Art & Finance Newsletter #11
The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing (a museum that I owe a debt of gratitude) went public over the weekend with an announcement and images of its first satellite location. The image above is one of the first images of the new museum to be released over this past weekend.
The new museum, named UCCA Dune, is located on the historic seaside coast of Beidahe district in Hebei province. This district is well known for long being the favored summer retreat of top government officials from Beijing. In recent years Beidahe has seen an increase in tourism by China's ever increasing moneyed class.
UCCA Director Philip Tinari notes, “UCCA is excited to move beyond its flagship location in Beijing with a permanent presence in this stunning building in a gorgeous natural setting. We look forward to working with great artists to show their work in this new context, and to offering our members and visitors the chance for an unforgettable art experience by the sea. We are especially pleased to be working with Aranya as a new strategic partner of the UCCA Foundation, and with Li Hu and OPEN Architecture, longtime friends and collaborators of the institution.”
Its inaugural exhibition in 2019, titled “After Nature,” will explore the shifting relationship between humans and nature against the backdrop of China’s last three decades of breakneck development.
On to the art market...
Art/Finance and Museums
In the future, a museum may find it safer and less controversial to leverage artworks in order to release funds than taking the more drastic and irrevocable action of selling them. Even if the decision is later taken to pay back the financing through a sale, the museum will crucially have bought itself more time to make certain that such a decision is in the best interests of the institution. And while there are costs associated with servicing a loan, such arrangements would extend the time available for fundraising campaigns, with the cost of the acquisition effectively deferred until repayment of the loan. (In order to use its art as collateral in this way a museum would, as mentioned, need to be able to deaccession works, which is not always the case.)
Museums may be unaware of these possibilities, particularly as few banks outside the US offer such services. Bespoke financing arrangements can only be undertaken by a small number of specialist lenders in the field. But given the constraints under which many museums are operating, it is well worth exploring new sources of funding to facilitate future acquisitions.
Apollo Magazine - Finance and Museums
Brand New Art from China - Read this book
Spectacular interview with Barbara Pollack, art critic, who discusses her new book 'Brand New Art from China'.
If you have been involved with any business in Mainland China the question/response below should strike a bell in your mind:
Do you still see the trend in China of adapting the Western model?
I’m one of these people who totally reject the notion that there are Western versus Eastern ways of running a museum. I don’t think that we often see a new model of how to run a museum in China, we’re seeing corruption instead. I am very open about that. I am calling for greater professionalisation of the institutions in China, not because I want them to Westernise, but because I think that the corruption that’s going on devalues what they’re doing and devalues the significance of an exhibition, which is there for the career of an artist.
If you want to be taken seriously throughout the world, as most museums aspire to be, you need to be functioning in a transparent and ethical way. I don’t think that’s just a Western thing. Many museums in Japan are able to operate to this high professional standard and they don’t view it as selling out to the U.S. They see it as having first-rate museums.
To me, the most significant local factor that’s impacting Chinese museums is the lack of a tax structure that allows people to give donations to make museums not for profit, tax-deductible institutions that would allow collectors to contribute to these institutions. I don’t think this is a matter of West versus East.
COBO - Barbara Pollack on the Post-Passport Generation
Global Chinese Art Auction Market Report
Report highlights...
Global Auction Sales Are Up
Demand for Top Lots Is Stronger Than Ever
Prices for Fine Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy Are Also Robust
Defaults Remain a Major Issue, With Buyers Paying for Less Than Half Their Purchases (strange...no?)
Prices for 20th-Century and Contemporary Chinese Art Are Ascendant Overseas
North America Saw a Major Boost in Sales of Chinese Art
Sell-Through Rates for Chinese Art & Antiques Plummeted Abroad as a Whole
In China, Mid- and Low-End Sections of the Auction Market Are Suffering
What will happen in the US when the proposed tariff that encapsulates art & objects of Chinese origin takes effect?
If any of your clients own art that originated in China you might want to start paying attention to this space.
artnet - Global Chinese Art Auction Market Report 2017
The lesson I learned this August - everybody in Hong Kong & Singapore is on holiday for the month.
August 2019 you will find me in Lisbon at a cafe consuming pastéis de nata and ginjinha. Feel free to book early for an August 2019 meeting with me ;-)
All joking aside the previous week I spent in Hong Kong was as fruitful as ever. Fantastic to be able to meet regularly with my clients and network there and add make new contacts in the process. All great people there!
Some exciting developments in the works as well. More on that in the oncoming months.
Until next time,
Blake