issue 80 — 097

50Tt

briefingArt marketLocal hero

Lisbon [auction]

Modern & Contemporary Art Auction10 February 2015 In 2011, Lisbon-based Igor Olho-Azul drew on his network of art experts and turned his family-run gallery into a fully fledged auction house called Veritas. In February, Veritas holds its 13th Modern & Contemporary Art auction, offering more than 100 paintings, photographs and other artwork from Portugal and abroad.

“It was a natural expansion,” Olho-Azul says of the new direction. “Despite a lacklustre economy the works of domestic creatives such as Helena Almeida, João Louro and Vasco Araújo sold well in 2014.”

One highlight is an abstract

work by Russian painter André Lanskoy, expected to fetch up to €12,000. Completed three years before his death, the oil-on-canvas piece showcases Lansky’s signature Tachisme style. “Portuguese collectors now pay more attention to international artists,” says Olho-Azul. — jzlveritasleiloes.com

Highlights (clockwise from top): Cindy Sherman Untitled #130, 1983, C-Print110cm × 84.5cm, €20,000-€30,000 André LanskoyUntitled, Oil on canvas, Signed and dated 1973, 73cm x 60cm, €8,000-€12,000

Candida Höfer Theater Wolfsburg I, 1998, C-Print, 51.5cm × 51.5cm, €18,000-€26,000

WELL HUNGEmbracing the contemporary

CRANE GALLERYKAOHSIUNG, TAIWANLong overshadowed by Taipei, Taiwan’s largest port city of Kaohsiung is emerging as the nation’s alternative centre for arts and culture. Established in May 2013 by Weng Jung-Hui (pictured), Crane Gallery is among the first to specialise in contemporary art in the area.

Nestled in the Yancheng neighbourhood – the heart of Kaohsiung’s burgeoning arts district – Weng refurbished his childhood house to create airy quarters for Crane Gallery. The 1950s building was transformed into a sleek space with concrete floors and a steel staircase.

Q&ABill ClarkeCollectorToronto Bill Clarke is the editor of Toronto-based art journal Magenta and ambassador of Montréal’s Papier art fair. He kickstarted his 230-strong collection of canvases, sculptures and collages spanning both sides of the Atlantic with a humble CA$50 (€35) painting by Canadian artist Luis Jacob.

How does your job affect the way you buy art?It doesn’t influence my art-collecting very much. Feeling that an artist’s work deserves exposure is different than wanting to live with their work every day.

Do you think of resale value?Absolutely not! The price tag on a piece of art is probably the least interesting way to assess its social, cultural, technical or historical value. Many artists whose work sells for millions nowadays faced derision or sold

things for peanuts when they first started out.

Which piece is especially significant to you? Every piece I own means something to me but there are a few pieces that would be the first I’d grab in the event of a fire: a drawing by Winnipeg painter Marcel Dzama of a cat and a rabbit shooting guns at each other and a collage by Jason de Haan from Alberta. He makes thoughtful, lyrical work.

How do you decide what to add to your collection?I used to buy what I liked. But since the collection is bigger, anything that comes in has to relate thematically or visually to something that’s already there. I also pay more attention to the artist’s portfolio. — slp

“Kaohsiung has always been an industrial centre but cities should have depth and a strong creative spirit,” Weng says. “We have plenty of traditional galleries here but nothing modern – that’s why I decided to open an art space.”

Crane Gallery focuses on providing young Taiwanese, along with a small number of Japanese, artists with a platform to exhibit works. “It’s important for me to help build up a name for Kaohsiung and Taiwan on the international art scene.

In February, Crane Gallery will host a group show about bicycles. Viewers can expect sculptures, installations and paintings by both established and new artists including Mu Tsan, Wu Chien-Hsing, Wu Tsan-Cheng, Lin Chien-Chih and Huang Chien-Hua. — vl184cranegallery.com