A Picasso Cubist painting that was to be sold at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern auction next week in New York has been withdrawn from sale.

Arlequin had been expected to fetch over $30m (£19.1m). A number of high-profile works have failed to perform well at auction recently, sparking fears the current financial crisis is hitting art prices. Sotheby's said the owner decided to withdraw the painting from sale for "private reasons".

Arlequin, which had not been seen in public for 45 years, depicts a harlequin resting his chin on one hand. Last month Emmanuel Di-Donna, of Sotheby's, said it was one the "greatest" Cubists to be offered on the open market. It belonged to the Surrealist painter Enrico Donati, who died earlier this year aged 99. He bought it in Paris in the 1940s for $12,000.

Autumn sales

Arlequin was to be the highlight of Sotheby's sale, to be held on Monday. Melanie Gerlis, art market editor of The Art Newspaper, said the New York art market had been more depressed than in other cities. But she added that many of the autumn auctions in London, Sydney and Hong Kong, had failed to meet expectations.

"It is not terribly surprising as there is less money around, and it is also a confidence-based market" she said. "The art market is not down as much as stocks, but it has not been a healthy month, with pieces going just not quite what's expected."

Rival auction house Christie's post-war and contemporary art auction raised £32m, including buyer's premium, in London on 19 October. Of the 47 lots on offer, 26 were sold. That compared with pre-auction expectations of between £58m-£76m, not including premium. It came two days after Sotheby's raised £22m at its equivalent sale, below pre-sale estimates ranging from £31m-£43m. The prize lot, Andy Warhol's pop-art paintings of human skulls, sold for £4.3m, below the estimate of £7m. Despite the outcome, both auction houses said they were pleased with the results.

Ms Gerlis added that the art market could benefit from a so-called "Obama effect" as US voters go to the polls for the presidential elections on 4 November. "There is a lot of sentimentality involved in the art market," she said.

From BBC News

Once again we talk with the artists of meseon community. Today, we know more about Marcus Jansen (personal website) and his artwork. Enjoy it!!


Marcus Jansen:
"Art is life. It is the ability to see things and interpret them in a new way for others to see. It is juxtaposing life to find the new. This can come an various forms and we all do it, whether knowingly or unknowingly".


Q: Hi Marcus, first of all, we would like know more about you. Tell us who is Marcus Jansen, tell us something about your life and your childhood in your country.
A: Well, my life has been quite complex in nature. I was born in New York City in the late 60’s and resided in The Bronx NY. I came from a middle class neighborhood and a hard working family who came to the US for the “American dream”. My family immigrated to the United States in the 1950’s from Jamaica. Later we moved to Long Island NY where I started school and was selected for my first Art exhibition at the Lever House in Manhattan. Shortly after, I moved to Germany where I completed Highschool and the returned to the US after joining the US Military for eight years. It prompted me to be deployed to the first Gulf War, Korea and Germany where I met my lovely wife.

Q: What is art for you?
A: Art is life. It is the ability to see things and interpret them in a new way for others to see. It is juxtaposing life to find the new. This can come an various forms and we all do it, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Q: Could you share some of your philosophy about art and artistic creation?
A: I find inspiration by working on each piece. Each work is a new inspiration and I try to out work myself everytime. It is through this search that we find new ideas. Art is much more about seeking and finding as life is. My work is about distorting the known and accepting the unknown as something valid and acceptable. I rely less on rational thought. My work requires instinct, balance and senses. This approach allows the unexpected to be found and shown in a painting. It is in the relm of the unknown that we learn something new.

Q: Have you always been interested in arts? When did you discover that art would be an important part of your life?
A: I would say yes. I started as a teenager being influenced by the graffiti art movement that started appearing in our Bronx neighborhood in the 1970’s. I perhaps even noticed more when I returned from Europe back for visits. The contrast between Germany and New York was drastic. It may have been that contrast that really opened my eyes to interpreting how I saw the world around me. I remember looking at paintings and saying to myself “ Oh, I can do that”. Germany introduced me to many European masters. I used all of those experiences together and something new was formed.


Q: How did you get started in the art world?
A: Probably like most artists, I started from nothing. I had bills to pay and after going to a School for design and later an apprenticeship for Painters, I decided it was never going to make me enough money to live from and joined the Army. The Army became my family and allthough it was tough, it may have taught me the lessons that were crucial for me to create the paintings I do today. So it is a love and hate relationship. After my discharge, I felt an urge to make my expreinces have some meaning in life. I started working on projects that initially showed to galleries that mostly rejected the work. Lucky me, that I was very determined, plus had the choice of making this work or doing a 9-5 for the rest of my life. This is how I saw the world at the time.
So I took my work to the streets in Germany and Soho NY for a while. I understood early on that it was also a business and treated it as such. It was in NY where I got my first real international feedback and many suggested for me to show in galleries. After month’s of rejection, the galleries came to me, one by one and we started building from there. One step at a time.

Q: Your artworks in meseon are paintings, Why do you choose painting as a means of expression?
A: It comes natural to me. Every artist has to find their own language. Art is a language and a new means of communicating. Paint is a free medium and it attracts me because there are no boundaries or limits with paints except the ones placed on it. It has no form but the form you give it in the work. So in a way it is like various medias in one. In my work I use it in various ways, by changing textures throughout the work rather than having only one texture in the painting. This requires a lot of editing in the process.

Q: What concept would you like to show to your viewers? What would you like say with your artworks?
A: Freedom of expression. We live in times where we are loosing the right to speak at all that doesn’t fit the norm. Art should never be silenced. I believe it is that what attracts my viewers to the work. The work in itself is a resistance against much of what is produced today.

Q: How has society influenced your art? What are the social implications of your art?
A: I would hope that all artists are influenced by their environments and society at large. But I find that many do not express it in their art. This has several reasons. One is that artists with a largely commercial market. This of course silently dictates what the artist needs to paint rather than the artists showing true personal interpretations if one wants to survive.
It has become a problem, and as long as the market is commercial it will always be a problem. But of course there are many factors to this. The other one may be that we have become to alike in our thinking and habits. Individuality is slowly disapearing. My work should remind people, it is ok to be yourself and original against what is generally done.


Q: Discuss one of your pieces. What were you thinking when you created it?
A: I am not big on discussing my pieces, because I am firm believer that pieces should be discussed by the ones viewing them. The idea of art is to include the viewers intellect and stimulate their mind and soul by putting a painting out you are saying: I did this, this is how I see the world”. The viewers job is to respond without help. But of course I understand that many wonder what the artist was thinking when he painted it. The answer often times is that I was not thinking much at all.

Q: What was your most important exhibition? Could you share that experience?
A: All exhibitions are important to me. They all have brought me one step closer to where I am today. I love exhibiting and having people respond to the work. Creating dialogue is a great way of touching other even for those who may not see anything in a piece of art. It is a great way that we can connect as human beings.

Q: What are the most important artist that are influence in your life and your works? why?
A: There are many. I would initially say I am an admirer of Robert Rauschenberg who I was delighted to meet and show with several times in group shows. He lived until he recently passed in our town. I admire his work ethic and for being a great composer as well as a great artist and person. Frank Gehry, Architect, who has broken boundaries in the world of Architecture and others like Jean Michel Basquiat for his spontaneous use of paint. Sometimes you see an artist and you just identify with his or her language. Picasso certainly was one as well as Hundertwasser.

Q: Could you talk about the procedures that you use in your artworks? Preparation, development and finishing.
A: The preparation is largely collecting various materials, photos and other things that catch my attention during the week from news sources or stories that I feel are important from reviews. I then lay them out and without any outline I start painting with wild and explosive brushstrokes that resemble those of the abstract expressionists. Towards the end I refine the work and ad mixed media at times to create a surreal feel to the work. I never quit on a work from being completed. That is bad habit one can slip in to and mearly means one gives up on ones self. If I do not like the way it is going, I keep trying until it is good.


Q: What do you feel when you are finished a artwork?
A: I did it again. It is always a nice a surprise.

Q: Do you have some challenge or goal which you are pursuing?
A: I always do. Each day is a goal met. Each accomplishment is something achieved. I have always measured success by small steps made. Everyday is a challenge. It is intimidating for any painter to step to an all white canvas and create somethin. Everyday is a challenge.

Q: Some quick questions:
- Tell us an artist: God – a higher power who created all
- Tell us a city: New York – most exciting
- Tell us a dream: Peace for all mankind

Q: Could you tell us something about you are currently working?
A: I just completed a commission for Warner Brothers Hollywood. I was commissioned to paint an interpretation of the historic movie the Wizard of OZ along side 17 other US based painters. Many famous artists have been asked to be part of the Wizard of OZ celebration before me such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Chuck Close and more. The paintings will be released at Art Basel Miami Beach on December 5th 2008 at the Ocean Drive Headquarters in Miami Beach. The works will be traveling throughout the world is my understanding and various Museums in the US. My work is a geo-political interpretation of the movie.
My next show is in London at Stolen Space Gallery starting October 24. 2008.


Q: Have you got some anecdote that you wish share with meseon community?
A: Stay inspired, stay yourself and stand up for our freedoms.

Q: For finish tell us, why do you create art?
A: It is proof that we are alive. It is proof we have a soul and it is proof that we are still human. Art is important because it let’s us know where and how we stand in the society we live.

Thanks a lot for your time Marcus. Has been a pleasure know more about you and your work.

Thank you. It is always my pleasure.

'The art world's equivalent to the Forbes 100' – Reuters
Now in its seventh year, the Power 100 assesses the titans of the artworld at a time when contemporary art's appeal has never been greater – and the stakes have never been higher.

The ArtReview Power 100 looks at the artworld not according to what it shows, but who it is. The list is a highly visible barometer in an otherwise opaque industry, letting you know who's deciding what you see, and telling you a little about why.

The 2008 Power 100:

01. Science (Damien Hirst)
02. Larry Gagosian
03. Kathy Halbreich
04. Sir Nicholas Serota
05. Iwan Wirth
06. Jay Jopling
07. David Zwirner
08. François Pinault
09. Jasper Johns
10. Eli Broad
11. Jeff Koons
12. Steven A. Cohen
13. Daniel Birnbaum
14. Charles Saatchi
15. Brett Gorvy & Amy Cappellazzo
16. Tobias Meyer & Cheyenne Westphal
17. Marian Goodman
18. Gerhard Richter
19. Richard Prince
20. Dominique Lévy & Robert Mnuchin
21. Michael Govan
22. Marc Glimcher
23. Annette Schönholzer, Marc Spiegler
24. Alfred Pacquement
25. Matthew Slotover & Amanda Sharp
26. Barbara Gladstone
27. Matthew Marks
28. Takashi Murakami
29. Agnes Gund
30. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan
31. Dakis Joannou
32. Bernard Arnault
33. Richard Serra
34. Sadie Coles
35. Julia Peyton-Jones & Hans Ulrich Obrist
36. Donna De Salvo
37. Simon de Pury
38. Don & Mera Rubell
39. Ann Philbin
40. Paul Schimmel
41. Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
42. Michael Ringier
43. Jose, Alberto & David Mugrabi
44. Chris Kennedy
45. Bruce Nauman
46. Cy Twombly
47. Ai Weiwei
48. Tim Blum & Jeff Poe
49. Andreas Gursky
50. Olafur Eliasson
51. Harry Blain & Graham Southern
52. Jeff Wall
53. Peter Doig
54. Roman Abramovich & Daria Zhukova
55. Bruno Brunnet, Nicole Hackert, Philipp Haverkampf
56. Marlene Dumas
57. Gavin Brown
58. Victoria Miro
59. Mitchell Rales
60. Yvon Lambert
61. Mike Kelley
62. Paul McCarthy
63. Banksy
64. Emmanuel Perrotin
65. William Acquavella
66 .Lucian Freud
67. Victor Pinchuk
68. Maurizio Cattelan
69. Cai Guo Qiang
70. Maureen Paley
71. Roberta Smith
72. Peter Schjeldahl
73. Thelma Golden
74. Ralph Rugoff
75. Robert Gober
76. Iwona Blazwick
77. Richard Armstrong
78. Massimiliano Gioni
79. Jerry Saltz
80. Reena Spaulings/Bernadette Corporation
81. Louise Bourgeois
82. Cindy Sherman
83. Okwui Enwezor
84. Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn
85. Shaun Caley Regen
86. Liam Gillick
87. Miuccia Prada
88. John Baldessari
89. Francesca von Habsburg
90. Christian Boros
91. Nicholas Logsdail
92. Subodh Gupta
93. The Long March Project
94. Paula Cooper
95. Peter Nagy
96. Casey Reas
97. Anita & Poju Zabludowicz
98. Guy & Myriam Ullens
99. Laurent Le Bon
100. Thomas Kinkade

Entrants on the Power 100 list are judged on the following four criteria, each of which carries a 25 percent weighting.

1. Genuine influence over the production of art: entrants must exert influence over the type, style and shape of contemporary art being produced in the previous 12 months.

2. Influence on an international scale: as the list is international, entrants must exert influence on a global scale rather than as big fish in small-to-medium ponds.

3. Financial clout: entrants are judged on the extent to which they have shaped, moulded or dominated the art market, whether as artists, dealers or collectors.

4. Activity within the last 12 months: entrants are judged on having actually done something during the period September 2007 to August 2008. It's not enough to sit on your powerful behind.

From ArtReview

CHRISTIE’S AUCTION OF POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY ART TO OFFER EXCEPTIONAL WORKS BY BACON, FONTANA, FREUD AND WARHOL

London – Christie’s will present a series of exhibitions and auctions dedicated to Post-War and Contemporary art and 20th century Italian art from 15 to 21 October 2008, during a week when the international art world will gather in London for a showcase of contemporary art exhibitions and events including The Frieze Art Fair. The Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale on Sunday 19 October will highlight the week of sales and is expected to realise in excess of £57 million. Highlights include one of only two oil portraits of Francis Bacon (1909-1992) ever painted by Lucian Freud (b. 1922), one of the most important works by Lucio Fontana to be offered at auction and exceptional paintings by Francis Bacon, Richard Prince, Andy Warhol, Peter Doig, Gilbert and George and Gerhard Richter, amongst others.

Pilar Ordovas, Head of Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s London: "Christie’s continue to play a leading role in the October sale season, which welcomes international collectors from around the world to London for art sales and events including the Frieze art fair. In February and June, our London auctions of Post-War and Contemporary art have realised over £206 million and seen 7 works of art sell for over £5 million. These impressive results, together with the exceptional quality of the October sales, make for an extremely exciting season in London, and highlight the city’s position as a leading international sale site.

On 19 October, we will present the most comprehensive and valuable autumn sale of Post-War and Contemporary art to date, offering rare portraits by Bacon and Freud, one of the most important works by Fontana to be offered at auction, fine works by Basquiat, Prince and Warhol, as well as a selection of Chinese, Iranian and Indian paintings. We look forward to exhibiting all these works to the public from 15 to 19 October at Christie’s, 85 Old Brompton Road, and to the auction which will take place at 8 King Street on 19 October." Continue...


From Christie's

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