20/10/09
Clear Evidence of Confidence at Frieze Art Fair 2009
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At the close of the seventh edition of Frieze Art Fair, sponsored by Deutsche Bank, participating galleries reported clear evidence of renewed confidence in the contemporary art market.
Fair directors, Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp were delighted with reports of significant sales from new and established galleries exhibiting at the 2009 fair, as well as the enjoyable and positive atmosphere engendered at the event and commented, ‘We have been extremely pleased by the extent of the sales successes reported by major US, European, Latin American and UK galleries as well as the younger galleries in our new Frame section. The strong museum shows in London coinciding with the fair helped to attract the world’s most important collectors, curators and museum directors. The galleries have rewarded UK and international visitors by bringing great pieces of the highest standard to Frieze Art Fair this year and everyone involved has commented on the great atmosphere this week.’
Frieze Art Fair 2009 presented 165 of the world’s leading galleries from 30 countries. The fair welcomed 29 new galleries under six years old as part of Frame, and 24 further new galleries. Over 1,000 artists were showcased. Visitor figures once again reached 60,000 making attendance comparable to the last two years. Sales at Frieze Art Fair 2009 reflected the breadth of artists and works on show. Hauser &Wirth sold a Louise Bourgeois sculpture, The Couple, to a European collection for $3.5 million, Neo Rauch’s Harmios sold for $1 million at David Zwirner, a Baldessari Beethoven’s Trumpet (with Ear) Opus 133 on the Sprüth Magers stand sold for $400,000, and Eva Presenhuber sold its Ugo Rondinone work A Day Like This Made of Nothing and Nothing Else for €270,000. Alison Jacques reported the sale of a Hannah Wilke bronze for $150,000 while at Frame, Seventeen Gallery sold a work by Susan Collis for £35,000, and Project 88 from Mumbai sold an original Sarnath Banerjee work for £8,000.
The new section to the fair, Frame, was extremely popular with collectors, visitors and gallerists, and allowed younger galleries to show at Frieze Art Fair for the first time. Curators Daniel Baumann and Sarah McCrory who were special advisors to Frame in 2009 commented, ‘Frame has been an amazing success. Not only have the presentations been well received critically, but also many galleries have reported great
sales. The galleries have been positive about the architecture of the space and the atmosphere and many of the participating artists have received invitations to show in major institutions.’
International galleries were almost entirely uniform in their response to the fair, recognising strong sales and a positive change of mood; Iwan Wirth of Hauser &Wirth said, ‘For us, this has been one of our best Frieze Art Fairs ever. We’re delighted to have sold Louise Bourgeois’s sculpture The Couple to a European collection. Also on show in the park, Paul McCarthy’s Henry Moore Bound to Fail is on hold. We had a great success with Ida Applebroog, selling all the works on our booth, proving just how important it is to focus on older as well as younger generation artists. At this point in time, we have sold works by Andreas Hofer, Roni Horn, Wilhelm Sasnal, Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, Paul McCarthy, Michael Raedecker, Hans Josephsohn, Henry Moore, Christopher Orr, Zhang Enli, David Zink Yi and Jakub Julian Ziolkowski. Sales have been steady and consistent throughout.’
Carol Greene of Greene Naftali Gallery said, ‘Frieze Art Fair was an extraordinary success for us. We had low expectations but surpassed all our past fair sales. We also felt that we were able to not just place works but to engage in meaningful conversations with the collectors, curators and artists, which will have more consequences over time. We did choose to focus our booth on fewer artists and made stronger statements with larger works by artists like Bjarne Melgaard, Rachel Harrison and Gedi Sibony – all of which were very well received. We sold the majority of our work in the first three hours but had
very focused good collectors the entire time. This is a fair in which every day something happens.’
Nicholas Logsdail of Lisson Gallery remarked, ‘We have done astonishingly well right across the board, from young artists to the old classics and the middle generation. We have made 40 sales, the value of which is in the millions. We really are astonished how incredibly robust the interest and recovery has been; also interesting is the depth and breadth of clients has vastly developed. Congratulations to Frieze for working so hard to develop the fair way beyond its previous levels of success. We’ve had brilliant success with Frieze Projects artist Ryan Gander and with Anish Kapoor. Shirazeh Houshiary has been a complete sell out. It has been one of the best years.’
Alison Jacques Gallery said, ‘We’ve had an exceptional Frieze Art Fair. Strong sales and great museum interest, within a fair that takes care of its exhibitors. We showed Hannah Wilke for the first time since working with the entire estate, and are delighted with the response.’
Sree Goswami Director of Project 88 remarked, ‘It has gone very well for us. We’ve sold to corporate collections and new buyers. There is a really good vibe and feel to the Frame section and it has been very carefully selected which is a bonus for collectors. We have sold all our Sarnath Banerjee original works. We have seen many Indian clients and have benefitted from the number of Indian artists that are having gallery and institutional shows throughout London.’
Markus Lüttgen of Lüttgenmeijer commented, ‘Couldn’t have been better – perfect. I think people are willing to buy again. We sold our Gareth Moore installation Neither Here nor There (2009) to the Tate and have sold other works too.’
Dave Hoyland, owner of Seventeen was delighted. ‘It has been amazing and vastly surpassed our expectations. We have placed all the work with great collections, mostly to Americans and also Belgian and Dutch collectors. We’re flattered to be here, the architecture of the Frame section is great and the respect shown to younger galleries has been amazing.’
Alexander Hertling, co-director of Balice Hertling Gallery observed, ‘We’ve met lots of institutional people and finalized exhibition projects. It has been a very international crowd and we have seen people from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and other new markets. We did think that showing a French artist could have been difficult but we could have sold our Isabelle Cornaro installation Landscape with Poussin, four times over.’
Toby Webster of The Modern Institute said, ‘The level of people here has been really important. Although we have been selling recently the mood has been down – however, here this has changed and the fear factor seems to have calmed. We were selling works well into the weekend, whereas other fairs stop. There’s a great pace to Frieze and we’ve got a great spread of sales from small drawings to installations, from beginners to major-league buyers.’
Maureen Paley commented, ‘The fair has been essential, extremely active and we are more than pleased with the response to works by Wolfgang Tillmans, Gillian Wearing, Rebecca Warren and Kaye Donachie. Overall the energy seemed high and the fair has been concentrated and focused. The energy Frieze Art Fair brings to the whole of
London is quite phenomenal.’
Peter Kilchmann of Galerie Peter Kilchmann noted, ‘It was a very good fair and the first two days were particularly fantastic. We are very happy with the sales that we have made and there has been a nice atmosphere. The Tate acquisition of Artur Zmijewski’s Democracies (2009) has brought a big interest to a less-well-known artist and that is very pleasing.’
Jamie Schwartz of Kukje Gallery commented, ‘It has been pleasantly surprising and gone really well. We’ve had a good interest in young Korean artists particularly Jimhongsok and Haegue Yang. We’ve sold works by all the artists we’ve brought with us and had a tremendous response.’
Philipp Haverkampf of Contemporary Fine Arts added, ‘In general the fair has been good. With a particular interest in Thomas Houseago, Daniel Richter and Katja Strunz, we have had sales of works by all the gallery artists. In London we always sell to new people, Frieze Art Fair is extremely well attended and that good mix of people makes it very attractive.’
Martin Janda remarked, ‘Frieze has reacted to the changes in the art market. Frame is an important addition. And the combination of these factors has meant that sales have gone really well and the fair has been attended by a really good selection of curators. Artists that have received particular attention include, Roman Ondák, Jakob Kolding and Milena Dragicevic. For us it’s absolutely important to be here and we look forward to next year.’
Mihaela Lutea, of newcomers Plan B said, ‘It has been a really good fair for us, the best in a very long time. It is our first time in London and it is a great city. We’ve seen a very international spectrum of curators and everyone seems to have come to Frieze Art Fair from all over the world. We’ve had real success with Adrian Ghenie, and could have sold The End of Romanticism to a number of collectors. We sold it to a new client, an important French collector, for €35,000.’
Anthony Reynolds commented, ‘We have used the fair to launch a completely new artist, Asier Mendizabal, and it has worked out well, we have had a fantastic response both privately and institutionally and sold internationally.’
Jason Duval from Michael Werner observed, ‘It is our first time here and it was very successful – we’ve had sales. We’ve made lots of contacts that will be useful in the future with new collectors and new curators.’
Ben Faga from Richard Telles reported, ‘We’ve sold the things we brought and we’ve had lots of interest in work that is at the gallery too. There is a new generation of collectors here, which is promising.’
Wim Peeters of first-time exhibitors Office Baroque stated, ‘We’ve done great sales and met great curators – the balance between the market and content has been perfect. A new generation of artists has received proper attention and around the fair there seems to be an interest in different generations that might have been underexposed until now. This means renegotiating our understanding of art history and contemporary art, and we have participated in this ourselves by showing a 1965 Owen Land work. It’s been a real success.’
On winning the inaugural Frieze Art Fair Stand Prize, sponsored by Champagne Pommery, Jeanne Greenberg-Rohatyn, Director, Salon 94, said, ‘We are incredibly proud of the art we showcased at Frieze including David Hammons’ Flight Fantasy which we are pleased to have sold. The stand was carefully conceived to best display the creativity of our artists and we are thrilled to be recognised by Frieze Art Fair’s distinguished judges.’
The Outset/Frieze Art Fair Fund to benefit the Tate Collection acquired Alice Channer, See-Thru 2009 from The Approach, Zbigniew Libera, How to Train Little Girls 1987 from Raster, Warsaw, David Maljkovic, Images with their own Shadows 2008 from Annet Gelink, Amsterdam, Gareth Moore, Neither Here nor There 2009 Installation from Lüttgenmeijer, Berlin, Marwan Rechmaoui, Monument for the Living 2001 – 2008, from Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Beirut and Hamburg, Artur Zmijewski, Democracies 2009 from Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zurich. A total of £120,000 was spent acquiring the works.
Collectors from the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East were in prominence at the fair.
Marty Eisenberg said, ‘Rebecca and I had a fantastic time at Frieze Art Fair. The community that came together this year made the event special in every way. The art on display was first rate, and the exhibitions and planned events throughout London made every day enlightening. Best of all we came away with some wonderful purchases.’
Collector Filiep Libert commented, ‘Excellent edition, I think one of the best ever. I really enjoyed Frame and all the presentations were absolutely great. Good atmosphere. I bought four pieces from different galleries even though it was not my intention, but the temptations were high and I just could not resist.’
Angela Missoni said, ‘I had to miss two editions of Frieze Art Fair and so I am thrilled to be back this year – the level of quality is always outstanding. I was impressed by the number of good pieces on display and how many really attracted me.’
Collector Ingvild Goetz remarked, ‘I love to visit Frieze Art Fair. It is always very inspiring, especially as young and emerging artists can be discovered here.’
Visitors to the fair included Margaret Hodge, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism at the Department for Culture Media and Sport, Lord Mandelson, First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and Ed Vaizey the Shadow Minister for Culture; collectors Roman Abramovich, Rosa de la Cruz, Don and Mera Rubell, Charles Saatchi, Patrizia Sandretto, Dennis and Debra Scholl, Jerry Speyer and David Tieger; artists John Baldessari, Jeremy Deller, Marlene Dumas, Michael Elmgreen, Tracey Emin, Roger Hiorns, Gary Hume, Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas, Goshka Macuga and Grayson Perry; as well as high-profile people such as, Lily Allen, Lily Cole, Jefferson Hack, Eva Herzigova, Evgeny Lebedev, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Gwyneth Paltrow and Zadie Smith.
Museum Groups visited from Stedeljik Museum, Amsterdam; MACBA, Barcelona; GAMEC, Bergamo; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin; ARTIC - The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; MAMCO, Geneva; Kunstverein Hamburg, Hamburg; Kunsthalle Kiel, Kiel; Patrons of The Outset /Frieze Art Fair Fund to benefit the Tate Collection, London; Tate American Acquisitions Committee, Tate International Council, Tate Latin
American Acquisitions Committee, Tate Major Supporters, Serpentine Council, London; LA MOCA, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami; Kunstverein Munich, Munich; Guggenheim New York, New York; MoMA Contemporary Art Council, New York; MoMA Junior Associates, New York; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington.
Frieze Projects, curated by Neville Wakefield and presented in association with Cartier, received huge critical acclaim. Artists commissioned this year were Mike Bouchet, Kim Coleman and Jenny Hogarth, Ruth Ewan, Ryan Gander, Per-Oskar Leu, Monika Sosnowska, Stephanie Syjuco, and Superflex. Cartier Award 2009 winner Jordan Wolfson’s commission presented at the fair was Your Napoleon.
Frieze Talks, programmed by frieze magazine editors Jennifer Higgie, Jörg Heiser and Dan Fox, presented an international line-up of artists, philosophers, writers and cultural commentators including John Baldessari, Hella Jongerius, Sylvère Lotringer and Agnès Varda.
The Sculpture Park in 2009 showed work from established artists including Louise Bourgeois and Paul McCarthy. Younger artists such as Vanessa Billy showed work in the Sculpture Park with the help of the second year of sponsorship from the Heath Lambert Group, incorporating Blackwall Green.
Frieze Film 2009 was by artist-activists Superflex. Short films, The Financial Crisis (Session I-IV), were broadcast as short films on Channel 4 television during the week of Frieze Art Fair and are available to view on frieze.com.
Frieze Music this year was a performance choreographed by Turner-Prize winning artist Martin Creed. Creed’s work, and his first ever ballet, Work No. 1020, was performed at Sadler’s Wells in London to critical acclaim, being described by The Guardian’s dance critic, Judith Mackrell, as ‘delicious’.
Frieze Education saw over 300 children taking part in the artist-led programme of workshops and discussions organised with ReachOutRCA (The Royal College of Art’s Educational Outreach Team) and held in the Deutsche Bank Education Space.
Pierre de Weck, Global Head of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management and Member of the Group Executive Committee at Deutsche Bank commented: ‘We would like to congratulate the organisers of Frieze on another successful fair at which we saw Frieze take on an increasingly important role as a promoter of the latest ideas in contemporary art. We are particularly excited about the success of this year’s Frieze
Education programme for schools, which produced some of the highest quality works by young people we’ve seen. The workshops have been highly inspirational and we have seen a real raising of aspirations and a strong realization amongst the students of the opportunities open to them in the art world.’
Arnaud Bamberger, Managing Director, Cartier UK added, ‘Cartier is delighted to yet again be the associate sponsor of Frieze Art Fair, undoubtedly one of the most important contemporary art fairs in the world, a testament to the sheer dynamism and talent of Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp. Going through the ever changing entrance hall on the first day is always a thrill, as is experiencing the Frieze Projects commissions assembled by the eminent Neville Wakefield. I’m incredibly proud of the maturing Cartier Award, and this year Jordan Wolfson is a deserved winner.’
- End.
Editors’ Notes
Frieze Art Fair 2010 will be held in Regent’s Park, London, from 14 to 17 October 2010.
Visit frieze.com to download Frieze Talks 2009.
Visit suttonpr.com for images of the fair, Frieze Projects and a portrait of co-directors Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover.
Visit guardian.co.uk for vodcasts and podcasts from Frieze Art Fair 2009.
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