This November marks the 7th edition of Contemporary Istanbul. The international art fair is rapidly becoming one of the most important meeting points of Eastern and Western art markets today and features over 100 selected galleries from Asia, Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East, creating a truly unique and international platform of contemporary art. With the increasing popularity of Turkish galleries and artists in leading art fairs, biennales and major exhibitions, Istanbul’s art scene has proven to be a rising force on the global art front.
Last year, 60,000 visitors attended the annual event, offering the public a unique opportunity to view and purchase artworks by established and emerging Turkish and international artists. In addition, there was a buzz of major sales happenings, which captured the attention of the global art market. Local Turkish collectors snapped up such blue-chip works as Jean-Michel Basquiat’s (Galerie Enrico Navarra) Prayer for approximately $3.9 million, and La Douche by Alexander Calder (PaceWildenstein New York) for around $8.5m.
Prestigious international galleries such as the New York-based Marlborough Gallery and the London-based Haunch of Venison will be present, as well as Galeri MANI, GALERIST, Dirimart, Galerie LINART, Dirimart, Rampa, İstanbul Modern, Sabancı Museum, Pera Museum, Akbank Art, Salt, Arter, Beyaz Art and Antik Auction Houses. With around 50 galleries returning or debuting this year, including White Cube (London), Tony Shafrazi (US), Meem (UAE) and Gagosian (US), collectors can expect a high standard of cutting edge works.
Rüdiger Voss, owner of Galerie Voss (Düsseldorf), participating for the first time says, “Turkey is really open-minded for international contemporary art and recently, the art is not as uniform as in many other international art fairs.” Galerie Voss is taking seven international artists from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Canada who will be presenting a cross-selection of painting, photography and video works. This year, four Berlin-based galleries will also participate in Contemporary Istanbul. Participating for the third time, Gallerie Brockstedt will be exhibiting four artists (Tino Geis, Salustiano, Christoph Steinmeyer, Michael von Hassel and Yunus), alongside Berlin Art Projects, Galerie Michael Schultz, and Galerie Tammen & Partner.
The New Horizons section of the art fair explores contemporary artistic expression of surrounding countries of the region. Having previously featured contemporary art from Syria, Iran and the Gulf countries, the focus of this edition is on Central and Eastern Europe, with Contemporary Istanbul playing host to galleries such as Galerie Vernon, Molnar Ani Galeria, as well as artists, curators, publications, art critics and collectors from Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Hungary.
Alongside the art fair, there will be additional programs, parties and events including Art Istanbul, a city-wide week-long initiative which will see participating institutions, museums, foundations and galleries present a programme of exhibition openings, artist talks and panel discussions. In honour of the 400 years of diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, the theme of this year’s CI dialogues will be “Art as a collective space” and will feature a range of important Dutch artists, gallerists and collectors.
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Additional Information
CONTEMPORARY ISTANBUL: 7TH EDITION
Fair dates: Nov. 22-25, 2012
Open Hours: Nov. 22, 11am – 9pm | Nov. 23- 25, 11am – 8pm
Location: Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) and the Istanbul Congress Center
Contemporary Istanbul (CI) website: www.contemporaryistanbul.com
CI Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/contemporaryistanbul
