Art World News

Art Market Continues to Falter

By in Art World News

Art Market Continues to Falter

Christie’s auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen in London last week during the sale of Kees van Dongen’s La Quiétude, the top selling lot for the single-owner evening sale from collection of the late entrepreneur Sam Josefowitz.


Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2023

Major auctions of modern and contemporary art in London last week offered additional proof that the market is softening. 

Combined, the evening sales at the three top auction houses—Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s—sank 28.1% from a year earlier to £114.2 million (US$138.7 million) before fees, according to an analysis by ArtTactic, a London-based data and analysis firm. The total, which amounted to less than a presale estimate of at least £123.8 million, followed weak evening sales in Hong Kong for both Sotheby’s and Phillips. Christie’s holds its major Hong Kong sales at the end of November. 

“Jittery London auctions show that the art market remains fragile,” ArtTactic wrote in its analysis. 

Though a reason for the jitters isn’t entirely clear, the big London sales began on Thursday, soon after the start of the Israeli-Hamas war. That injected a huge amount of additional uncertainty into a market already experiencing the effects of geopolitical tensions in Europe and Asia and higher interest rates throughout the world. The results for the art market create a worrisome backdrop ahead of the biggest fall auctions of the year, which will take place in the first half of November in New York. 

Still, Christie’s delivered some good market news last week, achieving £62.69 million in sales of modern and contemporary art—3.7% better than a year earlier—at two evening auctions on Friday: a 20th/21st Century evening sale and an auction of the single-owner collection of the late entrepreneur Sam Josefowitz. 

That total doesn’t include an additional £16.1 million realized for the Josefowitz collection for 14 lots of antiquities, Old Master Prints, and Asian sculpture and design, ArtTactic said. The collection, which will continue to be featured in three upcoming Paris sales, is expected to realize more than £80 million in all. 

Sotheby’s, however, did not fare well in London, with the £37 million total for its two evening sales on Thursday representing a 55.5% decline from last year and its lowest London evening sale total since 2015, according to ArtTactic.

A major reason for the overall drop was the failure to sell Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild, 1986, which was estimated to fetch between £16 million and £24 million. That led to a total for its modern and contemporary evening auction of £24.4 million, below a presale estimate of at least £39.9 million. Sotheby’s “The Now” evening auction of ultra-contemporary art realized £12.5 million, within expectations.

Phillips’ single evening auction of 20th-century and contemporary art on Friday achieved £14.5 million, just above a presale low estimate expectation of US$13.9 million, a 4.2% drop from a year earlier. 

The top lot of the week was Kees van Dongen’s La Quiétude, 1918, fetching £9.1 million during Christie’s auction of the Josefowitz collection. Other top sales in London included Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Future Sciences Versus the Man, 1982, which realized £8.8 million at Christie’s 20th/21st Century evening sale, and Francis Bacon’s Study for a Portrait, 1979, which achieved £3.5 million at Sotheby’s modern and contemporary auction. 

Works by ultra-contemporary artists did not sell well in London, following similarly weak sales in Hong Kong, providing more evidence that surging prices in this sector may be over. In Hong Kong, results for works by artists under age 45 fell shy of expectations at HK$95.6 million (US$12.22 million), nearly 55% lower than in the spring and 5.5% lower than a year ago, ArtTactic said. 

Last week, sales of ultra-contemporary works totaled £6.29 million, within expectations, but down 50.6% from a year earlier, ArtTactic said. Only 68% of 39 lots offered across all three houses in London sold above the middle of their presale estimate range, compared to 79.4% that did a year ago, the firm said. The biggest sale was for Caroline Walker’s Fragranced, which achieved £445,000, above a £150,000 high estimate. 

In its analysis of the Hong Kong auctions, ArtTactic noted that the results showed sellers’ expectations were too high. Of 99 lots offered at Sotheby’s via three auctions, 26 didn’t sell, and 24 sold below the low estimate, for a total sell-through rate of less than 74%. In all, Sotheby’s Hong Kong sales were 0.03% lower than a year earlier. 

In percentage terms, Phillips sold more works in its Hong Kong evening sale on Oct. 6 (95.7%), which ArtTactic said could have been a sign that sellers were willing to accept a lower price after witnessing Sotheby’s sales the day before. Still, its total of HK$153 million was 51% lower than the HK$315 million realized at its comparative December 2022 auction, the firm said.

ArtTactic also detailed that appetite in Asia for works priced at HK$10 million or more was clearly fading. There were 26 lots in this price range, and 14, or more than half (nearly 54%), went for less than expected; another 12 sold on or above the low estimate, ArtTactic said. 

In ‘Blend In,’ Calvin Ma’s Ceramic Feathered Figures Yearn to Belong

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In ‘Blend In,’ Calvin Ma’s Ceramic Feathered Figures Yearn to Belong

“For Show.” All images © Calvin Ma, courtesy of Modern Eden Gallery, shared with permission

The figures in Calvin Ma’s otherworldly sculptures soar through the night sky, encounter swarms of insects, or stand among tropical flowers in Blend In: Standstill at Modern Eden. The artist continues an ongoing series (previously) exploring the intense desire to belong or fit in, creating hybrid individuals that don the likenesses of myriad birds, from peacocks to owls to pigeons. In nature, feathers provide protection, camouflage, and communication with other birds; in Ma’s meticulously crafted ceramic pieces, they reflect a yearning for comfort and connection.

If you’re in San Francisco, you can visit Blend In: Standstill until November 4. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

A ceramic sculpture of a figure camouflaged as an owl.

“Sleepless”

A ceramic sculpture of a figure camouflaged as a bird between two plants.

“Standstill”

A ceramic sculpture of a figure camouflaged as a bird surrounded by flies.

“Fresh Start”

Three ceramic sculptures of a figure camouflaged as birds.

Left to right: “Safe Space,” “Wait and See,” and “It’ll Be Alright”

A ceramic sculpture of a figure camouflaged as a bird with a cactus.

“Looking Back”

Three ceramic sculptures of masks, featuring a figure camouflaged as a bird.

Left to right: “Blend In Mask: Eastern Blue Bonnet,” “Blend In Mask: Rufous-Tailed Jacamar,” and “Blend In Mask: Pigeon”

A ceramic sculpture of a figure camouflaged as a peacock.

“For Show”

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In ‘Blend In,’ Calvin Ma’s Ceramic Feathered Figures Yearn to Belong appeared first on Colossal.

What I Buy and Why: Art Entrepreneur Hélène Nguyen-Ban on Her Original ‘Art Crush’ and Owning a Half-Ton Book by Anselm Kiefer

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What I Buy and Why: Art Entrepreneur Hélène Nguyen-Ban on Her Original ‘Art Crush’ and Owning a Half-Ton Book by Anselm Kiefer

Art has been a constant in the life of Hélène Nguyen-Ban. Even when she was young, moving about between Asia, Africa, and Europe, she looked to art to help make sense of the mix of cultures around her. After studying finance and business in college, she spent one glamorous decade as the fashion director of Marc Jacobs’s collections for Louis Vuitton. Yet even there, at the center of the French luxury complex, she imagined herself venturing into the art realm.

She did just that, exiting the luxury sector to pursue art studies at the Ecole du Louvre. In 2013, she co-founded VnH gallery, taking over venerated gallerist Yvon Lambert’s historic space in the Marais district of Paris. During VnH’s six-year run, Nguyen-Ban sought to bring together a range of generations and geographies through unconventional exhibitions, eventually selling the space to David Zwirner.

Her tastes in collecting, too, reflect a certain worldliness. She began by acquiring artifacts and antiquities, ranging from religious works to classical Chinese ceramics. She soon brought Asian contemporary art into the mix, followed by its Western counterpart. Further, since buying a home in London and splitting her time between the two capitals, she’s served as the chair of Fluxus Art Projects, a nonprofit supporting contemporary artists and residencies across the channel. She remains involved with the International Council of the Tate and the Asia-Pacific Committee at Centre Pompidou.

All of this has been a prelude to her most recent endeavor. For the last several years, Nguyen-Ban has been building Docent, an art-discovery app she founded with the award-winning French mathematician Mathieu Rosenbaum. She likens the mobile platform, powered by A.I. technology, to “Spotify for art enthusiasts,” connecting artworks culled from 100-plus participating galleries in 30 countries with collectors around the world. “I believe in advocating for contemporary art,” she said, “as it can play a crucial role in promoting cross-cultural understanding, particularly during pivotal moments in history.” Docent launched during Art Basel in June 2023, with more events around it set for Paris+.

We caught up with the entrepreneurial collector on the works that have informed her worldview.

imageBloodline Series (2001). Courtesy of Hélène Nguyen-Ban.” width=”1024″ height=”781″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-zhang-xiaogang1-1024×781.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-zhang-xiaogang1-300×229.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-zhang-xiaogang1-1536×1171.jpg 1536w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-zhang-xiaogang1-50×38.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-zhang-xiaogang1.jpg 1545w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Zhang Xiaogang, Bloodline Series (2001). Courtesy of the artist.

What was your first purchase?

My initial significant encounter with contemporary art unfolded in 2001 as I happened upon the Enrico Navarra gallery in Paris. It was there that Zhang Xiaogang‘s portrait in the window caught my eye, its fixed gaze masking profound emotions. This resonated deeply with my own Asian upbringing, where expressing feelings was considered impolite. The inception of my collection was serendipitous, and I consider myself fortunate to have chanced upon this path. As if faith had a hand in it!

As a complete novice exploring my roots, I naturally gravitated toward the works of Danh Vo, Mai Thu-Perret, Thu-Van Tran, Thao Phan Nguyen, and others. This sparked my interest in delving deeper into the diversity of Asian cultures by exploring the works of artists who merged their cultural heritage with contemporary Western art. I vividly recall being awestruck by Huang Yong Ping’s Noah’s ark installation, Arche (2009), at the Chapel of Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, a powerful juxtaposition of cultures and a fusion of Chinese philosophy with Western avant-garde and Dada heritage.

imagePartita Di Scacchi (2022). Courtesy of Hélène Nguyen-Ban.” width=”1024″ height=”735″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-jem-perucchini1-e1697394966998-1024×735.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-jem-perucchini1-e1697394966998-300×215.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-jem-perucchini1-e1697394966998-1536×1102.jpg 1536w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-jem-perucchini1-e1697394966998-50×36.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-jem-perucchini1-e1697394966998-1920×1378.jpg 1920w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-jem-perucchini1-e1697394966998.jpg 2000w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Jem Perucchini, Partita Di Scacchi (2022). Courtesy of the artist.

What was your most recent purchase?

Jem Perucchini, an Italian artist with Ethiopian roots, currently based in Milan. His artistic exploration revolves around the history of art, the imagery of various cultures, and the interplay between them. He is particularly interested in the neurological processes that elicit sensations and emotions through the observation of an image—which happens to be one of my favorite topics at Docent.

Tell us about a favorite work in your collection.

Choosing a favorite among my artworks is akin to asking a parent to pick their dearest child—an impossible task. All these works hold a distinct place in my art family, and my connection to each of them is unique. I don’t play favorites; instead, I cherish them all for the diverse ways in which they nourish and inspire me. My relationship with each piece evolves over time. In truth, the finest pieces maintain an enduring sense of mystery and soul, transcending the era in which they were created. Quality art truly is timeless.

imageInland (2018) behind her. Photo courtesy Elliot James Kennedy.” width=”794″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-portrait4-794×1024.jpg 794w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait4-233×300.jpg 233w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait4-1191×1536.jpg 1191w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait4-1588×2048.jpg 1588w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait4-39×50.jpg 39w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait4-1489×1920.jpg 1489w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait4-scaled.jpg 1985w” sizes=”(max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px”>

Hélène Nguyen-Ban with Luc Tuymans’s Inland (2018). Photo courtesy of Elliot James Kennedy.

Allow me to share a few overarching themes that, though never intentionally planned, have consistently touched, challenged, and enriched me over the years.

I started collecting various objects, artifacts, and antiquities, spanning a wide spectrum—including Western religious art like Madonna and Child figures, relics from ancient civilizations like Tang terracotta figurines, classical Chinese ceramics, and ritual art from Africa and Asia, encompassing Vietnamese Buddha statues, 18th-century Burmese pagan disciples, and regal Congolese ceremonial totems.

After my serendipitous first art crush at the Enrico Navarra gallery, my art collection metamorphosed into a form of therapy, helping me weave together my fragmented identity under a single roof. In a way, the works I chose to surround myself with could be perceived as totems representing my upbringing, even though the themes they embody often reveal themselves to me in retrospect, never as premeditated choices.

In the context of art, the human body transcends mere aesthetics or form; it serves as a symbol of the intricate nexus where social, political, and emotional realities converge. This is exemplified in my collection by artists such as Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel, Marlene Dumas, Robert Mapplethorpe, Thomas Schütte, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jenny Saville, and Sin Wai Kin.

Surrealism has always been a great interest of mine. I collect works by a new generation of this movement, including Jean Marie Appriou, Marguerite Humeau, Bendt Eyckermans, Issy Wood, and Julie Curtiss.

imageMale model with golden showers (2021). Courtesy of Hélène Nguyen-Ban.” width=”1024″ height=”741″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-issy-wood1-1024×741.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-issy-wood1-300×217.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-issy-wood1-50×36.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-issy-wood1.jpg 1089w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Issy Wood, Male model with golden showers (2021). Courtesy of the artist.

Cultural heritage and questions of identity are central themes in the works of artists like Oscar Murillo, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Alvaro Barrington, etc.

I’ve been particularly intrigued by the exploration of painting’s potential in an era marked by technological reproducibility, particularly in the works of Wade Guyton and Christopher Wool.

Which works or artists are you hoping to add to your collection this year?

I dream of one day living with a work by Julie Mehretu, a contemporary abstract artist whose ability to create unique visual representations by drawing inspiration from the history of art and human civilization fascinates me. Her works are a fusion of Western painting and African symbols and will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on the art world. As one of the few female artists championing the significance of painting, she stands as a true role model for her generation.

imageOpium over the holidays (2021). Courtesy of Hélène Nguyen-Ban.” width=”768″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-issy-opium1-768×1024.jpg 768w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-issy-opium1-225×300.jpg 225w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-issy-opium1-38×50.jpg 38w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-issy-opium1.jpg 960w” sizes=”(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px”>

Issy Wood, Opium over the holidays (2021). Courtesy of the artist.

What is the most valuable work of art that you own?

My most prized artwork is a portrait of my dog, Opium, painted by the talented Issy Wood, a London-based contemporary artist, painter, pop musician, and memoirist. During one of my rare Covid trips, I had the best dog sitter but, above all, one of the purest and most respected gallerists, Vanessa Carlos. Opium spent many long hours in the studio of the talented Issy Wood, who ended up immortalizing him forever. My Opium painting is currently traveling to an exhibition in Paris, and I can’t wait to get it back!

imageElke negativ blau (2012) above the stairs, left.” width=”809″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-portrait2-809×1024.jpg 809w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait2-237×300.jpg 237w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait2-1213×1536.jpg 1213w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait2-1618×2048.jpg 1618w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait2-39×50.jpg 39w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait2-1517×1920.jpg 1517w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-portrait2.jpg 1977w” sizes=”(max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px”>

Hélène Nguyen-Ban next to stacked ceramic jars by Pascale Marthine Tayou and Georg Baselitz’s Elke negativ blau (2012) above the stairs, left. Photo courtesy of Elliot James Kennedy.

Where do you buy art most frequently?

I primarily acquire art through galleries that have been steadfast companions on my art collecting journey, and have been a constant source of inspiration. I hold great admiration for these gallery owners, recognizing the challenges they face as entrepreneurs in the art world.

In Paris, I’ve had particularly enriching and inspiring relationships with galleries such as Enrico Navarra, Yvon Lambert, Thaddaeus Ropac, Kamel Mennour, Sultana, Balice Hertling, and more recently a very young gallery called Parliament. In London, it’s Sadie Coles, Carlos Ishikawa, Corvi-Mora, and Emalin. For more U.S.-based and international galleries, I buy from Clearing and David Zwirner.

Moreover, my enduring obsession has been to widen the field of possibilities and to go after galleries and artists from around the globe, leading me to discover gems like Quynh, Proyectos Ultravioleta, Commonwealth & Council, Blank Projects, Cécile Fakhoury, and Dastan, to name a few, which are part of the ever-growing Docent gallery roster.

Is there a work you regret purchasing?

The best answer is that I’ve kept all my work for over 20 years!

imageLara February 2022 (2022). Courtesy of Hélène Nguyen-Ban.” width=”767″ height=”1024″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-elizabeth-peyton1-767×1024.jpg 767w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-elizabeth-peyton1-225×300.jpg 225w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-elizabeth-peyton1-1151×1536.jpg 1151w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-elizabeth-peyton1-37×50.jpg 37w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-elizabeth-peyton1.jpg 1181w” sizes=”(max-width: 767px) 100vw, 767px”>

Elizabeth Peyton, Lara February 2022 (2022). Courtesy of the artist.

What work do you have hanging above your sofa? What about in your bathroom?

Above my sofa, I have a series of portraits by artists like Elizabeth Peyton, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jenny Saville, Sin Wai Kin, Maja Ruznic, Luc Tuymans, Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Danielle McKinney, Raphaela Simon, Pol Taburet, Xinyi Cheng, Maja Ruznic, and Steven Shearer.

imageThe Secret Life of Plants (2001). Oil on leaded sheets. Courtesy of Hélène Nguyen-Ban.” width=”1024″ height=”744″ srcset=”https://www.mecreates.com/story/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/helene-anselm-kiefer1-1024×744.jpg 1024w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-anselm-kiefer1-300×218.jpg 300w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-anselm-kiefer1-1536×1117.jpg 1536w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-anselm-kiefer1-50×36.jpg 50w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-anselm-kiefer1-1920×1396.jpg 1920w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2023/10/helene-anselm-kiefer1.jpg 2000w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>

Anselm Kiefer, The Secret Life of Plants (2001). Courtesy of the artist.

What is the most impractical work of art you own?

I’d have to say the Anselm Kiefer book is the most impractical. It’s one of the first books he ever created, making it exceptionally special to own. Made of lead sheets, this gigantic book by Anselm Kiefer, laying flat, must weigh half a ton. You supposedly can turn the pages, but I don’t think anyone has ever done it.

What work do you wish you had bought when you had the chance?

I would say David Hammons for a contemporary artist. Or even before that, any artwork by Nabi artists like Bonnard—for instance, Femme au jardin (1891). Bonnard was very inspired by Japanese art, which was very much in vogue (Japonisme) at that time.

Additionally, there’s a portrait of me by Henry Taylor that seems to have vanished into his phantasmagorical world. I hold out hope that it will one day reappear just as enigmatically as it disappeared. I long to see it again and possess it, not because it’s a portrait of myself, but because it encapsulates all the enchantment of the countless hours I spent with the most captivating and touching character I’ve ever encountered!

If you could steal one work of art without getting caught, what would it be?

I would probably steal one of the beautiful fetiches that can be found at the Museum of Primitive Arts in Paris. These incredible artifacts from other belief systems have often been stolen by the colonial powers to be exhibited in Western museums, so I would maybe feel less guilty because it’s already been stolen.

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Top honors announced at 18th annual Cherokee Art Market

By in Art World News

Top honors announced at 18th annual Cherokee Art Market

TULSA – In celebration of authentic, elite Native American art, the 18th annual Cherokee Art Market returned to Tulsa Oct. 14-15 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa.

The juried market featured the work of more than 150 Native American artists representing more than 50 federally recognized tribal nations.

More than $75,000 in prize money was awarded on Friday evening to artists competing for top honors, including this year’s Best of Show, “Two Realms” by Cherokee National Treasure Demos Glass.

The 5-foot tall, fabricated steel sculpture is comprised of powder-coated steel, stainless steel, ceramic, and wood. The stylized depiction of the iconic Southeastern serpent, often represented in traditional Cherokee stories, offers a powerfully dynamic demonstration of contemporary Native art honoring Cherokee oral traditions.

With nearly 60 winners in eight classes, the following highlights the 18th annual Best of Class winners, with the full list of winners available at www.CherokeeArtMarket.com.

Class 1: Painting, Drawing, Graphics & Photography, Bryan Waytula, Cherokee Nation, “The Grass Dancer.”

Class 2: Sculpture, Demos Glass, Cherokee National Treasure, “Two Realms.”

Class 3: Beadwork/Quillwork, Pati Belgarde, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, “Mona Lisa.”

Class 4: Basketry, Michael Dart, Cherokee National Treasure, “Wild Thang.”

Class 5: Pottery, Troy Jackson, Cherokee National Treasure, “Cherokee Rose.”

Class 6: Textiles, Alberta Henderson, Navajo Nation, “Majestic.”

Class 7: Jewelry, Abraham Begay, Navajo Nation, “Squash Blossom Necklace.”

Class 8: Diverse Art Forms, General B. Grant, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, “Today’s Medicine.”

Anna Mitchell Award, Tama Roberts, Cherokee Nation, “Hopeful,” Troy Jackson, Cherokee National Treasure, “Cherokee Rose.”

Culture Keeper Award, Hollis Chitto, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians/Pueblo of Laguna/Pueblo of Isleta, “Napakanli Um Okla Imma (Flowers for My Family).”

Innovator Award, Monica Silva Lovato, Santo Domingo Pueblo, “Hope for the Future.”

Jesse Hummingbird Legacy Award, Michael Toya, Pueblo of San Felipe, “Nature’s Medicine.”

Native American Art Magazine Editor’s Choice Award, Pati Belgarde, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, “Mona Lisa.”

Cherokee Art Market provides the opportunity for visitors to meet directly with each juried artist and learn more about their work. In addition, the market features cultural demonstrations, presentations, and artist conversations with some of the nation’s top Native American artists each day.

Cherokee Art Market is presented by Cherokee Nation Businesses and is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Sequoyah Convention Center at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa. Admission is $5 per person, and children under 12 are free.

Media sponsors include Native American Art Magazine and Tulsa People.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa is off Interstate 44 at exit 240. For more information, visit www.hardrockcasinotulsa.com.

Pat Perry Frames the Earnest and Eerie Moments of Midwestern Life in ‘Which World’

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Pat Perry Frames the Earnest and Eerie Moments of Midwestern Life in ‘Which World’

“Brief Candle #9” (2023). All images © Pat Perry, courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission

In Which World, Detroit-based artist Pat Perry (previously) conjures a sense of whiplash that characterizes modern life, particularly in middle America. “I was thinking mostly about scale, and about how all the grand, contemplative ideas in the world are peppered amongst the banality of daily life, like listening to Hannah Arendt or Richard Rhodes on audiobook while driving to Toledo to buy a matching sink and toilet off of Facebook Marketplace,” he shares. “Our experience of the world in this moment jerks us back and forth between the two poles.”

On view now at Hashimoto Contemporary, Perry’s solo exhibition peers into a range of mundane instances familiar to Midwesterners, all captured candidly and earnestly. Taking cues from home videos and Craigslist ads, the artist paints scenes cropped at strange angles—a young girl’s figure is cut off in “Brief Candle #5” —while other works hone in on the eeriness of everyday life. “Craigslist Still Life 14 (Garden of Togetherness),” for example, features two green squares pinpointing a pair of plots for sale in a cemetery. Many of the works consider how we find dignity and meaning when “far away from the hubs of power or influence,” a timeless question that feels especially pertinent in the Midwest.

While Perry’s subject matter reflects the ordinary, the paintings emphasize the empathy and understanding gained by reflecting on these seemingly common moments. The Brief Candle series is particularly important in this respect as it’s derived from YouTube videos documenting families launching bottle rockets and other fireworks near their homes. “That’s the kind of subject matter I love the most, always has been, probably always will be: the kind of thing that never seemed worth noting until you looked at it for a while longer and realized, maybe it was,” he says.

See Which World at Hashimoto Contemporary’s Los Angeles space through November 4. Perry recently completed several new murals and is preparing for an upcoming solo show next year, which you can follow on Instagram.

 

two houses are illuminated by morning light on a snowy day

“Which World” (2023)

standing water is in the foreground with a rusty group of train cars in the back

“Ameliorator” (2023)

a painting of a church with a group of amish women out front decorating the facade with crepe paper

“Recreating” (2023)

a man and young girl watch a firework go off in the middle of a backyard

“Brief Candle #5” (2023)

two green squares evocative of viewfinders overlay an image of a cemetary

“Craigslist Still Life 14 (Garden of Togetherness)” (2023)

a painting of lawn decorations of an easter bunny and eggs, mary and joseph, and a cow

“Craigslist Still Life 08” (2023)

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Pat Perry Frames the Earnest and Eerie Moments of Midwestern Life in ‘Which World’ appeared first on Colossal.

Customer Insights Can Seriously Elevate Your B2B Game

By in Art World News

Customer Insights Can Seriously Elevate Your B2B Game

The Gist

  • Insight importance. Focusing on customer insights, not just demographics, can powerfully shape your B2B marketing strategies.
  • Target value. Broad target audience analysis, especially using Ideal Customer Profiles, enhances almost every marketing tactic you employ.
  • Intelligence impact. Leveraging customer intelligence provides a significant edge in lead generation, demand creation and brand building.

Who needs what we’re selling and why? Discover the answers to those two questions and it’ll shape your marketing strategy into something that has a direct and powerful impact on your bottom line.

Let’s take a closer look at how these customer insights can specifically impact the bottom line.

Unlocking Actionable Customer Insights for B2B

Unlocking actionable customer insights is why businesses in every sector are trying to get closer to their customers. But not all customer intelligence is useful. Knowing that your customer is 37, female and likes ice hockey might make them appear more human, but it isn’t going to help you sell software, or accountancy services, or manufacturing equipment — and especially not when B2B sales involve multiple decision makers across different teams, departments and with varying priorities.

Vintage decorative brass keys hang from brass chains against a blue and gold background, suggesting the importance of customer insights.
Unlocking relevant customer insights can be the key to business success. red_orange_stock on Adobe Stock Photos

Unless marketing personas deliver the customer insights you need to improve how you market your business — and this is where pain points are critical — then it’s impossible to differentiate your offering from the competition in a way that resonates with your customer.

Mastering Target Audience Analysis in B2B With the Ideal Customer Profile

Let’s look at how the top performers are doing when it comes to gathering customer intelligence.

Considered Content’s B2B Effectiveness Engine, which shows marketers how they compare to their top-performing peers, surveyed over 1,000 B2B marketers to learn more about their customers across nine different options — from general research into customer views and the brand’s products to gaining a better understanding of the purchase group and constructing a data-backed ideal customer profile (ICP).

What we see is that broad-based research is not only likely to propel you into the top-performing group, but it’s also going to make pretty much every tactic you use perform better.

Related Article: Customer Data Management Is the Key to Consumer Trust, Profitability

Elevate Sales with Customer Intelligence Insights

In tech, for example, those who research the broad views of their customers are over a fifth more likely to say their PPC advertising is delivering for lead gen and over a third more likely to rate their media advertising as highly effective for demand gen. 

Those who have researched their ICP are over 20% more likely to be a leader in lead generation, over 20% more likely to lead in demand generation and over 25% more likely to be a leader in brand-building.

This is why getting this right matters. A lot.

Related Article: Build a Buyer Persona in 5 Steps

Top Performers’ Actionable Insights Unveiled

So, what actionable customer insights are these top performers collecting? 

  • They understand what’s happening in the market: They research the catalysts driving the broader market and any barriers to change.
  • They have assessed the competition: They’ve explored who they’re up against (both direct and indirect competitors) and how competitors are positioning themselves in the market.
  • They have determined their strengths, weaknesses and potential points of differentiation: They have a real-world view of how they stack up (and for different segments).
  • They know where to focus their efforts: They’ve assessed which segments of the market should be the focus for their sales and marketing activity.
  • They’ve created an actionable buyer profile: One they can use to sharpen who they target and what they say to them.

Harnessing ‘Jobs To Be Done Framework’ for Buyer Profiles

Once they know all this, buyer profiles can be produced. This is where the Jobs To Be Done framework is really useful — the theory that people don’t “buy products,” they hire them to help them make progress on a problem. In other words, people don’t buy because of who they are (so “adieu” personas), they buy because of what they need to get done. JTBD helps marketers identify why customers make purchases, what motivates them and, therefore, how to win their business.

Related Article: Using Customer Journey Maps and Jobs to Be Done for a Better Customer Experience

Final Thoughts on B2B Customer Insights

Like these top B2B marketing performers, you’ll need to get under the skin of who your customers are to learn what’s really driving their behavior. And beyond the jobs they need to get done, you need to know how customers buy, who’s involved in the purchase, what real-world pressures they’re under and their motivations for making a change (or resisting it).

The best way to gather meaningful customer insights? By undertaking and assessing customer interviews — past, present and almost — speaking to your sales team, and researching what’s driving change within your market.

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A.R.T. turns spotlight on 3 new whole home collections

By in Art World News

A.R.T. turns spotlight on 3 new whole home collections

HIGH POINT — A.R.T. Furniture is introducing three new whole home collections at the fall market here, each of which is underpinned by the company’s signature focus on bringing architectural design elements into home décor.

The new Revival collection, inspired by the historical Dunbarton House in Washington D.C., encompasses bedroom, dining and living room selections with opulent swirled mahogany veneers and is aimed at taking traditional design elements and updating them for a new generation.

Doug Rozenboom A.R.T. Furniture
Doug Rozenboom

“This is a collection that targets Grand Millennials,” said Doug Rozenboom, president of A.R.T., referencing those Millennial consumers who are inspired by traditional design and seek to blend vintage looks with modern touches.

For the latest High Point Market news, click here to visit our Live From Market landing page.

As an example, he pointed to the young people featured in the book “The New Antiquarians,” which features the homes of 22 young connoisseurs whose decorating aesthetic blends antiques with modern design sensibilities to create their own singular design statements.

The Revival collection blends elements from the Federal architectural style embodied by Dunbarton House with geometric detailing and exotic woods reflective of Art Deco furniture design. The collection will encompass both case and upholstery pieces.

Also new this market is Montage, a whole home collection that, like its name suggests, blends overlapping design elements to form a cohesive look. Executed in “Puzzle Cut” ash swirl veneers and clean minimalist styling, the collection connotes a blend of transitional and contemporary style elements.

The third new collection, Cove, incorporates the concave arch designs associated with that architectural style. On bed designs for example, a cove-shaped cutout between the headboard and its top molding creates a unique shadow effect that reinforces the design inspiration.

To showcase the design elements on its upholstery pieces, the company selected light taupe fabric treatments against the collection’s dark wood accents to highlight the unique cove shapes. Case pieces feature bronze metallic accents.

See also:

Lines redrawn: how artists and auction houses are shaking things up with new ways of working together

By in Art World News

Lines redrawn: how artists and auction houses are shaking things up with new ways of working together

Damien Hirst has always taken his career into his own hands. “With art I think part of my success has been that I don’t believe there are any rules…” he writes in an Instagram post from July promoting what was then his latest venture: Where the Land Meets the Sea, a private selling exhibition of 102 new works from three series held at Phillips auction house in London the same month.

Phillips was the “exhibition partner” for the show, while the paintings (priced between $100,000 and $1.3m) were available through HENI Primary, a recent addition to the HENI group through which artists sell works directly to collectors. HENI’s founder, the lawyer Joe Hage, manages Hirst alongside other living artists, including Peter Doig and Gerhard Richter. A spokesperson for Hirst declined to comment on sales, which were also fielded through the artist’s galleries, Gagosian and White Cube.

It was a very different picture 15 years ago, when Hirst bypassed his dealers altogether to sell 223 works fresh from his studio in Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, that fêted 2008 auction at Sotheby’s in London. “Damien was a trailblazer. It was a highly controversial move,” says Cheyenne Westphal, Phillips’s global chairman, who worked at Sotheby’s at the time.

Hirst’s dealers responded in their own ways. Larry Gagosian hosted a group exhibition of gallery artists—pointedly excluding Hirst—at the Red October Chocolate Factory in Moscow at the same time as Sotheby’s launched its pre-sale show in London. White Cube’s Jay Jopling attended the sale in person, bidding on several lots and winning at least one, The Triumvirate (2008), for £1.7m. Overall, the auction raked in £111.4m over two days, just as Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in New York and global stock markets imploded.

“The established gallery model was truly shaken up in a way that has reshaped the dynamics between the different players in the market,” says Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s chairman in Europe, who was on the rostrum for the sale. He notes how Hirst has always maintained his own dialogue with his collectors, including buying back 12 works in 2003 for an undisclosed sum from his first patron, the advertising mogul Charles Saatchi.

Since 2008, Sotheby’s has worked with other artists keen to operate outside conventional primary-market structures, including Banksy, who rejects gallery representation and instead consigns works straight from his studio. Like Hirst, Banksy is prone to creating works that double as provocations to the old market order, notably shredding one of his own paintings during a live auction at Sotheby’s London in October 2018, then authenticating the scraps as a new piece, called Love Is in the Bin.

Other artists besides Hirst are working directly with Phillips. Of the house’s 14 private selling exhibitions in 2022, eight featured primary works; seven of the 20 private selling shows it plans to hold in 2023 will do the same, including Hirst’s.

Auction houses have experimented with the primary market in other ways, too. In its September 2022 Contemporary Curated sale in New York, Sotheby’s launched Artist’s Choice, an initiative through which the house auctions works consigned jointly from artists and their galleries. (No further Artist’s Choice sales have been held since.) Also last September, Christie’s offered six primary-market pieces by Black artists, consigned by the Baltimore-based Galerie Myrtis, as a part of its Post-war to the Present auction.

Ongoing relationships

This August, meanwhile, Phillips launched Dropshop, a digital platform offering monthly releases of newly commissioned, limited-edition art and objects designed to be, in Westphal’s words, “a very quick and easy buying experience”. Artists also receive 3% from future resales—if the work is resold through Phillips. “We are very much looking at maintaining ongoing relationships with the artists and their communities,” she says.

Notably, each of the major auction houses made these recent moves after spending more than a year auctioning NFTs (non-fungible tokens), often consigned directly from digital artists, either in standalone sales or alongside more traditional secondary-market pieces in their usual auctions. Sotheby’s and Phillips were quick to embrace the model once Christie’s racked up $69.3m (with fees) for Beeple’s Everydays—the First 5000 Days (2021) in an online sale in March 2021.

Simon de Pury, the Swiss auctioneer and dealer, began offering primary-market works through his auction platform, called de Pury, back in August 2022. He notes how galleries’ tightly controlling access to new works has led to “spikes in prices for red-hot artists” at auction. The main beneficiaries of these auction sales, he adds, are the collectors “who have been lucky enough to acquire these works on the primary market”, not the artists nor the galleries “who champion them”. His model aims to reverse that imbalance.

De Pury thinks the “top five galleries with locations around the world” will soon stage their own auctions, particularly if art fair sales continue to slide. “They are just as well placed to sell these in-demand works at auction. They know exactly who the potential buyers are,” he says. Organising auctions is also easier and cheaper than ever, he adds, since the Covid-19 era proved “the vast majority” of buyers bid without ever seeing the works in person.

Galleries are already experimenting with the auction format through charitable initiatives. In December 2022, Hauser & Wirth held an online auction of works donated by artists to fundraise for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. This May, Pace Gallery teamed up with Sotheby’s for an auction benefiting the Nina Simone Childhood Home preservation project.

With primary and secondary markets blurring into one another and auction seasons bleeding into year-round sales, the old lines between artists, galleries and auction houses are being redrawn rather than completely erased. As Westphal puts it: “It’s not wholesale change but an enlivening of the whole infrastructure.”

Express Yourself with a .ART Domain

By in Art World News

Express Yourself with a .ART Domain

“Omega” by Rone (© rone.art)

In a crowded digital environment where every artist seeks a distinctive presence, securing a .ART domain is not just about finding a niche—it’s about creating a legacy rooted in creativity and authentic self-branding. Let’s explore the rich potential a .ART domain offers for carving out a reliable and future-focused digital identity.

Stepping into this realm grants you more than just a digital address; it’s a statement of your dedication to art and culture.

Brand Reinforcement

A .ART domain not only highlights your commitment to art, culture, and community but also boosts your visibility in art-related online searches, connecting you more readily with art enthusiasts and potential patrons on the lookout for authentic cultural engagements.

Tailored to Your Unique Needs

Individuality is the cornerstone of the .ART domain, meeting the unique requirements of each creative. Artist Ronen Tanchum, for instance, uses ronentanchum.art to host his portfolio and gather links to his social platforms, establishing a unified online presence.

 

five screens with colorful artworks on a wall

Ronen Tanchum’s Rococo series (© ronentanchum.art)

“For me, .ART was a way to distinguish my artistic practice from my other work and general online presence. It is a really good way for me to showcase my artworks online and my portfolio, and it’s obvious for everyone what it is.” – Ronen Tanchum, artist

Numerous creators, including digital artist Stepan Ryabchenko (strangetime.art), illustrator Hilbrand Bos (hilbrandbos.art), and photographer Jon Imanol (jonima.art), echo Ronen’s sentiment, utilizing .ART domains to forge a distinctive online space for their work.

 

a colorful surreal illustration with flowers, clouds, and geometric forms

Stepan Ryabchenko (strangetime.art), “Dawn” (2020), digital print on aluminum under plexiglass (Diasec)

Craft Your Art Marketplace

Many artists use their .ART domains as robust e-commerce platforms, where artistry meets business. Artist Naomi Vona, for example, leverages naomivona.art as a one-stop shop offering art masterclasses, limited-edition prints, and more. .ART names are also ENS compatible and can function as an ENS name in Web3.

 

a collaged photo of colorful dots covering peoples' faces

Contemporary neon art collage on vintage group shot by Naomi Vona (© naomivona.art)

Spotlight on Art Projects

A .ART domain can also serve as a spotlight, highlighting specific art projects or exhibitions, providing them a dedicated space to shine. A case in point is the Council of Europe’s project, “Free to Create – Create to be Free.” Hosted at freetocreate.art, it acts as a living archive, continually showcasing artworks submitted by member states that depict varying perspectives on artistic freedom in Europe today.

You too can start your creative journey and explore the countless opportunities at the intersection of art and technology with a .ART domain.

Secure your .ART today on get.art or through your preferred registrar.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Express Yourself with a .ART Domain appeared first on Colossal.

Art gallery owner finds meaning in new career after leaving marketing field

By in Art World News

Art gallery owner finds meaning in new career after leaving marketing field

For Andrea Miller, losing her job was the best thing to happen to her. 

At 55, she was ready for a change. 

“Probably the job loss was serendipitous,” Miller said of her pandemic layoff from the marketing field.

“It didn’t seem [so] at the time, but now looking back on it, I think that really pushed me to go and do something I really wanted to do.”

One day she walked into the former Botanicals Gift Shop in downtown Fredericton and asked the owner if he would ever consider selling the gallery space.

She had no formal background in art, but had grown up with a strong appreciation for local craft and artists.

A deal was soon struck. Miller was the proud new owner of what would soon become The Artisan District. 

“It’s much easier to do your job when you love what you do,” Miller said.

She agonized over every detail as she began to set up the store, but it started to come together.

“Each little bit, every time I took a little step, it felt like I was being pulled instead of pushed,” Miller said.

She intentionally retained all the artists who previously sold their work in the last shop, and added on more to curate a Maritime-only art gallery.

Miller includes an artist bio and description of their work next to each display area. She occasionally invites the artists into the shop to make art for a few hours for customers to watch.

Andrea Miller holds up a painted card and smiles in her shop
Miller is well-versed in the stories about the artists who sell in her store. She includes bios and explanations of each artist’s work process next to their displays. (Sam Farley/CBC News)

“Your store is your artists,” she said. “Without them, there’s just empty walls and shelves here.”

Before she knew it, opening day was upon her.

Two years later, she’s never looked back. Miller said she has a lot of late nights, but it’s worth it.

“It’s just a joyful place to work.”

Runs in the family

Miller credits her family’s support in opening her business, but perhaps her biggest influence is her late father.

He, too, changed careers later in life.

Ralph Miller grew up in Florenceville, N.B., and any breaks he had from the family farm were spent fishing on the St. John River.

Ralph Miller poses holding a fly hook
Ralph Miller, Andrea’s father, displays one of his fly hooks. He changed careers later in life to open his sporting goods store, which Andrea credits as one of her inspirations. (Andrea Miller)

He began collecting discarded fishing hooks found along the banks of the river, and taught himself to tie fly hooks. 

Before he knew it, local fishermen took note and started buying his fly hooks.

Despite this success, he went on to become a teacher.

But the craftsman’s life eventually called him back, and Ralph opened his sporting goods shop at age 42.

Andrea Miller said the shop was his true passion, and he soon amassed a strong customer base.

“People enjoyed going in and socializing with him. He exuded that love of what he did and people felt very welcome to go in and shoot the breeze with him,” Miller said. 

“I think he showed me that if you love what you do, you will be successful at it. You will be able to do it. That stayed with me certainly for a long time.”

Her first artist

One of the first shelves a customer sees when entering the shop holds the pottery of Maria Guevara.

Colourful, detailed mugs depicting Fredericton’s skyline sit among larger plates and dishes.

Guevara had sold her work in the old gallery. When Miller wanted to start asking artists to join her new shop, Guevara was the first call.

“Oh my god, I said, of course, that will be great!” Guevara said.

Maria Guevara holds up some of her work inside the gallery
Pottery artist Maria Guevara was the first artist Miller asked to join her new store. (Sam Farley/CBC News)

Guevara said Miller is a great representative of her artists and that she cares to understand the process they each put into their art.

“She’s always asking me, ‘How did you do this?’ or ‘Tell me the process, step by step.’ I feel like she’s understanding my craft,” Guevara said.

Guevara described some relationships between an artist and their gallery as simply dropping off art to sell and that’s it.

But that’s not the case with Miller.

“If you understand how the work is made … it is easier to explain to clients how it was made. And that gives more meaning to the object or the art,” Guevara said.

Similar to Miller, Guevara got into her love of art later in life.

She immigrated from Mexico with her family 15 years ago and decided to attend craft college for pottery.

In Miller, she finds not only a business partner, but a friend.

“Probably we understand each other in that way, and that helps to have this good relationship,” Guevara said.

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