- Presentation | Not everything is a lie
- The Classical Exhibition | Seeking Rembrandt in Spain
- Interview | Jonathan Brown
- The Contemporary Exhibition | Cy Twombly
- The Work | Ciudad Rodrigo: the Altar Recovered
- The Fair | Arco [India]
- Sculpture | When Men were Gods
- In the studio | Antony Gormley
- Investigation | The Revolution of Ribera
- The collection of | Javier de la Calzada
- Chronicles from Berlin, London, Paris and New York
- Auctions of Classical and Modern Art
- Exhibitions Schedule
- Written by | Lourdes Fernández, Carmen Giménez, Hans-Peter Klut, Gianni Papi, Mark A. Roglán, Isadora Rose, Nicola Spinosa
Not everything is a lie
Experts state that one of the main reasons of the crisis is that the companies, banks, investors, analysts and practically all the ones involved in it, have not said the truth about what is actually happening. We do not really know up to where this crisis reaches, who is affected, or in which way they are affected. This is the reason why we could be talking about a sincerity crisis. t world is also involved in this situation. The recent Spanish fair ARCO is a good example of it.
The day after the closing, the organization of ARCO hurried in announcing the «good results.» In order to justify all the results, they gave the total sums of sales... and not much more. «Institutional» purchases were given as example, but the data were not completed. They told us that the Reina Sofía Museum had bought works for 676.272 €, nevertheless, they did not say that in the previous edition they spent 1.164.000, nearly twice the price. For the Foundation ARCO, IFEMA invested 15.000 € this year, compared to the previous year when they paid 250.000. The CGAC has bought for 130.000 €, while the year before they spent 230.000. Nothing was said about the MUSAC maybe, because they did not buy anything, in comparison with the past edition where they bought 14 works for 312.760 €.
We should think that, when they gave all the data, it was in order to not 'damage' even more a sector that is suffering a lot in our country. The last editions of Feriarte, ArtMadrid and Artesanía have deepened in the disaster of ARCO. Obviously, the solution is not to hide the total sums and the truth, but to make urgent decisions in order to help the professionals of the sector and those who participate in the art world.
Unfortunately, nothing of that has ocurred.
Out of our country – not everything is a lie- things are different. It is wonderful to see a fair like TEFAF in Maastricht. The governments not only collaborate with their official delegations but also with the exhibitors, and they adjust the commissions. Even the owners or directors of the art galleries have felt obliged to drop the prices -we are in crisis-. Maybe for this reason, because we have to face problems with optimism, we celebrated the presentation of this magazine in the Prado Museum, with a visit to the exhibition of Bacon. The director, Miguel Zugaza, and Pilar Citoler, President of the Board of Trustees of the Reina Sofía Museum, presented the ceremony. Many friends attended. It was a day full of optimism, that makes us think that not everything around us is a lie.
By Fernando Rayón
By Fernando Rayón