THIS WEEK IN THE ART MARKET - FRIDAY 17TH JANUARY 2025

ART WORKS GALLERY OPENS VARIATIONS ON A THEME, PRESENTING WORKS BY ARTIST NICK GRINDROD

As part of Singapore Art Week, Art Works Gallery opened Variations on a Theme, showcasing works by British artist Nick Grindrod. Celebrated for his nostalgic yet playful compositions, Grindrod has explored the boundaries within his practice with regards to form and colour in this dynamic exhibition. Exploring the endless possibilities within his practice, Grindrod has also created a body of work that is a reflection of the culture and history that surrounds him. Based in Sheffield, Grindrod draws upon inspiration from the city and its industrial past, the urban landscape shining through the distressed surfaces and layers of paint. Additionally, Variations on a Theme marks Grindrod’s first solo exhibition in Asia and Art Works is delighted to showcase Nick Grindrod's incredible oeuvre during Singapore Art Week.

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COLLECTOR LINDA NEO ON THE IMPACT OF ART SG ART FAIR IN SINGAPORE

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Singaporean art collector, Linda Neo, shares her insights on Art SG and the Asian art ecosystem. Neo began collecting Western and Renaissance art before shifting her focus to Singaporean and Southeast Asian art. In 2014, Neo and her husband Albert Lim founded Primz Gallery, a private art space in which they showcase their own collection, encouraging art appreciation and education. As part of Singapore Art Week, Primz Gallery will be presenting Paradise is at the Tip of a Needle, the title taken from a work by Singaporean artist Fyerool Darma. Neo shares how Art SG is a particularly special fair due its diverse range of international galleries, reflecting Singapore’s position as an international hub. With a strong presence of Southeast Asian galleries at Art SG, Neo notes that she will be keeping an eye out for emerging Southeast Asian contemporary artists as they have been “creatively reinterpreting social and cultural issues with brilliant ideas and aesthetics.” In addition, Neo is looking forward to the Platform segment, where works will be presented in collaboration with Delfina Foundation and Bangkok Kunsthalle; there will also be film screenings running by the ArtScience Museum. With this week ushering in the third edition of the fair, Neo describes how it brings “a new dimension to this region.”

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SURPRISE JMW TURNER DISCOVERY COULD FETCH $500,000 AT AUCTION

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A rare watercolour painting by JMW Turner titled, The Approach to Venice or Venice from the Lagoon (c. 1840), has been rediscovered and could fetch $500,000 at auction next month at Christie’s New York. Depicting the Venetian lagoon, the work was discovered through the Christie’s “Request an Estimate” digital appraisal service. With the work previously accredited to Victorian art critic and artist John Ruskin, this new development has significantly inflated the price of the painting. The painting will be featured in the Old Master and British Drawings sale on February 4 with an estimate of $300,000 – 500,000. The work’s current owner, Haddon C. Adams, is a collector of Ruskin’s works, and acquired the painting around 1930. However, the Turner Specialist at Christie’s was able to confirm suspicions that the work was incorrectly attributed, the watercolour matching similar paintings of Venice by Turner.

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THADDAEUS ROPAC ANNOUNCES GALLERY EXPANSION TO MILAN

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Mega gallery Thaddaeus Ropac is set to expand to Milan this autumn with a new premise near the Duomo di Milano inside the Palazzo Belgioioso. The new gallery spans 280 square meters of exhibition space alongside an outdoor area for sculptures and installations. Ropac has shared that, the “new location will enable us to further expand the important relationships we have built up over decades with collectors and institutions in Italy and to present our artists in this dynamic environment.” With Italy’s largest art fair taking place in Milan every April and an increasingly attractive tax regime, the city is set to solidify its position as an art capital. Ropac is not the only gallery expanding to Milan, with Lehmann Maupin opening a pop-up space coinciding with the Venice Biennale and Miart and Ben Brown voicing plans to open a space this year.

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JACK SHAINMAN GALLERY OPENS A NEW TRIBECA LOCATION WITH MONUMENTAL NICK CAVE SHOW

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Jack Shainman Gallery is inaugurating its new Tribeca location with an exhibition titled, Amalgams and Graphts, by Chicago-based artist Nick Cave. The show will run from January 10th – March 15th at the new 20,000 square foot space located in the historic Clock Tower Building. Two series will be showcased: the bronze sculptures titled Amalgams and a series of mixed media portraits under Graphts. The bronze sculptures, a trio of which are situated in the centre of the exhibition, provide an alternative to traditional monuments. The sculptures are a development of Cave’s Soundsuits series, a response to the police brutality faced by Rodney King in 1991; Cave shares that, “the actual ‘Soundsuit’ itself has transformed and become a sort of large-scale, public art sculpture. So there is a transformation, a transitioning, a sort of evolution happening.” As for the Graphts series, Cave takes a multimedia approach, presenting needlepoint portraits with vintage serving trays. This contrast is intended to reflect on class division and the life of leisure juxtaposed with the life of labour. Following the exhibition, the first edition of Amalgam (Origin) will be placed in the collection of the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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MELBOURNE ART FAIR 2025 TO SPOTLIGHT FIRST NATIONS ARTISTS

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Australia’s art fair returns for its 18th edition, featuring 70 galleries and Indigenous art centres to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 20-23 February 2025. Over 90% of participants will be Australian exhibitors, including galleries such as Sullivan+Strumpf and Vivien Anderson Gallery. Sydney and Singapore based gallery, Ames Yavuz will also be returning this year, having recently announced their expansion to the UK. The fair is being led by Melissa Loughnan, the newly appointed director, and will focus on First Nations artists who will account for over a third of the artists exhibiting. In addition, the Young Galleries sector has seen significant growth and will include exhibitors such as Void_Melbourne and Adelaide Contemporary Experimental. Loughan has shared that she is, “especially proud of the expanded Young Galleries sector, which highlights emerging talent and promises a bright future for contemporary Australian art.”