fluktor -|||- study - office - newsletter June 11, 2005

smh.com.au, June 4, 2005
China puts its hand up

Ming blue has always had keen buyers. Now a new dynasty of collectors is emerging in Asia.

Collecting fever has struck in China, which suggests there may be an avalanche of cashed-up customers around the corner. Most Chinese art was created under imperial patronage, of course, so it has tended to be a little on the nose in its home land - not just since the depredations of communist founding father Mao Zedong but since the twilight of the Qing dynasty in the early 1900s.

The market has largely been driven by perceptive Westerners and Chinese in centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore and more recently Taiwan, which has plenty of millionaires and a vast reference source in the form of the National Palace Museum collection.

The new interest is epitomised by China Guardian, a Beijing auction house that has been drawing up to 1000 people to its sales.

Sydney's Judith Rutherford, who is president of the Asian Arts Society of Australia and has long been a dealer in Chinese textiles and costume, says China Guardian held 12 separate auctions, ranging from stamps to mirrors, contemporary art to textiles, each with a sumptuous catalogue 2 centimetres thick, on May 5. It has agents around Asia and in New York, where it is represented by the esteemed Kaikodo gallery.

Many of the Beijing auction fans are apparently there to learn about art rather than to buy. Just as well, since China Guardian requires a hefty deposit of 50,000 yuan (about $9000) before issuing a bidder's paddle.

And while it's still largely European or American collectors and dealers paying the top prices at the big London and New York sales, anecdotal reports and trade sources suggest Asian faces are much more frequently sighted at viewings, auctions and fairs worldwide.

London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi paid the top price at Sotheby's Hong Kong in May - $HK44.9 million ($7.6 million) for a Qianlong celadon reticulated vase, a record for Qing porcelain - but Asian private and trade buyers dominated.

A private Asian buyer paid $HK19.2 million for another Qianlong piece, a dragon vase with an unusual turquoise ground colour.

Eskenazi says prices for most Ming and Qing art have doubled in the past two years, underpinned by Chinese buying. Prices of £1 million ($2.4 million) and more are becoming common, he says.

Even in Australia, presale estimates for Asian art are regularly blown out of the water. At Sotheby's in Melbourne on May 3, an array of Chinese art brought more than three times the lower estimate. The pieces included a Kangxi wucai enamel dragon and phoenix bowl (circa 1700) at $22,800, a pair of Yongzeng wucai bowls at the same price, and a large Ming blue-and-white ovoid jar at $15,600.

Other surprises were a Tang dynasty limestone lion (circa AD600-900) that brought $21,600 and a pale celadon carved jade boulder at $24,000.

Late last year Christie's sold a Kangxi blue-and-white bottle vase and a Kangxi iron red bowl at more than five times the estimates.

[...]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Money/China-puts-its-hand-up/2005/06/03/1117568373601.html?oneclick=true

***************************

artnet.com, 6/3/05
Art Market Watch

$90 MILLION FOR CHRISTIE'S HONG KONG
Is Chinese art a hot growth area in a superheated art market? The answer would be yes, judging by the results of two days of Asian art sales at Christie's Hong Kong, May 29-30, 2005. The two-day total of HK$698.4 million, or $90 million U.S., was a new record for any series of Asian sales (prices given here are in U.S. dollars).

The first section of Christie's Hong Kong contemporary sale on May 29 totaled $18.8 million, with 157 of 168 lots finding buyers, or more than 93 percent. The top lot, the mural-sized triptych Juin-Octobre 1985 by Zao Wou-Ki (b. 1921), a blue, gold and green abstract painting that suggests a swath of the globe seen from space, sold for $2,345,200, a new world auction record for a Chinese painting.

The sale also set new auction records for Lin Fengmian (1900-91), whose naive painting of cottages nestled in an autumn landscape, Hamlet (1940-59) sold for $947,440, and Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957), whose seven-panel screen drawing in gunpowder and Chinese ink, A Certain Lunar Eclipse (Project for Humankind No. 2) (1991), sold for $568,880. The buyers of most of the top ten lots were listed as Asian.

Christie's 20th-century Chinese art expert Eric Chang noted that the sale set new records for seven other artists. "The amazing prices realized by first-generation artists bring them closer to Western post-war masters," he said "but we still believe that there are tremendous prices to be achieved."

The second section of Christie's May 29 contemporary sale featured 28 lots from the Yageo Foundation Collection, which were all sold for a total of more than $8.2 million. Established in 1999 by Yageo Corp., a Taiwan-based chip manufacturer, the Yageo foundation works to promote Chinese artists internationally.

Top Yageo lot was Liao Jichun's The Spanish Chateau, an Ab-Ex-style composition in blue, white, yellow and black, which sold for $1,398,800, a world auction record for the artist. Auction records were also set for the modernist brush painter Sanyu (1901-66), whose Matisse-like White Chrysanthemum in a Blue & White Jardiniere (1940-50) sold for $1,005,680, and Wu Guanzhong (b. 1919), whose lyrical landscape painting Village under Mountain Lau (1970-79) went for $627,120. Three Chinese contemporary artists have now seen their works sell for more than $1 million at auction -- Zao Wou-Ki, Liao Jichun and Sanyu.

Other notable lots included Yue Minjun's large painting of a flock of his signature grimacing faces, The Sun (2000), which went for an impressive $185,066, well above its presale high estimate of $58,000. Yan Pei Ming's iconic, red monochrome painting of Mao at the Tian an Men balcony (2000) soared above its presale high estimate of $25,000 to sell for $115,600.

Zhang Huan's well-known Family Tree (2001), a set of nine c-prints showing the artist's face gradually covered with black Chinese characters (done in an edition of eight), sold for $95,617, above its presale high estimate of about $79,500. And Makoto Aida's alarming but erotic photo of a nude model with her body painted with a weeping anime face, Girls Don't Cry (2003, edition of 10), sold for $9,253.

"It won't be long before the auction houses are regularly including works by more Chinese artists in their big contemporary auctions," said Chinese contemporary art enthusiast (and Museums magazine publisher) Larry Warsh.

[...]

http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/artmarketwatch2/artmarketwatch6-2-05.asp

*****

For complete, illustrated auction results, see Artnet's signature Fine Art Auctions Report.
cf.:
http://www.artnet.com/net/PublicAuctionResults.aspx?collection_id=74322
http://www.artnet.com/net/PublicAuctionResults.aspx?collection_id=74245

***************************

artdaily.com, June 2, 2005
20th Century Chinese Art & Asian Contemporary Art

HONG KONG.- The 20th Century Chinese Art & Asian Contemporary Art sale at Christie's Hong Kong was a great success. Eric Chang, Head of Christie’s 20th Century Chinese Art Department, said: “We are thrilled with the results of this extremely successful sale, which totaled over HK$144 million. This sale, together with the sale of the Yageo Foundation Collection, fetched a combined total of HK$208 million. This is highest total ever achieved in this category anywhere in the world.

We are particularly pleased that the top lot by Zao Wou-Ki established a new world record for a Chinese oil painting, along with more than ten world auction records for other artists. Three Chinese artists have now achieved prices in excess of US$1 million. The amazing prices realized by first generation artists bring them closer to Western post-war masters, but we still believe that there are tremendous prices to be achieved. Works by the Chinese modern artists, like Sanyu, Lin Fengmian, Zao Wou-Ki and Chu The-Chun, performed particularly well today and are taking the lead in the market.

We are now offering a full slate of Pan-Asian contemporary art. The sale earlier today of Southeast Asian art showed great strength in prices of Indian and Indonesian works. The Japanese works, offered for the first time in this category, and the Korean works were both keenly sought-after today, achieving spectacular prices. Chinese contemporary art sold amazingly well. The contemporary section also represents a record total for this art area, and is a testament to Hong Kong’s role as the leading market for Chinese art and Asian contemporary art. We will continue to strategically expand Asian contemporary art, and we are especially pleased by the strong participation of the Western buyers.”

http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=13864

***************************

artdaily.com, June 2, 2005
Art Basel Conversations in collaboration with Bulgari

BASEL, SWITZERLAND.- «Art Basel Conversations» traditionally takes place in June, during Art Basel in Switzerland, and in December, during Art Basel Miami Beach in the USA. The program includes a number of platform discussions relating to the collecting and exhibiting of art. Well-known artists and leading personalities from the world of art speak at these events and mingle with the public. One special highlight at «Art Basel Conversations» this June is sure to be the plat-form discussion devoted to the museum boom in China. This will be attended by leading exponents of the Chinese art scene. «Art Basel Conversations» is organized in collaboration with Bulgari.

By facilitating direct exchanges with leading lights of the international art scene, «Art Basel Conversations» permits privileged access to first-hand information on matters relating to all aspects of collecting and exhibiting art. «Art Basel Conversations» is a forum which encourages the exchange of ideas through platform discussions and personal contact with speakers and other guests. Famous artists, art collectors, museum directors, Biennale curators and architects take part in this event. Speakers not only present their ongoing and upcoming projects, but also report on their experiences and on the challenges they face, in so doing revealing an insider's view of the art scene. «Art Basel Conversations» is an open platform for dynamic and inspiring dialog.

The curtain goes up on «Art Basel Conversations» at Art 36 Basel on Wednesday 15 June 2005 with an evening event for invited guests. The music will be provided by English artist and Turner Prize prizewinner Martin Creed and his band. From Thursday 16 June to Sunday 19 June, «Art Basel Conversations» will be held in the Bulgari Pavilion (Exhibition Square) from 10 to 11.30 a.m. The events are open to the public and admission is free. All visitors will receive a complimentary copy of the «Art Basel Conversations» catalog.

How and what do art scene insiders, gallery owners, artists, curators and museum directors collect for themselves? A discussion on this theme on Thursday 16 June brings together Maria de Corral, art critic, free-lance curator and co-director of the 51st Venice Biennale, member of the advisory board of the Telefonica Foundation Collection, Madrid; Gottried Honegger, artist, collector (Espace d'Art Concret and Albers-Honegger Collection, Château Mouans-Sartoux, France, Zurich,); Pierre Huber, art dealer, collector, Pierre Huber Collection, Geneva; Michelangelo Pistoletto, artist, collector, Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation, Biella, Italy. The host is Richard Flood, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Topics will include: In your capacity as art scene insiders and art collectors, how does this dual identity influence your role in the world of art? How does your art collection change your work as an artist, as an art dealer, as a curator? What inspired you to build up an art collection of your own? What rules should an art scene insider observe when collecting art?

«Art Basel Conversations» on Friday 17 June 2005 will be devoted to the issue of artists and museum architecture. Which, for artists, are the ideal examples of museum architecture? What are the greatest architectural challenges facing artists in museums? How does museum architecture influence the relationship between art and viewer? How can artists influence those who commission museums - and their architects - in their choice of architectural idiom? This platform discussion brings together Vito Acconci, architect, artist, New York; John Armleder, artist, Geneva, New York and Andrea Fraser, artist, New York. The host is James Rondeau, Frances and Thomas Ditmer Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.

China is currently experiencing an unprecedented museum boom. Indeed, the Chinese government has announced that it will build 1,000 new museums by the year 2015. The capital Peking alone plans 32 new museums by 2008 and Shanghai, host city to the 2010 World Expo, aims to have inaugurated 100 new museums by then. Does the future of the museum reside in China and how will this museum boom affect the art world? This topic will be considered on Saturday 18 June 2005 by the following distinguished personalities: Yung Ho Chang, architect (Atelier FCJZ), Chairman and Professor, Peking University Graduate Center of Architecture, Peking; Chaos Yang Chen, curator, founder of CHAOSPROJECTS/Visual Thinking, Peking; Fan Di'An, Vice President, Central Academy of Art, Peking; Hou Hanru, curator, Paris; Claire Hsu, Executive Director, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; Pi Li, art critic, curator, Shanghai; Huang Yong Ping, artist, Paris; Dr. Uli Sigg, collector, Member of the Advisory Board of the China Development Bank, former Swiss Ambassador to China, North Korea and Mongolia; Wang Huangsheng, Director, Guangdong Museum of Art, Ershadao Island, Guangzhou; Guan Yi, collector, Peking. The host is Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris.

«The curator's circle, new practices in curating» on Sunday 19 June 2005 tackles many questions: In future, will the curating of exhibitions only be possible in an institutional context? What does being a free-lance curator involve? How important to the work of the curator is the issue of preserving the art? How does a curator working for an institution remain autonomous? How has the function of a curator changed over the last five years? The participants are Nicolas Bourriaud, Co-Director Palais de Tokyo, curator, author, Paris, co-curator Biennale de Lyon, 2005; Charles Esche, Director Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, curator Istanbul Biennal, 2005; Massimiliano Gioni, co-curator 4th Berlin Biennale, Berlin, Artistic Director Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan; Ruth Noack, curator, Documenta 12, free-lance curator and art historian. The host is Gilane Tawadros, Founding Director of inIVA (Institute of International Visual Arts) London.

«Art Basel Conversations» reflects the commitment of Art Basel and Bulgari to contemporary art and to those who create, mediate, or simply love, art of this kind. «Art Basel Conversations» will be supported by a comprehensive publication containing all the platform discussions which took place during Art Basel Miami Beach last December, as well as short biographies of the participants and other useful information. The catalogue can be ordered from www.ArtBasel.com and costs CHF 28.00.

http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=13862

__________________

with kind regards,

Matthias Arnold
(Art-Eastasia list)

http://www.chinaresource.org
http://www.fluktor.de

__________________________________________

An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is
available at:
http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/art-eastasia.html
For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to:
http://www.fluktor.de/study/office/newsletter.htm


	June 11, 2005: [achtung! kunst] Market II : Beijing: China Guardian (again) - HK: Christie's (2x) - Basel: Art Basel Conversations

	smh.com.au, June 4, 2005 China puts its hand up Ming blue has always had keen buyers. Now a new dynasty of collectors is emerging in Asia. Collecting fever has struck in China, which suggests there may be an avalanche of cashed-up customers around the corner. Most Chinese art was created under imperial patronage, of course, so it has tended to be a little on the nose in its home land - not just since the depredations of communist founding father Mao Zedong but since the twilight of the Qing dynasty in the early 1900s. The market has largely been driven by perceptive Westerners and Chinese in centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore and more recently Taiwan, which has plenty of millionaires and a vast reference source in the form of the National Palace Museum collection. The new interest is epitomised by China Guardian, a Beijing auction house that has been drawing up to 1000 people to its sales. Sydney's Judith Rutherford, who is president of the Asian Arts Society of Australia and has long been a dealer in Chinese textiles and costume, says China Guardian held 12 separate auctions, ranging from stamps to mirrors, contemporary art to textiles, each with a sumptuous catalogue 2 centimetres thick, on May 5. It has agents around Asia and in New York, where it is represented by the esteemed Kaikodo gallery. Many of the Beijing auction fans are apparently there to learn about art rather than to buy. Just as well, since China Guardian requires a hefty deposit of 50,000 yuan (about $9000) before issuing a bidder's paddle. And while it's still largely European or American collectors and dealers paying the top prices at the big London and New York sales, anecdotal reports and trade sources suggest Asian faces are much more frequently sighted at viewings, auctions and fairs worldwide. London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi paid the top price at Sotheby's Hong Kong in May - $HK44.9 million ($7.6 million) for a Qianlong celadon reticulated vase, a record for Qing porcelain - but Asian private and trade buyers dominated. A private Asian buyer paid $HK19.2 million for another Qianlong piece, a dragon vase with an unusual turquoise ground colour. Eskenazi says prices for most Ming and Qing art have doubled in the past two years, underpinned by Chinese buying. Prices of £1 million ($2.4 million) and more are becoming common, he says. Even in Australia, presale estimates for Asian art are regularly blown out of the water. At Sotheby's in Melbourne on May 3, an array of Chinese art brought more than three times the lower estimate. The pieces included a Kangxi wucai enamel dragon and phoenix bowl (circa 1700) at $22,800, a pair of Yongzeng wucai bowls at the same price, and a large Ming blue-and-white ovoid jar at $15,600. Other surprises were a Tang dynasty limestone lion (circa AD600-900) that brought $21,600 and a pale celadon carved jade boulder at $24,000. Late last year Christie's sold a Kangxi blue-and-white bottle vase and a Kangxi iron red bowl at more than five times the estimates. [...] http://www.smh.com.au/news/Money/China-puts-its-hand-up/2005/06/03/1117568373601.html?oneclick=true ************************* artnet.com, 6/3/05 Art Market Watch $90 MILLION FOR CHRISTIE'S HONG KONG Is Chinese art a hot growth area in a superheated art market? The answer would be yes, judging by the results of two days of Asian art sales at Christie's Hong Kong, May 29-30, 2005. The two-day total of HK$698.4 million, or $90 million U.S., was a new record for any series of Asian sales (prices given here are in U.S. dollars). The first section of Christie's Hong Kong contemporary sale on May 29 totaled $18.8 million, with 157 of 168 lots finding buyers, or more than 93 percent. The top lot, the mural-sized triptych Juin-Octobre 1985 by Zao Wou-Ki (b. 1921), a blue, gold and green abstract painting that suggests a swath of the globe seen from space, sold for $2,345,200, a new world auction record for a Chinese painting. The sale also set new auction records for Lin Fengmian (1900-91), whose naive painting of cottages nestled in an autumn landscape, Hamlet (1940-59) sold for $947,440, and Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957), whose seven-panel screen drawing in gunpowder and Chinese ink, A Certain Lunar Eclipse (Project for Humankind No. 2) (1991), sold for $568,880. The buyers of most of the top ten lots were listed as Asian. Christie's 20th-century Chinese art expert Eric Chang noted that the sale set new records for seven other artists. "The amazing prices realized by first-generation artists bring them closer to Western post-war masters," he said "but we still believe that there are tremendous prices to be achieved." The second section of Christie's May 29 contemporary sale featured 28 lots from the Yageo Foundation Collection, which were all sold for a total of more than $8.2 million. Established in 1999 by Yageo Corp., a Taiwan-based chip manufacturer, the Yageo foundation works to promote Chinese artists internationally. Top Yageo lot was Liao Jichun's The Spanish Chateau, an Ab-Ex-style composition in blue, white, yellow and black, which sold for $1,398,800, a world auction record for the artist. Auction records were also set for the modernist brush painter Sanyu (1901-66), whose Matisse-like White Chrysanthemum in a Blue & White Jardiniere (1940-50) sold for $1,005,680, and Wu Guanzhong (b. 1919), whose lyrical landscape painting Village under Mountain Lau (1970-79) went for $627,120. Three Chinese contemporary artists have now seen their works sell for more than $1 million at auction -- Zao Wou-Ki, Liao Jichun and Sanyu. Other notable lots included Yue Minjun's large painting of a flock of his signature grimacing faces, The Sun (2000), which went for an impressive $185,066, well above its presale high estimate of $58,000. Yan Pei Ming's iconic, red monochrome painting of Mao at the Tian an Men balcony (2000) soared above its presale high estimate of $25,000 to sell for $115,600. Zhang Huan's well-known Family Tree (2001), a set of nine c-prints showing the artist's face gradually covered with black Chinese characters (done in an edition of eight), sold for $95,617, above its presale high estimate of about $79,500. And Makoto Aida's alarming but erotic photo of a nude model with her body painted with a weeping anime face, Girls Don't Cry (2003, edition of 10), sold for $9,253. "It won't be long before the auction houses are regularly including works by more Chinese artists in their big contemporary auctions," said Chinese contemporary art enthusiast (and Museums magazine publisher) Larry Warsh. [...] http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/artmarketwatch2/artmarketwatch6-2-05.asp * For complete, illustrated auction results, see Artnet's signature Fine Art Auctions Report. cf.: http://www.artnet.com/net/PublicAuctionResults.aspx?collection_id=74322 http://www.artnet.com/net/PublicAuctionResults.aspx?collection_id=74245 *********************** artdaily.com, June 2, 2005 20th Century Chinese Art & Asian Contemporary Art HONG KONG.- The 20th Century Chinese Art & Asian Contemporary Art sale at Christie's Hong Kong was a great success. Eric Chang, Head of Christie’s 20th Century Chinese Art Department, said: “We are thrilled with the results of this extremely successful sale, which totaled over HK$144 million. This sale, together with the sale of the Yageo Foundation Collection, fetched a combined total of HK$208 million. This is highest total ever achieved in this category anywhere in the world. We are particularly pleased that the top lot by Zao Wou-Ki established a new world record for a Chinese oil painting, along with more than ten world auction records for other artists. Three Chinese artists have now achieved prices in excess of US$1 million. The amazing prices realized by first generation artists bring them closer to Western post-war masters, but we still believe that there are tremendous prices to be achieved. Works by the Chinese modern artists, like Sanyu, Lin Fengmian, Zao Wou-Ki and Chu The-Chun, performed particularly well today and are taking the lead in the market. We are now offering a full slate of Pan-Asian contemporary art. The sale earlier today of Southeast Asian art showed great strength in prices of Indian and Indonesian works. The Japanese works, offered for the first time in this category, and the Korean works were both keenly sought-after today, achieving spectacular prices. Chinese contemporary art sold amazingly well. The contemporary section also represents a record total for this art area, and is a testament to Hong Kong’s role as the leading market for Chinese art and Asian contemporary art. We will continue to strategically expand Asian contemporary art, and we are especially pleased by the strong participation of the Western buyers.” http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=13864 ************************* artdaily.com, June 2, 2005 Art Basel Conversations in collaboration with Bulgari BASEL, SWITZERLAND.- «Art Basel Conversations» traditionally takes place in June, during Art Basel in Switzerland, and in December, during Art Basel Miami Beach in the USA. The program includes a number of platform discussions relating to the collecting and exhibiting of art. Well-known artists and leading personalities from the world of art speak at these events and mingle with the public. One special highlight at «Art Basel Conversations» this June is sure to be the plat-form discussion devoted to the museum boom in China. This will be attended by leading exponents of the Chinese art scene. «Art Basel Conversations» is organized in collaboration with Bulgari. By facilitating direct exchanges with leading lights of the international art scene, «Art Basel Conversations» permits privileged access to first-hand information on matters relating to all aspects of collecting and exhibiting art. «Art Basel Conversations» is a forum which encourages the exchange of ideas through platform discussions and personal contact with speakers and other guests. Famous artists, art collectors, museum directors, Biennale curators and architects take part in this event. Speakers not only present their ongoing and upcoming projects, but also report on their experiences and on the challenges they face, in so doing revealing an insider's view of the art scene. «Art Basel Conversations» is an open platform for dynamic and inspiring dialog. The curtain goes up on «Art Basel Conversations» at Art 36 Basel on Wednesday 15 June 2005 with an evening event for invited guests. The music will be provided by English artist and Turner Prize prizewinner Martin Creed and his band. From Thursday 16 June to Sunday 19 June, «Art Basel Conversations» will be held in the Bulgari Pavilion (Exhibition Square) from 10 to 11.30 a.m. The events are open to the public and admission is free. All visitors will receive a complimentary copy of the «Art Basel Conversations» catalog. How and what do art scene insiders, gallery owners, artists, curators and museum directors collect for themselves? A discussion on this theme on Thursday 16 June brings together Maria de Corral, art critic, free-lance curator and co-director of the 51st Venice Biennale, member of the advisory board of the Telefonica Foundation Collection, Madrid; Gottried Honegger, artist, collector (Espace d'Art Concret and Albers-Honegger Collection, Château Mouans-Sartoux, France, Zurich,); Pierre Huber, art dealer, collector, Pierre Huber Collection, Geneva; Michelangelo Pistoletto, artist, collector, Cittadellarte-Pistoletto Foundation, Biella, Italy. The host is Richard Flood, Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Topics will include: In your capacity as art scene insiders and art collectors, how does this dual identity influence your role in the world of art? How does your art collection change your work as an artist, as an art dealer, as a curator? What inspired you to build up an art collection of your own? What rules should an art scene insider observe when collecting art? «Art Basel Conversations» on Friday 17 June 2005 will be devoted to the issue of artists and museum architecture. Which, for artists, are the ideal examples of museum architecture? What are the greatest architectural challenges facing artists in museums? How does museum architecture influence the relationship between art and viewer? How can artists influence those who commission museums - and their architects - in their choice of architectural idiom? This platform discussion brings together Vito Acconci, architect, artist, New York; John Armleder, artist, Geneva, New York and Andrea Fraser, artist, New York. The host is James Rondeau, Frances and Thomas Ditmer Curator of Contemporary Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. China is currently experiencing an unprecedented museum boom. Indeed, the Chinese government has announced that it will build 1,000 new museums by the year 2015. The capital Peking alone plans 32 new museums by 2008 and Shanghai, host city to the 2010 World Expo, aims to have inaugurated 100 new museums by then. Does the future of the museum reside in China and how will this museum boom affect the art world? This topic will be considered on Saturday 18 June 2005 by the following distinguished personalities: Yung Ho Chang, architect (Atelier FCJZ), Chairman and Professor, Peking University Graduate Center of Architecture, Peking; Chaos Yang Chen, curator, founder of CHAOSPROJECTS/Visual Thinking, Peking; Fan Di'An, Vice President, Central Academy of Art, Peking; Hou Hanru, curator, Paris; Claire Hsu, Executive Director, Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; Pi Li, art critic, curator, Shanghai; Huang Yong Ping, artist, Paris; Dr. Uli Sigg, collector, Member of the Advisory Board of the China Development Bank, former Swiss Ambassador to China, North Korea and Mongolia; Wang Huangsheng, Director, Guangdong Museum of Art, Ershadao Island, Guangzhou; Guan Yi, collector, Peking. The host is Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris. «The curator's circle, new practices in curating» on Sunday 19 June 2005 tackles many questions: In future, will the curating of exhibitions only be possible in an institutional context? What does being a free-lance curator involve? How important to the work of the curator is the issue of preserving the art? How does a curator working for an institution remain autonomous? How has the function of a curator changed over the last five years? The participants are Nicolas Bourriaud, Co-Director Palais de Tokyo, curator, author, Paris, co-curator Biennale de Lyon, 2005; Charles Esche, Director Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, curator Istanbul Biennal, 2005; Massimiliano Gioni, co-curator 4th Berlin Biennale, Berlin, Artistic Director Fondazione Nicola Trussardi, Milan; Ruth Noack, curator, Documenta 12, free-lance curator and art historian. The host is Gilane Tawadros, Founding Director of inIVA (Institute of International Visual Arts) London. «Art Basel Conversations» reflects the commitment of Art Basel and Bulgari to contemporary art and to those who create, mediate, or simply love, art of this kind. «Art Basel Conversations» will be supported by a comprehensive publication containing all the platform discussions which took place during Art Basel Miami Beach last December, as well as short biographies of the participants and other useful information. The catalogue can be ordered from www.ArtBasel.com and costs CHF 28.00. http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=13862 __________________ with kind regards, Matthias Arnold (Art-Eastasia list) http://www.chinaresource.org http://www.fluktor.de __________________________________________ An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is available at: http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/art-eastasia.html For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to: http://www.fluktor.de/study/office/newsletter.htm