review all smiles Sound sales, packed halls and great art set the mood for a successful Art Basel this year, which featured almost 300 galleries. Myrna Ayad and Tala Chukri look back at the T highlights and survey some of the Middle Eastern art that was on show. uesday 14 June was a bright no monumental showcase pieces at the fair’s Facing page clockwise, from top left: Ghada Amer. 35 Words of Love. 2011. Bronze and sunny day in Basel, rather entrance. Instead, Art Basel reinstated its second with gold leaf. Diameter: 61 cm. Courtesy Kukje Gallery, New York and Seoul. akin to the sales climate at the vernissage of the edition of Art Parcours – 10 works dotted around 42nd edition of Art Basel. Perhaps the only aspect Basel, among them a series of photographs by Farhad Moshiri. (Detail) Angelina Jolie Instant Eyebrows. 2010. Embroidery, acrylic on canvas to dampen the spirits of collectors that day was the recently freed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Ironi- on MDF. Four panels, 124 x 164 cm each. Courtesy Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels. the queue at the fair entrance, but that did noth- cally, it was his porcelain installation, Field, that Nabil Nahas. (Detail). Untitled. 2010. Acrylic on ing to affect some speedy purchases, beginning had taken centre stage at Art Basel 41; this year, canvas. 172.3 x 188 x 10 cm. Courtesy Sperone at the 11am VIP preview. Some ground-floor gal- an avid fan of Weiwei waltzed around Art Unlim- Westwater, New York. leries were even seen re-hanging artworks dur- ited, donning a mask of the artist’s face and hap- ing the vernissage itself – a sure sign that sales pily posing for photos with bemused members the 20th-century’s greatest masters. Rumours were at full throttle. One Middle Eastern collector of the public. In another show of support, Anish abounded that a 1980 triptych print (an edition of quipped, “It’s almost like it’s 2007 again!” – a state- Kapoor declined the exhibition of his works at 180) was sold to Saudi collectors. ment echoed by a number of gallerists, including Beijing’s National Museum of China in protest of Like all Art Basels, a predominance of works by Sukanya Rajaratnam of L&M Fine Arts; the gallery Weiwei’s detention. Kapoor, whose stellar works certain artists was evident, and this year pieces by sold its striking The Damned by Liza Lou for a lit- could be found at a number of galleries at the fair, Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Josef Albers and Lucio tle under $1 million. “There’s a mix of collectors recently unveiled Leviathan – a gargantuan work Fontana stole the show, especially on the ground- that we haven’t seen before and I’m pleased with at the Grand Palais in Paris. floor galleries. A two-metre Warhol, One Hundred the sales,” added Rajaratnam, who is “looking for- Notable sales reported by galleries included and Fifty Black/White/Grey Marilyns, was priced at ward” to the gallery’s second participation at Abu Cheim & Read’s Eye by Louise Bourgeois for al- a reported $80 million at Bischofberger and re- Dhabi Art in November. A “mix of collectors” was most $2 million, Fernand Léger’s La Charmeuse mained unsold at the time of press; the Swiss gal- certainly evident, with some observers noting d’Oiseaux for $2.8 million at Helly Nahmad and lerist had only shown a single Warhol at last year’s minimal attendance by the Americans but an all three of Paul McCarthy’s White Snow Dwarf 7 fair. In terms of genres, photography was well in interesting increase in Turkish buyers. editions for $2.8 million each at Hauser & Wirth. evidence and in terms of collectors extraordinaires, The overall mood was upbeat at the world’s All eyes remained on the 1970 Francis Bacon the Rubells and Broads were spotted, as was largest Contemporary art fair, hot on the heels of triptych, Three Studies of the Human Body, at Marl- Germany’s Christian Boros and Pinault’s advisor the announcement in May of its acquisition of borough, which remained unsold at the time of Caroline Bourgeois. Art HK. “The fair has never been this good, it’s press. Speculations on its price hover between much more international,” beamed Chantal the $50-60 million figure. The gallery, which has Crousel of Paris’s Galerie Chantal Crousel; “We’ve plans to widen its scope of Contemporary art- SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT changed our booth twice and sold out twice!” ists through a new space in London set to open In previous Art Basel reviews in Canvas, we have Unlike previous editions, however, there were in 2012, exhibited a mini retrospective of one of commented on the repeated exhibition of works 44 by a very small pool of Middle Eastern artists. Tal- ented, Diasporic and stellar, these ‘usual suspects’ We still see the same names [at hold the torch for the region over and over again at Art Basel. Be that as it may, it is an interesting Art Basel] in terms of regional art. thought that in spite of auction world records in Dubai, London and New York, respected biennials Eastern artists [at Art Basel] will take time, because two were sold for an undisclosed amount and the across the region, four art fairs and a greater repre- this kind of aesthetic is difficult to understand by third remained unsold at the time of press. Two sentation of Middle Eastern artists in international the [fair] committee.” The matter of time was sec- works by fellow Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary galleries, we still see the same names in terms of onded by Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac’s Victoire de (Canvas 6.2) were on show at Lisson Gallery; New regional art – and the same galleries too. It was a Pourtalès, who noted, “I am sure it will change York’s MoMA has recently acquired a piece by the question we posed to a number of gallerists whose little by little and I do agree that a few Middle London-based artist and one was sold at the fair rosters include Middle Eastern artists, among them Eastern artists are indeed missing at Art Basel.” for $81,000 to an Italian collector. Rodolphe Janssen of Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Ropac showed Fabrication, an oil on linen piece whose gallery represents Iranian Pop artist Farhad by New York-based Iranian artist Ali Banisadr Moshiri (Canvas 1.5). Angelina Jolie Instant Eyebrows, which sold for $30,000; Hangover, a beaded work THE ARAB CONTINGENT a four-panelled embroidery piece “saved for Basel by Moshiri, was reserved for $200,000. Ropac had New York’s Sperone Westwater never ceases to since November 2010” was reserved for $600,000 shown works by Rokni and Ramin Haerizadeh dazzle Basel audiences with the realistic sculp- by a European collector. (Canvas 5.6) at previous Art Basel and Art Basel tural works of Evan Penny. A bust of the gallery’s “The problem with Middle Eastern galleries Miami Beach fairs, but in early June the brothers Michael Short was on show last year; Short used is that they only show artists from their region; announced that they will no longer be represent- an image of the artwork for his nametag this year. a gallery should be about bringing international ed by the gallery. Three works by Moshiri were A fractal work by Lebanese artist Nabil Nahas artists,” explained Janssen; “Showing more Middle showcased at Paris’s Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin; (Canvas 4.6) was displayed and while Short main- 45 review Top to bottom: Taysir Batniji. 5 x Pixels (men). 2011. Pencil on paper. 19.5 x 14.5 cm (including frame) each. Unique piece, comprising five works. Courtesy Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Beirut and Hamburg. Kader Attia. Unable. 2011. Light installation. 63 x 330 x 3 cm. Edition 1 of 3 plus 1 AP. Courtesy Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna. Adel Abdessemed. Cheval Arabe (1-on Green Book, Volume 1). 2011. Book, resin and iron wire. Total height: 17 cm. Unique piece. Courtesy Galerie Christine König, Vienna. Photography by Myrna Ayad and Tala Chukri. tains that this wasn’t the New York-based artist’s first showcase at Art Basel, it was noteworthy to learn that among Nahas’s collector fan base is rock star Sir Mick Jagger. “Nabil has received a lot of attention after his retrospective last year at the Beirut Exhibition Centre,” added Short, “and the work we have here sold within the first hour for $135,000 to a France-based buyer who collects works by Nahas in some depth.” The flag for Lebanon was raised by Beirut and Hamburg-based Galerie Sfeir-Semler, which, after participating at Art Basel from 1983 until 2003 and returned this year with a superb line- up of Middle Eastern artists, including Walid Raad (Canvas 5.2), Wael Shawky, Taysir Batniji, Marwan Rechmaoui, Yto Barrada, Akram Zaatari (Canvas 6.1), Rabih Mroué and Timo Nasseri (Canvas 5.2). Interestingly, the gallery booth’s signboard only mentioned Beirut. “I think it’s more glamorous to have just ‘Beirut’,” laughed the gallery’s Andrée Sfeir-Semler, “after all, we have a role to represent 46 review When will we see a greater variety of Middle Eastern art at Basel? It is a matter that requires everyone’s support. Arab artists in Basel. I have become an ambas- any answers.” Another Arab artist who enjoys an at Galerie Krinzinger – the work glowed with the sador for our part of the world and I am proud audience in New York is Egyptian-born Ghada same blue hue that is synonymous with the UN, to be doing that. I want to put Middle Eastern Amer (Canvas 6.1), whose stunning embroidery but, ever so discreetly, two black dots appeared artists on the map.” Sfeir-Semler – who recently works (often in collaboration with Iranian artist between the first two letters to hint at the pro- signed up Emirati artist Hassan Sharif (Canvas 4.1) Reza Farkhondeh) were dotted all over the fair. posed inability of the UN. It wasn’t the first time to her impressive roster, but didn’t showcase his From Cheim & Read and Pace Prints to Goodman that the Algerian-born artist has played on words work due to the booth’s size limitations – noted Gallery and Kukje Gallery, all gallerists reported and at $50,000, the piece was unsold at the time acquisitions by collectors from Europe, the USA, healthy sales and strong interest in Amer’s work, of press. the Gulf and Lebanon. Works at the booth ranged the prices of which ranged from $20,000 for edi- Fellow Algerian Abdessemed completed two from $2900 for pieces by Mroué to $158,000 for tions to $260,000 for larger works. A bronze sculp- pieces only a week before the fair and sent them a work by Zaatari; by the fair’s third day, works by ture with gold leaf, 35 Words Love, at Kukje looked over to Galerie Christine König. Sold for $130,000, Mroué, Rechmaoui, Barrada and Shawky were all like a mini version of the larger 100 Words of Love Cheval Arabe uses the metaphor of the ‘fallen’ sold, as were two works by Zaatari which went created especially for Doha’s Mathaf: Arab Mu- Arab world through a horse made of resin sym- to museums. “What I like about my artists is their seum of Modern Art. “This [little] one is subtle and bolising the chivalry of Arab horsemen, but is tied subtlety as they deliver something new in a very elegant,” said the gallery’s Randy Moore of the six- with metal string around a copy of Libyan leader international way,” explains Sfeir-Semler, “they all edition artwork, which was sold for $60,000 to a Qaddafi’s politically philosophical Green Book. speak a universal language and provide an intelli- Switzerland-based buyer. Of the three talks related to the region, a gent and rooted way of doing Middle Eastern art. And of course there was the remarkable hype surrounded Collector Focus: Patronage and Their works are not folkloric or ethnic-looking.” Mona Hatoum (Canvas 6.1), whose works could Politics, initially scheduled to be led by Iranian Her statement was echoed by Saliha Yavuz at Is- be found at Galerie Max Hetzler, Crousel, Alexan- patron Dr Farhad Farjam, collector Dana Farouki tanbul’s Galerist, which sold a number of works by der and Bonin and at Art Unlimited through her and His Excellency Omar Saif Ghobash, Emirati Turkish artists, including a $200,000 Taner Ceylan Impenetrable installation. Poetic, poignant and ambassador to Russia, and moderated by Payam piece, Fakeworld, to a European collector familiar often hard-hitting, Hatoum’s pieces delight aes- Sharifi, an artist and essayist. For undisclosed rea- to the gallery. “The fair is great, in fact better than thetically but also sting with their harsh messag- sons, Farjam and Ghobash were unable to attend last year,” she said. “Collectors are surprised be- es, as is the case with Natura Morta at Hetzler – an at the last minute and were replaced by Abdullah cause the art doesn’t look Turkish!” Works by the antique cabinet, bought at auction by the artist Al-Turki, Creative Director of Edge of Arabia and ever-so-poetic Youssef Nabil (Canvas 1.1) were and which was used to store Hatoum’s trademark Qatari collector Tariq Al-Jaidah. While all three also on show at Galerist, as well as at Galerie Na- glass grenades. speakers spoke well and were able to give sur- talie Obadia; the latter sold editions to American veys of art and culture in their respective coun- and European collectors for $8000-11,000 and tries of residence, the talk could have done more also showcased works by the Turkish-born Arme- MANY STATEMENTS to enlighten enthusiasts of Middle Eastern art on nian conceptual artist, Sarkis. Meanwhile, the world’s eyes have been fixed on anything that they didn’t know already. Photographs by Raad were also displayed the Arab spring; cultural enthusiasts have been There are a few givens to the Basel situation at Anthony Reynolds Gallery and Paula Cooper keeping close tabs on the effects that politics vis-à-vis Middle Eastern art – there are still no Gallery – two were sold at the latter for between may have on works by regional artists. Aside new regional names on the Basel circuit; and the $20,000–25,000. The Lebanese artist’s work is from some participating Middle Eastern artists at yearly talks, which, while featuring people that nothing if not challenging, but Paula Cooper the Venice Biennale who responded artistically are clearly ‘in the know’, rarely raise new issues. Gallery’s Matilde Guidelli-Guidi noted a great to recent uprisings, works by Kader Attia (Can- Which leaves one to question: when will we see a following for him in New York: “He’s had a lot of vas 3.4) and Adel Abdessemed struck a political greater variety of Middle Eastern art at Basel? It is success; he’s smart, calm and collected and it is chord at Basel. The former, using neon, effected a matter that requires everyone’s support – East, wonderful to listen to him speak; he never gives a visual and literal twist through his Unable piece West and everything in between. 47
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