AFAC's Select Art Fairs for Fall: New York, Miami, London, Paris

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Here we are at the fall season once again, when the art world is in full swing. If your travel plans take you to any of these major cities this season, you might enjoy making time to see one of these world-class art shows.

Frieze London

The sixteenth edition of Frieze London takes place October 5–7, 2018, with two Preview Days on Wednesday and Thursday, October 3–4. The event will showcase the best of international contemporary art, with a discerning selection of around 160 galleries presenting their most forward-thinking artists. New collaborations with international curators, institutions and galleries will respond to contemporary issues and create an exceptional environment for creativity and discovery. This year’s themed gallery section, “Social Work,” features women artists—from Nancy Spero in the US to Ipek Duben in Turkey—who challenged the status quo and explored the possibilities of political activism in their art-making during the 1980s and 1990s.

frieze.com

FIAC, Paris

La Foire internationale d’art contemporain (FIAC) opens at the Grand Palais October 18–21, 2018. The 45th edition of this show welcomes 195 galleries, including eighteen new participants from around the world, showing modern and contemporary works, beginning with early-twentieth-century masters and extending to today’s emerging artists. Concurrently, FIAC Hors les Murs presents a variety of outdoor exhibits around Paris, including an installation of twenty works at the Tuileries garden, arranged in collaboration with the Louvre museum.

fiac.com

TEFAF New York Fall

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This show returns to the Park Avenue Armory October 27–31 with a focus on fine art and decorative art from before 1920, including antiquities. The third edition of this fair, launched in October 2016, has drawn ninety-three exhibitors, including ten new participants. Before the fair, every object intended for display is professionally vetted by TEFAF’s committees of experts in twenty-nine categories. They study each artwork, review provenance, and verify attribution to ensure the quality of the exhibits.

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Art Basel Miami Beach

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The American edition of Art Basel, the granddaddy of all art fairs, takes place December 6–9, 2018, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. There, 250 of the world’s leading galleries will show artworks from around the globe. The event draws 70,000 visitors each year by offering an exciting week packed with shows, events and a plethora of satellite fairs around the city.

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Menil's Makeover

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The renovation of the Menil Collection’s main museum building is complete! I had the pleasure of attending the Reopening Preview and Reception last week. Since the museum first opened 30 years ago, some of its exhibits have rarely or never been moved. Now, the building has been refreshed, with restored floors and enhanced lighting, and the galleries have been reconfigured for the newly re-curated exhibits. Seeing the extensive Max Ernst holdings alone is well worth a visit.

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Menil Collection

Reopening Reception

The Menil’s fifth and newest building, commissioned as the home of the Menil Drawing Institute, is slated to open to the public on November 3. The 30,146-square-foot structure by Los Angeles-based architects Johnston Marklee features three spacious courtyards and a design that modulates daylight in a way that illuminates the institute’s collection of modern drawings and protects the delicate works on paper.

In related news, Dr. Edouard Kopp has been named Chief Curator of the Menil Drawing Institute. A specialist in European and American drawings, Kopp was previously Curator of Drawings at the Harvard Art Museum and Assistant Curator of Drawings at the J. Paul Getty Museum. He will manage the growth of the collection of the Menil Drawing Institute as well as its programming, educational outreach, and administration.

New Market Level for Female Artists

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Joan Mitchell, "Untitled" (Image, Christie's)

Joan Mitchell, "Untitled" (Image, Christie's)

What is the first name that comes to mind when you think of American abstract expressionists? Pollock? De Kooning? Maybe it should be Mitchell instead. Joan Mitchell produced large, boldly colored paintings and prints throughout a career that spanned from the late 1940s through the early 1990s. In June, two of her paintings sold at Art Basel for $14 million each, just a month after a $16.6 million record was set by another of her paintings at Christie’s sale of Post-war and Contemporary Art in New York.

Is the market for female modern artists finally starting to gain traction, reversing decades of undervaluation? Historically under-recognized and under-priced, female artists still lag behind their male contemporaries in all categories—from old masters to modernists. But institutions and collectors are beginning to pay greater attention to the work of female artists. Recently, top museums, such as the Tate Modern and the Uffizi are presenting more shows focused on female artists. Galleries exhibiting at art fairs like Art Basel are making the decision to exhibit more female artists’ work. And for the Venice Biennale 2019, four participating countries have already chosen to be represented by female artists.

If you have long valued the work of female artists in general, if you already own the work of one or more female artists, or if the name of a female artist is the first that pops to mind when you think of American abstract expressionists, then the fact that women have contributed many noteworthy works of exceptional quality will not be news to you. However, if you’re not familiar with many (or any) female artists, I encourage you to LOOK, LEARN, and COLLECT: that is, spend some time looking at the works, learn all you can about the works and the artists who created them, and then make an investment in owning examples you can enjoy for a lifetime.

My short list recommendations of artists to look at and learn about would include Hannah Hoch, Barbara Hepworth, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Agnes Martin, and Louise Bourgeois. For further recommendations and advice about jumping into the market for female artists, please be in touch.

Elise Arnoult Miller

elise@arnoultfineart.com

Studio Visit - Joseph Havel

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Enjoyed a fascinating visit to Joseph Havel's studio/foundry in North Houston where he creates a variety of works, from lyrical drawings to monumental bronzes painstakingly, and meticulously created piece by piece seamlessly. He also collaborates with his pet African Grey parrot, Hannah whose random chewing of paper bags and cardboard boxes are forever recorded in bronze, becoming the building blocks of deceptively delicate looking sculptures.

Havel freezes in time the things of everyday life - a curtain, a stack of books from his father's library, an old parasol frame - thereby creating a sentimental type of beauty.

Dallas Art Fair, Nasher Sculpture Center, Karpidas Collection, Goss-Michael Foundation

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It's always a pleasure to take in the well-curated Dallas Art Fair. This year, I was also invited to view "The Anatomy of Disquiet" at The Karpidas Collection, and works by Tracey Emin from the Ross-Michael Foundation. I always try to visit Nasher Sculpture Center before leaving town.

The Dallas Art Fair

The Karpidas Collection

Nasher Sculpture Center

Creating a Corporate Collection

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Although the majority of my clients are private collectors, I was thrilled to have the occasion to create a unique collection for a commodities trading corporation with offices in Houston and in Stamford, CT. Each piece was carefully selected to convey themes of significance to the client: water, especially the coastal regions of the South and the Northeast, the color of the company's logo (red), and references to their industry. Works in the collection include paintings, sculptures (including a site-specific commission), unique works on paper, and photography. We were also able to use some imagery of company assets as the starting point for some abstract pieces created especially for this project.

Despite the fact that this project required a larger number of works than I normally deal with at once, the approach was identical: listen, discuss, search for just the right pieces that will stand the test of time and suit the space, coordinate shipping, framing, installation and lighting, and document the collection. It was a terrific experience.

Christie's Impressionist and Modern Sales

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While attending the Impressionist and Modern sales in New York, it was a special thrill to view the much buzzed-about Salvator Mundi. It sold the following evening for a record-smashing $450 Million! 

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The 68-lot evening sale generated $480,414,000 and included the enchanting Matinée sur la Seine by Monet.

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AFAC's Select Shows for Fall

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I recently attended a panel discussion including a seasoned collector, a curator, a dealer and a conservator. When the question of connoisseurship came up, they all agreed on the importance of enthusiastic looking. The more you look and discuss what you're seeing the better. One panelist commented that connoisseurship is "a practice", not a state of being. One doesn't simply "have an eye" or not, it all comes down to a commitment to, and passion for looking. Looking...looking...and more looking. In that spirit, and now that we are well into the fall season, when the art world is full swing, here are a few exhibits to take in. Happy looking!

Art League Houston’s Texas Artist of the Year at Rice Gallery 

One of the state’s most celebrated and influential contemporary artists, Trenton Doyle Hancock draws on personal experience, art’s canon, and myriad pop culture references to construct a fantastical narrative that spans his artistic career. This exhibition of Hancock’s work, titled “Texas: 1997-2017”, features more than fifty works in a diverse range of media, including mixed-media, painting, drawing, sculpture and printmaking. His complex amalgamations of characters and plots speak to universal concepts of light and dark, good and evil, and all the grey in between. On view through November 17, 2017. artleaguehouston.org 

Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960–1985 at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles 

This show examines the experimental works produced by a range of female artists during a key period for both Latin American history and contemporary art. More than 260 works, including photography and video, were produced by 116 artists, from emblematic figures, such as Lygia Pape and Ana Mendieta, to the lesser-known, including Cuban-born abstract artist Zilia Sánchez and Colombian sculptor Feliza Bursztyn. On display through December 31. hammer.ucla.edu 

 Dalí / Duchamp at The Royal Academy of the Arts, London 

Examining the unlikely friendship between the father of conceptual art, Marcel Duchamp, and larger-than-life Surrealist Salvador Dalí, this original exhibition brings together around 80 works, including some of Dalí’s most inspired and technically accomplished paintings and sculptures and some of Duchamp’s groundbreaking assemblages, along with correspondence and collaborations between the two artists. Closes January 3, 2018. royalacademy.org.uk 

 Rodin at The Met, New York 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrates its historic collection of nearly 50 works by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)—representing more than a century of acquisitions—on the centenary of the artist’s death. Bronzes, plasters, and terracottas by Rodin are on display in the newly refurbished B. Gerald Cantor Sculpture Gallery through January 15, 2018. metmuseum.org 

30th Anniversary Exhibit at The Menil Collection, Houston 

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Menil is highlighting 30 significant works from its permanent collection, which have been chosen to represent the museum’s origins and evolution. The featured paintings, sculptures, and drawings include Native objects, Byzantine icons, Surrealism, and contemporary art. They are specially labeled and distributed throughout the galleries and the campus which is a wonderful way to revisit the entire collection. The works remain on view through January 28, 2018. menil.org 

Julie Mehretu HOWL, eon (I, II) at SFMOMA, San Francisco 

The main staircase of SFMOMA’s soaring Haas, Jr. Atrium is newly flanked with a stunning, site-specific diptych by Julie Mehretu, once a resident of the CORE Program, Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The two vast abstract canvases were created as part of SFMOMA’s new art commissioning program. An expansive exploration of the American West, the work deals with the Bay Area’s history of colonialism, capitalism, class conflict, social protest, and technological innovation and how these forces have transformed the social and physical landscape. Ongoing. sfmoma.org 

 

 

 

 

Disaster Preparedness for Art Collectors

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Hurricane Harvey exited the Texas Gulf Coast at the end of August, after producing record rainfall, widespread flooding, and other damage that affected more than 50 Texas counties. The storm displaced tens of thousands of residents in the Houston area alone. Whether you’re one of the many now recovering from property damage or someone looking for ways to be better prepared for the next hurricane or extreme rain event, Arnoult Fine Art Consulting offers these tips for protecting works of art before, during, and after such disasters. 

 
Before a Major Weather Event 

Establish Value:  Have an up-to-date inventory of the artwork you own that includes photos of the individual works and purchase receipts. In addition, it’s ideal to have a professional appraisal (which should be updated every five-to-ten years, depending on the type of work and the artist).  

Know About Your Insurance Coverage:  Discuss your art collection with your insurance agent. Home insurance typically does not cover art collections. 

Seek Shelter:  If you think you are at risk of flooding—and if there is time—move works to a climate-controlled space, such as a storage facility or the home of a friend or family member. 

 

If You Have to Evacuate 

Move to Higher Ground:  Move artwork to the highest point possible inside the climate-controlled part of the house. 

For Paintings - It’s okay to lay a painting on a flat surface (like a table), face-down on top of a sheet of plastic—or glassine, if possible—to protect the surface. Consider removing canvases from their stretchers if it will make them easier to store or to remove from the house. Remove the entire canvas from the stretcher bars and roll it up, paint side out. Wrap in paper or plastic. 

For Works on Paper - Framed works on paper are best stored upright. Lean the pieces against each other, right-side up, arranged face to face and back to back. 

 

After an Extreme Wet-Weather Event 

Dry Out:  Try to get artwork away from water and into a climate-controlled area as soon as possible. Big temperature and humidity fluctuations are hard on artwork, especially if they happen repeatedly. For framed works on paper that have gotten wet, find a framer to take them out of their frames to dry as soon as possible.  

Assess Damage:  If any works of art are damaged, find a reputable fine art conservation and restoration professional to evaluate them. Most damage can be repaired.  

 

And Throughout... 

Remember the Power of Art:  It’s wonderful to be able to enjoy art every day, but the power of art is perhaps even more profound during difficult times. As Picasso said, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” It’s a quote I often think of when art offers solace in the midst of tragedy. And it’s this quality that makes our roles as caretakers of fine art all the more vital.

 

For more advice about any of these recommendations, contact Elise Arnoult Miller of Arnoult Fine Art Consulting , elise@artnoultfineart.com, 832.483.5360. 

 

Sculpture Installation in Austin

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It took some doing, but this beautiful Texas limestone sculpture finally settled into its permanent spot overlooking the Colorado River.

Voyage Houston Interview

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I'm thrilled to have been selected by Voyage Houston to be featured in their online magazine. Read the complete interview below.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elise Arnoult Miller.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been fascinated with art, and I believe my true talent lies in the ability to connect artists and their work, with those who collect as a kind of “matchmaker”. It’s extremely rewarding to find a great fit between a work of art and collector and to know I had a hand in creating a long-lasting relationship.

After high school I lived in Paris for a year and studied the arts at the Sorbonne. After graduating from U of H in 1996, I worked in auction house, museum and gallery environments until launching my own consultancy in 2010. I wanted the flexibility to offer my clients anything from anywhere and since I’ve been independent, I’ve developed an international network of well-respected artists, galleries, and dealers. I’ve also been appraising art since 2009 and completed my appraiser’s education through NYU. I am an accredited member of the Appraisers Association of America.

My business has been growing quickly over the past few years and I feel so very fortunate to be doing work that I truly love and find so compelling. There is something new to look at every day.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It can be daunting to take that leap and start out on your own. The uncertainly can be unsettling, but it was well worth those first rocky couple of years to get where I wanted to go.

Please tell us about Arnoult Fine Art Consulting.
I’m an art consultant/advisor, specializing in modern and contemporary paintings, sculpture and works on paper.

I find relationships with private collectors especially rewarding and I think my clients feel that I provide very individualized and comprehensive services. Each collector is unique as far as vision and aesthetic sensibility. I spend time getting to know the client and their space so that I am able to offer the best possible options of the highest quality within the client’s budget range. I will never compromise on quality. The work must be good and in good condition for me to offer it to a client. I won’t offer an artist whose work is “trendy” without merit.

I’m proud of the fact that I handle each project personally from beginning to end. I want to be sure every detail is executed to the highest standards, from preliminary research on a work to framing and installation.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memories from childhood have to do with growing up in a house filled with music and fun. Although we had modest means when I was little, there was always music playing (usually classical or jazz), and there was often an occasion to celebrate. My father is an excellent chef, and my mother had her own ballet studio, so I think the arts were part of my life from the beginning. I’m thankful to my parents for this, and for their encouragement as I pursued a career in art.

Dallas Art Fair and Nasher Sculpture Center

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It was a gorgeous weekend to visit Dallas!  The Dallas Art Fair is always impressive and this time was no exception.  95 galleries were in attendance, 40 of them international.  Exhibitors must be invited to participate which results in a very well-curated event. 

Here is a sampling of some works that caught my eye :

 
 
 
 
 

I also took a bit of time away from the fair to visit the Richard Serra exhibit at the Nasher Sculpture Center featuring his prints and drawings.  The textures of these works are incredible.  They must be seen in person to fully appreciate the subtleties of "black".

 
 

For more information on specific artists, please contact me.

 

The Armory Show: New York

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Now in its 23rd year, The Armory Show is a leader in the global art fair circuit, highlighting the most prestigious artists and galleries in the world. With 200 galleries and 65,000 visitors annually, there is much to see.  Here are a few of my favorites from the fair including a Calder and a Frankenthaler.

 
 
 
 

I also visited the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum which had two outstanding exhibits: Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim, and the Thannhauser Collection featuring many lovely Picasso works as well as Impressionist masters.  It was exciting to see some early works by the masters of Modernism.

 
 
 
 

A few of the highlights from my gallery visits in New York were a small Braque with sunflowers as an homage to Van Gogh, a charming Degas drawing, and a stunning, early Man Ray painting.

 
 
 
 

For more information on specific artists, please contact me.

 

Studio Visit: Trenton Doyle Hancock

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Recently I had the opportunity to visit Trenton Doyle Hancock in his studio.  Seeing his complex works during the creation process was inspiring.  Over the course of two decades, Hancock has built his own universe complete with a creation story, villains, heroes, and a host of recurring characters such as his autobiographical Torpedo Boy (pictured at right), who all find themselves toiling in his colorful and emotional tales of good vs. evil. 

Hancock is an outstanding draftsman as well as a gifted painter, which is evident in his mastery of color, perspective and pattern.  He deftly collages bits of his own discarded canvases into new compositions.  His studio was like a giant adult toy box where his imagination roams free.

In 2014, a seminal exhibition of his drawings traveled from the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston to the Akron Art Museum in Ohio and finally to the Studio Museum in Harlem.  His work is in prestigious museum collections worldwide.  It was an honor to spend some time with him in his studio.

Torpedo Boy is Hancock’s autobiographical character which he first conceived in the fourth grade.

Torpedo Boy is Hancock’s autobiographical character which he first conceived in the fourth grade.

 
 
Hancock’s completed work: Coloration Coronation, 2016 Acrylic and mixed media on canvas90 x 132 inches

Hancock’s completed work: Coloration Coronation, 2016
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
90 x 132 inches

 

Books

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If you had the opportunity to visit the outstanding Degas exhibition at MFAH earlier this year, you may also enjoy Christopher Benfey’s book, Degas in New Orleans.  Benfey’s book covers a seminal time in the artist’s life not often mentioned in standard biographies.  In the fall of 1872, Degas spent time in New Orleans with his mother’s family, the Mussons (while there, painting the scene from the Cotton Exchange included in the exhibit).  The book describes the influence of New Orleans in general as well as of writers Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable. 1872 found New Orleans in the Reconstruction era, - a time of great change in a city still recovering from the economic, physical, political and social ravages of Civil War. 

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"Degas, A New Vision" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

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I hope you had a chance to see Degas: A New Vision at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  It was a stunning display of the breadth and span of the artist’s career from the expected paintings to the more seldom exhibited prints and even photographs taken by the artist late in life.  The didactic texts were brilliantly specific and plentiful. 

Over 200 works were assembled from collections around the world; from the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. to Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, and from Museu de Arte de São Paulo to Musée d’Orsay, Paris.  It was truly a comprehensive accumulation of the life’s work of an iconic and ground breaking artist.

If you are interested in learning more about Degas’ landscapes, on the left is a link to MFAH’s director Gary Tinterow giving some background to the works.  On the right, you will find a short video teaser for the exhibition that shows some of the more well known works in the show.

 
 

The MFAH is the only U.S. venue for this exhibition, which assembles some 200 works from public and private collections around the world. "Degas: A New Vision" is on view October 16, 2016–January 16, 2017.