OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL INTEREST, EXPANDING ARTISTIC CONTENT,
GUEST STARS AND SIGNIFICANT SALES
THE REGION'S LEADING FAIR HAS WELCOMED OVER 125 THOUSAND VISITORS SO FAR, FURTHER STRENGTHENING ITS POSITION ON THE INTERNATIONAL ART SCENE
Budapest. – With strengthened international interest, Art Market Budapest closed with remarkable success surpassing previous yearsboth in terms of the outstanding numbers and the composition of the visitors and exhibitors, further stabilizing its position internationally and also as Eastern Europe's leading contemporary art fair.
Art Market Budapest 2016 welcomed over 27,000 visitors, hosted 100 exhibitors from over 20 countries of 4 continents, showcasing thousands of artworks by more than 500 artists to the international audience.
Art Market Budapest, still young in the international art fair calendar having celebrated its sixth annual event this year, has received over 125 thousand visitors so far. There has been a substantial increase in exhibitors’ turnoverin 2016 which is also an indication to growing trust and interest towards the fair.
As an annually reprised element of Art Market Budapest, the fair’s traditional guest program – POLISH(ed), dedicated to art from Poland in 2016 – was particularly well-received having presented an amazingly rich artistic content from one of Europe’s most vibrant artistic sources. The return of ART FROM BERLIN, the exhibition program presenting Berlin's galleries signified great professional acclaim; the fair's photo section ART PHOTO BUDAPEST assembled a selection from exhibitors spanning four continents; the world famous sculptor and Guest of Honor MAGDALENA ABAKANOWICZ's large scale composition was a spectacular addition to the fair’s outdoor sculpture park. Over fifty accompanying events organized by Art Market Budapest parallel with the fair included remarkable displays of high international significance such as the unique exhibition of Polish avant-garde works from the Pieczynski Collection and the world premiere of David Seymour CHIM's photo exhibition Children of war. These and the fair’s strategic cooperation with the CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival greatly contributed to making Budapest, Hungary's capital Europe's most alluring contemporary festival city during the time of Art Market Budapest in October 2016.
EXHIBITORS FROM MORE THAN 20 COUNTRIES, SPANNING 4 CONTINENTS:
an increasing global selection and a unique concentration of Eastern European art
The artistic content presented in the exhibition halls of Art Market Budapest and the sculpture exhibition installed on location in-between the buildings provided an opportunity for around 100 exhibitors from more than 20 countries to display throughout some 6,200 square meters. Thousands of artworks by more than 500 artists were made accessible to viewers and buyers alike.
The number of exhibiting countries has increased further this year, adding to the list of the 35 countries of previous years. Exhibitors of Art Market Budapest 2016 arrived from the following countries: Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Namibia, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
In the midst of this intercontinental context, Art Market Budapest has remained the most significant platform for introducing Eastern Europe’s particularly inspirational contemporary art. The fair is the most concentrated display worldwide of art originating from this region: approximately 60 exhibitors (including around 40 galleries) arrived from the post-communist Eastern Europe, the artistic content of which is the focus of increasing international interest these days.
POLISH(ed):
Polish contemporary art appeared with extraordinary richness and diversity
As the leading art fair in Eastern Europe, a frequent exhibitor and one of the most significant international platforms of contemporary art of the region, Art Market Budapest considers it its duty to present the diverse selection and outstanding level of artistic content of the post-communist region to a wide-ranging audience on a regular basis.
Over the course of the fair, POLISH(ed), a guest program dedicated to Polish art, showing on location at Art Market Budapest 2016 and incorporating many other art locations in the city, provided extraordinary insight into one of Europe's most exciting art scenes. As a part of the POLISH(ed) program at Art Market Budapest, Polish galleries (Apteka Sztuki, Czulosc, Leto, Propaganda, Starter) were displaying their selections throughout hundreds of square meters, in all together 6 exhibition booths.
Also on location at the fair, a spectacular display of statues was installed in-between the exhibition buildings, a selection presented in cooperation with the Center of Polish Sculpture in Oronsko. Some of the artworks, created by 16 Polish artists for the exhibition, entitled 5 Tons of sculpture from Oronsko, were specially created for the show in Budapest. The spectacular outdoor show included works by the world famous Magdalena ABAKANOWICZ, Guest of Honor of Art Market Budapest 2016.
The Polish guest program included further exhibitions and professional events organized directly by or in co-operation with Art Market Budapest. On location, the fair’s popular mini-conference entitled Inside Art dedicated an entire day to discussions relating to Polish art, where among others, Dr. Tibor NAVRACSICS, Commissioner for Culture of the European Commission in Brussels, gave a lecture about the significance of regional cultural co-operation. Also within the POLISH(ed) program, Warsaw-born David Seymour CHIM's Children of war exhibition from New York celebrated its world premiere in Budapest, and a special selection from one of Poland’s leading private collectors Mr. Cezary PIECZYNSKI's photo collection was also on display at theA38 Gallery, a remarkable exhibition venue in Budapest.
The diverse selection of POLISH(ed) was complemented by the numerous other Polish art presentations brought to the audience by CAFe Budapest, one of Europe’s most progressive contemporary art festivals, thereby creating a unique series of art programs introducing Poland's rich contemporary art in a so far unprecedented richness. The musical program of CAFe Budapest featured for example the work of world-renowned Polish contemporary composer Krzysztof PENDERECKI.
Returning ART FROM BERLIN and other German exhibitors:
distinguished professional recognition and the German Art Fund
Budapest and Art Market Budapest received a special honor from the city of Berlin when in 2015, following in the footsteps of Seoul, Istanbul and Miami, it was given the opportunity to welcome the ART FROM BERLIN program. Galleries of the German capital were presented throughout hundreds of square meters of exhibition space last year, and now – following the successful introduction – the city of Berlin and the organizer of the program, the Association of Berlin Galleries (LVBG) decided upon its return to Budapest. New York was also added to the host cities of the program earlier this year. Along with the 5 selected galleries from Berlin within the ART FROM BERLIN section, other German galleries occupied an additional 5 exhibition booths at Art Market Budapest 2016. With this, the art fair strengthened its position as the most significant Eastern European platform presenting contemporary German art.
Also in service of this endeavor was the recently established German Art Fund in Hungarysponsored in its first year by German companies E.ON and B. Braun. Under the diplomatic patronage of the German Embassy, the Fund selects and purchases art from the works presented by the German exhibitors at Art Market Budapest, then donating them to a selected recipient each year. The selection was made and the first beneficiary was announced: the purchased artworks will be given to the German speaking Andrássy University in Budapest.
ART PHOTO BUDAPEST and BUDAPEST PHOTO WEEKEND:
art photography continued to be in focus at Art Market Budapest
Budapest has a special relationship with photography. Building on the heritage of László Moholy-Nagy, André Kertész, Robert Capa and other 20th century classics, Budapest strives with good reason and outstanding characteristics for a central role in international photography. Art Market Budapest has supported this endeavor with a number of tools: for example the fair’s extremely popular art photo section created in 2014, Art Photo Budapest, the only international photography fair in Central and Eastern Europe, yet again filled an entire exhibition hall with a wide ranging international selection. The works on display this time came together from 4 continents: alongside a number of European galleries, exhibitors also arrived from the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and Namibia.
The exhibition at Art Photo Budapest was complemented by a wider art photography program and satellite exhibitions this year in the framework of a newly launched photo festival entitled Budapest Photo Weekend. During the professional program an entire day was dedicated to art photography including events such as a lecture by Magnum Print Sales Director Ms. Simone KLEIN about the past, present and future of the nearly seventy-year-old international agency Magnum Photos. As another accompanying event, the public presentation and jury evaluation of the shortlisted artists for the Capa Grand Prize also took place on location at the fair. Additional special features included one of the guest stars of Art Photo Budapest, the exhibition and personal presentation of South-African photographer Gideon MENDEL's award-winning photo series Drowning world. Also another extraordinary event was the premiere screening of a special short film featuring the legendary British artist duo GILBERT & GEORGE during their stay in Budapest a quarter of a century ago, never before seen by an audience.
The photo exhibition,Children of war, previously mentioned among the Polish themed programs at Art Market Budapest,deserves a special mention for its historical significance. David SEYMOUR CHIM, born in Poland, friend and colleague of the late Hungarian Robert Capa, created an extraordinary series of photos about war-torn Central Europe in 1948 at the request of UNICEF. The series has never before been exhibited anywhere, marking this Art Market Budapest satellite show the world premiere of this very special exhibition! The works arrived in Budapest from New York with the assistance of the Alma on Dobbin Foundation, partner of Art Market Budapest, and curated by the acclaimed Ms. Carole NAGGAR.
Also a part of the Budapest Photo Weekend alongside the CHIM exhibitionwasanother show organized and initiated by Art Market Budapest entitled (How) I see you, displaying an outstanding selection of works by the youngest generation of internationally acclaimed, award-winning Hungarian photographers.
FURTHER ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMS:
top international professionals, unique artistic content
The show presented at Art Market Budapest was accompanied by about fifty additional programs and events, making Budapest and the fair a meeting point for artists and prominent international professionals.
In the frame of the professional mini-conference Inside Art,organized by Art Market Budapest, alongside the previously mentioned appearance by Magnum’s Simone KLEIN, Adriano PICINATI DI TORCELLO, International Director of Deloitte (Luxembourg) personally gave a presentation of the company's global Art & Finance report for 2016, also Dr. Tibor NAVRACSICS, Commissioner for Culture of the European Commission (Brussels)was featured on the program.
Several other top art professionals contributed to the success of the events, including Stefan KOBEL art critic from Berlin, Walter SEIDL, Curator of the ERSTE Group Collection and ERSTE Foundation, Board Member of IACCCA (International Association of Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art) from Vienna, Cezary PIECZYNSKI, owner of Piekary Gallery, a major Polish art collector from Poznan, Carole NAGGAR and Gary VAN WYK top photographic experts from New York, just to name a few.
The accompanying program series called ART+ offered visitors special artistic experiences with contemporary dance, theater and art performances. Contributors included, among others, world-renowned Paris based composer György KURTÁG jr. in cooperation with András BÖRÖCZ (New York), as well as photographers Gideon MENDEL (Johannesburg) and Bruno VEIGA (Rio de Janeiro).
An internationally unique content was presented by the Autistic Art Foundation in a separate section of the exhibition hall of Art Market Budapest. A special show was created in co-operation with well-known contemporary designers inspired by the drawings of autistic artists.
SIGNIFICANT COLLECTORS’ INTEREST:
sales success surpassing all previous years
The interest and trust towards Art Market Budapest remarkably increased in 2016. Due to the positive market environment exhibitors closed with a record success. Although Art Market Budapest does not require a sales report from its exhibitors, based on their statements, apart from the few just making their debut, all galleries closed with sales in Budapest. Alongside a number of successful local galleries, some foreign exhibitors such as Apteka Sztuki (Warsaw), Bernheimer Contemporary (Berlin), Koppelmann (Cologne), Zellermayer (Berlin) and Zorzini (Bucharest) were particularly popular among collectors.
In its inaugural year, the German Art Fund in Hungary acquired works by Andreas BLANK (Bernheimer Contemporary), Ralph Ali ECKERT (ARTCO), Marion EICHMANN (Tammen & Partner), Ruprecht von KAUFMANN (Crone Berlin) and Andreas WENGEL (WHITECONCEPTS).
The significant selection of Central and Eastern European art presented at the fair brought along sales for artists including Zsolt BODONI (Art+Text, Budapest), Michele BRESSAN (Zorzini, Bucharest), Ági EPERJESI (Inda, Budapest), László GYŐRFFY (Várfok, Budapest), György JOVANOVICS (Zellermayer, Berlin), Károly KLIMÓ (Koppelmann, Cologne), Radenko MILAK (Duplex100m2, Sarajevo) and Marcin OWCZAREK (ARTCO, Aachen) among many others. One of the most significant sales was Károly KLIMÓ’S 45 piece composition, of high museum value,The Artaud series. Other regions, exhibitors from Italy, Namibia and Switzerland also closed with commercial success.
ART EDUCATION,
EXHIBITOR'S PRIZES
Art Market Budapest and its partners handed out various prizes to the exhibitors, among which VIOLUK Contemporary (Geneva) was awarded Best booth in 2016 by Artmagazin.
Artistically involving the young generation is an endeavor of high importance at Art Market Budapest.In the frame of an art education program more than 1,100 students visited the fair free of charge. According to their votes, NextArt Gallery (Budapest) won the B. Braun prize followed by Apteka Sztuki (Warsaw) and TOBE (Budapest).
COOPERATING PARTNERS
Art Market Budapest aims to provide its guests with facilities, at the location of the fair and at various other outdoor locations that on the one hand serve the pleasure of its visitors, but also direct attention towards the cultural content of Budapest. Professional partners include the Robert Capa Center, the Design Terminal, the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, the Ludwig Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery and the Association of Contemporary Galleries, while Art Market Budapest is a highlighted program and professional partner of the CAFe Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival.
Food-and-beverages partners included the Zsidai Group, Veritas, Vergnano, Jana and Pastrami. The fair's special interior design was created by the staff of Art1st Design Studio, Hannabi Sofa and Artlocator.In addition to the partners already mentioned, contributions by B. Braun, Deloitte, the Hungarian National Bank, Hungarian Telekom, MVM, Omorovicza and Volvo helped Art Market Budapest provide the audience with a richer artistic program and an even more comfortable experience than ever before.
ART MARKET BUDAPEST 2016
October 13-16, 2016
Millenáris, Budapest, Hungary
Thank you for your kind attention.
For any additional information, please contact our colleagues:
Zsuzsanna Deák, Máté Balogh (; +36.1.2390007).
ART MARKET BUDAPEST 2016