Just a few meters separate the sketches of Salvador Dalí, which belonged to Sophia Loren's collection, valued at several hundred thousand euros, from those of Katinka Huang, a twenty-year-old of Chinese origin, whose work is around 400 euros. Between the 300 euros it costs to acquire Glacier I by Inma Herrera, and the 100,000 euros asked for Reef by Jonathan Hammer, there is just a page from the F2 Gallery catalog. The same goes for the 450 euros for Handkerchief by Karina Mendreczky and the 38,000 euros for Metropolis at the Ani Molnár Gallery in Budapest.
Those are the three lowest-priced pieces exhibited in the ARCO edition that concludes today. Hidden among big names and controversies, there is an art that eludes us and is accessible to those who are not great collectors or do not have a high net worth. You don't have to pay the 1.6 million euros for Tête aux trois cheveux devant la lune by Joan Miró or the 1.2 million for Pipe et paquet de tabac by Juan Gris, you can start collecting art for less than the cost of your TV.
"You can start collecting art without resorting to large expenses. You have to start losing the fear of approaching art, asking prices because you will discover other aesthetic worlds," explains Inma Herrera, the artist with the cheapest work at the fair. This Spanish artist, based in Helsinki since 2014 when she arrived on a scholarship from the laCaixa Foundation, is the author of Glacier I, a photograph of a glacier in the Svalbard Islands - one of the most northern points on the globe - that serves as a context for other works created from plant fossils in this area of the planet. "There is a highly elevated and stereotyped image of art being out of our reach. It's not always like that, there are many things. There are works by Miró, Picasso, or Juan Gris, but I would recommend looking at younger people," she emphasizes.
One of those young artists is Katinka Huang, whose series of charcoal, pastel, and ink drawings on paper are around 400 euros. Of Chinese origin and born in 1998, her artistic training is between London, Paris, and New York where she currently resides. From that series of sketches, all marked by nudes with a certain abstract touch, only one is still available at the Leyendecker gallery booth. The rest are already reserved or purchased. "The quality of an artist can never be measured by the price of their work. The economic aspect does not determine art by itself," they point out from the Canary Islands art space that exhibits the artist's work.
"The economic aspect is present and relevant in the art industry, but it is not my main concern. I don't want to expose the purity of my work to market demands. If someone likes what we do and wants to buy it, it's a pleasure, but I believe in the purity of creation," says Karina Mendreczky in an email conversation. Her work Handkerchief is a small embroidery that arises from the tons of textiles and ancient materials that were left to the artist as a family inheritance - handkerchiefs, nightgowns, etc.
Specifically, this one is inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem The Long Sigh of the FrogThe repetitive monotony of sewing and embroidery also symbolizes timelessness, has a calming and meditative effect on me," emphasizes the artist.
And for all of them, ARCO represents a showcase to display their creations and reach a wider audience, sometimes even outside the art circuits. "It is important to be here because it places me within the commercial art world and I am surrounded by artists of my generation," says Inma Herrera, a resident in Finland because that is where she can make a living from her artistic profession. "In Spain, I don't know if I could do it," she points out.
"For me, it is an honor and an opportunity for Molnár Ani Gallery to represent us at such an important event. This is our first time at ARCO, so we are excited to be here and we are truly grateful for all the support," concludes Karina Mendreczky.
Claudia Pagès wins the 18th illy SustainArt Award for young promises in contemporary art
Artist Claudia Pagès (Barcelona, 1990) has won the XVIII illy SustainArt Award from illycaffè within the 44th edition of ARCO. The award-winning work is built from two creations representing the memory of spaces, using inscriptions and historical symbols found on ancient walls. The artist's starting point was the inspiration that arose in the cisterns of Xàtiva. The work explores themes such as history, water, memory, and the representation of protective spaces, such as walls and castles, as well as the interaction between space and time.