Art Fortnight
Nolan Wooten
London accounts for 25% of the world’s art sales and has glimmers of both the moneyed glitz of New York and the quirks of Old Europe. In recent years, London’s ascent has been speeding up exponentially with the Frieze Art Fair taking centre stage in the art world. Its associated events–Zoo, -scope, all the parties and small exhibitions and everything else that goes on around the fringes of any big moneymaking art event–have added even more texture to a city and an art world that is already vibrant.
Art Fortnight London, held away from the rest of the crowd from 20th June to 4th July, is further validation to the quick establishment of Frieze as the bar that everyone else must now raise. Art Fortnight boasts the blue bloods, the ones who will only come once the art, the people and the places have been marked out for them as worthwhile. The auction houses Bonhams, Sotheby’s and Christie’s opened their doors and the Turner Prize winners like Grayson Perry charged 20 pounds for talks.
Frank Cohen, the Manchester-based collector known as the Saatchi of the North held a special showing of his collection, which highlights Daniel Richter and other young German painters as well as Emin, the Chapmans and the like. The collection does not show evidence of any particularly exceptional eye. The works are mostly second tier, but it shows a genuine passion for art and is a good match with Art Fortnight London’s goal of presenting a feel of London as an art capital to established international collectors, especially the nouveau riche of Russia and China.
Although Art Fortnight first took place in 2004, its second incarnation showed a much more clear identity and direction. Meredith Etherington-Smith, the editor of Christie’s in-house magazine and the former editor of Art Review, has taken control and whipped the fair into shape.
As always, the White Cube stand was mobbed at the fair and its Gilbert and George book signing was the perfect Art Fortnight event, with Gilbert and George recently representing Britain in Venice, the blue-bloods were lined up, yet the ol’ boys have enough spark to keep the young collectors interested yet.
The Artprojx film programme at the Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square, was also a hit. David Gryn at Artprojx has a knack for selecting films and making programmes that really complement London. The sublime William Kentridge was centre stage.
Unlike the Frieze scene, however, Art Fortnight does not only focus on contemporary art. All of the major museums in London held special events. London as a cultural and art centre is the emphasis, which is refreshing not many fairs focus on contemporary art as well as art from an earlier time.
Now that Louise T. Blouin MacBain, who has bought up art magazines worldwide and made London her headquarters, has added Art Fortnight to her empire, it seems even more certain, although it always was pretty certain, that this event will be a permanent listing on the calendar of every self-respecting collector.
