Armory 2009 Modern art sales fail to excite

Anselm Kiefer’s Merkaba, 2002

Armory 2009 Modern art sales fail to excite

(Source The Art Newspaper articles)
Pier 92 report: dealers remain upbeat, despite envious glances at contemporary pier
The Armory Show’s latest venture, its inaugural modern art section with 68 dealers from eight countries showing on Pier 92, was bound to be risky in the current market. And as some had duly predicted, sales over the first two days were slow.
On the VIP opening day on Wednesday, it was also obvious that although Pier 92 looked smarter than anyone had believed possible during the set-up period, more collectors were flocking to the contemporary art, down the perilous scaffold staircase, to Pier 94. On Thursday afternoon, an informal poll of 25 dealers revealed that less than 20% were reporting vigorous sales. However, more encouragingly for the fair organisers, about 80% indicated that they were planning to return next year.

While some dealers had not completed a single sale, they remained upbeat about this new Armory Show initiative. Renato Danese, who heads the Chelsea based Danese (P92/249), said: “Even if we complete not a single sale, we’ll return. Also none of my colleagues are complaining, as this is far better than sitting back in the gallery with no traffic at all.” The gallery had yet to make its first sale towards the end of Thursday trading.

In an informal poll conducted by The Art Newspaper of 35 galleries in the main fair on Pier 94, all but one reported sales down on last year. However, 25 said they had covered their costs in the first day of trading, and 28 said they were committed to returning next year, with seven undecided.
Yotam Intrator of Tel Aviv gallery Dvir (P94/946), like several others, was putting a brave face on the downturn: “You can’t compare things now with two or three years ago,” he said. “Everything has changed. It’s not different bad, just different.
Major collectors seen on the floor included Don and Mera Rubell, Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz, Dennis and Debra Scholl, Glenn Fuhrman and MoMA trustee Agnes Gund. Dealers also reported sales to private collectors from the US, Europe, and Latin America.

The Armory 2009 The Art Newspaper free Issue1 Download PDF
http://theartnewspaper.com/fairs/Armory/2009/1.pdf

The Armory 2009 The Art Newspaper free Issue2 Download PDF
http://theartnewspaper.com/fairs/Armory/2009/2.pdf