart’s house on Eighth Line. It’s the only one with the 30-foot observation tower and an art gallery in the front yard.
There’s a simple explanation for the unique features that decorate the 78-year-old artist’s home: he wants to share his art with the entire world.
Last Thursday, he sat in his front garden with flecks of paint still on his hands and face, surrounded by his paintings. The large format oil paintings, some of which were self-portrait nudes were propped up for optimum viewing from the street.
“This is a natural way of expressing myself,” said the long-time North Oakville resident. “I find it wonderful.”
Van der Hart moved to his home on Eighth Line in 1971. In time, a subdivision was built up around his house when he stubbornly refused to sell to a developer.
He always had one or two works of art adorning his front yard, but last April he dragged more than a dozen canvases into his garden to create his “natural gallery.”
Originally from Holland, van der Hart has been a professional artist for 40 years and is well respected for his watercolour paintings. He moved to Canada after being inspired by the county’s natural beauty.
Last year, he decided he wanted a change from watercolour and began using oil paints. He said he preferred oil paints for several reasons including the grand scale of the pieces, the fact that an artist can continue to work on the pieces over time and that they had more of an emphasis on the human form.
“Watercolour art, they are without people. These are landscape paintings and if they put people in it they put people in it looking at their backs,” he said, “never face on because if they do that, the landscape around it disappears for a subject matter.”
He then looked to the end of his driveway to provide him with a potentially limitless audience.
“I have thousands of cars passing everyday,” he said gesturing towards vehicles whizzing by his works of art.
“People come, they drive slow, I sit in the entrance of the gallery, they wave, I wave back”
“I communicate with them. They are my neighbours. I am their neighbour.”
Van der Hart feels that he and his neighbours share a mutually beneficial relationship. To him, his installation is allowing those who would not normally go to art galleries the opportunity to see art.
“They would never come in my gallery and look at it. But they see them here,” he said. “And so I have enriched their lives a little. And it’s the same with passing cars.”
There are some people, however, who believe his paintings are too risqué for the neighbourhood.
Van der Hart recalled last year seeing one of his neighbours taking pictures of his paintings on his lawn. There were self-portrait nudes in his collection.
The Town by-law office called him two days later asking him to take his paintings down. They told him they had received a complaint from one of his neighbours who said one of his paintings might damage her children’s mind.
“I said, ‘you’re kidding. No way, these are my paintings,’” he explained.
He did, however, put leaves over his painting’s genitals to satisfy those with delicate sensibilities.
“My purpose is to get more people to come out here,” he said, looking out over his many paintings. “To give them a reason because people might not be used to this type of painting at all, ever. If you don’t go to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) they might never have seen it.”
There’s a simple explanation for the unique features that decorate the 78-year-old artist’s home: he wants to share his art with the entire world.
Last Thursday, he sat in his front garden with flecks of paint still on his hands and face, surrounded by his paintings. The large format oil paintings, some of which were self-portrait nudes were propped up for optimum viewing from the street.
“This is a natural way of expressing myself,” said the long-time North Oakville resident. “I find it wonderful.”
Van der Hart moved to his home on Eighth Line in 1971. In time, a subdivision was built up around his house when he stubbornly refused to sell to a developer.
He always had one or two works of art adorning his front yard, but last April he dragged more than a dozen canvases into his garden to create his “natural gallery.”
Originally from Holland, van der Hart has been a professional artist for 40 years and is well respected for his watercolour paintings. He moved to Canada after being inspired by the county’s natural beauty.
Last year, he decided he wanted a change from watercolour and began using oil paints. He said he preferred oil paints for several reasons including the grand scale of the pieces, the fact that an artist can continue to work on the pieces over time and that they had more of an emphasis on the human form.
“Watercolour art, they are without people. These are landscape paintings and if they put people in it they put people in it looking at their backs,” he said, “never face on because if they do that, the landscape around it disappears for a subject matter.”
He then looked to the end of his driveway to provide him with a potentially limitless audience.
“I have thousands of cars passing everyday,” he said gesturing towards vehicles whizzing by his works of art.
“People come, they drive slow, I sit in the entrance of the gallery, they wave, I wave back”
“I communicate with them. They are my neighbours. I am their neighbour.”
Van der Hart feels that he and his neighbours share a mutually beneficial relationship. To him, his installation is allowing those who would not normally go to art galleries the opportunity to see art.
“They would never come in my gallery and look at it. But they see them here,” he said. “And so I have enriched their lives a little. And it’s the same with passing cars.”
There are some people, however, who believe his paintings are too risqué for the neighbourhood.
Van der Hart recalled last year seeing one of his neighbours taking pictures of his paintings on his lawn. There were self-portrait nudes in his collection.
The Town by-law office called him two days later asking him to take his paintings down. They told him they had received a complaint from one of his neighbours who said one of his paintings might damage her children’s mind.
“I said, ‘you’re kidding. No way, these are my paintings,’” he explained.
He did, however, put leaves over his painting’s genitals to satisfy those with delicate sensibilities.
“My purpose is to get more people to come out here,” he said, looking out over his many paintings. “To give them a reason because people might not be used to this type of painting at all, ever. If you don’t go to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) they might never have seen it.”
订阅：
博文 (Atom)