Wraps up its 2010 edition
Art Dubai confirms position as leading art fair in the Middle East with strong sales and record attendance
Critically hailed as the strongest edition to date, Art Dubai 2010 welcomed nearly 18,000 international and regional visitors in the fourth year of the fair. With strong support from the royal family, non-profit organisations, regional companies and the city’s growing number of private collectors, Art Dubai offered its most extensive programme of collateral events including the Global Art Forum, Art Park curated by Bidoun Projects, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, The Poetry of Time hosted by Van Cleef & Arpels as well as numerous tours of private collections and events over five days.Of the 72 participating galleries, the majority experienced strong sales from the outset with major purchases from international and regional institutions in addition to established and first-time collectors from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States. A number of participating galleries, including Athr Gallery from Jeddah, Berlin galleries Christian Hosp and Caprice Horn, traffic from Dubai and San Francisco’s Frey Norris sold nearly all of their available works at the fair.
Sales highlights included Sadequain Naqqash’s The Three Graces sold by Grosvenor Vadehra Gallery for 200,000 USD; Dirimart’s sale of Snow White Without the Dwarves by Ghada Amer for 160,000 USD to a private collector; New York-based Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery’s sale of a Reza Derakshani work for 80,000 USD; Sydney’s Agathon Galleries sale of a Tommy Watson painting for 40,000 USD; The Grain – Blue, by Duck-Yong Kim, which Seoul’s Lee Hwaik Gallery sold for 35,000 USD; and Katherine Bernhardt’s Rihanna 0-60 in 3.5 sold by Carbon 12, Dubai, for 20,000 USD.
“Art Dubai has grown in confidence over four years, increasing its relevance on the world stage and offering unique opportunities for galleries, institutions and collectors. The fair came of age this year as demonstrated by the quality and diversity of the work on show, the significant increase in attendance, strong sales from institutional and private buyers and the incredible support of Dubai’s art community during the week of the fair,” said John Martin, co-founder and Director of Art Dubai.
“I think Art Dubai is a great barometer for where the Middle Eastern art market is heading,” said Hisham Samawi from Ayyam Gallery, Damascus/Dubai. “People seem ready to buy and build their collections, and that has us excited about the rest of the year.”
In addition to a range of galleries from more than 30 countries, guests of Art Dubai witnessed the Global Art Forum’s engaging conversations amongst speakers such as Don and Mera Rubell, El Anatsui, Maria Baibakova, Vasif Kortun, Jack Persekian, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Fereydoun Ave and many more.
Visitors were also able to participate in a rich programme curated by Bidoun Projects, featuring a group show of Middle Eastern artists called A New Formalism, interactive artist-led tours, special commissions by artists including Farhad Moshiri and Ebtisam Abdul-Aziz, Art Park Talks, Bidoun Video and the Bidoun Library.
In its second year, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize unveiled the works of its 2010 winners, including a multimedia mural by Hala Elkoussy, acting as an archive for Cairo’s history; a film installation by Kader Attia recreating the artist’s experience in Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock; and an installation by Marwan Sahmarani comprising paintings, drawings, ceramics and video premised upon visual themes from the Renaissance.
Furthermore, thousands of Art Dubai visitors took the opportunity to view Van Cleef & Arpels’ exhibition The Poetry of Time, covering almost a century of watch making creativity and expertise.
Alongside the business of buying art, some of the region’s youngest creative types joined family workshops organised by child education programme START to develop their own works in aid of regional children in need of arts-related therapy.
Gallery applications for Art Dubai 2011 are now available on www.artdubai.ae/2011/application/index.php. Applications must be submitted no later than 30 June 2010.
