Displaying items by tag: francois pinault

Will François Pinault finally bring his collection to Paris? The luxury goods magnate and mega-collector chose to show his contemporary art collection in Venice's Palazzo Grassi after excessive bureaucracy and administrative complications prevented him from showing the works on Paris' Île Seguin in 2004.

However, according to the French newspaper La Croix, the billionaire is reconsidering showing at least a part of his art collection in the French capital.

Some paintings act like object lessons in tracking the global migration of wealth, bouncing from one owner to the next in timely turns. Such was the case Tuesday when Sotheby’s sold a $46.5 million Mark Rothko abstract that previously belonged to U.S. banker Paul Mellon and later to French luxury executive François Pinault.

Rothko’s latest taker? An anonymous Asian collector who outbid two rivals to win the work.

After four years as Christie’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Steven Murphy announced that he will leave his post at the auction house. The surprise announcement, which was issued on Tuesday, December 2, came just twelve days after William Ruprecht, the CEO of Sotheby’s for fourteen years, announced his resignation. The two auction houses have long battled for primacy in the art market, though Christie’s has been considered the leader in recent years thanks to a growing online presence, expanded markets in China and Mumbai, and astronomical contemporary art sales.

Murphy will be succeeded by Patricia Barbizet, the Executive Director of Artémis Group, the investment company founded by French billionaire François Pinault, who also owns Christie’s. Barbizet will retain her position at Artémis as well as her role as the Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of Christie’s.

The Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, France, is currently hosting the exhibition “ArtLovers: Stories of Art in the Pinault Collection.” The show features forty works from François Pinault’s illustrious collection, including more than a third that have never been displayed in previous exhibitions of the Collection. Thirty-three artists, including Maurizio Cattelan, Urs Fischer, Dan Flavin, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, and Rachel Whiteread will be represented.

The Pinault Collection, which features paintings, sculptures, installations, video, drawings, and more, was assembled by the French businessman François Pinault. Pinault is the founder of the holding company Artemis S.A., which owns Christie’s auction house as well as a number of luxury brands. Pinault currently owns one of the biggest collections of contemporary art worldwide and in 2006, he acquired Venice’s Palazzo Grassi Punta della Dogana to display his collection. The exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum was curated by Martin Bethenod, the Director of the Palazzo Grassi.

Über collector François Pinault is launching an artist residency program in a former rectory, the Quotidien de l’Art reports. The residency is located a stone’s throw from the Louvre-Lens, Pas-de-Calais (northern France). One of Pinault’s main advisers, former culture minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon, said the patron was inspired by a visit to the Louvre’s northern outpost and wants “to contribute to the regeneration of the area.”

The International Contemporary Art Fair (FIAC) starts today in Paris and runs through Sunday, October 21. One of the largest forums for contemporary artists, galleries, and dealers, the FIAC encompasses a number of events across the city at the Grand Palais, the Louvre Museum, the Tuileries Gardens, and various other locations.

The Grand Palais portion of the FIAC is held on two floors and features 182 dealers of modern and contemporary art from around the world. Last night’s preview, which is considered a litmus test of the art market’s strength, hosted a number of notable sales. Joan Miro’s Surrealist abstract Peinture (Le Cheval de Cirque) (1927) was sold by Helly Nahmad Gallery (New York) for $8 million and Lucio Fontana’s Concetto Spaziale, Attese (1967–68) was sold by Paris’ Tornabuoni Arte for $2.36 million.

A number of high-profile collectors were in attendance including French billionaires Francois Pinault and Bernard Arnault, U.S. collector Alberto Mugrabi, and Turkish collector, Omer Koc. If the preview is any indication of the how the fair will proceed, it should be any exciting next few days in Paris.