Art2Bank

“My work is about deconstruction of the individual psyche to reach universal truths and archetypes. I utilize techniques of the surrealists such as automatic drawing and medita...”

Source: Michael Krasowitz

Source: Ula Einstein

“The work has been produced using images taken from fashion magazines as well as cartoon like faces from children's colouring books. The collage creates my idea of the perfect ...”

Source: Alida Rodrigues

“ Most of my early pieces were in soapstone or Bath stone and I still make carvings from these materials. In 2007, I learnt how to make bronze sculptures in cold cast resin and...”

Source: Caroline Juler

Paintings by Juan Cossio at the Albemarle Gallery from 8 - 31 May

Cossio uses an airbrush to create these beautifully detailed paintings. He dresses his characters in white robes and places them in functional, minimalistic interiors. This leaves the context of his paintings devoid of time or place. The women’s facial expressions and the placement of their bodies become the most important subject in each piece, rather than the clothes they wear or the spaces they inhabit. The artist often seems to have taken as a starting point a classical composition from one of the Old Masters and transported the arrangement into another dimension, and leaves us with an expertly depicted arrangement of figures in empty space.

Nobuyoshi Araki at 1018 ART, Madison Avenue, May 10- Jul 25

A selection of eleven unique metallic prints from the Kakyuko series created in 1997 by Nobuyoshi Araki. Influenced by traditional Japanese art forms such as Ukiyo-e prints and the erotic Shunga art of the Seventeenth Century, his photographs involve close-up views of a variety of flowers in their last moments of bloom. Capturing a pivotal moment of beauty, that imparts a sense of permanence to that which is fleeting.

Nobuyoshi Araki was born in Tokyo in 1940 and has continued to live and work there. He is often considered one of the most significant and controversial contemporary photographers and has published more than 300 books documenting his work. His work has been exhibited extensively throughout Japan and internationally.

Collective Conscience: The corporate philosophy of investing in art

Some of the most influential corporate art collections in the world, notably Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, Progressive Insurance, UBS and Hallmark, have all specifically focused on contemporary art collecting. They have found almost priceless value encased within the responsibility of being keepers of our society's collective heritage. This finding has uncovered the truly transactional nature of all successful relationship interactions.

The value of art is clear to the leading software corporation Microsoft and other participants in a survey done earlier this year of 32 companies, which attests that an investment in art 'fosters elements essential to a company's success' by helping them to improve the quality of life in and outside the corporate environment. This is done by the enhancement of customer, employee and community relations through promoting general morale, networking opportunities, the reduction of stress, creativity and productivity, appreciation of diversity, discussion and expression of opinions. Sensible nurturing of key aspects of emotional intelligence that can so easily dissipate in barren consumer and working environments.

Patronage & Investment

Corporate acquisitions significant contribution to growth within the Contemporary art market...

Microsoft owns 4000+ works of art, according to CNN June 2007, their curator and New York gallery owner Michael Klein spend $1.2 million on acquisitions for the company last year alone. Other leading corporate collectors include UBS and the Progressive Corporation. Market leader, Deutsche Bank own 50,000+ works of art, valued at approximately £75 million. This can be seen as strong evidence of arts investment value to these corporations and to those wishing to invest in art. These serious collectors pour considerable investment into research of emerging artists and expert curatorship, so can become a useful guide to the new discerning investor on possible direction to take.

Although these corporations insist their investments are not specifically for financial gain, even in light of corporate tax incentives, the Mei/ Moses Indices of art's performance shows 20th century Impressionists and American Paintings to have consistently outperformed the S&P500, since 1950. A unique potential here of ever-increasing demand with a corresponding limited supply. Contemporary art is thought to have been even more lucrative when purchased wisely. These indices also show how art has a low correlation with the US stock market, thus having the ability to reduce risk, therefore having good potential for those investors wishing to diversify.

Patronage & Investment