BUSINESS ART

Business Art STEPHAN WELZ & CO.

www.swelco.co.za

Stephan Welz & Co. have had the privilege of being part of the “artists journey” for many years. The last two years have been slightly different though - most assuredly due to the changing nature of the world as we once knew it. A different, much needed, energized artist offering has imbued Stephan Welz and Co’s latest auction collections.

The works of Bambo Sibiya, Blessing Ngobeni, and Nelson Makamo have acted as a reprieve from the dismay that has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. As South Africans, we are particularly fortunate to have these artists and their works to act as our anchors – speaking directly to our moment, they act as both snapshot and promise. A snapshot of the epoch, and a promise that we might just make it through the unsettling times.

Blessing Ngobeni’s oeuvre functions as snapshot. Ngobeni’s works are situated between the political and the personal and avidly express the many intersections between systems of power and lived experience. “The anger, the happiness, the love, the struggle of the political landscape in Africa… are fused in one thing” (Blessing Ngobeni in Wood 2020: [sp]). These sentiments are crucial to the understanding of our current socio-cultural cipher, they provide a visual clarification of what we can no longer make sense of, or of what we are no longer able to express. Material Enslavement speaks to the unaltered oppressive systems characterized by the late Capitalist period, while also addressing the stagnant ‘change’ promised by the post-Apartheid era. These systemic issues, now even more glaringly evident in our current moment, posits Material Enslavement as essential ‘visual reading’ for our country and our time. Bambo Sibiya’s works are permeated with the idea of ‘Ubuntu Ngabantu’, a Zulu term translating roughly to ‘I am what I am because of who we all are’ – and functions as promise. Much of his work considers the mining industry in Johannesburg during the Apartheid era, and the men and women that populated these spaces of hardship. Memories of a Swenka, examines

Bambo Sibiya (South African 1986 - ): Together We Can, 2020, mixed media on canvas, 82 by 114 cm excluding frame; 103 by 134 by 5cm

the cultural phenomenon of the ‘Swenka’ that arose amidst the toil of the every day. “[T]he Swenkas are South African workers who have found a unique way to channel their self-respect, their creativity, and their hope in the future” (Bonhams Bond Street [sa]:[sp]) through the use of clothing and styling which were expressions of much needed dignity. Sibya’s Together we Can is a poignant reflection of promise. The work requires us to pause and reflect, to realise that we still continue as one. The work draws on a distinct South African visual trope, as if speaking directly to those that already innately recognise it. In this way, the work offers itself up to that populous as a silent promise that we will continue.

Above: Bambo Sibiya (South African 1986 - ) Memories Of A Swenka, 2014, lithograph and screenprint, sheet size: 63 by 84 cm excluding frame; 14,5 by 71,5 by 3,5 cm. Opposite Page: Blessing Ngobeni (South African 1985 - ) Material Enslavement 2014, the mixed media on canvas, 139,5 by 100 cm Nelson Makamo (South African 1982 - ): Portrait With Glasses 2020, mixed media on paper, 99 by 71 cm excluding frame; 114,5 by 86,5 by 3,5 cm

“A different, much needed, energized artist offering has imbued Stephan Welz and Co’s latest auction collections.”

Nelson Makamo’s work functions as both snapshot and promise. His immediately recognisable figures, be-speckled and joyfull, gently entice the viewer to feel. To emote the ordinary, the mundane, the small delights, the moments that make up a human life. Brilliantly summed up by Ashraf Jamal (Art Times 2021:15), “…if the works possess a deep structure of feeling, it is because they are life-affirming…”, however Jamal continues by adding that “…this affective joy…can be mistaken for a placebo, as real yet not – largely because of the way in which Makamo has been constructed as a sentimental artist”. Keeping these differing ideas in mind, Makamo still consistently establishes a joyful romance in his work, while not denying the inhumanity of a post-Apartheid South Africa. In this sense, his works are thus able to function as both snapshot and promise. Not denying the trauma experienced by the black body, the grinding nature of day-to-day survival (specifically in our current time), and not disabusing us of our lived experience. He presents this truth through his subject matter, and (re)- presents it through his delivery. Makamo’s ability to find compassion and dignity in his subjects offers us a sense of courage. A snapshot of reality and the promise of a route back to our humanity.

Stephan Welz and Co. is looking forward to the ongoing journey with these artists, discovering and developing with them. We are excited to continue showcasing their works and expanding our auction offerings.

A Good Read RUSSIA INCREASES ARTS FUNDING AS SANCTIONS TAKE HOLD

Published On Artforum April 21, 2022

The Russian government will pour one billion rubles ($12.1 million) into cultural projects affected by sanctions related to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, The Art Newspaperreports. The news was originally revealed to Russia’s Tass news agency by Sergei Kirienko, who serves as chief of staff to Russian president Vladimir Putin and who plays a significant role in shaping the nation’s cultural policy.

“These are funds that can and should go toward supporting cultural projects connected with Russian cultural identity, traditional spiritual and moral values, and the support of collectives and cultural figures who have become targets of sanction pressure,” said Kirienko. Since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has sought to squelch dissent through the promise of a fifteen-year prison sentence for those describing the Ukraine action—which the government has cast as a “special military operation”—as a “war” or “invasion.”

Since launching the attack, Russia has been subject to a tremendous talent drain, with a number of artists and cultural workers leaving their posts in protest, some of these departing for neighboring countries. Among those who have demonstrated their dissatisfaction by resigning or leaving are Vladimir Opredelenov, the veteran deputy director of Moscow’s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts; Francesco Manacorda, director of Moscow’s V-A-C Foundation; Simon Rees, artistic director at Cosmoscow; film critic Anton Dolin and theater critic Marina Davydova, both of whom saw their homes vandalized with the Russian pro-war “Z” symbol; and Bolshoi Ballet star Olga Smirnova, who is now performing with the Dutch National Ballet.

The war has also affected the artistic careers of Russians living outside the country, particularly those who refuse to denounce the invasion. Recent weeks have seen the departure of Russian billionaire banker Petr Aven, a close Putin ally, from the board of London’s Royal Academy; the shunning of soprano Anna Netrebko, who was dropped by New York’s Metropolitan Opera after failing to vocally condemn Putin and then found herself reviled in her home country after attempting to distance himself from him; and Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who was fired from the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra over his ties to the despot.

A Good Read WONDERING WHAT TO PACK FOR THE VENICE BIENNALE? HERE’S A LIST, CROWDSOURCED FROM ART-WORLD INSIDERS

First Published On Artnet News, April 18, 2022

Italian actress and princess Ira von Fuerstenberg packing her things in Venice circa 1955. Photo: Carlo Bavagnoli/Mondadori via Getty Images.

With the Venice Biennale opening this week, we asked people in the art world a few questions to help us prepare. First: What is the most essential thing on your Venice packing list? Here’s what they said.

Paulina Bebecka, Gallerist “Velvet, flat Friulane (or furlane) shoes. Everyone wears them, all over Italy. For all the miles to be walked in Venice, they are perfect—light and comfortable and chic; they could even pass for elegant in a pinch.

“It is said that people from Friuli have worn them since the 1800s. The Venetian gondoliers adopted them because of their grip and comfort, and because they didn’t ruin the wood of the boats. It is also said that Venetian nobility used them when they wanted to sneak around to find their amanti [lovers] in secret. They are truly silent little slippers.

“If you don’t have them, buy them when in Venice. The most popular store is ViBi Venezia.”

Maria Brito, Art Advisor

“The weather in Venice changes dramatically, from warm to rain to cold—on the same day— so definitely layers and outfits that work for these very different temperatures.”

Geoff Dyer, Author “Simple: a notebook and pen to write down vaporetto times so you can arrive at the relevant stop with minutes to spare after dinners or parties—the service is extremely punctual, but somewhat sparse late in the evenings.”

Pari Ehsan (aka Pari Dust), Influencer

A look from Bevza’s spring-summer 2022 collection.

“In the spirit of dressing to heighten the discourse, most essential to me is to create an art and fashion pairing, an image to document our times. I will wear a look by Ukranian designer Bevza, whose current collection is characterized by water and nautical themes, to dialogue with Fountain of Exhaustion, artist Pavlo Makov’s kinetic sculpture, set to be exhibited in Ukraine’s pavilion—a message for hope.” Heather Flow, Art Advisor

“My Issey Miyake kimono raincoat is critical! The rain in Venice can be cataclysmic.”

Aparajita Jain, Art Dealer

Great shoes! Sometimes it’s hard to get boats, which means walking distances between shows. I like Loro Piana—Summer Walk.”

Melissa McGill, Artist “An extra bag to bring home colorful pairs of my favorite Friulane slippers [by Piedàterre Venezia], with soles made of recycled bicycle tires.”

Nazy Nazhand, Art Advisor

Wearing her Nike Air Max sneakers in Venice

“My collection of Nike Air Max sneakers and my Max Mara trench coat. The Biennale requires hours of walking and getting in and out of water taxis and vaporettos. Opening week is an endurance sport with unpredictable weather, and I’m ready for it.”

Eugenio Re Rebaudengo, Collector “The most critical thing is to have planned a very precise itinerary of shows and events. So nothing is more important than your smartphone, with a well-organized Google calendar.”

Ermanno Rivetti, Gallerist “I always like to bring something Venicerelated to read—I call it full immersion. This time it’s Joseph Brodsky’s Watermark.”

Bosco Sodi, Artist “The most essential thing on my packing list is good tennis shoes: the beauty of the city is to walk and walk and walk. And I always have my sketch book.” Ellen Swieskowski, Entrepreneur “I always pack a travel backgammon set. Smythson and Sabah both make nice roll-up versions that you can throw in a tote. Playing backgammon is a great way spend downtime between art viewings, and you just may make some new friends.”

Sabah’s handmade leather backgammon travel set.

Simmy Swinder Voellmy, Gallerist “A portable phone charger! Who knows when you’ll have access to an outlet, and who wants to be far apart from their phone when coordinating an evening’s full schedule? A bonus is having one with multiple ports—you’ll be the most popular person at dinner.”

Hannah Traore, Gallerist “At least a few pairs of glasses. I need to be able to see all the incredible art and landscapes; in a place like Italy, they also need to match my outfit.”

A Good Read BLACK WOMEN REIGN VICTORIOUS AT VENICE BIENNALE AS SIMONE LEIGH, SONIA BOYCE WIN TOP AWARDS

First Published On artnews.com

For the first time, both of the Venice Biennale’s top honors went to Black women.

Those awards, known as the Golden Lions, went this year to Simone Leigh and Sonia Boyce, who won for participation in Cecilia Alemani’s main show and for a national pavilion, respectively.

The Silver Lion, for a “promising young artist” in the main show, went to Ali Cherri. Special mentions for Alemani’s exhibition were also awarded to Shuvinai Ashoona and Lynn Hershman Leeson.

Boyce won for her British Pavilion, which was curated by Emma Ridgway. Zineb Sedira’s French Pavilion and the Uganda Pavilion, which featured work by Acaye Kerunen and Collin Sekajugo, received special mentions.

Leigh, who also represented the United States this year at the Venice Biennale, was recognized for Brick House (2019), a 16-foot-tall sculpture that had formerly appeared on New York’s High Line park, where Alemani serves as chief curator. The work depicts an eyeless Black female figure whose form appears to combine with an architectural structure. Drawing on the styles of Batammaliba architecture and Mousgoum dwellings, the work also alludes to Mammy’s Cupboard, an eatery in Natchez, Mississippi, whose building resembles a mammy figure.

Brick House received prominent placement at the Biennale, where it was surrounded by works by Belkis Ayón. It was the first piece viewers saw once they entered the Arsenale section of the main show, titled “The Milk of Dreams,” which was focused loosely on a reemergence of Surrealist tendencies.

In a statement read by Adrienne Edwards, a Whitney Museum curator who led the group that selected the winners, the jury said it had given Leigh the Golden Lion for her “rigorously researched, virtuosically realized, and powerfully persuasive monumental sculptural.”

Leigh used her speech to pay homage to people whom she called her “interlocutors,” among them Rashida Bumbray, who will lead an event as part of Leigh’s Biennale pavilion later this year, and artist Lorraine O’Grady.

Boyce’s British Pavilion similarly centered Black women, focusing specifically on ones in Britain whose vast contributions to the country’s musical history have gone under-recognized by the mainstream. Through videos, sculptures, and displays of archival material, Boyce, who first emerged during the Black British Arts movement of the 1980s, surveyed the work of five Black female singers spanning multiple generations and musical styles.

“Sonia Boyce proposes, consequently, another reading of histories through the sonic,” the jury said in its statement.

Through tears, Boyce thanked a number of figures, including the late curator Okwui Enwezor, who brought her work to the main show of the 2015 Venice Biennale. She used her speech to suggest that there are many more figures within her lineage who have yet to emerge.

“We mustn’t forget that there’s an even longer arc, which we see in Zineb,” she said. “We mustn’t forget that there’s a longer arc that’s more than the people than we see here.”

Cherri won for Of Men and Gods and Mud (2022), a video installation that draws a line between the past and the present by way of the Merowe Dam in Sudan. The work envisions the dam as something akin to a creature itself, one that has similarities to beasts seen in art of centuries past. The jury praised the work for “opening up from other narratives that depart from the logic of progress and reason.”

Ahead of the opening of the biennale, the prestigious Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to Cecilia Vicuña and Katharina Fritsch, both of whom are featured in the main show.

The German-born Fritsch was lauded for her uncanny, often over-sized reproductions of objects, animals, and people. Vicuña, a Chilean visual artist and a poet, was honored for her wide-ranging practice “built around a deep fascination with Indigenous traditions and nonWestern epistemologies,” according to Alemani in a statement. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is typically given to one mid or late-career artist; this year marked the first time since 2013 that two artists shared the prize.

In addition to Edwards, this year’s jury also consists of Lorenzo Giusti, the director of GAMeC Bergamo in Italy; Julieta González, artistic director of Instituto Inhotim in Brazil; Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, the founder of Savvy Contemporary in Berlin, artistic director of Sonsbeek 20–24 in the Netherlands, and the incoming director of Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin; and Susanne Pfeffer, director of Museum MMK für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt.

A Good Read CHRISTIE’S IS SENDING A HOLOGRAM OF A $20 MILLION EDGAR DEGAS BALLERINA ON A WORLD TOUR TO AVOID THE COST AND COMPLEXITY OF SHIPPING

First Published in The ArtNewspaper, 21 April 2022, Daniel Cassady

The same type of technology that brought Tupac to Coachella is now being used to take an Edgar Degas ballerina on tour.

Last week, a hologram of the French artist’s sculpture Petite danseuse de quatorze ans toured Christie’s outposts in San Francisco and Hong Kong as part of the auction house’s preview of works in its upcoming sale of the late Anne Bass’s collection. The likeness of the 40-inch-tall bronze ballerina was displayed inside an illuminated, refrigerator-sized box.

It’s the first time Christie’s has deployed the technology, which it sees as a viable alternative to increasingly risky, environmentally damaging, and exorbitantly expensive international shipping. (The company already had the viewing boxes on hand in both San Francisco and Hong Kong, so there was no physical shipping required.)

This particular Degas bronze is particularly sensitive given its age, according to Devang Thakkar, senior advisor for digital and technology at Christie’s. “The hologram provides a lifelike digital replica displayed in three dimensions rather than flat digital screens like TVs or our computer monitors,” Thakkar told Artnet News, “allowing for an immersive and interactive experience.”

The actual sculpture, a bronze cast created in 1927 based on a wax model that dates to 1879–81, is estimated to fetch between $20 million and $30 million on May 12 in New York. It’s one of three works by the artist on offer.

A Christie’s spokesperson said there are no plans for future hologram viewings at this time.

The devices used to show off the Degas belong to Proto, a Los Angeles-based startup behind products that allow users to transmit live, threedimensional representations of themselves to, say, faraway meetings or lectures.

“Beaming people places also saves an enormous amount of time, money, and carbon damage too,” said Proto CEO David Nussbaum.

The collaboration with Christie’s isn’t Proto’s first dalliance with the art world. Nussbaum’s company has been involved with the display of numerous NFT projects—a “dozen” of which occurred around last year’s Art Basel Miami Beach—and has an app that “turns your Proto into a full-service touch-screen art gallery.”

He’s open to other artistic uses, too. “It would be amazing for a museum to commission a performance art piece—maybe beaming live to cities all over the world,” Nussbaum went on. “How great would it be to see Marina Abramovic do something with Proto? Would The Artist is Present work via holoportation? Instead of beaming people, what if Cai Guo-Quiang created one of his gunpowder events live via Proto? What amazing polka-dot and mirrors ideas would Yayoi Kasuma have?”

A Good Read IN A GUARANTEED MARKET, BUYERS AND SELLERS CRAVE THE UNPREDICTABLE

The recent London auctions suggested a market of extremes, with some seeking the safety of guarantees and others speculating on works by young stars on the rise

First Published On theartnewspaper Melanie Gerlis, 15 April 2022

The stark dynamics of the current art market played out during London’s week of auctions last month, with contrasts likely to polarise further should Russia’s merciless invasion of Ukraine persist.

The invasion itself was front and centre as the sales began—“Missiles rain on Ukrainian cities” flashed on my phone just as René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (1961) hammered for £51.5m at Sotheby’s. The perfunctory saleroom applause and celebratory tweets felt uncomfortable—surreal even—given the horror of what was going on outside.

Flight to safety

The auctions themselves painted a picture of a clientele of extremes. At one end, the evening sales fielded the highest proportion of guaranteed works ever—accounting for 64% of the total hammer price according to the analysts ArtTactic, and including the Magritte. This suggests a flight to safety on the part of both sellers and buyers, reducing their risks at the highest levels. The other, more recent, extreme of today’s art market is the intense speculation on young art and artists. Lauren Quin and Rachel Jones were among the 20- and 30-something auction debutantes to hit the six-figure jackpot this season.

It’s easy to assume that there are two different types of players at auction—the older guard collectors who stick to the traditional fare and the fashion-conscious, newer buyers who are trying their luck. But the reality is not so clear cut. The more predictable auctions become, through guarantees and their staged set-ups, the more buyers and sellers crave the fun of the unpredictable. The art adviser Sibylle Rochat says: “Now that serious blue-chip works are in the tens of millions, even classic collectors want to play a bit more.” Plus, she notes: “The shift to digital during the pandemic has fuelled speculation. Buyers have adjusted to being one step removed from a work, so feel less attached.”

Wobbly works But not everything was a hit. Classic Impressionist works, favoured by Russian buyers in and out of

Photo: Haydon Perrior. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

the country, were wobbly, while nervous sellers withdrew works even during the auctions. One painting from Sotheby’s sale—Monet’s Les Demoiselles de Giverny (1894)—was withdrawn mid-session and is due to reappear at the auction house’s next major season in New York in May.

The question is, will things be any better by then? While the US was initially less impacted than Europe, which has a war on its doorstep, the longer the conflict continues, the more the eyes of the world are on Russia. Sanctions and other economic controls had yet to bite during the London sales and are growing in force every day. In a world that still needs to recover from the costs of Covid alongside a prolonged hike in energy prices, the chances of a wider financial recession seem more likely.

Meanwhile, the spectre of a wider war has not gone away. For the auction houses, getting in consignments must be even trickier than at the beginning of this year. I would expect even more guarantees—and experiments with untested youngsters—in the next round of sales.

A Good Read SHIPPING COSTS ARE SKYROCKETING—AND GALLERIES ARE EXPECTED TO BE HIT HARD

Oil price increases and the inability to fly over Russian airspace has made sending art abroad, especially between East Asia and Europe, much more expensive

First Published On theartnewspaper Kabir Jhala, 5 April 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused the cost of international shipping to skyrocket. Oil prices last month reached their highest in 14 years as Nato countries vowed to wean themselves off Russian energy by the end of the year, causing extreme market volatility. This, combined with the inability to fly over Russia and Ukraine’s vast combined airspace, has made shipping art overseas, in particular between Europe and Asia, much more expensive—and major fairs in Asia are expected to be hit hard.

“I’ve not seen anything like this since the 2008 recession,” says Victor Khureya, the operations director of the shipping firm Gander & White. “I’m getting estimates of air freight from Europe to China, Malaysia and Japan between eight to 12 times the usual cost.” The situation appears even more dramatic elsewhere. Edouard Gouin, the co-founder of Convelio, a fine art shipping logistics company, says that a Chinese client was recently quoted $58,000 to send a container to northern Europe by a competitor. This journey, he says, would have cost around $3,000 before the pandemic—a markup of around 20 times. Gouin adds that while no one can predict such a rapidly evolving situation, he does not expect things to ease “for at least the next three months.” Both shippers say that commercial gallery clients have cancelled orders due to surging costs.

Fairs watch closely What this means for forthcoming fairs remains to be seen. An Art Basel spokesperson says: “This is a situation evolving rapidly and we will stay in close contact with our galleries to best support their participation in the weeks and months to come.” While its Hong Kong fair (25-29 May) is the first to be affected, the fair’s spokesperson says that many exhibitors have already shipped their art and that Art Basel has negotiated free storage in the city with its shipping partners. They add that galleries withdrawing from Hong Kong now are subject to the usual cancellation fees, while withdrawing from the Basel fair at this stage would leave exhibitors liable to pay 50% of the booth fee.

Frieze, which launches its inaugural Seoul fair in September, declined to comment, but it is understood that it is monitoring the situation and that galleries have until June to pull out and still receive a full refund.

Angus Montgomery Arts, the largest organiser of Asian fairs, has yet to announce contingency plans for a fair cancellation but a company spokesperson says they are “keeping an eye”

on the situation as it unfolds. Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Korean Pavilion at this month’s Venice Biennale says that air shipping costs have “taken up a lot” of their budget.

Some knock-on effects predicted by shippers include smaller and less bulky works being sent across the Asia-Europe route. Moreover, a huge increase in sea freight is expected, as flying around Russia can add up to five hours to a journey. “Sea freight was already something that a lot of our clients have considered for environmental reasons as it uses 10 times less fuel than flying by air,” Gouin says.

Other less obvious causes behind surging prices are spiking insurance rates and a severe shortage of cargo vehicles and containers. Russia owns a large proportion of ships, containers and other machinery, none of which can now be used. Prices of the remaining vehicles have therefore risen due to massively increased demand. “This situation has been at a tipping point since the pandemic’s onset, which grounded flights and has caused labour and materials shortages and supply chain disruptions that continue to be felt today,” Khureya says. “This war has only made a difficult situation worse.”

Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly a lucrative time to work in shipping too. The French container transportation and shipping company CMACGM, the third largest in the world, reported a profit of €23.1bn in 2021, more than France’s largest two banks, BNP Paribas and Société Générale, combined.