​Art like any asset, requires the same respect as that accorded to your other personal assets: your car, your home, or your stamp collection.  Interestingly, as part of the ‘acquisition’ process of these types of assets, insurance becomes part of the overall monetary outlay; you seek the advice of an advisor or broker to ascertain adequate insurance and annual premiums ensue thereafter.  Yet, the same cannot be said for art.

Speak with an insurance broker and you will be surprised to hear how infrequent clients seek the advice of a professional when estimating the value of their art collection; the consequences of not having an up to date valuation, and therefore a current value, can mean the difference between being reimbursed for loss or damage appropriate to its market value or incurring a loss on that initial investment.

Additionally, having an up to date and current value of your collection can also assist in having in place a de-accession strategy; selling too early or too late can result in an unforeseen loss.

Obtaining a professional appraisal of your artwork operates in much the same way as seeking a value for other assets.  Credentials should be assessed; market sector and speciality experience should be examined together with the level of tertiary qualifications and membership with an industry association.

Most importantly, seeking the services of an independent, objective and impartial professional will result in a more accurate valuation, and without the potential bias of a vested interest in the artwork and therefore its value.  Returning to the gallery or dealer from which you first acquired the artwork and seeking an appraisal is clearly a conflict of interest.

Additionally, the quality of the appraisal documentation is equally important: it should demonstrate a solid, up to date appreciation of the market for the subject artist/artwork; present well-reasoned research; provide documentary proof and/or reference to recent auction results and other market indices (ones which are verifiable); and finally, clearly and concisely outline the methodology used for the appraisal.

There are a number of attributes which an experienced appraiser will utilise in order to determine the value of your artwork:

• Authenticity - discernment of a signature, title or date, original sale documentation;
• Quality - consideration of the artist’s period in which the work was executed; composition, palette and technical prowess;
• Rarity - how many works by this artist are available on the open market;
• Limited Edition Prints (if applicable) – the breadth of the edition for the work; available prints in the edition;
• Condition – the archival stability of the work and framing quality, i.e. is the artwork in its original frame?;
• Provenance – probably one of the most crucial factors in the overall valuation process, “provenance” equates with the artwork’s ‘history’, i.e. from artist’s studio to gallery exhibition to auction house sale; and includes discerning any notable non-commercial exhibitions in which the artwork was included, for example, a ‘survey’ exhibition at a regional gallery, in addition to any publications in which the artwork was illustrated or discussed
• Market – does the artist have an auction record? Sales rates for the artist in either the primary or secondary markets.

​Valuing your art necessitates the same respect as valuing your other lifetime assets.  Regular, up to date valuations of your artworks are an important adjunct to the ongoing maintenance and accurate documentation of your collection.

Seeking the advice and services of an experienced and knowledgeable professional is a critical step in the provision of an accurate art appraisal.  Professional art appraisal services offer new and established collectors a comprehensive appreciation of their collection, its current parameters and indeed, future directions.
​
©Catherine Asquith, January 2019
 

I am delighted to announce that Catherine Asquith Art now represents* Nasim Nasr as her agent and collection manager.
 
Since graduating with a Masters of Visual Arts (Research) in 2011, and having completed a Bachelor of Arts in 2006, Nasim Nasr has developed a body of work that has featured in numerous exhibitions, festivals and publications in Australia and internationally.
 
Nasr’s photographic and video practice has sought to comment upon universal concerns within contemporary society, engaging and articulating notions of State and self-censorship, and the transience of cultural and personal identity.  With an abiding interest in the concept of cultural relationships and their role in contemporary society, her practice has engaged themes of intercultural dialogue.  Through the presentation of multiple channel video works, photography, performance, objects and sound, these collective works have endeavoured to highlight the complexities within contemporary notions of interchangeable identities and cultural difference, as experienced between past and present cultures and homelands, between the West and the East.
 
Most recently Nasim Nasr’s “Women in Shadow II” was presented at the 10th Anniversary Edition of “A Shaded View on Fashion Film” at the Club De L’Etoile in Paris, and was awarded Winner for best editing.  This was the filmic version of Nasr’s created performance Art, “Women in Shadow II” at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, earlier this year, in April.
 
Nasr has been a finalist in The William and Winifred Bowness Photography Art Prize (2018, 2017), the Fischer’s Ghost Art Prize (2018), the Sovereign Asian Art Prize (2017, Hong Kong), The Blake Prize (2018, 2016), and the Redlands Art Prize (2015).  Her inclusion in curated group exhibitions has included the much lauded “Under the Sun: Reimaging Max Dupain’s The Sunbaker”, “Sixth Sense” at the National Art School in Sydney, “CASCA Contemporary 2015” in Adelaide, and the “Tarrawarra Biennial: Whispers in My Mask” in Melbourne. 
 
Nasr’s work has also been presented at a number of art fairs, both nationally and internationally, notably, Bazaar Art Jakarta (2017), SPRING1883 (2015), Art Dubai (2015), and Art Stage Singapore (2015, 2013), in addition to participating as a panellist in “Talk Contemporary” at Sydney Contemporary in September this year.
 
Nasr’s art practice has also been the subject of a wide variety of publications, and in the past year has been elucidated in The Guardian, Elle (Italy), Eyeline, Vogue Australia, Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph and Art Collector.  Nasr has also been included in What is Performance Art? Australian Perspectives by Mimi Kelly and Adam Geczy (2018), Video Void (2014) and performance-ritual.document (2014) both by Anne Marsh.
 
Nasim Nasr’s work is represented in Parliament House Art Collection (Canberra), Artbank, and numerous private collections throughout Australia, and internationally in Germany, the USA, Singapore, Qatar and the UAE.
 
For all enquiries including a copy of a catalogue of works, please email me at catherine@catherineasquithart.com or telephone me on 0422 753 696.  I will be delighted to take your enquiries.
 
*within the state of Victoria, and on the international circuit.

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 – c.1656), was an Italian Baroque painter, whose oeuvre focused on mostly, female allegorical subjects, depicting powerful figures during moments of highly emotive, sometimes violent points in history.  Unusually, she managed to enjoy significant success during her lifetime and was well-respected by her peers and the arts community, and was the first woman to be accepted into the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in Florence.  Today she is considered one of the most accomplished painters of her generation.

The market for Gentileschi has witnessed a burgeoning interest in her work; in July of this year, her extraordinary painting, “Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria” (ca. 1615-17) was acquired by the National Gallery of London.  This week, her work “Lucretia” sold for €1.8m at Dorotheum in Vienna, and is headed to an Australian collection.  Additionally, Gentileschi’s inclusion in Ghent’s Museum of Fine Art’s exhibition on Baroque female painters (on now) suggests a re-calibration of Western Art History’s canon to include more female artists.
 
In the wider arena, social media is highlighting some of her works, as a means of expressing discontent and alignment with social commentary, with “Judith Slaying Holofernes” (ca. 1620) going viral during the hearings leading up to the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U S Supreme Court.  This painting is perhaps especially poignant – the subject being Judith’s act of a confident, yet bloody vengeance – given the fact that Gentileschi was a survivor of sexual assault and indeed, did take her attacker to court.

According to some arts commentators, the market has been slow to catch up with art historians: Gentileschi was first re-examined in the 1947 novel by art historian Anna Banti’s “Artemesia”.  Some four decades later, feminism took an interest, with Mary Garrad’s influential 1989 text, “Artemisia Gentileschi: The Image of the Female Here in Italian Baroque Art”.   It was not until 2014, when the work, “Mary Magdalene” sold for over USD1m (Sotheby’s, Paris), establishing a new record for the artist, that the market’s attention was piqued.
 
For some pundits, Gentileschi is “having a moment”, following on from a renewed interest in Old Masters; others view the interest as a type of ‘inter-disciplinary’ approach by dealers and art fairs – the confluence of contemporary and Old Masters artworks in fair booths and curated exhibitions; or perhaps the result of contemporary artists utilising and highlighting their sources and historical artworks in new work.
 
Nevertheless, there can be no denying the importance of addressing the deficit in museum and gallery collections across the globe of the inclusion of significant female artists’ work.

Sotheby's Spring Hong Kong sales cycle got off to a strong start over the weekend. Hong Kong now has its marquee evening sales event of Modern and Contemporary art that is a mix of Asian blue-chip art and European artists with appeal to Asian buyers. That sale had a combined total of HK$1.04bn ($132m) which puts it on par with major evening sales in London. The sales had a 97% sell-through rate with 64% of the works going for prices over the high estimates.

Demand is clearly strong in Asia. Sotheby's was able to sell all 33 Yayoi Kusama works in the sale. The evening sale of Southeast Asian art was a white-glove sale with no lots failing. Christine Ay Tjoe's Study of First November Doll made a price more than five times the high estimate even if the absolute price was a relatively small $380k.
​
The day sale of Contemporary Asian art doubled its total low estimate and was 95% sold demonstrating that the demand for Asian Contemporary art goes deep and down the price scale. 

Modern Art Evening Sale (31 March) : HK$ 638,377,500/ US$ 81,342,061
Contemporary Art Evening Sale (31 March): HK$ 397,987,500/ US$ 50,711,567
Modern & Cont Southeast Asian Day Sale (1 April): HK$ 47,865,625/ US$ 6,099,038
Contemporary Art Day Sale (1 April) : HK$ 138,268,750/ US$ 17,618,204
Modern Asian Art Day Sale (1 April) : HK$ 60,663,750/ US$ 7,729,775

Sydney-based artist, Nasim Nasr has been awarded the "People's Choice" Award for her extraordinary photographic work, "Forty Pages 5", included in the Finalists' exhibition for the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize held at the Monash Gallery of Art.

The work is from Nasim's series, "Forty Pages".  As described in the artist's words: 

Forty Pages contemplates personal or global history in the context of movement from one culture to another in the contemporary world, and refers to forty pages in a passport.
 
Each passport stamp, representing either the departure from or entering a country, is integral to one’s history of the difficulties of freedom of movement and disempowerment by country of birth and its life-boundaries. At every national border one is submissive and defenseless to officialdom. This is a potent control upon individual existence and independence, especially in the contemporary world of displacement and separation between East and West.
 
This gradual accumulation of stamps feels like layers upon my personal history, upon my passport photo, upon my face, its aggregation steadily evolving into an identity I no longer recognize, apart from the eyes—a transformation
 
Forty Pages presents my body as a site or platform for the compilation of these stamps of the last decade of my life, and therefore part of the history of the transience of my being.

​About the artist
 
Nasim Nasr completed a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design at the Art University of Tehran, Iran in 2006, and a Master of Visual Arts (Research), South Australian School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia, in 2011.
 
Since graduating, Nasim has developed a body of work that has been featured in various exhibitions, festivals and publications in Australia and internationally. Her photographic and video practice has sought to comment upon universal concerns in contemporary society, engaging and articulating notions of State and self-censorship and the transience of cultural and personal identity. Being interested in the concept of cultural relationships and their role in contemporary society, her practice has engaged themes of intercultural dialogue. Through the presentation of multiple channel video works, photography, performance, objects and sound these collective works have attempted to highlight the complexities within contemporary notions of interchangeable identities and cultural difference, as experienced between past and present cultures and homelands, West and East.
 
Currently a Finalist in The Bowness Photography Art Prize, Melbourne Nasim was also a finalist in the prestigious international 2017 Sovereign Asian Art Prize in Hong Kong; earlier this year.  Previously, Nasim was a Finalist in the Blake Art Prize, at Casula Powerhouse in Sydney, (2016), and the Redlands Art Prize, National Art School Gallery, Sydney, (2015).

Nasim’s participation in important curated group exhibitions include Under the Sun: Reimagining Max Dupain’s Sunbaker, at the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney (touring to Monash Art Gallery, Melbourne); and Sixth Sense, National Art School Gallery, National Art School, Sydney.
 
Her work has also been presented at Bazaar Art Jakarta (2017), Art Dubai, (2015 & 2016); and Art Stage Singapore (2013 & 2014)
 
Her work is represented in many collections including the Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra; Artbank, Sydney; and private collections in Australia, Germany, USA, Singapore, Qatar and the UAE.


Catherine Asquith Art is delighted to present this exceptional artwork, “Forty Pages 5” (image above) by Nasim Nasr for sale.  For details regarding the artwork including price please email or phone 0422 753 696.
​

​Walking through our corporate centres and precincts in Melbourne, one is often met with some superb examples of contemporary art installations; within public buildings’ foyers, in communal courtyards adjacent to a corporate headquarters, and welcoming guests to inner city hotels.  Imagine for a moment, these same spaces bereft of such artwork…
 
The CBD of any city is, let’s face it, reflective of the culture, its population, its values. Property developers, architects, town planners and the like, have had an enormous influence over the years on how we experience our cities.  Thankfully, these days, numerous buildings, office spaces and residential towers, have been planned and constructed with parameters allowing for artworks.
 
Similarly, artists have developed and extended their practise to allow for these types of public art commissions, and have thereby created lively and dynamic spaces.
 
 
Bringing nature into the city
 
Artists invariably derive inspiration from their immediate living and working environments.  Regionally-based Victorian Peter D Cole puts ‘nature on the stage’ with his ‘urbanised’ interpretations of nature.  His sculpture commission of 2005, a manifestation of playful yet beautifully balanced conjoined sculptural archetypal elements such as tree, moon and stars, and the like, and created from stainless steel and powder-coated primary colours welcomes workers and visitors alike at Freshwater Place in Southbank. 
 
 
Corporate message
 
The presence of contemporary art installed within a corporate’s head office or flagship building also suggests a forward-looking enterprise, a preparedness to engage with its community.
 
Art in public spaces, as part of a building’s structure or indeed, as part of a corporate art collection, adds a cultural edifice – whether to that corporate’s identity, the building’s spaces, the locale and immediate environment of that building.  Its benefits resonate with its inhabitants, the clients visiting that building or corporate location, the employees and the general public.  As such, it contributes in a very tangible way to the society’s cultural infrastructure.
 
The installation of contemporary art – manifested in any of its genres – can have an educative and interpretative function within the building in which is it placed.  A very good example of this concept is Janet Laurence’s “Water Veil” at the Council House 2 (CH2) building in Melbourne. 
 

​A diaphanous, experiential and reflective glass veil that transforms the window between the foyer and the public space of the street into a membranous fluid space, “Water Veil” expresses and reveals the transformation and purification of water, reiterating the black water treatment within the building as well as expressing purity and translucence representing the purification of water.
​
Laurence’s “Water Veil” denotes a very direct educative and interpretive function within the building and from the public space outside creates a dramatic effect, serving to amplify the functional aspect of the CH2 building as environmentally sustainable, in other words, quite literally highlighting a corporate message.
​
Nowadays, corporate responsibility to its community is higher on the agenda, and part of a corporate’s mandate must service the community at large in some way:  incorporating art within its spaces meets one albeit small, aspect of this requisite. 
 
 
Art for daily inspiration
 
Inclusion of public art commissions within our built environment, in foyers, adorning a façade, or inhabiting a causeway,  contributes to the visual ‘documenting’ of our history; it reflects our growth and development, occasionally our current societal issues, and sometimes our collective values.   But equally important, it provides a visual stimuli, an aesthetic pleasure, a thought-provoking moment; an added dimension to our daily lives. 
 
Marion Borgelt’s site specific “Candescent Moon” of 2011, installed at 101 Collins Street, is a case in point.  This large scale sculptural relief suggests the universal themes of sequences, celestial orders and lunar rhythms. These ideas are particularly pertinent to the modern corporate lifestyle, where daily life balances the restrictions imposed by cycles of time and the forces of nature’s flux and unpredictability.
 
Interestingly, Borgelt’s work is intended to be interactive; that is, as the viewer moves around the front of the work, its appearance and nature change from light to dark and from one texture to another. This sequential change can represent a change in time such as the passing from day into night.
 
The work has a timeless quality, bridging the gap between the everyday and the planetary by acting as a reminder of our daily life while indicating our part in a larger, cosmic structure.

​ 
Bringing contemporary art into our built environment clearly comprises many positives for our society: beyond what has been briefly elucidated above, art can start a conversation; open a dialogue.  At its most fundamental, art expresses an idea, an observation, and/or an emotion. It enlivens our consciousness, and sometimes changes our experiences and it stimulates, nourishes and feeds our senses.  In so many ways, at its most fundamental, art contributes to the ‘wealth’ of our culture. 
 
 
 
©Catherine Asquith October 2017

Believe it or not, art is an asset.  And like any asset, such as your car, your home, or your stamp collection, you insure it.  Interestingly as soon as one acquires one of these items, one automatically seeks the advice of an advisor or broker to ascertain adequate insurance and annual premiums ensure thereafter.  Yet, the same cannot be said for art.

​Speaking with my insurance broker on a somewhat frequent basis, I am always surprised to hear how infrequent his clients seek the advice of a professional when estimating the value of their art collection; the consequences of not having an up to date valuation, and therefore a current value, can mean the difference between being reimbursed for loss or damage appropriate to its market value or incurring a loss on that initial investment.

Obtaining a professional appraisal of your artwork operates in much the same way as seeking a value for other assets.  Credentials should be assessed; market sector and specialty experience should be examined together with the level of tertiary qualifications and membership with an industry association, such as the Art Consulting Association of Australia (ACAA).

Most importantly, seeking the services of an independent, objective and impartial professional will result in a more accurate valuation, and without the potential bias of an invested interest in the artwork and therefore its value.

There are a number of attributes which an experienced appraiser will utilise in order to determine the value of your artwork:

• Authenticity - discernment of a signature, title or date, original sale documentation;
• Quality - consideration of the artist’s period in which the work was executed; composition, palette and technical prowess;
• Rarity - how many works by this artist are available on the open market;
• Limited Edition Prints (if applicable) – the breadth of the edition for the work; available prints in the edition;
• Condition – the archival stability of the work and framing quality, i.e. is the artwork in its original frame?;
• Provenance – probably one of the most crucial factors in the overall valuation process, “provenance” equates with the artwork’s ‘history’, i.e. from artist’s studio to gallery exhibition to auction house sale; and includes discerning any notable non-commercial exhibitions in which the artwork was included, for example, a ‘survey’ exhibition at a regional gallery, in addition to any publications in which the artwork was illustrated or discussed;
• Market – does the artist have an auction record? Sales rates for the artist in either the primary or secondary markets.

Additionally, depending upon the nature of the valuation, i.e. the artwork is being considered for a charitable contribution or gift, or the artwork is part of the asset pool in a Family Law property dispute, the valuation may also include consideration of future capital gains tax issues.

Valuing your art necessitates the same respect as valuing your other lifetime assets.  Regular, up to date valuations of your artworks are an important adjunct to the ongoing maintenance and accurate documentation of your collection.

Seeking the advice and services of an experienced and knowledgeable professional is a critical step in the provision of an accurate art valuation.  Catherine Asquith Art’s valuation services offer new and established collectors a comprehensive appreciation of their collection, its current parameters and indeed, future directions.
 
 
Catherine Asquith has been working within the Australian art market, and more recently, the Asian art market, across both the primary and secondary sectors for the past twenty years and is a member of the Art Consulting Association of Australia (ACAA).

The fifth edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong, which featured 242 premier galleries from 34 countries and territories, has ended on a high note. This year’s show included memorable moments such as:

• Our Conversations and Salon series was well received, offering visitors over 25 engaging sessions including the Salon panel 'Taking Stock: An Art Market Report'. The discussion followed the release of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which covers all aspects of the international art market in 2016.
• Kingsley Ng’s Twenty-Five Minutes Older, a moving installation in which two of Hong Kong’s iconic public trams were transformed into traveling works of art. The project was commissioned by Art Basel and supported by MGM Resorts Art & Culture.
• Another highlight was 'Virtual Frontiers: Artists Experimenting with Tilt Brush' presented by Art Basel and Google Arts & Culture, where visitors explored new virtual reality works created by artists: boychild, Cao Fei, Robin Rhode, Sun Xun, and Yang Yongliang. The works were produced using Google’s Tilt Brush - a 3D drawing and painting application.
• Nonny de la Peña’s project, 'Passage: The Life of a Wall on Lin He Road', a new iteration of 'Safely Manoeuvring Across Lin He Road' by Lin Yilin, presented by Asia Art Archive, also proved very popular amongst visitors as well.

Journalists from across the world attended, writing overwhelmingly positive reviews.  Forbes stated that ‘since its inception five years ago, Art Basel in Hong Kong has transformed the city into one of Asia’s most important cultural hubs.’ In addition, The New York Times observed that '…in the five years since Art Basel first began in Hong Kong, it has become perhaps the most important annual event on the regional art calendar[…] When it comes to Asian art, Art Basel Hong Kong is the place to go[…]' Financial Times reported that ‘Dealers find an audience for more challenging work at the fifth edition of the fair [...] [Art Basel’s] growth maps the burgeoning engagement of the Asia Pacific region with international contemporary art.’

The five show days were attended by private collectors as well as directors, curators, trustees and patrons from nearly 80 leading international museums and institutions across 20 countries, including Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Auckland; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Long Museum, Shanghai; MoMA PS1, New York; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; National Gallery Singapore, Singapore; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul; New Museum, New York; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Serpentine Galleries, London; Tate, London and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
 
With numerous gallery openings and an expanded program of parallel events, the Art Basel week continued to spotlight Hong Kong's vibrant arts and cultural scene.
 
(from “Art Basel Hong Kong” VIP Program newsletter 4th April 2017)

The fifth edition of Art Basel’s show in Hong Kong will commence on March 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai.
 
Bringing together gallerists, artists, collectors, curators, museum directors and critics from across the globe, Art Basel HK will present a total of 242 leading galleries from Asia, the Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world.
 
The fair comprises a number sectors: “Galleries”, the fair’s core sector showcases 20th and 21st century works, and also includes the “Insights” sector, the latter highlighting the curatorial projects, and the “Discoveries” sector featuring solo and 2-person projects. 
 
The “Encounters” sector is dedicated to large-scale sculptural installations and performances which punctuate the fair and is invariably a ‘feature’ of the fair, always attracting much attention and appreciation.
 
The “Kabinett” sector, previously only on show at Art Basel Miami Beach, will make its debut at this year’s ABHK, and features curated projects within selected gallery booths.
 
Complemented with a program of film, conversations and salons, (and a few parties!), Art Basel Hong Kong offers a stimulating week of all things art.
 
Beyond the fair, Hong Kong’s thriving arts scene is also on show throughout the week, with exhibitions, events and site-specific installations taking place across the city and beyond.
 
Sign up to our newsletter to receive our Hong Kong Fairs report upon return.

​So after a glass of wine and an extremely entertaining conversation with the artist, you decide to buy a work.  Let’s call this artist, Frank.  The exhibition is availed some terrific press coverage over the remaining few weeks, in addition to an excellent review by a well-known critic.  Several more works have sold now, and one work is on reserve for a public institution, the latter having been prompted by the gallery’s initiative in making contact as a result of the exhibition sales rate.  (This is a hard-working gallery!).  In the meantime you have told some of your friends, and in fact one of them is the wife of a senior managing partner at a law firm.  His interest is piqued and he ventures one lunchtime into the gallery.  He’s looking for a new piece to add to the firm’s collection.  But his attention is diverted by something peeking out from the stockroom; a much larger and indeed, much more expensive work.  With the approval of the law firm’s selection committee, the work is acquired.  The gallery now has a new client.

Invoices are attended to forthwith; and most pleasing, with the addition of the law firm’s acquisition, some funds have been freed up for the gallery to now consider further promotional activities; perhaps an international art fair.

The arts writer, who also happens to operate as a freelance curator, having been given the opportunity to produce a catalogue essay for this artist, suggests to one of her colleagues a collaboration and one in which Frank’s work would be included; her colleague is employed by an interstate regional gallery.  After much discussion and considerable paperwork, a survey show examining contemporary abstract painting has moved beyond its embryonic stage, and is now scheduled for 18 months hence.  The gallery is advised of this forthcoming exhibition, and excitedly relays this news to her artist, Frank.

With this new development, the gallerist personally appraises the owners of Frank’s work, in addition to including this development in the gallery’s monthly newsletter. Happily this newsletter elicits some interest in Frank’s work, and a gallery client, who had been overseas at an art fair during Frank’s exhibition, requests some more information.  There are only 2 works left in the gallery’s stockroom, but the gallerist assures the client that Frank is working on new work.  (Frank was able to settle his invoices after the exhibition, and has some credit with his materials supplier.)

Meanwhile, the managing partner of the law firm continues to patronise the gallery, and brings a colleague one day, who happens to be on the Board of a Foundation, of which the latter has the primary mandate of collecting art by ‘living artists’.  He’s rather taken with Frank’s work, noting also the artist’s developing CV (and in particular the collections in which his work is held), and has asked to be notified when new works arrive.
​
There is now a small groundswell of interest surrounding Frank’s work; indeed, the gallery has been contacted by one of the art magazines (as a result of the editor becoming aware of the commissioned essay for Frank’s exhibition), and is now seeking to commission a feature article in line with the forthcoming group survey exhibition.  Potential opportunities in terms of further promotion, and therefore beneficial outcomes for the gallery and its artists are now able to be more realistically considered over the forthcoming 12 to 18 months.

Does Frank’s work end up in the NGV collection?  Possibly.  Does the Foundation acquire one of his works?  Maybe.  And does the gallery go on to participate in an international art fair?  Hopefully.  Did your enthusiasm for Frank’s art contribute to this?  Absolutely!

We should get excited about our art acquisitions.  We as a society should not be ‘shy’ about ‘investing’ in art.  We can and we do contribute to the sustainability and development of our cultural infrastructure.  Every so often, we simply need to remind ourselves what art does:

It starts a conversation; opens a dialogue.  At its most fundamental, art expresses an idea, an observation, and/or an emotion. It enlivens our consciousness, and sometimes changes our experiences of an event or exhibition. It stimulates, nourishes and feeds our senses.  It contributes to the ‘wealth’ of our culture.  And it reflects our society, by way of visually documenting our history, a history which is important to our future.  

*This speech was given at FUSE, Flinders Lane Gallery, during Melbourne Art Week.