Who do
these Russian oligarchs and billionaires think they are? How dare they dictate to the art world and
auction houses? What are their art
credentials? ponders the Countess du
Ruel. Oligarchs and asset managers (who
are now afraid to call themselves hedge fund managers) are the driving force in the art
market.
We have an
image of these Russians as modern day gangsters, new to the world of art and
culture. With so much money they can send the art world into a dizzy and greedy
spin with their taste for what the rest of us might call trash.
Take Evgeny
Lebedev, for example, who owns the Evening
Standard and the Independent,
thanks to his billionaire father, Alexander Lebedev. Little wonder that he's one of the biggest
catches on the marriage market in the UK and squires around the likes of
Joely Richardson. But wait a minute, it seems he might be a good guy. He appears to be really passionate about art
and sculpture.
There is a
theory that the art market is loaded with brand products and that artists like
Damien Hirst are more businessman than artist.
I certainly am of that way of thinking.
It's time for real art, which is individual, even spiritual, not made on
an assembly line, to emerge. Apparently,
Levedev is disappointed with Hirsh's recent works which look like they are school of Francis Bacon, or at least borrowing
heavily from Bacon.
It's
refreshing to read that Lebedev is somewhat fatigued with Jay Joplin and the
White Cube Gallery. He calls for a new
wave of artists which diverge from the Young British Artists from the 90s, whom
Joplin has
championed. And he adds that artists and
their dealers have been seduced by the market into branding their art for cash. I guess it's no surprise
as collectors have helped create this commercial market by buying art for
investment and status. Now with a new
government, many of these big time players may leave the country, and the art
market could change for the better...hurrah!
Lebedev has
bought a series of Stations of the Cross by an unknown Old Master for his
castle in Umbria. That at least makes a change from what's on
offer at the White Cube Gallery.
I went with
Juilette, my friend who works for an art library, to the preview of the
Contemporary Show a few months back at Sotheby's, Old Bond St. We were treated to a lecture by one of the
contemporary experts. I felt Juilette
nudging me and whispering, "Let's get out of here." Most of the paintings were priced with estimates over £1m, but I
didn't see one I actually wanted if I had the cash. The most striking one looked like the
contents of a sewing box had been spilled onto a giant canvas. I made me think of Jackson Pollock, but done
in brightly coloured thread and spools.
Ho, hum.
Downstairs
where the cheaper painting were on offer it was much more interesting. You could almost imagine hanging one of these
on your walls. Almost!
Still it's
encouraging that a young collector like Levedev has developed a discriminating
eye and doesn't just buy up what the art world tells him to. Maybe he's the new
breed of oligarch. He says Russian art
hasn't made an impact since the Avant Garde of the early 20th century.
He wants to promote Russian art
which speaks an international language and is not derivative of Western Art.
Sounds good. I'm so tired of these rich Russians, but
maybe finally here's one who makes sense.
Let's watch his space.
