A WEEK IN NEW YORK IN SPRING
Publication
May 16, 2024
Author
Billy Tartour
Summary
Since the end of the Second World War, New York has slowly but surely taken over from Paris as the world's art capital. And this status has never been challenged since. This city, with its energy and artistic abundance, is conducive to making auction evenings at Christie's or Sotheby's a lively affair. New York alone has more collectors than the whole of Germany or the UK. The art market gives signals about the general state of the economy, and it's comforting to see the financial health of wealthy collectors. It will also be interesting to analyze the impact of the Venice Biennale. The world's most important art event sets the market trend for the coming months. At Frieze, many dealers and gallery owners have decided to present artists selected by the world pavilions, such as Tunji Adeniyi Jones, Etel Adnan, Jessica Rankin, Elias Sime and Julian Creuzet.
THE FIRST MARKET
The premier marché is the main indicator of the health of the art market. Young artists are showcased at art fairs and in galleries that offer them superb shows. Not only does this first market reveal new trends in the art world, it also shows whether collectors are still enthusiastic about taking risks and spending large sums of money on young artists.
Frieze NY 2024
Frieze is the main fair of the week. It takes place in the Shed building, a marvellous contemporary showcase. The world's best galleries are on show, including Gagosian, David Kordansky, David Zwirner and Emmanuel Perrotin. The fair offers established and young galleries the opportunity to present their work side by side. Opposite White Cube, which presents works by institutional artists such as Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin, Capsule Shanghai presents colorful, fluorescent works by young Chinese artist Tia Siqi.
In terms of sales, dealers were generally satisfied with the fair. Supergallery Gagosian presented four paintings by American artist Sterling Ruby. Each sold for $550,000. These gigantic canvases set the fair alight and drew collectors to the stand thanks to a fiery palette that suggests speed and violence. However, the amount paid for this work is questionable, given that the artist's auction record is $615,000 in 2021 at Sotheby's.
Other noteworthy sales took place on the stands. White Cube sold a sculpture by Antony Gormley for $630,000. Hauser & Wirth sold works by Nicolas Party and Nicole Eisenmann for $350,000 and $150,000 respectively. Finally, Thaddaeus Ropac sold a steel sculpture by Tony Cragg for $782,000 and a canvas by Daniel Richter for $450,000.
Nada 2024
Nada is an interesting fair for young collectors wishing to acquire works by young artists at competitive prices. The fair is located in Chelsea, just a few blocks from Frieze. The artist Emily Coan (Dimin gallery) was a great success with her nude scenes in a country atmosphere. So did artist David Bradley (The Hole gallery), whose paintings are strongly influenced by AI and technology.
Show gallery
Last but not least, the week was marked by the splendor and quality of certain shows. The most important galleries decided to dazzle New Yorkers. While a number of shows made their mark, such as that of the master of contemporary photography Hiroshi Sugimoto (Lisson gallery), or Lucas Arruda's spellbinding landscapes at Zwirner gallery, or Rita Ackermann's dazzling canvases at Hauser & Wirth, it was Maurizio Cattelan's show at Gagosian that was the most resounding. The crème de la crème of show business turned out at the show's opening to witness the first collaboration between the world's leading gallery owner and one of contemporary art's most brilliant artists. The artist presented visitors with 5-metre-high, 20-metre-wide metal panels plated with 24-carat gold and riddled with bullets. This work is a direct response to the problem of firearms in the United States and social inequality. Cattelan's second work is his fountain: a man lying on a park bench, urinating. Absolute irreverence, this bum urinating on all the bourgeois and show-business people who stop in front of him.
THE SECOND MARKET
TEFAF 2024
While Frieze showcases the stars of the contemporary market alongside promising young artists, Tefaf is a fair that brings together the stars of the contemporary market with the great masters of art history. The fair takes place at the Park Avenue Armory, a grandiose venue capable of welcoming the world's greatest collectors.
In an economic climate where investors are looking for security rather than risk, TEFAF offers a welcome guarantee of quality. In fact, the fair is extremely vigilant when it comes to selecting and admitting exhibiting galleries. Alongside Pablo Picasso and Edgar Degas are works by Anish Kapoor, Alex Katz and Etel Adnan. Prices range up to $4 million.
The Thaddaeus Ropac stand, featuring works by American artist Joan Snyder, was very popular with visitors. This abstract artist presented captivating paintings spanning 60 years of practice. On opening day, eight works were sold, the most expensive at around $350,000.
Christie's and Sotheby's
This week saw the eagerly-awaited Christie's and Sotheby's sales. They are considered by dealers to be the most important sales of the year, the ones that set the market direction for the coming months. And the result was phenomenal: the sales generated $1.4 billion.
In a first sale, Sotheby's featured works by highly sought-after contemporary artists such as Kerry James Marshall ($7.5 million), George Condo ($3 million), Lucy Bull ($1.8 million) and Avery Singer ($3.2 million). In a second session, the auction house sold works by major blue-chip artists such as the recently deceased Frank Stella ($15 million), Jean-Michel Basquiat ($20 million) and Joan Mitchell ($22 million).
In conclusion, this intense week of art events in New York once again underlined the city's pre-eminent position as a global center for contemporary art. Renowned fairs such as Frieze provided a dynamic platform for emerging and established artists, as well as innovative galleries and discerning collectors. Exhibitions and auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's also added a dimension of prestige to this thriving artistic ecosystem. With works of all genres and periods, from new talents to established masters, this week captivated art enthusiasts from all over the world, demonstrating once again the vitality and diversity of the New York art market.
