Gagosian, Sotheby’s, Christie’s. Think of the art market at its most glamorous, its most breathtaking, with its record-breaking prices, and the names most often evoked are the two leading auction houses and a multinational gallery owned by the American, Larry...
The international calendar of fairs is extremely full, to the extent that any new venture seems unneeded. It must be stated, however, that the brand-new Tefaf New York that took place from 22 to 26 October, is absolutely remarkable. Located uptown at Park Avenue...
‘Everything I’ve done in the cinema lately has been for the sake of painting. Cinema was magnificent in the '70s. There are fewer masterpieces these days.’ In 2008 the celebrated film maker and producer Claude Berri (1934-2009) whose credits include producing Roman...
With or without Brexit, London is a major focal point for the international art market. The decision of the British people in June to leave the European community has not had the impact on the art community we might have predicted. In fact, in same the week as the two...
Twice a year, the city of Berlin organises events in the domain of contemporary art. In spring it’s the successful Gallery Weekend when local galleries open their doors, a format recently replicated by Paris. Then, in autumn it is the turn of Berlin Art Week – from...
Auction houses love to make us dream by creating stories about the objects on sale and the personalities who owned them. You might say it has become their core marketing strategy. The forthcoming auction of the contents of Robert de Balkany’s private hotel particulier...
It begins with small talk and ends up with art and intimate confessions. I first met Parker Ito last year at a chic Parisian dinner hosted by the Friends of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. I was seated at a table with the president of the society,...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28PyEKAgxmo “You’ll see how we’re going to reboot the Biennale! My job it to put it back to the level where it should be. After all, we’re in the City of Light. This isn’t taking place in Maastricht. This event needs to...
When you travel around the world attending contemporary art fairs as I often do, you come to the realisation that these commercial events multiplying across the world are not unlike hotels. If luxury travellers are drawn to those grand, imposing palaces fitted out to...
What exactly do we mean when we talk about an art dealer’s collection? Is it the artworks they haven’t sold or is it their prized possessions? Christie’s has announced that this October in London it will be auctioning Leslie Waddington’ s collection. The revered...
Long before Andy Warhol dreamed of being an art-making machine and more or less managed it with his silkscreens on canvas, Antwerp’s Pierre Paul Rubens (1577-1640), a legend in a different art genre, designed his own great machine for pumping out paintings. On 6th and...
Have you heard the one about the former chairman of Sotheby’s Europe who loved electronic music so much that he took part to a video music? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uYV3gRbl4U Or the one-time chairman of Phillips who agreed to star in a reality TV show for US...