Ullens Successfully Sells $22.2 Million Worth Of Chinese Art In Beijing

Big news coming out of the Chinese art world today. Bloomberg reports that Guy Ullens, the Belgian industrialist and collector of Chinese art since the mid-1980s, has sold 18 works from his collection for over $20 million (151.7 yuan). Ullens, whose collection is made up of hundreds of pieces spanning centuries of China’s long artistic history, put these works, many of them duplicates or triplicates, up for auction to add to efforts by his popular Beijing museum of contemporary Chinese art to reach out to China’s burgeoning collector base and art enthusiasts.

According to Bloomberg, the huge returns on Ullens’s sale indicates two important developments in the Chinese art world — for one, the quality of the Ullens collection, and two, the motivation of Mainland Chinese collectors to buy Chinese art now. While the Ullens collection has long been considered one of the top collections of traditional and contemporary Chinese art, until recently the local Chinese collector base has stayed out of the picture, mainly sticking to purchasing the occasional western master or ancient Chinese antique. Now, however, as the Chinese New Collector becomes increasingly influential in art auctions around the world, sales like that of Ullens’s artwork are, as we’ve seen in the last year or so, becoming more heavily populated by Mainland buyers.

Bloomberg points out that the success of this sale reflects the trend that we have been observing since before the global downturn struck, of Chinese buyers (and Chinese auction houses) growing in number and influence. This extends not only to the sale of Ullens’s artwork, but to every corner of the auction market, from contemporary and traditiional Chinese art to wines and jewelry. As the article points out as well, the breadth of Ullens’s sale — which included contemporary artists like Zhang Xiaogang, who sold for 15 million yuan to a Chinese buyer — shows that the Chinese collector has truly arrived.
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How much is that art in the window?

via
Christie’s New York Pop Culture: Punk/Rock sale on November 24 will continue to bring fresh, new markets to auction with a Punk and Rock collection, and a selection of Designer Toys.

PUNK
The sale is highlighted with imagery and artifacts of the late seventies and early eighties Punk explosion from both sides of the Atlantic. The most important venues, bands, designers and writers of the Punk movement are showcased through fanzines, flyers, posters, t-shirts, records and photographs. With over 120 lots, estimates range from $300 to $6,000. Musicians and bands include; Blondie, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Mick Rock, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Sid Vicious, The Clash, The Cure, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Smiths, and The Velvet Underground.

Posters and flyers featured include — a rare concert poster for The Ramones seminal appearance at the Roundhouse, July 4, 1976, which notably attracted other bands in the audience such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned (estimate: $2,000 – 3,000); the most significant Punk flyer to appear at auction, The Screen on the Green Presents a Midnight Special featuring Sex Pistols + Clash + Buzzcocks, August 29, 1976 (estimate: $3,000 – 4,000); and a flyer for The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and The Slits at The Coliseum, March 11, 1977 (estimate: $1,500 – 2,000).

A complete press kit from the 1977-78 U.S. Tour of The Sex Pistols is signed on the cover by Malcom McLaren and includes signed publicity photos by Johnny Rotten, Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Sid Vicious (estimate: $5,000 - 6,000). The first piece of tattoo memorabilia to appear at auction is a hand-crafted, Art Deco-style chest created by the legendary and influential tattoo artist Amund Deitzel (1890 – 1973), for use in his tattoo parlor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (estimate: $3,000 – 5,000).

DESIGNER TOYS
After introducing Designer Toys to the auction market in Christie’s June Pop Culture sale, Christie’s is pleased to offer an expanded selection of over 25 lots in the November sale, with estimates starting at $100. This twenty-first century art movement is a unique multidisciplinary mode of expression, which employs painting, sculpture, graphic design, fashion, graffiti, industrial design, metal craft, and woodworking. This is a movement that has brought art to the masses and sits between the worlds of fine and commercial art.

Highlights include — Frank Kozik’s complete sets of his ‘Ludwig Van’ and ‘Ho Chi Minh’ busts (estimate: $3,000 - $4,000 each); KAWS’ ‘4ft. Companion’ (estimate: $7,000 - $9,000); and Huck Gee’s Customized Mega Munny (estimate: $4,000 - $5,000). Other artists represented are; Suckadelic, Carlos Enriquez Gonzales, Amanda Visell, Cupco, Luke Chueh, Dalek, Thomas Han, and Mark Nagata. Manufacturers include; Munky King, Kidrobot, Medicom, and Max Toy Co.

ROCK
Several rare and well-documented concert instruments are features in the auction. An exciting highlight is the Vox Continental Portable Organ played by John Lennon at the historic Shea Stadium concert, August 15, 1965, the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, August 13, 1965, and at the studio recording of I’m Down (estimate: $150,000 – 200,000). The concert at Shea Stadium is arguably one of the most famous in rock history. Lennon’s memorable frenzied rendition of I’m Down, while pounding on the organ, resulted in it not working properly for the next show. The organ has since been repaired and is fully functional.

A Yamaha SC 1000 electric guitar owned and played in concert by Bob Marley during the final worldwide tour of Bob Marley and The Wailers in 1979, is another highlight (estimate: $30,000 – 40,000). Marley was presented with the guitar upon his visit to the Yamaha factory in Hamamatsu during the Tokyo leg of the tour, and photographs of legendary singer playing at Tokyo and Osaka venues are sold with the guitar.

A collection of three original tapes and five handwritten boxes by Jimi Hendrix are available from the famous sessions that would become the classic album Electric Ladyland (estimate: $20,000 – 30,000). The boxes include handwritten production notes and were given to a member of the The Amen Corner, who toured with Hendrix in the UK.

Other highlights include a bass guitar played by a young Kurt Cobain while recording demos at his Aunt’s house in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1982 and 1985 (estimate: $60,000 – 80,000). For fans and collectors of the Beastie Boys, is the original artwork for the cover of the band’s 1986 debut album License to Ill by David Gambale (estimate: $20,000 – 30,000).

Damien Hirst - Beautiful Inside My Head Forever London September 15 & 16, 2008

The remarkable success of the Damien Hirst auction, Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, has raised several questions about the relationship between the financial markets and the art market. The surprisingly strong numbers have also caused many to wonder about the state of the art market itself. But the results of the sale are quite plain on the subject of Damien Hirst and his stature as a contemporary artist.

This report cannot make arguments about whether the Hirst auction is or is not representative of the art market as a whole or even indicative of the Contemporary art market. But it can draw some important conclusions about the history of the Hirst market.

10 Most power people in China Art World 2007

2007艺术权力榜 影响中国当代艺术10人榜单
1. 方力钧Fang Lijun :Artist
2. 艾未未Ai Wei Wei : Artist
3. 尤伦斯夫妇Mr and Mrs Ullens : Collector收藏家、Ullens Foundation尤伦斯基金会、Ullens Art Centre尤伦斯艺术中心创始人
4. 陈东升:collector 收藏家泰康人寿保险股份有限公司董事长
5. 蔡国强Cai Guo-Qiang: Artist
6. 范迪安 : Director of China Museum Of Art, Curator中国美术馆馆长、策展人
7. 李达 : CEO Auction House北京保利国际拍卖有限公司总经理
8. 尹在甲 :Director of Korean Arario gallery 阿拉里奥艺术空间总监
9. 陈丹青 : artist, intellectual知识分子、艺术家
10. 皮埃尔·胡伯(pierre huber): collector收藏家、Director of Shanghai Art Fair上海当代艺博会总监, Art & Public Gallery owner, art& public画廊主人
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News from China :New Media art in Aution House

Via 根据瓦西里·康定斯基（1866年-1944年）由来已久的阐释，艺术家是时代的宠儿。因此，新的艺术家一代适应当代的科学技术，以及时代精神与形象的需要，就再正常不过了。二十世纪六十年代电视的风行唤起了艺术家对新媒体形式的关注，并为美国和欧洲的影像艺术提供了可能性。近乎半个世纪以来，艺术家一直在探索视频技术的品质，以便更有利于处理艺术形象，展现叙述权利和时间概念等。

　　影像艺术开始于沃尔夫·福斯特尔，他曾经的工作圈子并不属于媒体艺术，他曾是激流派的成员之一，而且像雷蒙·安斯、维尔格雷和弗兰克斯·杜弗尼一样都是早期的招贴画家。出生在德国的福斯特尔，有79％的交易量在那里实现。紧接着是美国和英国，还有法国和西班牙也分别有 12%和5%的交易产生。他的作品具有普遍的购买性，因为90%的作品成交价都在5200欧元以下。此类影像装置在拍卖会上的稀缺性逐年递增：2007年 5月，Requiem在佳士得（巴黎）将竞价抬升到17000欧元，由此也创下了该艺术家的价格记录。

　　另外一位影像艺术的先驱白南准，他的盛名也为全球藏家所闻。他在美国和英国实现了40%的交易份额，另外45%的份额在法国、德国和瑞士完成。他于上世纪六十年代开始使用变形扭曲的形象进行艺术实验，并在1985年创作了带有监控的机器人。依据装置的体量和可监控功能，这些作品的平均落槌价在 2万欧元到10万欧元之间。2007年5月是影像艺术价格史上的一个节点，白南准早于福斯特尔四天实现了自己的最高卖价：在香港佳士得上拍的一件反映神、人同形同性的视频作品Baby Buddha，攀升至230万港币，约21.9万欧元。而另外一部分小型作品，如由摄像头和其它金属物件构成的机器人的拍卖价格为2654美元 (约合2180欧元，纽约菲利普斯拍卖会) 。

　　虽然，白南准在影像艺术史上占据领衔地位，但是他的价格水品却在小他九岁的诺曼·布鲁斯Bruce Nauman之下。诺曼·布鲁斯在当代艺术舞台上是备受追捧的艺术家。不少富有的藏家都打算拿出几百万美元收藏他的装置，他的作品也不总是借用影像的形式。例如，1997年11月，苏富比以200万美元卖掉了他的巨大的装置《好男孩，坏男孩》(37.5 x 349.5 x 548.5 cm)， 2007年5月，一位买家支付了约十分之一的价格就在纽约佳士得买下了与《好男孩，坏男孩》同名的影像作品。此件影像作品共发行了四十件，突破了4万至 6万美元的预估价而取得21万美元的成交高价。

　　此外，在使用综合媒介的年轻一代艺术家中，虽然现在的市场仍然稀缺他们的作品，但诸如皮皮劳蒂·里斯特Papilotti Rist、盖瑞·希尔Gary Hill、托尼·奥斯勒Tony Oursler、皮耶尔·修贺、贡扎雷斯-佛斯特、比尔·维奥拉Bill Viola或者皮埃里克·索兰的作品收益仍然比较微薄。例如，索兰创作的两件装置作品曾经憾然流拍；盖瑞·希尔、皮耶尔·修贺和贡扎雷斯 —佛斯特，他们的作品迄今为止拍卖的交易量都不足10件；相形之下，比尔·维奥拉Bill Viola显得稍微成功一些，他的作品2002年6月27日初次在拍卖会中亮相，其中的作品《繁殖》卖至6.22万欧元。同年，影像装置作品《Going Forth By Day》(2002)在纽约古根海姆博物馆展出，由此证明当影像艺术被艺术机构展出后也可以卖到高价。然而，在他的个人展览之后，人们或许需要等上20年之久才会在市场中找到他的作品，由此也看得出影像艺术和装置要进入市场领域的难度。