The Rise of Victorian Paintings Pt. 5 – artmarketblog.com

The Rise of Victorian Paintings Pt. 5 – artmarketblog.com

JAMES COLLINSON 1825-1881 THE WRITING LESSON 50,000—70,000 GBP Lot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 79,250 GBP

Prior to the Scott Sale, Grant Ford, Senior Director and Head of Victorian Art at Sotheby’s,made the comment that: “Sotheby’s is delighted to be bringing this extraordinary collection to the market. Victorian narrative works are the cornerstone of the collection and not in all my time at Sotheby’s – a period of 22 years – has a collection of this quality come on to the auction market. The Scotts were collectors in the truest sense; they had an individual and discerning taste and they only ever bought paintings that they truly loved and understood and which said something special to them. We look forward to exhibiting this wonderful collection around the world and are sure that the single-owner sale in November will be a real highlight of the Autumn sales calendar.”

Even though the odds were heavily stacked against Sotheby’s, the sale of the Scott collection was a major success for the auction house, and a huge victory for the market for Victorian art. A total of 87.6% of the lots sold for a grand total of £4,620,071 against an estimate of £4.1-6.2 million brining the sold by value percentage to 77.6%. Most impressively, a total of at least fourteen new artist auction records were established the most impressive of which was achieved for Sophie Anderson whose ‘No Walk Today’ fetched just over £1 million against an estimate of £600,000-800,000. New auction records were also set for William Dyce, John Calcott Horsley, William Somerville Shanks and Thomas Sword Good among others. A total of 280 bidders took part in the sale many of whom were European collectors and investors which is unusual for a genre that would usually only attract British collectors. Considering the importance of the collection and the provenance of the paintings, however, it is not that surprising that many of the works were purchased by Europeans.

After the sale Ford is quoted as having said Commenting on the sale, Grant Ford, Senior Director and Head of Victorian Art at Sotheby’s, said: “This historic collection has attracted an enormous amount of attention from collectors all over the world but especially from our established clients in the UK. As many of the paintings had not been seen in public for several decades and were in a wonderfully fresh condition, a great deal of excitement was generated. We haven’t seen the galleries and saleroom – here in London particularly – as full and busy for a Victorian picture sale in many years. We are absolutely delighted with the new world record price for Sophie Anderson, which fully establishes No Walk Today as one of the most important childhood subjects of its time, and we’re also thrilled and heartened by the many other world record prices achieved. Today’s results are a testament to the discerning eye of two individuals who were collectors in the very truest sense.”

To be continued……..

Part 1:

http://artmarketblog.com/2010/02/25/the-rise-of-victorian-paintings-part-1-artmarketblog-com/

Part 2:

http://artmarketblog.com/2010/03/04/the-rise-of-victorian-paintings-pt-2-artmarketblog-com/

Part 3:

http://artmarketblog.com/2010/03/11/the-rise-of-victorian-paintings-pt-3-artmarketblog-com/

Part 4:

http://artmarketblog.com/2010/03/18/the-rise-of-victorian-paintings-pt-4-artmarketblog-com/

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

Boo Saville at Trolley Gallery – artmarketblog.com

Boo Saville at Trolley Gallery – artmarketblog.com

One of my favourite young artists, Boo Saville, is currently having her work exhibited by Trolley Gallery in London. Saville’s interest in the visual representation of death has been a recurring theme in her work which she has continued to explore in this new body of work. What I love about Saville’s work is that she doesn’t just express herself through the image it’s self but also uses the medium she is working at the time to add another dimension of emotion and effect to her work. The gestures, textures and the different physical properties of her chosen medium are all used to great effect to convey the message and emotion that Saville is aiming for. It is her amazing understanding of the tools of her trade that make Saville such an effective and encapsulating artist whose work is sure to impress. Definitely an exhibition worth checking out.

Exhibition Summary:
Trolley Gallery is proud to present a second solo show by artist Boo Saville. Entitled ‘Totem’, this new body of work encapsulates the unifying anthropological and archeological aspects evident in her work, and her representation of the deceased captured through an exploration of various forms of mark-making, itself a reflection of human expression and representation. Saville constantly researches source material from a wide variety of documentary and scientific origins; books, journals and resources such as the Wellcome Institute. The internet also offers an almost limitless exploration of imagery and keywords, the small, often low resolution images becoming the direct subject matter in the final work, where the colours and often gnarled compositions of a deceased human translate into a delicate and detailed painting and drawing. “There is beauty and creativity in the process of destruction. I am interested in decay not as a negative reduction but as a unifying symbol of matter, of our bodies. There is a clarity for me when something is stripped down to the bare bones and studied or just observed.”

http://www.trolleybooks.com/exhibitionSingle.php?exhibId=283
Trolley Books
73a Redchurch Street
London
E2 7DJ

tel +44(0)20 7729 6591
fax +44(0)20 7739 5948

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

Adam Reeder and Pan’s Ipod – artmarketblog.com

Adam Reeder and Pan’s Ipod  – artmarketblog.com

"Pan with his Ipod"

If I am going to be honest I have never really been a big fan of classical figurative sculpture but after being introduced to the work of California based artist Adam Reeder I may have rethink my position. Judging by the pictures on his website, Reeder is a very accomplished artist with a particular talent for classical style sculpture and drawing but it is his most recent project titled “Socio-Technic Evolution” that really caught my attention. As you would expect, classical themes and subjects are an integral part of Reeder’s artistic practice but with his latest series he has taken the conventions of classical sculpture and added a 21st century twist. “Sleeping Gamer”, “Atlas With his iPhone” and “Pan With His iPod” are the titles of a few of the sculptures that are part of the “Socio-Technic Evolution” series which, as the titles suggest, are no ordinary classical figures.

I was so impressed by the “Socio-Technic Evolution” series that I thought that I would ask Adam to explain the concept behind these works and how he came up with the idea.

This is what Adam has to say about his work:

They are all based on the concept of how technology changes the way western culture interacts with it’s world. To display this, I have combined technological objects with Greco-Roman gods, or iconic Greek sculpture. This is because the Greco-Roman period is the root of western civilization. My work is not about the change that takes place but the change in interaction, facilitated by technology.

Pan with his mp3 player is the first in the series. It has won first place in the spring show at the San Francisco Academy of art university, as well as getting into other shows. My goal was to combine iconic Grecian images, and god’s with well known technological objects. The Grecian images and god’s were to represent western culture. The Greco-Roman empires are known as the root of western culture. I avoided using anything from the Cartesian time periods so as to keep the religious contexts out of the discourse.

The technological objects should change the context of the original image, but not the nature. Arguably, any change could change the nature of it. However, my thought was that the nature of the interaction between the image and the object, would not change the way the image would have originally interacted. I used Pan with his mp3 player as the example for my final proposal. The Greek god Pan, used a flute which he played in the wood and danced with nymphs. My depiction shows Pan, still dancing as before, but no longer playing his own music. Thus, the technology changes the context, but not the nature.

This work is not about consumerism, or commercialism. Rather it is about how technology changes the way in which Western culture interacts with it’s world. This body of work should remind the viewer of pop art, because pop art showed viewers what they were consuming in popular culture. It should also feel like an ad campaign.I like the fact that the initial reaction upon viewing (even for me) is, “oh great, another classic figure”, then upon closer inspection, the viewer recognizes these iconic technological objects and it all comes together.

I have seen that process happen in the eyes of viewers, and have been told about it from museum directors, gallery owners, exhibition organizers, and art agents. This thesis stemmed from an internal reaction I had to my 6 year old daughter’s request for an iPod for her birthday, as opposed to a Barbie, or easy bake oven. I became acutely aware at that moment, that technology was changing the way western culture interacts with its world.

To clarify, this is not a series of sculpture about a little girl, or about how I feel about the change which is taking place. My Thesis is simply a playful reflection of that change.

To see more of Adam’s work go to http://www.adamreeder.com

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Investing in Social Art Projects – artmarketblog.com

Investing in Social Art Projects – artmarketblog.com

Trust Art artist Jason Eppink

A new project called Trust Art (http://www.trustart.org) which is described as “A stock market for cultural renewal” has recently been launched by the founders of Fame Game (http://www.famegame.com). According to the Fame Game website “FAME GAME is a rapidly-growing website that maps and analyzes your social connections and media attention to help you promote meaningful ideas, people, and organizations in culture. FAME GAME creates public-facing “social network” profiles for the 150,000+ most visible players in the New York media based on their cultural footprint”. The Fame Game mission is to mission to figure out how these players work together in the real world, and bring that model online which can then be used to give emerging artists, business leaders and personalities information about the way people use their fame to get attention for the things that they care about. The driving force of Fame Game and also of Trust Art is the concept of Social Capital which is defined as the pattern and intensity of networks among people and the shared values which arise from those networks.

The Trust Art project is a sort of interactive art fund that gives people the opportunity to invest their money in one of ten social art projects by ten different artists. Shares in each of the projects are available for $1 each with a minimum investment of $1 and no maximum investment although I presume that the most money anyone would want to invest would be the total cost of the project. The money invested goes towards the completion of the project as outlined by the artist on the Trust Art website. Once the project is completed, the finished work is auctioned off and the proceeds are split 50/50 between the artist and the share holders. All investors are encouraged to promote the project that they have invested in so that more people invest money and so that the project receives media attention and becomes more popular. The idea behind the promotion side of the concept is that promoting the project and increasing it’s popularity will increase it’s value and the return to shareholders once the work is auctioned off.

The biggest problem that I can see with the whole Trust Art concept is the works of art themselves which are not exactly what one would consider to be investment grade works of art. Each of the ten proposed works are more what I would call conceptual installations that are the sort of works people go to see at museums or at public galleries and not the sort of works that people invest in. As an example, one of the artists, Facundo Newbery, will construct a self-sufficient home solely out of garbage and shipping containers collected from the streets of Brooklyn. Throughout the project and after its completion, Facundo will offer a transparent look into his techniques for recycling urban waste so that others may do the same. The object (auction artifact) that will be auctioned is listed as a handmade home in the tropics which doesn’t really seem like something that many people would be interested in purchasing. Other “auction artifacts” include a dance performance, a video installation, 5 photographic portraits, an antique fountain repurposed to flow with perfumed water and an original building facade reimagined by street artists. The other problem with the project is that the artists themselves aren’t really all that well known but I suppose the purpose of the site is to enlist the help of the investors to make the artists and their work well known.

Of all the projects the most viable, most tangible and most investment worthy is “The Documentary Starring Everyone in the World” by Jason Eppink. According to the Trust Art website “Jason will collect and assemble an extensive photographic database, the contents of which resemble the age and appearance of the world’s 6 billion people. The images are then assembled into a documentary that plays 9 images per frame and runs over the course of two and a half weeks in various global locations” The object that will be auctioned is a video installation representing 6.7 billion people. Several of Eppink’s past projects such as “Pixelator” and “Take a Seat” have been very successful and received plenty of press attention which is a good sign for potential investors. You can see more of Jason Eppink’s work at http://www.jasoneppink.com

For more information on the Trust Art project visit http://www.trustart.org

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

MYARTSPACE 2008 Scholarship Winners – artmarketblog.com

MYARTSPACE 2008 Scholarship Winners – artmarketblog.com

MYARTSPACE (myartspace.com), the awesome online venue for the contemporary art world, has just announced the winners of the 2008 MYARTSPACE undergraduate cash scholarship competition.   The scholarship is intended for students who exhibits exceptional artistic excellence in all mediums of the visual arts including photography and video, both contemporary and traditional in nature. The scholarship arises from the commitment to supporting artists develop their skills and careers.  According Catherine McCormack-Skiba, the founder and CEO of MYARTSPACE, “We had entries to the scholarship program from students at over 1,200 colleges and universities”

MYARTSPACE will be launching their 2009 scholarship program later this year so if you think you have what it takes you had better get creating !!.  Further information on the scholarship program can be found here:

http://www.myartspace.com/scholarships/

Undergraduate Competition Prize Money:
1st prize: $5000
2nd prize: $2000
3rd prize: $1000

Below are the top-3 winners of the undergraduate competition and the winner of the iPhone. The winning undergraduate students will split $8000 in cash scholarships. To see the 50 finalists, click HERE.

First Place Winner: Sara Susin (Stanford University)
Sara Susin was born in Denver, Colorado. She is currently completing her BA at Stanford University with a major in Studio Art and a minor in Creative Writing. She has been painting at the Art Students League of Denver since 1990. She has taken classes from Heather Delzell, Kevin Weckbach, Kim English, Ron Hicks, Ken Velastro and Quang Ho. In 2004, Sara won the Allied Arts Award. In 2005 she was highlighted in Southwest Art Magazine’s annual “21 under 30” feature. Sara has sold paintings to private and corporate collections including the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Collection. Sara plans to pursue a career as an oil painter. To read an interview with Sara, Click HERE.

Back to the Sun, 40″ x 48″, oil on wood. Sara Susin‘s Winning Gallery

Second Place Winner: Jessica Brown (University of Alaska)
Jessica Brown is completing her BA in Art degree at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Jessica has participate in a number of solo and group exhibits. In her own words “I believe in the off-kilter, the beauty of the asymmetrical, and the balance of opposition. I revel in the surprising, messy and often humorous nature of life. My works are inspired by the question marks surrounding cultural dualities such as mind/body, man/nature, and self/other. Whether with painting, performance, or installations my aim is to stimulate introspective dialogue in my viewer and expand their intrigue of the absurdities of life.” To Read an interview with Jessica, click HERE.

Match Book, altered book, ink and matches. Jessica Brown’s Winning Gallery

Third Place Winner: Zach Stein (University of Kentucky)
Zach Stein’s installations, monotypes, and paintings tend to be experimental in nature. This is achieved by the fact that Zach utilizes a variety of mediums in an intuitive manner– everything from hot glue to rum. He is an artist who is not afraid to test the limits of his materials. Zach is currently a student at the University of Kentucky. Zach is currently and undergraduate student in art education/studio at University of Kentucky. To read an interview with Zach, click HERE

faulter, 60×60, acrylic on plastic bags. Zach Stein’s Winning Gallery

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Reevaluating Undervalued Surrealist Art – artmarketblog.com

Reevaluating Undervalued Surrealist Art – artmarketblog.com

A little while ago I wrote a post about rise of the value of Surrealism. That post was an general introduction to the Surrealist movement so I will now, in continuation from the last post, explain the factors that have led to an increase in the popularity and value of Surrealist art. If you haven’t read the previous post on Surrealism you can do so here:
http://artmarketblog.com/2008/11/18/the-rise-of-the-value-of-surrealism-artmarketblogcom/

Considering that Surrealism is such a well known movement thanks to artists such as Dali and Miro, the fact that Sotheby’s didn’t hold an auction devoted to Surrealism until December 2000 is rather telling. The event that appears to have triggered a slow revival in the interest of work by Surrealism was the auction of Andre Breton’s collection of paintings, books, manuscripts and other items from his estate. The auction took place 35 years after Breton’s death and included a massive 5500 items that belonged to Breton. Because of the massive number of lots, a series of auctions were required which took place over ten days between the 1st and the 18th of April 2003 in France. An eight volume auction catalogue was required to list all the items which sold for a total of US$50.1 million smashing the US$32.6 million pre-sale estimate. Another boost to the popularity of Surrealism was the auction of the only known complete copy of Breton’s Surrealist Manifesto in May of this year (2008) which sold for 3.2 million euros in Paris. This document is the ultimate guide for Surrealist artists that is, in essence, the definition of Surrealism and an explanation of the philosophy behind the concept.

The record for a Surrealist work was also recently broken when a work by Miro titled “La caresse des étoiles” was sold by Christie’s for US$17.1 million. This work was last sold in 2004 by Christie’s for US$11.1 million. According to artprice.com “prices in the segment (Surrealism) are reaching new peaks, having progressed another 21% over the first 9 months of this year. Over 10 years, the movement’s price index has gained 214.”

It is fair to say that the rapidly progressing and ground breaking contemporary artists have also contributed to the increase in the acceptance of the often bizarre and controversial subject matter of Surrealist works. As contemporary artists constantly challenge the boundaries of what is acceptable and tolerable people tend to become more accepting and gain greater understanding of such work. This means that people are then able to appreciate and understand the challenging concepts and philosophies behind the Surrealist works and the bizarre way that those philosophies and concepts were depicted. A greater understanding and appreciation of the Surrealist movement and it’s background has contributed to the rise in popularity and value of Surrealist works of art. Prices should continue to rise as the massive disparity between the prices paid for top Surrealist works and major works from other modern art movements closes.

image:
“La caresse des étoiles” by Joan Miro

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Korean Photographer Myoung Ho Lee – artmarketblog.com

Korean Photographer Myoung Ho Lee – artmarketblog.com

Tree #1 by Myoung Ho Lee

A tree or a picture of a tree?, that is the question. Well it’s not THE question but it is the question that one asks ones self when confronted with the awesome  “Tree” series of photographs by Myoung Ho Lee. Myoung Ho Lee is a young Seoul, Korea based artist and a lecturer in photography at the Joon-Ang University where he is also completing a PH. D. The “Tree” series was first shown online on the Lens Culture website and it was the “Tree” series of photographs that attracted world wide attention to Lee and his work. According to the Lens Culture website (http://www.lensculture.com) where selected works from Lee’s “Tree” series are available for purchase: “Simple in concept, complex in execution, he makes us look at a tree in its natural surroundings, but separates the tree artificially from nature by presenting it on an immense white ground, as one would see a painting or photograph on a billboard.”

Lee’s work is an excellent example of the high quality and unique work being produced by artists from Korea where there seems to me no shortage of support and encouragement for visual artists. Festivals celebrating visual art such as the Daegu Photo Biennale,Gwangju Biennale, Busan Biennale, and Korea International Art Fair give Korean artists and galleries plenty of opportunities to promote themselves.  It is not surprising that Korea has produced some absolutely fantastic artists in the last couple of years which has resulted in a rapidly developing art market that has the potential to be one of the most influential markets in the Asia Pacific region. I have written several articles expressing my enthusiasm for the Korean art scene which has continued to grow as more and more fantastic Korean artists emerge from the shadows of their more famous Chinese counterparts.

Of particular importance to Lee’s career is the show his “Tree” series of work that will be held at the highly prestigious Yossi Milo gallery in New York from March 12–April 18, 2009. The exhibition at Yossi Milo gallery will undoubtedly have a positive effect on Lee’s work so my suggestion is to buy now before prices increase.

You can see the works available from Lens Culture here:
http://www.lensculture.com/myoung.html

Details of the Myoung Ho Lee exhibition at Yossi Milo here:
http://www.yossimilo.com/artists/myou_ho_lee/

and more info on the “Tree” series here:
http://www.lensculture.com/Myoung-Ho-Lee-FOAM-2008.pdf

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Art and the Veblen Effect – artmarketblog.com

Art and the Veblen Effect – artmarketblog.com

"For The Love of God" by Damien Hirst

No, it’s not a typo or a made up word – there is such a thing as a Veblen Effect.  First of all, a Veblen good is basically a type of status symbol that people people purchase because it is expensive and is perceived as an exclusive and luxury item which suggests that they (the purchaser) are wealthy and belong to a high social class. This good is desirable primarily because of it’s cost and the positive effect the item has on people’s perception of the financial and social status of the owner. Therefore, when the cost of a Veblen good declines, the desirability of the good also declines because it is seen as being less exclusive and less representative of wealth and a high social status. Things such as diamonds, expensive luxury cars (Bentley, Rolls Royce) and high end wines are considered to be Veblen goods as is fine art – in particular, contemporary art.

If you think about the contemporary art market during the height of the art market boom, the prices being paid for many of the works by contemporary artists were completely unjustifiable in terms of value for money and the reasons for the rapid increase in price. In my opinion, the best example of the Veblen effect is the work of Damien Hirst whose work appeared top have benefited greatly from the wealthy trophy buyers whose prime motivation was prestige and status. Hirst even hedged his bets by using copious amounts of diamonds to cover the infamous skull and used diamond dust in some of his works. Even if the art wasn’t so great the diamonds are sure to attract those seeking a way of decorating their house with objects that reflect their level of wealth. One could even argue that Hirst was specifically catering for the wealthy trophy hunters by producing works that they would find highly attractive such as the diamond encrusted human skull.

I don’t think that anyone could disagree with me if I was to suggest that the work of Hirst would be less desirable if it decreased in price because that is exactly what we are seeing at the moment. Considering that Hirst was one of the most sought after and desirable artist’s during the peak of the art market boom one would presume that the same would be the case during the market correction. Although there has been a general decrease in the price being paid for works of art across the board there is still plenty of money available and plenty of money being spent on the most desirable works of art. Had the work of Hirst not been able to be classed as a Veblen good then more people would have been snapping up the works currently on the market (regardless of the financial crisis) which can be purchased for considerably less than they they were sold for a year ago. Those discounted works by Hirst that are currently on the market and have been offered for sale over the past month or so are, however, not being snapped up. Now that Hirst isn’t setting various price related records left, right and centre and isn’t appearing in the headlines as the most expensive living artist – the appeal of his work has declined and the gloss is wearing off.

There are plenty of artists whose work could be called a Veblen good but I think Hirst is the best example as he was the most desirable artist at the peak of the art market boom which means that if people weren’t just buying his work as an expensive trophy, he should have continued to be the most desirable artist. And he isn’t.

to be continued…..

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – artmarketblog.com

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year!!!

Art Meets Design with Ron Arad – artmarketblog.com

Art Meets Design with Ron Arad – artmarketblog.com

"Loop Loop" by Ron Arad

The world of contemporary design is illuminated by a small number of bright stars whose popularity has an industrial production base, whose reputations have been confirmed by museums and whose prices are driven by galleries and auction rooms. Ron ARAD is indeed one of these design stars: from 20 November 2008 to 16 March 2009, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris is hosting a retrospective exhibition entitled No Discipline which will be transferred to the MOMA in New York (28 July to 19 October 2009) and then to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 2010. Along with Zaha HADID and Marc NEWSON, Arad is one of the three contemporary designers most appreciated at auction sales.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1951, Ron ARAD studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Art and Design. Having graduated, he moved to London in 1973, trained himself in architecture, and in 1981 founded his own design agency in Covent Garden, One Off Limited. His entry into the world of design was very “Duchamp-esque”: his first piece of furniture was an old Rover car seat with two metal tubes in semi-circular arcs acting as feet and arm-rests, The Rover Chair. At the time the work had the effect of a catalyst on the fusion of art and design. The chair was produced by One Off until 1989. Today the Rover Chair is so emblematic that Vitra produces two versions in limited series: one rusted, the other chromed and entitled Moreover. In 2008, the price of an original edition Rover Chair at auction was somewhere between €4,000 and €5,000. However, expect to pay triple this figure for one of the rarer models like the 1984 Rover Chair in red leather offered in Marseille in November 2008 (Damien Leclere). Estimated at between €10,000 and €12,000, the hammer fell at €15,000 (USD 21,000)!

Arad’s paintings and drawings, which first appeared at Contemporary and Modern Art auction sales at the beginning of the 1990’s, have remained reasonably priced. The “heros” of his paintings are in fact his pieces of furniture: a 2-metre painting of the famous Big Easy armchair sold for the equivalent of $3,757 in 2001(Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Paris). In 2008, Artcurial tried to sell a similar work for $20,000. However the painting was bought in as Ron Arad’s collectors clearly preferred to focus their bidding on the pieces for which he is most famous: his sculpture-furniture.

After 2000, Arad’s works increasingly generated 6-figure auction results. In Paris, on 28 November 2006 Artcurial hosted a very successful sale of a work entitled Loop Loom: this chaise longue in polished steel wire mesh (edited in 5 examples plus 3 artist’s proofs), sold for 4 times its estimate at €123,322 including fees, his auction record at the time. His price inflation continued the following month in New York at Phillips de Pury & Company’s Design & Design Art sale. On 14 December, 2006, the auctioneer offered a bookcase entitled Mortal Coil (edited in 20 examples) that doubled its low estimate of $50,000. In 2007 the price rise accelerated with the Christie’s sale in October of Two Legs and a Table at close to $250,000. Two months later Phillips de Pury & Company hit the jackpot when they presented D sofa, a sculptural sofa in polished stainless steel (in 20 copies) which quadrupled its high estimate. The auctioneer had estimated $100,000 at best; its buyer paid no less than $409,000 including fees!

In the current crisis context buyers are naturally wary of over-paying their acquisitions. As a result, the best Ron ARAD pieces offered at Phillips de Pury & Company (NY) on 17 December last remained unsold. The estimations for Wild Crow ($160,000 – $180,000) and for the prototype Oh-Void ($175,000 – $225,000) discouraged collectors and the four pieces which found buyers (between $8,000 and $40,000) remained prudently within their estimated price ranges.

Copyright@Artprice.com

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

The Herb Williams Phenomenon – artmarketblog.com

The Herb Williams Phenomenon – artmarketblog.com

"Unite" by Herb Williams

With the huge amount of attention that crayon artist Herb Williams (http://www.herbwilliamsart.com), the inaugural Next Star Artist (http://www.nextstarartist.com) competition winner, has has been receiving of late I think that the use of the term phenomenon is extremely apt. Over in the UK, Herb’s work has appeared in Brittain’s biggest selling newspaper, The Sun, as well as the Telegraph newspaper and the Daily Mail.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2032440.ece

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/3723343/Artist-uses-thousands-of-crayons-to-create-Crayola-sculptures.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1094134/Artist-draws-colourful-tool-inspiration–creates-giant-sculptures-entirely-crayons.html

If you live in the US you may also have seen a report on Herb featured on the CBS news. If you didn’t see the report you can view it here:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=iVVNBvRvB_A

Web wise, Herb’s work has been popping up everywhere. Just take a glance downwards to see a selection (yes, just a selection) of the

http://quietcolor.com/qc/?p=1495#more-1495

http://www.luxist.com/tag/herb+williams/#

http://www.pricy-spicy.com/unique-art-herb-williams’-bull-dog-sculptures/

http://www.ballerhouse.com/2008/12/04/no-bull-crayon-sculpture-is-yours-for-14k/#comments

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/crayola-sculptures

http://www.944.com/blog/crayon-art-no-not-what-you-did-in-kindergarten/

http://www.stylehive.com/person/udaydream2/saves/1759788

http://www.blindiforthekids.com/2008/12/i-enjoy-these-thoroughly/#comments

http://chikkenpotpi.blogspot.com/2008/12/grown-ups-still-use-crayons.html

http://www.vivre.com/control/product/~category_id=Whats-New-Living/~product_id=42337;jsessionid=5F1246A5514ADE9A885C6ECA83D22B93.vvprod1

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/12/15/crayon-sculptures-by-herb-williams/

http://popgloss.com/all/4a0291e2da8f2451dc0ccb417b4425ff&pageoffset=0

http://www.fadwebsite.com/2008/12/14/post-post-post-pop-art/#more-3326

There may also be some extremely exciting news relating to the Obama work that Herb compelted recently so stay tuned!!!

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Chinese Art Loses Lustre – artmarketblog.com

Chinese Art Loses Lustre  – artmarketblog.com

Copyright@Artprice.com

"From the Masses, to the Masses" by Zeng Fanzhi

In 2007, China redistributed the cards in becoming the third auction market globally. Beijing and Hong Kong have rapidly established themselves as new growth relays and the scene of some particularly aggressive investment over the past two years. The most impressive sale results have been achieved at Poly International Auction and China Guardian. In Hong-Kong, it is Sotheby’s and Christie’s who largely dominate the market, rocking the art market twice a year with their sales of modern and contemporary Asian art: Sotheby’s opens the proceedings in April with Christie’s following in December. The two auction houses had great hopes of 2008 but the year proved to be one of the most disappointing.

Christie’s and Sotheby’s had become accustomed to seeing their Hong Kong sale proceeds increase by several million dollars every six months. Between April and May 2007, they recorded more than USD 120 million, followed by USD 173 million in the October to November period. In the spring of 2008, proceeds soared to USD 198 million. However, the first warning signs were already discernable: nearly 20% of the lots were bought in at Christie’s compared with the usual ratio of between 9% and 14%. In the autumn, their unsold rate reached a high of 35%!

Asian contemporary art, and Chinese in particular, is being hit by the negative fall-out of two years of speculative price rises. It is worth remembering that, on 9 April 2008, Sotheby’s sold 90% of the works in the Estella collection. A private Asian collector spent the equivalent of USD 5.4 million on a work entitled Bloodline: The Big Family No. 3 by Xiaogang ZHANG, a new record for the artist. Six months later, only one of the four Xiaogang ZHANG canvases presented by Sotheby’s was to find a buyer in Hong Kong, with no-one prepared to bid higher than its low-end pre-sale estimate (USD 2.75 million, Bloodline: Big Family No.1). Still in the spring of 2008, Fanzhi ZENG achieved the world record for a contemporary Chinese artist. The work in question was the Mask series 1996 No.6 diptych which changed hands at Christie’s for close to USD 8.6 million (HKD 67 million), five times its pre-sale estimate. On 30 November 2008, Christie’s hoped to repeat this major exploit in again betting on Fanzhi ZENG with From the Masses, to the Masses. This work, created in 1993, had been billed as a “historic work”, heralding the famous Mask series, so sought-after in the market. Advertised as the headline lot of the Asian contemporary art evening sale for a secret pre-sale estimate, the star of the Chinese contemporary art scene would not find a buyer that night… The following day the rate of unsold contemporary works reached 43% at Christie’s. As for modern art, nearly 52% of the lots offered on 1 December were bought in. Only a few private Asian collectors were prepared to bid up for abstract masters like Wou-ki ZAO and Teh-Chun CHU. The best result was achieved by a Wou-ki ZAO abstract work, Hommage à Tou-Fou, sold for the equivalent of USD 5.16 million, a new record for the artist. A readjustment is under way but Asian art prices are maintaining a high level that was unimaginable even three years ago. The first million-ticket sales were effectively recorded in 2005, with prices accelerating in 2007 before peaking in the first half of 2008.

The global economic crisis has put an end to the speculative frenzy and, with collectors becoming more cautious and more demanding, the estimated ranges indicated in the spring of 2009 are going to have to be revised down.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.