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World record for a drawing by Lalique
€117,724
As the speciality of the month, drawing was in the spotlight
at this sale on 11 April (Ader) with the singular
Josep Baqué as the star of the occasion. His 1,500 creatures
found a buyer at €161,096: an Internet user
present on DrouotLIVE. We can also mention a pastel
on canvas from 1903 by Demetrius Galanis, "Portrait de
Jean Psichari au jardin du Luxembourg" (117 x 145 cm):
a youthful work with a luminous palette, which landed
€117,724 – a French record for the artist (Artnet).
A world record (Artnet) was posted for a drawing by
René Lalique: €64,438 for a watercolour, pencil and
gouache with a Tsarist touch, "Design for a cane
pommel" for the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. S. A.
AUCTION RESULTS THE MAGAZINE
DRAWING NOW PARIS
Though we should sometimes be wary of
eulogistic communiqués celebrating the
success of various trade shows with a
plethora of adjectives, when it comes to the
most recent Drawing Now Paris, the crowds
of visitors of all ages and profiles were truly
impressive. "The show had a marvellous turnout,"
said one of the exhibitors, who stressed
the presence of institutions. The François
Besson gallery from Lyon sold a collection of
David Costes to the Midi-Pyrénées FRAC
(regional contemporary art fund). It also
presented the works of Chantal Fontvieille,
one of which was bought by the Tate Gallery
in London. The work of this artist, focusing
on the re-use of shooting targets, addresses
the question of wounds, repaired by drawn
lines or the use of threads, weaving links
between the bullet holes. International
representatives of major public graphic art
funds were well represented. Public success
(19,000 visitors thronged to the Carrousel du
Louvre to admire a high quality selection)
was shored up by commercial success,
despite a tough economic context – as
professionals hardly need reminding… One
of the finest sales of the exhibition was
"Home Variation" by the Croatian-born artist
Davor Vrankic, presented by the Paris gallery
A.L.F.A, and sold to a private collector for
€80,000. Meanwhile, Gowen Contemporary
of Geneva sold a monumental piece by Yifat
Bezalel for €15,500. With a less conceptual
take than the majority of trade fairs dedicated
to contemporary art, Drawing Now
Paris, by celebrating know-how and virtuosity,
seems to have found its true public...
Stéphanie Perris-Delmas
N° 25 I GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL
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