Friday, December 28, 2007

THE ERA OF THE EMERGING ARTIST, Part I

"Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Assume for a moment that emerging artists are akin to value stocks. Like any true value stock, the work of emerging artists is often overlooked, and their worth and prospects underestimated. However, just as Warren Buffet will search out quality companies with distinctive attributes, art lovers can unearth emerging artists whose work is thoughtful, topical and passionately committed to a sense of relevance to modern life. And while the majority of investors fail to perceive value stocks' improving prospects until after the greatest gains have already been made, the opportunity to discover the value of emerging artists exists now.

The art market continues to expand at an unprecedented pace. 2007 marked the first time in history that total worldwide sales for Christie's and Sotheby's hit $10 billion. In November, Christie's posted its second highest total for sales of Post-war and Contemporary art at $325 million, second that is to the $385 million tallied in May. Notably, 93% of the works sold, and a dozen artists set records. Meanwhile, Sotheby's sold $316 million at its November sale of Contemporary Art, the highest auction total ever posted by the firm. Sotheby's sold 91% of its lots.

CREATIVITY ENGENDERS CHANGE
Art is attracting a new breed of buyer. At Sotheby's June sale of Contemporary Art, over 20% of buyers were participating for the first time. Around the world, young, urban and increasingly affluent professionals are choosing art as an accessible means by which to obtain a hallmark of their culture, while demonstrating their individuality and increasing their wealth.

The reasons for art's broadening appeal are varied, but beyond the worldwide expansion of wealth, what's taking place is a fundamental shift in the understanding that creativity engenders change. Whether it be municipal or county governments, educators, or art lovers, there is a new respect for the way that art and music inculcate culture, define generations, and influence the lexicon. When asked to characterize a decade, our responses most often include references to art and music. Art can and often does provide society with forward momentum.

RELEVANCE RULES
Despite their unquestioned quality and finite inventory, sales results of the Old Masters haven't kept pace with those of the Contemporary and Modern art markets. Even Contemporary furniture outsells older fare at sales and auctions. Growth in the value of Modern Art has outstripped every other category of art at auction. According to Art Market Research, prices for Contemporary Art have quadrupled since 1995 while results for Old Masters have significantly underperformed. For the period between June 2006 and June 2007, Old Masters posted gains of 7.6% vs. 44.3% for Modern Art and 55.3% for Contemporary Art, according to the Hiscox Art Market Research Index. And Sotheby's sale of 304 lots during its sale of Old Masters in December, while yielding strong year-over-year results, nontheless pale in comparison to Contemporary Art results.

Two economists at NYU's Stern School of Business, Jiangping Mei and Michael Moses, have developed one of the most respected art indices. Their work centers around an examination of the auction results of over 11,000 sales transactions. Interestingly, in research reported in the magazine Registered Rep, they found that in over 4,500 cases it was not the most expensive paintings which provided the most return for investors, but those at the lower end of the pricing scale.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Russian Art phenomenon

On December 17, 2007 Art Times online magazine (http://art-times.ru) published year 2007 summary of sales of Russian art worldwide.

The total sales of Russian art at 4 major auctions in NY and London were 470 million USD (compared to just 230 million in 2006) During the last 5 years (including 2007) the sales grew approximately 83% annually!

Previously, the most popular works of art (in high demand at all major auctions) were Asian ones (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian). For example, in 2007 the sales of Asian art at Sotheby’s totaled 450 million USD (vs. 260 million of Russian art). However, the rate of growth of this market segment was much slower than the Russian art during the last 5 years: just 20% vs 83%. Therefore, the experts predict that the Russian art sales will catch up with the Asian ones in 1-2 years!

We can also look at the figures from a different angle: the sales of Russian art accounted for 5% of total sales at Sotheby’s which is of course behind Impressionist & Modern art (25%) and Contemporary art (18%). But it is comparable with the sales of “old masters” (6%) which includes all sales of Western European art of XIII – XVIII centuries, which is very impressive.

Russian art is considered to be “exclusive” at all auctions, which means the demand for it much higher than the availability even at Cristie’s and Sothbey’s. Usually these auctions include 200-300 works of Russian art for sale per year and this is much less than the actual demand.

Also it is interesting to note that modern Russian art is in much more in demand than classic art: 9 out of 10 most expensive works of Russian art sold in 2007 were modern. The shift in “tastes” happened in the last 4 years: just in 2004 the sales of classic Russian art outnumbered the sales of modern Russian art 3 to 1.

What conclusion can we make? - :
Russian art is in high demand (great investment option)
Especially modern is in demand
Even major international auctions don’t have enough supply of Russian art (and let’s face it not everyone can pay the 6 figures prices for the exclusive lots)

Then, where can you get original affordable modern Russian art of excellent quality? – www.capucinesboulevard.com This international art gallery has unique works of art of about a dozen Russian artists. Their works are varied and they will satisfy every art lover.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Art galleries: for a fee or free?

Following up on our previous post here is another interesting phenomenon regarding entrance fees to art museums and galleries: in Russia there is no free entrance to museums and galleries. There are certain days and times when kids and teenagers can get free admission but this is not what this story is about. Most famous art galleries and museums in Russia charge DIFFERENTLY Russian and non-Russian citizens.

For example, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow charge foreigners 2,5 times more than the Russians; the biggest art museum in St. Petersburg, the Russian Museum, chargers non-citizens 3 times more!

The uniqueness of Capucines Boulevard art gallery is that you can see famous and emerging artists' works from Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Georgia for FREE and buy the ones you like on our site. And since the popularity of the Russian art has been growing tremendously for the last 5 years (check our blog later this week for the 2007 report on the Russian art sales) we are glad to offer our visitors highly demanded pieces to view and purchase in the comfort of their own homes.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Quiet Clamor for Art

Our society is continually influenced by art andartists. Art enriches our lives in innumerableways--it speaks to our emotions and imaginations. There are certain things that only an image can conveybecause it communicates to us at the level ofintuition, spirituality and the subconscious. Unfortunately, the negative effects of reduced artseducation funding in our country continue to be felt,although seldom directly addressed. Such cutbackscontinue despite the well-documented economic benefitswhich accrue to areas with exposure to the arts. However, governments around the world have finallyacknowledged the unique role that only art can play inproducing fully-rounded individuals, and as a result,a more fully functioning society.

In an era when many European governments have either taken steps to eliminate museum and gallery entry fees altogether, or dramatically reduced them in efforts to increase woefully low attendance rates among it citizenry, what could the rationale be for their maintenance?

The French government recently announced their intent to allow free entry into certain of their state museums and galleries, while entry into those throughout Britain has been free since 2002. In the U.K. visits since eliminating fees have increased an astounding 83% on average, or an incremental 30 million visits. More surprising is the fact that in some museums, 50% of the incremental visitors are new. This explosion in demand for art may highlight what was a pent-up desire to construct a life of greater fullness, one which is inclusive of art.

Capucine Price
http://www.CapucinesBoulevard.com
Email: Support@CapucinesBoulevard.com
December 5, 2007

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Art Gift Shop











We would like to announce that we launched our own art gift shop at http://www.cafepress.com/capucinesblvd Browse our shop and discover a varied and unique selection of original fine art images on merchandise from artists from around the world! Browse a variety of artistic genres and categories to find the perfect gift for family, friends, colleagues, customers or yourself.

All the designs used in our gift shop are original works of art created by the artists we exhibit in our gallery this is why each item is one-of-a kind and cannot be obtained anywhere else. This is why if you want to surprise someone special our shop is the place to go.

Just recently we added a collection of items with 12 Zodiac signs created by a Russian painter Anatoly Kudravcev (we wrote about him earlier in this blog). He has a non-traditional vision of the essense and meaning of each sign and these are items make fantastic gifts for a birthday or a baby shower (we offer infant body suits and bibs with these unique designs).

The prices are very affordable and gifts can be shipped anywhere in the world! We have excellent customer service, 30 days return policy, secure transactions – everything you will expect from a major reputable on-line store.
We hope you will enjoy shopping with us!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Ukrainian landscapes

When people in the West discuss the art of Central and Eastern Europe they tend to call “Russian art” everything they find in Russia as well as in the countries neighboring it such as Ukraine and Byelorussia. However, this is not correct. You will see very distinct differences between Russian and Ukrainian art if you look at landscapes, for example.

Since Ukraine is located to the southwest of Russia its far western and southern parts are different from mainland Russia. In the West Ukraine is known for its Carpathian Mountains landscapes (the same Carpathians that stretch into Romania where the notorious Dracula used to live according to the legends). In the south Ukraine borders the Black Sea the Crimean peninsula sceneries look more like Greece and, probably, Bulgaria than Russia.

If we look at the color palette Ukrainian landscapes have more warm colors: golden, orange, pink, etc. which represent the warmth of the southern sun. You will also find many more seascapes in Ukrainian art than in Russian art.

In our gallery we have several Ukrainian artists exhibited and their works of art will speak louder than words. Here are some of their paintings of Southern Ukraine/Crimea:

Boris Kudryavtsev:








































Yuri Kudryavtsev:







































More of their beautiful landscapes can be viewed and purchased at http://www.capucinesboulevard.com/

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Russian Neverland

What inspires an artist to create a unique piece of art? Well, than depends on an artist. In case of a Russian artist ANATOLY KUDRAVCEV exhibited in our gallery the inspiration comes from his yearly 3 months' long trips to an old Russian village of Shanevo. According to the artist this is an almost unreal place, somewhere out of this world. Ask any Russian and he/she will never be able to say where it is situated. It seems like time stopped there and preserved the beauty unspoiled by progress and civilization. It is a kind of place from old Russian fairy tales...

After each visit Anatoly creates a photographic report of his summer trip which in itself has an artistic value on its own and then during long winter hours those photographic memories inspire the artist to create his masterpieces.

Here are some rare photographs of Shanevo and its inhabitants (the last photo is an old Russian stove decorated by the artist's friend) ...





















... and here are some of Anatoly's works inspired by Shanevo (indian ink):












To see more of Anatoly Kudravcev's works, please, visit http://www.capucinesboulevard.com/artist/Anatoly_Kudravcev

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

About our blogs

Our gallery, Capucinesboulevard.com, is dedicated to being your guide in the world of art internationally. We not only try to make the unique art works from around the globe available to the widest possible audience, we also strive to promote education in the field of art, to help you understand art better and become a more savvy collector.

That is why we created 2 blogs that will provide you with the most exciting up-to-date information, which will cover a wide spectrum of things:

http://capblvd.wordpress.com/ blog is dedicated to the art news from around the globe, it will follow important international art trends and developments and will give you useful advice on buying and selling art.

http://capucinesblvd.blogspot.com/ blog, i.e. THIS blog, will bring you unique local insights about artists and works of art, rare “informational gems” which you cannot find in the press and which are provided by the artists themselves and art experts we cooperate with.

We welcome you to visit our art blogs regularly and we will also make the information from both of them available through e-mail subscription and RSS feed real soon!

Monday, August 20, 2007

ART AS A HEALING FORCE

Art as a healing force is not exactly a new idea; whether it' used to promote rehabilitation and recovery following injury or, on a more chronic basis, its power to regenerate is well-founded. One of the younger artists on CapucinesBoulevard.com, Freddie Maestas of Taos, New Mexico, cites art as the vehicle "to express my feelings and to help me heal me emotionally...I think that art heals in a better way" (than pharmaceuticals).

Check out Freddie's Gallery at http://www.capucinesboulevard.com/artist/Freddie_Maestas

Monday, July 23, 2007

Introduction

Dear Art Lovers!

Capucines Boulevard international art gallery created this blog to share with you our passion in art. In this blog we will be posting artists stories, educational articles, news, pictures and videos on art topics from around the globe. Our gallery represents dozens of artists worldwide and their art and experience they share with us is unique and fascinating and we think it will be of interest to a wider audience.

We will strive to make this blog exciting and informative and all your comments and inputs will be very much appreciated!
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