Reviewing art fairs did not produce flattering news about east Europe . This time we re-visited Artfacts to see whether contemporary and modern visual artists from our region have improved their dismal position. Alas, on the contrary. In 2009 there were 18 living artists from east Europe , now 16 from practically the same ten countries (instead of Ukraine Bosnia was the 10th country then). This time only one of them, US-based Serbia-born Marina Abramovic is in top 100.
The ArtfactsNet rank list, based on the number, place and reception of exhibitions, has swelled to comprise over 218 thousand artists of the world, the majority of them alive. In order to check progress after a couple of years, here is a benchmark table:
ArtfactsNet rank list
July 2011
TOP 500
TOP 1000
East Europe (BO remit) 23 artists from 11 countries5 PL, 4 RO, 3 HU, 2 AL BG SI, 1 HR LT RS SK UA 45 artists from 12 countries11 PL, 6 RO, 5 LT, 4 HU RS,3 CZ, 2 AL BG HR SI SK UA East Europe in broad sense 32 artists from 14 countries7 RU, 1 GR TR in addition to the above 66 artists from 15 countries13 RU, 5 TR, 2 GR, 1 GE
in addition to the above Living artists from the east 18 artists from 10 countries5 PL, 2 AL BG RO SI, 1 HR LT RS SK UA 34 artists from 11 countries11 PL, 4 RS, 3 LT RO, 2 AL BG CZ HR SI UA, 1 SK Living artists from the broader east 19 artists from 12 countries1 GR in addition to the above 46 artists from 15 countries5 TR, 4 RU, 2 GR, 1 GE
in addition to the above
Visual alternatives
We sought consolation in alternative rank lists. Kunstkompass exists since 1970, now administered by the German business magazines Manager. Importance and influence of the artists is measured by exhibitions, museum purchases and also art magazine reviews.
London based art watch ArtTactic ranks artists by “confidence”, distinguishing long-term and short-term, based on the opinion of a pool of art insiders.
In both cases access to the full top 100 list requires membership which BO is not. In the available press references no mention is ever made of any artist from east Europe .
Go positivist
Entirely different and fully objective is the approach of Artprice report on contemporary art sales released each year for FIAC (so the next edition is due in October). It operates with clear facts: revenues at auctions. Also contempariness is defined unambiguously: born after 1945, whether alive or dead. The analysis of the season between July 2009 – June 2010 is an entertaining and informative read. Its tone contradicts the apocalyptic vision of the crisis: “Unlike the 1990-1991 crisis when there was a serious freeze on art buying, the offer has adapted during 2008 and 2010 to the less favourable economic context. The market is just as deep as ever and is continuing its expansion, particularly towards the East.”
This east, however is not our east. If we disregard a nostalgic reference to Malevitch, the first name from east Europe occurs on page 65: Enki Bilal, 74th on the top 500 list was born in Belgrade . The €888 thousand turnover after his works consists of 271 pieces: no other artist sold more lots on the list. The only other name from our region is Romanian sculptor Remus Botarro, #451.
To extend the scope to the broader region, we find two Russians, a Georgian, a Greek – and eighteen Turks! Similarly astounding is the number of 139 Chinese artists on the top 500 of sales. 139 Chinese versus five from post-communist Europe !
The bestselling artist in 2009-2010, by the way, was Jean-Michel Basquiat, dead since 1988, with €31 million for 70 pieces. The highest single price for a lot belongs to a painting by Peter Doig, €6 million.
Rounding with a square
We shall round up the excursion to contemporary visual arts with a combined table of the tops of the latest leading rank lists (living artists only):
ArtfactsNet
Kunstkompass
ArtTactic
long-term confidence
ArtTactic
short-term confidence
Artprice
Bruce Nauman (US) Gerhard Richter (DE) Gerhard Richter (DE) Gerhard Richter (DE) Jeff Koons (US) Gerhard Richter (DE) Bruce Nauman (US) Jeff Koons (US) Anish Kapoor ( UK , IN) Peter Doig ( UK ) Cindy Sherman (US) Georg Baselitz (DE) John Baldessari (US) John Baldessari (US) Richard Prince (US) Ed Ruscha (US) Cindy Sherman (US) Robert Gober (US) Cindy Sherman (US) Damien Hirst ( UK ) John Baldessari (US) Anselm Kiefer (DE) Richard Prince (US) Robert Gober (US) Zeng Fanzhi (CN)Regional Observatory on Financing Culture in East-Central Europe
Filed under: Europe, Exhibitions, Research Tagged: Contemporary art, Top Artist, Visual Art
