November 9 | What ramifications will Trump have for the art world?

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Following what was for many the unexpected result of the U.S. election, what speculations can be made about how Trump’s presidency will affect the art market?

Art Market Monitor suggests that the global instability ensuing from the election of Trump is likely to accelerate the rate at which buyers shift money from financial instruments like treasury bonds and equities into art and jewels. It also cites inflation as another possible factor that will shape the art market, which is likely to rise due to Trump’s calls for aggressive action on interest rates. Read the full article here. Meanwhile, ARTnews has compiled a list of art world reactions to Trump’s victory, including a drawing of an apple pie with a skull in the center posted by British artist David Shrigley.

 

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has announced that its much-delayed second exhibition will open next March, despite skepticism from many about the likelihood of the project being realized. Further seeds of doubt were planted when two prominent members of the project’s curatorial team — associate curator for Middle Eastern art Reem Fadda, and assistant curator Fawz Kabra — quietly left this summer, reducing the number of curators from five to three. The exhibition, entitled “The Creative Act,” will include works from the 1960s onwards by an international range of artists who have all emphasized “performance, process, and human presence in their practice.” The exhibition will include the London-based Pakistani artist Rasheed Araeen and the Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem in a section on performance, as well as works by Niki de Saint Phalle, Kazuo Shiraga and Anish Kapoor. The show will open at the Manarat Al Saadiyat visitor center from March 8 through July 29, 2017. More info via The Art Newspaper.

 

The editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal Gerard Baker announced yesterday that the publication will reduce the arts and culture coverage of its print edition due to a decline in advertising. As part of the restructuring, the Business & Tech column and Money & Investing section will be collapsed into one entity, as will the Personal Journal and Arena sections which will form a new section called Life & Arts. Life & Arts will encompass lifestyle, arts, sports, and culture content. As well as the changes to the print edition’s format, which will be implemented from November 4 onwards, the paper has offered voluntary buyouts to its employees. Artforum has more.

 

According to an analysis by journalist Colin Gleadell, the drop in sales totals experienced by the New York art market cannot be ascribed entirely to the absence of guarantees — the explanation that has been most frequently offered for the dip. The aggregate low estimate of this year’s combined New York sales is $1.35 billion, which would mean a drop of 42.5% from last year’s $2.35 billion realized. While Christie’s guarantee provisions were more limited — only 11% of the minimum estimated value of its main impressionist sale was under guarantee, and 30% of its contemporary art sale — Sotheby’s guarantee level was strong. Under the direction of Adam Chin, the auction house organized guarantees of 46% of the minimum estimated value of its main impressionist sale, and 76% of its main contemporary art sale. Phillips sits somewhere in between, with a steady guarantee level of 55%. Read the full details on Art Market Monitor.