Shock art fails to sell in Rotterdam (Source The Art Newspaper)
Stuffed, reversible animal was the talk of the fair
ROTTERDAM. Most of the discussion surrounding the ninth edition of Art Rotterdam in the Netherlands last month (7-10 February) centred around a single work of art: a taxidermied dog, which, when turned inside out, became a cat.
The piece, titled Popple after stuffed toys sold in the 1980s, is by Katinka Simonse, a Dutch artist who goes by the name “Tinkebell”. It was on offer at Amsterdam-based Torch Gallery for e4,500 ($6,500). Tinkebell has in the past angered animal rights groups in the Netherlands with works such as a “fashionable purse” she claims she made out of her pet cat and a project that involved putting (dead) baby chicks into a paper shredder.
In general, the displays by the 75 galleries at this year’s fair were “more daring” than in previous years, said Art Rotterdam director Fons Hof, co-owner of the Hof & Huyser contemporary art gallery in Amsterdam. He did not mention Tinkebell’s reversible dog, and when asked about it, he said: “I didn’t mean that piece,” adding that he had not seen it.
The small contemporary fair, which took place at the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal on the banks of the Maas River, aims to display emerging talent. The bulk of the works for sale were priced below e10,000 ($14,500), with only a handful of items in the five-figure range. “Pieces for E800 to e1,000 ($1,200-$1,500) sold very quickly and easily,” said Aeneas Bastian, owner of Upstairs Berlin, a German gallery that was making its third appearance at the fair.
There were some notable exceptions. Among the highest priced works were large gold-leaf paintings by contemporary Indian artist Anant Joshi at the Amsterdam gallery, Willem Baars Project. Single paintings went for e38,500 ($56,000) and triptychs sold for e96,000 ($140,000): Mr Baars said he sold out before opening night. |
Louder Than Bombs
Nina P. West, Artfact.com 02.21.08, 5:21 PM ET
A sigh of relief was heard around the world as art prices held firm during the first major auctions of the 2008 season.
Christie's sale of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art in London fetched $440 million, the second highest ever total for a week of art sales in Europe. All indications are that the spring auction season will be strong if prices are set at reasonable levels. Sotheby's (nyse: BID - news - people ) London auctions also posted excellent results.
The contemporary arena provided collectors with extraordinary choices, including a plethora of paintings by today's ''it'' artists, a cabal of young Chinese painters including Liu Ye, Yue Minjun and Chen Zhen. Powerful works by Lucio Fontana, Gerhard Richter, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Egon Schiele all sold well, with some achieving record prices.
But it was the sale of Francis Bacon's ''Triptych 1974-77'' for $51.6 million at Christie's that was the highlight of the week. The sale to an anonymous buyer is a landmark moment for the London art market and establishes a record price for any Post-War work of art sold at auction in Europe. |
