Figuring Out Theory
2013; Oxford University Press; Volume: 36; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/oxartj/kct023
ISSN1741-7287
Autores ResumoThe processes of cultural legitimation occur at radically varying time scales and with distinct effects. When in early 2007 France's Réunion des musées nationaux announced plans for a major exhibition of the so-called Narrative Figuration movement – a loose gathering of figurative painters that had come to prominence in the mid-1960s – collectors quickly moved to profit from its newfound visibility of these artists. The postwar and contemporary art sale held in Paris at François Pinault-owned Christie's on 11 December 2007 featured an important group of paintings by artists of this movement, including six key works from what the catalogue described as an ‘important French private collection’ – actually the property of Hervé Loevenbruck, a prominent younger Parisian gallery director.1 Provided with high estimates, and frequently with a guarantee, the lots did extraordinarily well: paintings by Hervé Télémaque and Valerio Adami, for example, exceeded their high estimates, and Erró's monumental Comicscape, 1971 – estimated at three hundred euros to four hundred thousand euros – doubled its expected price and sold for over eight hundred thousand euros. Several of the works sold had been requested for the upcoming Grand Palais exhibition, heightening the appeal of their provenance. In the wake of the sale, websites tracking the art market could boast of Narrative Figuration's newfound appeal: ‘The group's most sought-after artist is Jacques Monory, whose price level has soared by more than 500% in ten years; next in line are Gérard Fromanger (+353% between 1997 and 2007), Valerio Adami (+231%), Erro (+209%) …’.2
Referência(s)