By Handan Kazanci
ISTANBUL
A three-day contemporary art fair opened its doors Friday in Istanbul, the culture capital of Turkey.
Until September 28 at Halic Congress Center, ArtInternational hosts almost 80 art galleries and collectors from around the world for its second edition in Istanbul.
A special opening occurred Thursday night for VIP guests and the media and foreshadowed a resounding success for the commercial platform for art collectors and lovers ArtInternational, as works showcased were sometimes immediately sold within the first few hours.
A representative from Assar Art Gallery in Iran, Golshid Deraknshan, said they had already sold an installation of Reza Lavassani, “Life” -- a light yellow tentacular-esque chandelier hanging above a table of the same color -- for around $120,000 to a collector from Vancouver, Canada.
Acoris Andipa, director of London-based Andipa Gallery said that he had also sold a large painting of English artist and collector Damien Hirst for $290,000 to a European collector.
“We have a few other works that have been reserved,” he said.
“We have attracted a lot of international interest. We have spoken to Turkish, Italian, French and British collectors. That has been very interesting and we have been open only for two hours,” he added.
Originally from Greece, Andipa explained that his gallery was participating in this second edition of ArtInternational for the first time this year.
The second edition of ArtInternational gathered renowned art galleries, from San Francisco to Hong Kong, from Helsinki to Jeddah, showcasing works from famous artists such as Chinese provocateur artist Ai Weiwei, Catalan Joan Miro, American pop icon Andy Warhol, U.K.-based graffiti artist Banksy, or award-winning Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
Andipa Gallery also displays two works of British graffiti artist Banksy.
“I have one the world’s largest collections of Banksy. I was the first gallery to do an exhibition for him from private collections,” he added.
International relations manager of the world-renowned Turkish contemporary artist Taner Ceylan, Saliha Yavuz, said that one of eight versions of a sculpture of Ceylan's had already sold for $55,000.
Ceylan has been represented by the U.S.-based Paul Kasmin Gallery for the last two years, she says.
The Turkish artist has his own booth at the fair, displaying his "golden age" collection.
Some collectors are at the fair do not necessarily wish to purchase.
Arno Morenz is a Berlin-based collector from Elke an Arno Morenz Collection. He said that he came to Istanbul with a group of 10 people, most of whom are also collectors.
“We wanted to be part of [the fair] to follow (…) what is going on [in the art world],” he added.
Tickets prices are set at 30 TL ($13.25). A three-day pass costs 60 TL ($26.50). For students, it is set at 15 TL ($6.50).
ArtInternational is organized by Sandy Angus, co-founder of Art HK in Hong Kong and co-owner of India Art Fair, in collaboration with Fiera Milano Interteks, a Turkish trade show organizer.
Istanbul will host another art fair, Contemporary Istanbul, in November for its ninth edition.
www.aa.com.tr/en
