By Judd Tully on Artinfo.com
Takashi Murakami works from 2005 in synthetic resin, fiberglass, and paint at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin. Each figure is 6.2 by 3.1 by 1.6 feet.
Photo by Judd Tully
Indeed, prices seemed sky-high or what’s referred to in the trade as “retail plus.”
Plenty of Europeans were on hand to take advantage of the weak American dollar and pretend they were getting bargains. An unidentified European buyer snatched Swiss painter Louis Soutter’s oil on paper Espagne fevrier (ca. 1939) for approximately €350,000 from Berlin’s Haas & Fuchs. The work was on view in a new category called Art Kabinett, which gives 15 galleries an opportunity to show small, curated exhibitions, and Soutter’s punchy and expressionist compositions fit the bill.
But there wasn’t much time to linger and appreciate as waves of art world aficionados streamed along the carpeted aisles, rubbernecking at every possible distraction.
“I’m not feeling good,” said New York supertrader Jose Mugrabi. “This is the first place I asked for prices and it scares me how low they are.”
He burst out laughing at his comment, posed at the edge of the Haas & Fuchs stand, and pointed to an Andy Warhol “Playboy Bunny” painting from 1978 measuring 23 by 18 inches that had a price tag of $680,000. “This is the best piece I’ve seen so far,” he said.
Mugrabi moved on, but a short time later he scored his first trophies of the day, buying three 40-by-40-inch Warhol “Gremlins” from 1986 at Dusseldorf’s Galerie Hans Mayer. The works went for under $500,000 each, according to David Mugrabi, one of Jose’s art-dealing sons. “The dealers are already selling like crazy,” raved the younger Mugrabi.
Not everyone sounded so enthralled. One noted retired dealer turned collector snapped, “They’re an awful lot of Calders here. They’re coming out of the woodwork and are very expensive.”
But sticker shock isn’t anything new, and besides, at Art Basel there’s really no time to hesitate or even haggle, especially so early in the privileged view.
Another European collector pounced at Paris/Miami's Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, buying a matching pair of large, upright Takashi Murakami sculptures, titled Kaikai Kiki, from 2005. The goofy guardians measure approximately 6 by 3 by 1.5 feet and are made of synthetic resin, fiberglass, and paint. Perrotin declined to reveal the price, but an informed passerby suggested the pair had sold in the $3 million range.
But even the standout Murakamis were overshadowed by a spectacular untitled Rudolf Stingel baroque abstraction from 2007 in nine plaster panels at Milan’s Galleria Massimo De Carlo. Another version in black fiberglass is at Francois Pinault’s Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Again the gallerist declined to cite a price, though another informed passerby pegged it in the $600,000 range.
There were sour notes, though: One only had to drift over to the newly organized Art Supernova, in which 20 galleries present work by emerging artists, and perk up his ears.
The section was tucked into a tributary of the sprawling convention center. Though plenty of signage led to it and a wall map plotted out the locations of the galleries, inside the series of unadorned rooms there wasn’t a single gallery sign in sight—nor were there chairs or tables for the dealers to fume on. This was apparently a deliberate move on the part of the organizers, intended to give this section a more curated quality. In fact, the section seemed, at least to this viewer, to fit in with the slapdash or post–arte povera style of “Unmonumental,” the inaugural exhibition at the new New Museum of Contemporary Art.
“The only other thing they [the organizers] could have done,” hissed one Supernova exhibitor, “was to blindfold us and tie one arm behind our backs.”Judd Tully is editor at large for Art+Auction.
To learn more : http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/
Takashi Murakami works from 2005 in synthetic resin, fiberglass, and paint at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin. Each figure is 6.2 by 3.1 by 1.6 feet. Photo by Judd Tully
MIAMI—The sixth edition of the Art Basel Miami Beach fair and the last orchestrated by founding director Samuel Keller opened to VIP types at noon today with a resounding bang.
As in years past, some super-caffeinated collectors literally ran down the center aisle to reach favorite galleries. You might have mistaken the scene for the running of the bulls in Pamplona.
“I was surprised how many good things there are,” said New York dealer Neal Meltzer, “but it’s a name-your-price market.”
As in years past, some super-caffeinated collectors literally ran down the center aisle to reach favorite galleries. You might have mistaken the scene for the running of the bulls in Pamplona.
“I was surprised how many good things there are,” said New York dealer Neal Meltzer, “but it’s a name-your-price market.”
Indeed, prices seemed sky-high or what’s referred to in the trade as “retail plus.”
Plenty of Europeans were on hand to take advantage of the weak American dollar and pretend they were getting bargains. An unidentified European buyer snatched Swiss painter Louis Soutter’s oil on paper Espagne fevrier (ca. 1939) for approximately €350,000 from Berlin’s Haas & Fuchs. The work was on view in a new category called Art Kabinett, which gives 15 galleries an opportunity to show small, curated exhibitions, and Soutter’s punchy and expressionist compositions fit the bill.
But there wasn’t much time to linger and appreciate as waves of art world aficionados streamed along the carpeted aisles, rubbernecking at every possible distraction.
“I’m not feeling good,” said New York supertrader Jose Mugrabi. “This is the first place I asked for prices and it scares me how low they are.”
He burst out laughing at his comment, posed at the edge of the Haas & Fuchs stand, and pointed to an Andy Warhol “Playboy Bunny” painting from 1978 measuring 23 by 18 inches that had a price tag of $680,000. “This is the best piece I’ve seen so far,” he said.
Mugrabi moved on, but a short time later he scored his first trophies of the day, buying three 40-by-40-inch Warhol “Gremlins” from 1986 at Dusseldorf’s Galerie Hans Mayer. The works went for under $500,000 each, according to David Mugrabi, one of Jose’s art-dealing sons. “The dealers are already selling like crazy,” raved the younger Mugrabi.
Not everyone sounded so enthralled. One noted retired dealer turned collector snapped, “They’re an awful lot of Calders here. They’re coming out of the woodwork and are very expensive.”
But sticker shock isn’t anything new, and besides, at Art Basel there’s really no time to hesitate or even haggle, especially so early in the privileged view.
Another European collector pounced at Paris/Miami's Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, buying a matching pair of large, upright Takashi Murakami sculptures, titled Kaikai Kiki, from 2005. The goofy guardians measure approximately 6 by 3 by 1.5 feet and are made of synthetic resin, fiberglass, and paint. Perrotin declined to reveal the price, but an informed passerby suggested the pair had sold in the $3 million range.
But even the standout Murakamis were overshadowed by a spectacular untitled Rudolf Stingel baroque abstraction from 2007 in nine plaster panels at Milan’s Galleria Massimo De Carlo. Another version in black fiberglass is at Francois Pinault’s Palazzo Grassi in Venice. Again the gallerist declined to cite a price, though another informed passerby pegged it in the $600,000 range.
There were sour notes, though: One only had to drift over to the newly organized Art Supernova, in which 20 galleries present work by emerging artists, and perk up his ears.
The section was tucked into a tributary of the sprawling convention center. Though plenty of signage led to it and a wall map plotted out the locations of the galleries, inside the series of unadorned rooms there wasn’t a single gallery sign in sight—nor were there chairs or tables for the dealers to fume on. This was apparently a deliberate move on the part of the organizers, intended to give this section a more curated quality. In fact, the section seemed, at least to this viewer, to fit in with the slapdash or post–arte povera style of “Unmonumental,” the inaugural exhibition at the new New Museum of Contemporary Art.
“The only other thing they [the organizers] could have done,” hissed one Supernova exhibitor, “was to blindfold us and tie one arm behind our backs.”Judd Tully is editor at large for Art+Auction.
To learn more : http://www.artbaselmiamibeach.com/
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