Galleries, Exhibition and Fairs: Where to look for Art?
As part of Design Mate’s monthly topic in March, which is Design as Art, we decided to find out where to look for art objects, if you are a beginner collector or simply an art enthusiast, which fairs are worth of particular attention, and which auctions should be looked closer at together with our expert, Communication Director at Phillips Auction House, Alexander Blanar.
Alexander Blanar Communication Director at Phillips Auction House
What to buy?
he first thing you have to do is to understand what you actually like. The art, and especially the contemporary art, is known for its tremendous diversity! Here we have the fine art, the mass market art, the photographs, the sculptures and even the video art and installation for the most advanced art enthusiasts.
In order to understand your preferences you have to visit various exhibition and look at the art objects in person. Of course, you can also enjoy the art at museum, but the thing is that the museum items cannot be purchased. On the other hand, when you visit a gallery, a fair or pre-auction exhibition, you have an opportunity not just look at the displayed pieces with your own bare eyes, but also select something for your personal collection, take some time to think or just buy the item that caught your attention on site.
Galleries
Galleries represent the primary art market. They are looking for new artists, assist in their creative carriers and development, provide them with the necessary support. The new works by the artists who cooperate with the galleries are immediately put on display. Moreover, the gallery employees are always willing to tell you about carrier of the artists they represent: what were they doing before and what they are planning to do in the future. On the other hand, the range of the gallery is usually limited to the list of artists it represents, so before going to the certain gallery, it’s better to make some research and find out, which artists this gallery works with.
If you are in Moscow, you may visit Winzavod. This is contemporary art center is combines several galleries, so you can just wander around, look at the pieces in various styles and think about what you like the most. The must-visit spot is Osnova gallery, which represents the young artists from both Russia and foreign countries. Right next to it, there Artis gallery, which displays the pieces by 60 Russian artists working in different styles from painting and graphics to the digital printing and installations. Another gallery, 11.12, is committed to the familiarize the Russian and foreign audience with the artists, the relevant artistic practices and the trends of the Moscow and regional school of Russian art, while XL is focusing on the Russian artists of various generations from Moscow conceptualists (Elena Elagina, Igor Makarevich and Viktor Pivovarov) to so-called young artists (such as Maxim Svischev and ZIP Group).
Cube.Moscow
Another venue that hosts several art galleries is recently opened Cube Moscow on -2 floor of Ritz Hotel. If you going to visit it, make sure to pay attention to Fragment Gallery focusing on the collaboration with young artists, as well as Azot Gallery and Syntax Gallery supporting both young (below 35 years old) and already recognized artists.
In Moscow, it also worth to visit Triumph Gallery, Ruarts, Pink Pong, Artwin and many other interesting venues.
Fairs
The contemporary art fairs is the place, where you can cover several galleries at once. The most convenient feature of such fairs is that you can observe a lot of various arts (different I terms of both price and style), get an idea of the current prices and meet the gallery owners or sometimes even the artists themselves.
THE ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR, COSMOSCOW, IN HELD IN THE EARLY SEPTEMBER AT GOSTINY DVOR IN MOSCOW.
You can also catch some contemporary art fairs while travelling. Here, you may either check, what events are held in the city you are going to visit, or choose the art fair you like and purposely plan your journey to visit it. Anyway, the best cities for such ‘art fair tourism’ are London, Vienna, Paris and Miami, while the most important events are Art Basel fairs that are held in the late March in Hong Kong, in the middle of June in Basel and in the late December in Miami. Art Basel events feature the best galleries from all around the world, including, but not limited to Gagosian, Thaddaeus Ropac, Lisson, White Cube, David Zwirner and other totaling toa round 300 galleries summoned within the single venue. Although, you have to realize that the pieces put on display here are usually of museum level, so the price tags are in accordance.
Frieze is another major art fair held in London in the early October, in New York in the middle of May and, starting from this year, in Los Angeles in the middle of February. Founded in 2003 as novel and experimental art fair, Frieze distinguishes itself with the novelty of works: all pieces put on display must not be older than one year. The most objects are presented here for the first time, also often the fair features the pieces previously displayed at Art Basel and other prestige fairs. Another fair very similar to Frieze, which is called FIAC is held in Paris in the late October. By the way, the event is hosted at Grand Palais, which gives it unique and unbelievable atmosphere.
FIAC
In the late September, Vienna hosts viennacontemporary fair, where the one may encounter the Russian galleries that are quite rare birds at the international art fairs. Since the last year, small, but well-organized Tbilisi Art Fair is held in Tbilisi in the middle of the May. It’s always a good idea to visit Georgia during this season and look at some art at the same time.
The major fairs are often accompanied by the smaller ones the so-called satellite fairs that usually display the works by young prices and offer the prices significantly lower than at the major events. For example, Art Central fair is arranged simultaneously with Art Basel Hong Kong and usually features the art pieces of the same quality as Art Basel, By the way, this year among the Russian gallery Artwin will participate there for the first time.
Besides that, I would recommend to pay attention to such fairs as Untitled in Miami and San Francisco, Liste in Basel, 1:54 in London, New York and Marrakech, Volta in Basel and New York, Paris International in Paris, Dama and The Others in Turin.
Auctions
Now, when you probably already have narrowed down your preferences and started your own collection, you are finally ready for art auctions. In Moscow, there is auction house, Vladey, that holds its pre-auction exhibitions and auction in Moscow. You can always come here, look at the displayed pieces, consult with experts, find out about condition of the works. Then, you have to register for participation in the auction. The auction price tags show the initial estimated cost of work, and the potential buyers then compete for purchase by making their bids. The last bidder, who offers the highest price, becomes the owner of the lot.
YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE AUCTION BY PHONE ON CALL WITH THE AUCTION HOUSE EMPLOYEES, IN PERSON, OR ONLINE VIA INTERNET.
Phillips Auction House holds the biddings only in London, New York, Hong Kong and Geneva. The Geneva auctions feature only collectible watches. For around a week before the schedule auction date, Phillips arranges pre-auction exhibitions, where everyone interested may come to see the works by Bacon, Rothko, Wolfgang Tillmans, Evgeny Antufiev, Nikolay Koshelev and many others.
Phillips AUCTION HOUSE
Sometimes, the exhibitions feature the works that have never been previously displayed in public.
AUCTIONS REPRESENT THE SECONDARY ART MARKET, WHERE THE PIECES ARE SOURCES FROM ONE PRIVATE COLLECTION IN ORDER TO LATTER BE ADDED TO OTHER PRIVATE COLLECTION.
You can participate in the auction from any place in the world, and if for some reason you are unable to visit the pre-auction exhibition personally, you may ask the auction house employees to send you the pictures, the videos or more detailed information about the work.
Therefore, the most important thing in buying contemporary art is to understand what you like. You can do it yourself by visiting exhibition and exploring the auction catalogue. Also, don’t be shy to consult with gallery owners, auction house employees, fair facilitators and other people who view the art as their professional occupation. They are always willing to answer any questions you may have and help you to find what you like at the best available prices. It’s also highly desirable to find such person, whose tastes are similar to yours, so such person may guide you at the beginning of your path and show you the things you need to see.
