Collectors

[Евгений]

Sergey Krivosheev collector, the owner of a beautiful collection ...
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When the deed is done and you can breathe, that attracts business people? Snow-white yacht? Exotic hunting? Adventure? Few of the big businessmen allows strangers to look into this very personal, sphere of life, which in general is quite understandable. The chairman of the Board of Directors of OAO Pharmacy Chain 36.6 "Sergei Krivosheeva and his wife Maria Salina way of rest from the daily bustle and whirl of business was the gathering of personal art collection. The most valuable thing my baby collectors do not hide from interested eyes. Today, the conversation will follow this
http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/artss/post73101493/

[LCR]

This article published in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps in 2007 (I have no exact date). Frankly, the rights to this article, I did not buy, but should be, but still put it in the hope that the Swiss to this forum would get no, and if they would get, then in Russian will not understand.
As author of the article, I know him and is confident that he will only be glad that his precious Russian will be able to read his opus - in the case, will not fail to tell him about it.
It was written by Arri Belle, journalist, art critic and writer of detective novels, an employee of the newspaper "Le Monde". This article was written last year, but the events that have occurred since its writing, only confirm the rightness of his conclusion, therefore, it is not obsolete.

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Arri Bell - a frequent guest in Russia. The first time he came to Moscow for the 1st Biennale of Contemporary Art, at the beginning of 2005, the, and he was there like, firstly, because it drove through the circles of the Moscow intelligentsia, and some of its representatives, for example, poet Vsevolod Nekrasov (which I myself am very fond), fired at him so impressed that he introduced it in his latest book, "Black Square" (I must say, quite silly), under the transparent pseudonym beautiful. The second reason - is that our journalist is not a fool to drink (or, as the French say, he is "willing to raise his elbow"), while in Moscow, as you know better than I do with this case has been established.


New collectors are not scared of numbers

Output of the art market to the world level and his health has generated very strong actors nesuschestvovavlego hitherto type. What are the new buyers of art? What are their motivations? What explains the dizzying rise in prices and great fame of some artists? Attempt typological studies.

From such a situation is breathtaking - the major collectors of contemporary art, by definition, the French sociologist Raymond Moulin, creating tastes of our time in his own image and likeness: "They are cooperating with the dealers of art that deal with promotion of a artists. They are the first major buyers. Buy them early, at relatively low prices, a large number of works each artist representing the interests of their artistic direction.

Major collector also serves as a leader of public opinion. As soon as he gets a work of a painter, other collectors, to trust his judgments, and bought this artist, in turn, and this "first wave of imitators," snapping up all available from the author in the presence of very quickly after the purchase of their leader, thereby creating the appearance of lists of customers waiting for their turn, which immediately provides the artist an aura of glory. Everything happens as if the big collectors have in stock a large number of works of this artist, and they come with art dealers in the coalition, which has the ability to control the market.

Characters of these have nothing in common with that described by Balzac Cousin Pons. The collection has long been not just a collection of works. Some refer to it as an enterprise. Francois Pinault began his ascent to Belgium, realizing the archaic competitors - wholesalers of wood and clumsiness intermediaries. He got rid of the latter, and then swallowed (swallowed?) Competitors, thus giving the traditional trade, not beyond the region, international dimension. At a time when they possessed demon-gatherer, he began to act on the art market in the same way.

Sometimes that art lovers have invested in art galleries, but none of them have never been the owner of the world's largest auction house. Having bought in 1998 by Christies, Pino showed senbya this financial genius: 7 billion French francs at the time of the company, has announced a 12 billion francs of annual turnover in 1997, inferior in productivity to its competitor, the second largest auction house Sotheby's. Bid Pino explained the calculation of the flowering (already confirmed since then) at that time completely apathetic art market.

At the same time, this acquisition proved to be very effective in terms of communications and PR: the French - the master symbol of high society, the society «jet-set», which gave Wall Street the ground for thought!
 
However, the most important thing was that for the collector Christies is an indispensable source of information, especially when the collector subsequently acquires its own museum. And Pino did just that - he founded his own museum, although not in the suburbs of Paris, it was originally intended, as in Venice, where he acquired a majority share of the Palazzo Grassi and obtained a concession to the "Arrow Customs.
 
This concentration causes fear. The dossier of debates, published by the newspaper "Le Monde" (16/12/2000) A former gallery owner Stephen Korrear wrote (and it took some courage): "Between the auction houses, on the one hand, and private funds, the statute which allows them to sell products owned by them on the other, the difference will soon be in the thickness of the cigarette paper. /.../Given the fact that they are the main bodies, "legitimizing" this or that direction in the art, these funds should be based holy ascetics, to resist the temptation to take it poses such a situation. /.../In the day - and this day is very close - when the same people would control the most productive auction houses and the most prestigious and wealthy private museums, the most painful ethical issue for these people is: which of these two units must be invoiced? "

hundred-million threshold

And by increasing - Art Market never knew of such a flourishing. The reason for this situation - the emergence of new actors in this market who are not afraid of numbers. Incidentally, in vain: the transactions are now at 100 million! By setting a world record sale at public auction in May 2007, British artist, Daniel Hurst, who was born in 1965, has found buyers for his skull, covered with diamonds. It is the "buyers" in the plural, as, according to representatives of the artist, they constitute a group of investors. But what investors may hope for a quick profit when it comes to work, sold for 100 million dollars? Perhaps those who have already owns Hirst's works - including the artist himself, who is rumored to belong to this group of investors - and expects that under the influence of such a record (by the way, this record is impossible to verify because it is on private transaction), they will rise in price.

As the number of new active members of the art market are controlling speculative funds (hedge funds). Purchase of works of art designed to give some sightliness money earned by methods from which tremble at the heart of economists nervous. But at the same time, they are quite capable of use on the art market recipes, which allowed them to earn huge money at the Stock Exchange, without any hesitation was playing on the subjects of art, as if it were currency, or futures.

Sometimes they are losing in this poker: in November 2006, one of them, Adam Sender, decided to sell its just a collection at auction Phillips de Pury in New York. Despite several well-sold items, the auctions failed. This is explained by the fact that, unlike speculators, who wrote about Raymond Moulin buying works of art for a low price in the hope of provoking its growth, new customers pay for their "entry ticket" to the club of collectors are very expensive. This is evidenced by the history of Stephen Cohen. The weekly "Le Buan" wrote that the genius of Wall Street pays its traders depending on their results from the formula: "You eat what you kill!". Maybe that's why he bought the famous shark immersed Daniel Hurst in an aquarium with formalin killed? This aquarium cost him $ 8 million - but maybe he had the good sense to join the aforementioned group of investors?

Cash waterfalls

Steve Cohen - a secretive man. This fifty-year businessman does not allow to publish their photographs and prefers Manhattan his home in Greenwich (Connecticut), surrounded by - in the words "Le Buan" - a wall height of four meters. However, each of its acquisitions immediately become world famous. Superman Wall Street was purchased for $ 25 million, the same amount was given for the "Portrait of Seated Woman" by Picasso, and, finally, most importantly - the famous De Kooning, purchased in the past for the Tehran Museum of mullahs and bartered for rare Persian manuscripts: according to some sources, "Woman III» its previous buyer, David Geffen, lost to Cohen for 137.5 million dollars. In this regard, we note that, firstly, none of these prices can not be verified, as it comes to private transactions, and, secondly: what interest such a secretive man loudly declare their purchases?
Raise the price of all other items found in his collection - this is the most plausible answer to this question, the answer that immediately comes to mind hucksters. But maybe in this "cash waterfall" and should take into account the human factor. In this regard, useful to read a book by Georges Bernier, one of the best experts on the art market "Art and money» ( «L'Art et l'argent», Paris, Ramsay, 1990). There, he quotes the biographer of the art dealer Joseph Dyuvina (1869 - 1939) who writes about clients of the latter's famous "Baron-bandits" who have gathered significant collections in the early twentieth century America: "They were rich enough to go anywhere and do anything, but they did not know where to go and what to do, they do not even know how to do anything with elegance. He bought yachts, houses, horses, Americans exhausted their opportunities - they can not earn or inherit the title, would enable them to lead a life of European aristocrats. To live an idle life in America was difficult because of the established Puritan and democratic traditions of the country, according to which equated to the sin of idleness. " Georges Bernier draws the conclusion that "art dealers offer this multi world of luxury and the promise of adventure, which no one can condemn.

is not isolated in their comfort

Long past time? No, if you believe the words of one of the largest collectors of the world, developer These Brody: "I began to gather out of curiosity", - he said in an interview with journalist Jacqueline Lewis - "but gradually gathering has become a way for me to perfect, and I was terribly pleased to communicate with people from the art world, whoever they were - artists, Marchand or museum staff. This fellowship broadened my horizons, such dating is not resembled my regular contacts with business people ...». Explanations of another collector, François Pinault, close to Brodie said: "Artists do not allow you to stand apart in their comfort. They always make you ask yourself various questions /.../Their sensitivity and their ability to grasp the features of an era in which we live is stronger than other people. Study of their works can sometimes anticipate future changes. Maybe the rich collections gathered to fight the boredom of business life?