February 10 | Christie’s to open new location in Beverly Hills

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Despite seeing a drop in sales in 2016, Christie’s continues to think big, with the announcement of a new location in Beverly Hills, whilst Hauser & Wirth now represents one of the leading German photographers of the 20th century.

New LA flagship for Christie’s

Christie’s has announced it will open a new flagship location in Beverly Hills.

The 5,400-square foot, two-storey building comes as a response to the growing demand among Los Angeles-based collectors for better access to buying and selling opportunities, fine art advisory services, private selling exhibitions, and art-related estate and wealth management services. “Southern California... is now one of our most active regions for new buyers,” said chief executive officer Guillaume Cerutti. “With this new flagship, we are opening our doors to even greater engagement with LA’s vibrant arts community and creating a dynamic convening space for both emerging and established collectors.” Los Angeles–based firm wHY will design the new building, which will feature offices, exhibition spaces, and a a fourteen-hundred-square-foot outdoor events space. Artforum has more.


 

Christie’s sales take a dip

According to an analysis by art journalist Kelly Crow, Christie’s totaled $4.2 billion in sales in 2016.

Whilst this puts the auction house ahead of its competitors in terms of total revenue, it also represents a large drop in sales, which are down 27% from last year. In terms of the individual breakdown, contemporary art at Christie’s totalled $1.3 billion, down 41%, Impressionist and Modern art fell to $997 million, down 50%, and Asian art sales fell by 14% to $633 million. Art Market Monitor has more information.


 

Artist representations

Hauser & Wirth now represents the Estate of August Sander in collaboration with the artist’s great grandson Julian Sander and his eponymous Cologne gallery.

August Sander was one of the most influential German photographers of the 20th century. In his most famous and ambitious work, People of the 20th Century, Sander produced a complex sociological portrait of Germany over the course of six decades, pioneering a precise, unembellished photographic aesthetic that helped assert photography’s independence from painting. Sander was highly influential for many modern and contemporary photographers. A selection of photographs from his portfolio People Who Came to My Door will form the central part of Hauser & Wirth’s group exhibition “Serialities”, which goes on show in New York from February 18 through April 8, 2017. Read the full announcement here.

Agust Sander, Middle Class Children, 1925. Photo via art-agenda
 

 

Laurel Ptak joins Art in General

Laurel Ptak has been appointed as the new executive director of Art in General, a non-profit organization which supports artists in the production and exhibition of new work.

Ptak joins the organization from the New York artist-founded space Triangle, where she was director and curator. As part of her new role, Ptak will develop the forthcoming What Now? symposium, which will explore artistic and curatorial issues through panel discussions and artist interventions. She takes over from Anne Barlow, who had been with Art in General since 2007, but revealed in November that she would leave to become the artistic director of Tate St Ives. Further details on ARTnews.