ART
revives art collecting
We focus in on Madrid’s ARCO fair and the city itself, where the group’s hotels are committed to supporting the arts.
Madrid’s International Contemporar y Ar t Fair has become an essential event for Spanish and Latin American ar t.
This year’s aim was to boost business transactions at the fair itself, and to set the stage for the next edition—to be held from 20 to 24 February—in which Peru will be the guest
countr y of honour.
ARCO madrid is about to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Over the years the fair has been maturing, which is reflected in its reception of visitors—museum directors, curators, critics, collectors and art lovers from around the world—who are already accustomed to booking a few days in their diaries in late February for the event. One of the focal points of ARCO madrid is the abundance of Latin American art, representing 68% of the international presence according to data from the fair, which reached 100,000 visitors this year.
In the latest edition, ARCO madrid has achieved its objective: inviting visitors to become more familiar with contemporary art and discover that there are affordable pieces, leading to an increase in art collection at the fair. Thanks to the healthy recovery of the Spanish art market, this was a memorable edition of ARCO madrid, with sales returning to their 2008 levels.
Selected works included historical vanguards, contemporary classics and modern art. A total of 208 galleries from 29 countries exhibited paintings, sculptures, installations, photography, video pieces, new media, drawings and engravings. Several established galleries were present, including Alexander and Bonin and Team, from New York; Thaddaeus Ropac, from Paris; Barbara Thumm; Chantal Crousel; Hauser & Wirth; and Michel Rein. There were also galleries attending the event for the first time, such as Guido W. Baudach; König Galerie; Monitor; and Van Doren Waxter, among many others.
Thanks solely to the International Buyers and Special Guests programmes organised by ARCO madrid, 300 collectors and 200 professionals from more than 40 countries visited the fair.
In addition, another initiative, 'Me compro una obra', (I’ll buy a piece of art) had an impact on works costing less than €5,000 (marked with a label). It motivated many visitors to buy pieces from artists of their own generation for the first time, thus helping those artists to continue creating.
Along the same lines, the Fundación Banco Santander’s implementation of the First Collectors advisory programme for the purchase of works became the perfect tool for these buyers, along with the virtual platform artsy.net, which offered the possibility of exploring the works showcased at the fair through its website and the Artsy app. The Young Collectors programme also extended an invitation to 30 young international collectors.
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN ISN'T THE FUTURE
For the first time, ARCO incorporated the concept of ‘The Future’ as a starting point for research. Curators Chus Martínez, Elise Lammer and Rosa Lleó selected 19 artists and 19 galleries to propose their ideas of the future as a kind of training, in order to address the thought processes of artists from different generations and countries and the challenges they pose. Participants hailed from around the world: from New York, Bortolami; from Río de Janeiro, A Genil Carioca; from São Paulo, Nara Roesler; from Paris, GB Agency; from Berlin, Gregor Podnar; and from Vienna, Emanuel Layr.
Artists discussed ‘The Future’ in terms of an effort, of a continuous exercise of recognition, of producing spaces, of imagination, and of avoiding common topics and visions of life. Artists who previously tackled this subject, such as Salvador Dalí and Július Koller, were also present in some way, as were the visions of Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Maryam Jafri and Eduardo Navarro.
THE ARTISTS THAT SELL
Among the most striking institutional and corporate purchases at this edition were those acquired by the ARCO Foundation, valued at 175,000 euros and funded by proceeds raised at the ARCO Foundation Dinner at the Royal Theatre. The Foundation bought pieces by Amalia Pica of König Galerie; Armando Andrade Tudela of Fortes d´Aloia & Gabriel; Laure Prouvost of Carlier Gebauer; Lili Renaud-Dewar of Emanuel Layr; Yorgos Sapountzis of Barbara Gross; Francesc Ruiz of Estrany-de la Mota; and Eva Fábregas of Tenderpixel. They will become part of the ARCO Foundation Collection, housed in the CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Madrid.
As is tradition, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía also acquired works from a total of 23 artists including Rosa Barba, Patricia Esquivias, David Bestué, María Ruido, Inmaculada Salinas, Algirdas Seskus, Joachim Koester, Ángels Ribé and Engel Leonardo, together valued at 224,480 euros.
DKV Seguros bought works by June Crespo of Carreras Mugica; Blanca Graciaof Ángeles Baños; Mar Guerrero of Formatocomodo; Rubén Grilo of Nogueras Blanchard; Federico Miró of F2 Galería; and Carlos Fernández-Pello of García | Galería, among others.
The Helga de Alvear Foundation acquired the piece 'Pavilion for showing rock' by the artist Dan Graham (Hauser & Wirth), valued at $500,000, as well as the work of Carlos Bunga (Alexander and Bonin) and Chema Madoz (Elvira González).
The María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation bought pieces by Portuguese artist Pedro Cabrita Reis (Juana de Aizpuru). Several works were also sold by the Mayoral gallery, including ‘256 B’ by Luis Feito for 30,000 euros, among others.
Leandro Navarro sold the sculpture ' Mére et enfant' by Baltasar Lobo, which reached a price of 330,000 euros.
The Helga de Alvear gallery also sold pieces, such as 'La revolution será femenine’ by Marcel Dzama for 44,610 euros.
At Leon Tovar, the piece ' Escritura Verde Superior' by Jesús Rafael Soto was sold for more than 800,000 euros. At the Maruani Mercier gallery, pieces by Peter Halley and Maurizio Cattelan were sold at prices of up to 150,000 euros. Elba Benitez (Madrid) sold photographs by Ibon Aranberri, among others. Michel Rein (Paris) sold an installation by Chilean artist Enrique Ramírez for 25,000 euros. The Marlborough gallery also sold works by Antonio López for 315,000 and 90,000 euros.