LONDON.- Collect 2009, the Crafts Council’s international art fair for contemporary objects, enjoyed high visitor figures and strong sales. In its sixth year, the fair relaunched at a new venue, exhibiting over three floors of the Saatchi Gallery, from 15 – 17 May 2009. Known as the place to view and buy the very best in contemporary crafts, over 10,000 visitors attended, with international private collectors and public institutions making significant acquisitions.
Clare Beck at Adrian Sassoon reported over forty sales, of diverse objects ranging in height from 2 centimetres to 2 metres. The gallery, who have exhibited at Collect every year since it started in 2004, sold a pair of monumental vases by Felicity Aylieff to a US collector, and a unique and gigantic ceramic gourd by Kate Malone to the V&A to form part of the new ceramics gallery, opening this September.
Exhibiting for the fourth time at Collect, Alternatives Gallery from Rome sold a brooch by Janna Syvanoja to the National Museums of Scotland, and a ring by Fabrizio Tridenti to the Alice & Louis Koch Collection, Switzerland.
Norwegian Galleria Norsu made some significant sales to European collectors, including two ceramic and glass works by Kim Simonsson, each selling in excess of £10,000 The Scottish Gallery sold across all disciplines making in excess of £100,000. They sold to five museum collections as well as to private collectors and clients.
Art Fund Collect, a joint initiative established by the Crafts Council and the Art Fund offered national museums and galleries a share of a £75,000 pot to buy works for public collections. Five bids took a share of the £75,000 award, three of which were acquired from Clare Beck at Adrian Sassoon: a steel sculpture by Junko Mori for the Bilston Craft Gallery; a glass sculpture by Rachael Woodman for the National Museum of Wales; a gold and enamel bracelet by Giovanni Corvaja for mima. Art Fund Collect additionally acquired a glass work Niyoko Ikuta from Yufuku Gallery for the V&A, and Neckpiece by Jacqueline Ryan from The Scottish Gallery for Aberdeen Art Gallery.
