ROUPEN KALFAYAN, OF KALFAYAN GALLERIES, GREECE, DISCUSSES WHAT TO EXPECT AT ART DUBAI 2010

Constantin Xenakis, Alphabet, 1990, 50x66cm,
Image Courtesy of Kalfayan Galleries

Kalfayan Galleries are committed to dynamically promoting the work of contemporary Greek and foreign artists both in Greece and abroad. More recently, the gallery has broadened its focus to include an emphasis on photography and artists of Los Angeles and the Middle East. The gallery’s roster includes important artists from the Middle Eastern region such as the internationally known Anna Boghiguian, the Palestinian-Kuwaiti photographer Tarek Al-Ghoussein and the Syrian photographer Hrair Sarkissian who presented this year his photographic series Execution Squares at the 11th Istanbul Biennale and in the exhibition Disorientation II in Abu Dhabi in 2009. Apart from the energetic presence of Middle Eastern artists, the art market of the region is very dynamic and there is a lot of potential for its future development.

At Art Dubai 2010, Kalfayan Galleries will be presenting works by Anna Boghiguian, Antonis Donef, Hrair Sarkissian and Constantin Xenakis.

The internationally known, Anna Boghiguian (Cairo, Egypt, 1946) at the 11th Istanbul Biennial in 2009, and her drawings, inspired by the life and work of the Greek Poet Constantine P. Kavafy (Alexandria, Egypt, 1863-1933), were very well received by the national and international press. At Art Dubai we will be presenting drawings from her Kavafy series. Boghiguian’s elaborate iconography, combined with lyrics from Kavafy’s renowned poems, constitutes an imaginative re-interpretation of history and tradition.  

An emerging young artist, Antonis Donef, has participated in numerous solo and group shows, and his works are in major collections in Greece and abroad. At Art Cologne 2010, his work has been selected to be featured as part of the international promotional programme of young artists ‘New Positions’.

Donef creates a mosaic of images based on the re-composition of knowledge. His elaborate pen drawings are layered over the printed images and words of newspaper clippings, encyclopedias and old books, presenting a highly personal re-consideration of knowledge. His intricate linear script and minute drawings enhance each work with energy and meaning.  Memories, history and ideas are evoked through the overlapping of his characteristic lacey calligraphy on the printed material, a palimpsest that hints at stories within stories that describe a world congested with information.

We have presented Hrair Sarkissian’s work with great success at Art Dubai, both in 2008 and in 2009. Sarkissian was born in Damascus, Syria. Currently he lives and works in Amsterdam. He has exhibited extensively in Syria, Greece, Spain, France and Dubai, among other places. In 2008 works from his Unfinished series were shown at Kalfayan Galleries in Athens and Thessaloniki and subsequently were presented in the group show New Ends, Old Beginnings (curated by November Paynter) at The Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, UK. In 2009 he was invited to participate at the 11th Istanbul Biennial (curated by WHW) where he first presented the series Execution Squares. Currently, the Execution Squares series is presented in the Disorientation II exhibition (curated by Jack Persekian) at the Manarat Gallery on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, from 21st November 2009 until 20th February 2010.

The Greek poet-artist Constantin Xenakis was born in Cairo in 1931 and at the age of 21 left Egypt to study in Europe. In 1955 he went to Paris where he studied architecture and interior design and decided to reside there permanently. Currently, he lives and works between Paris and Athens. Xenakis, who has exhibited internationally, has experimented with various media and created a unique artistic language, which incorporates semiology, Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, traffic signs, alphabetic signs, etc. In 2009 Somogy/Editions D’Art in Paris published a book with images of works and text by the artist, titled Constantin Xenakis par Constantin Xenakis.

The basic element of the art market is currently the key role of worldwide communication and networking among galleries, art dealers, artists, collectors, art critics, curators and the public. As a result, the role of our gallery in the current art market has a much more international character than the one it had 10 years ago. We don't only work with Greek artists. Our roster is international. Furthermore, we participate at art fairs worldwide and work towards the international promotion of our gallery artists through their participation in Biennials and museum shows.

Making predictions is a difficult business, with regards to recession. There is a general downturn and contemporary art is bound to be affected because of the huge increase of prices in the last few years. One could argue that the financial crisis had a rather positive - ‘refining’ in a way - influence on the art market. Since a lot of buyers in the recent past were speculators who have now disappeared, the market has shrunk considerably. On the other hand, a possible decrease in the number of galleries due to closures might create a "breathing" space for those strong enough to survive. I think that the standard recipe for survival during recessions apply to the art business as well. Expense control and regular contact with existing clients are the prime areas a gallery should concentrate on during the hard times of a recession. If the balance sheet of the business is strong enough then funds should be allocated to participate at art fairs, which are the most important venue to meet a large number of collectors, promote the gallery artists internationally and expand the client basis of the gallery.

The image of Dubai has definitely been tarnished with all the recent economic news coming out of the Emirates. There as been a lot of negative coverage in the media internationally and different parties have suggested that the whole situation was not handled with the necessary attention as far as damage control is concerned. Emphasis should have been given on the fact that only one major company is facing difficulties, and not the Emirate itself!

I believe that after an initial period of shock, the art market will resume its activities because of the different institutions that are being established in the region and the creation of an adequate infrastructure base, which was not in place in previous downturns. Furthermore, in the past 3 years we met a lot of expatriates based in Dubai during the fair. We are waiting to see in the forthcoming Art Dubai how much that community might have been affected by the current economic crisis. We expect the institutions to continue supporting the art scene during the trough.

We feel that currently Art Dubai is one of the most interesting of the art fairs and there is a lot of potential for it to become even more dynamic. It has contributed to the creation of a market for international contemporary art in the region of the Middle East. Furthermore, it has a very strong programme of parallel events such as the Global Art Forum.


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