Christie's art auction not to be missed

Whether you plan to buy or not, Christie's latest auction of modern and contemporary art from Turkey, Iran and the Middle East is an opportunity you can't afford to miss.

The history of modern and contemporary art is defined as much by the names of patrons and collectors as it is by the artists themselves: Frick, Mellon, Stein, Guggenheim, Gulbenkian and Saatchi. Among artists and collectors on a budget however, few names elicit as much inspiration, affection and respect as Dorothy and Herbert Vogel.

The Vogels' example

An unlikely husband and wife team, the Vogels were living proof that you can become a serious art collector even on a limited budget with limited space. Buying only what they could afford - Dorothy was a librarian and Herb was a postal clerk - the couple managed to create one of America's most important collections of 20th-century conceptualist and minimalist art, collecting almost 5,000 works over a 50-year period. The collection had to fit inside their tiny one-bedroom, rent-controlled apartment on New York's Upper East Side. In 1991, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC acquired a significant portion of the collection.

Grab a bargain

From Sunday to October 24, the international auctioneers Christie's will give budding collectors in the UAE the chance to copy the Vogels with a sale of modern and contemporary art from Iran, Turkey and the Middle East. Promising museum-grade works of art at something approaching affordable prices, the sale has a two-part structure that shows work by younger, contemporary artists alongside pieces by already recognised modern masters and more established names.

Part one of the sale boasts two paintings by Mahmoud Said, Pêcheurs à Rosette (1941) and El Zar (c.1939), neither of which have appeared at auction before. Described as the "father of modern Egyptian painting", Said's The Whirling Dervishes (1929) set a new world record for a Middle Eastern artwork when it fetched US$2.5 million (Dh9.2m) at a previous Christie's Dubai auction in 2010.

Part two of the sale includes more accessible pieces such as Camille Zakharia's The Fortune Teller, a photomontage/collage from 2010 that's estimated to achieve $5,000-7,000. Zakaria left Lebanon during the Civil War and his work explores themes of identity, belonging and home.

Growing demand

For Hala Khayat, Christie's Dubai-based specialist for contemporary Middle Eastern & Iranian art, the more modest valuation commanded by such pieces doesn't detract from their quality or make them any less compelling. "Works on paper are very exciting. People here were not aware of this kind of art but now it is in demand. The quality is definitely there."

A free show

Khayat is also keen to attract visitors to the free viewings that proceed the auctions, even if they have no intention of making a bid. "The sale is like a small museum for a few days, but when the sale is over, many of these pieces may never be seen again. We have invited students from several local universities. It's a great opportunity to come and see the work."

Quality and rarity

For Khayat, much of the excitement around the work stems not just from its rarity and quality (she spends many months selecting pieces for each sale) but also from the fact that auctions such as this play an important role in helping to develop a wider appreciation for the art of the Middle East.

"The quality of art produced in the region in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s was amazing. In terms of quality, it's no different from work that was being produced in Paris or London or Germany at the same time. These artists were authentic. They were true to themselves and to their own identity. I'm really happy to play a small part in bringing this work to a wider audience."

An unfolding story

The story of modern and contemporary art in the Middle East is still unfolding. Much of its history is uncharted territory, and until recently, the art of the region has been characterised by an absence of infrastructure in the form of the archives, libraries, and foundation narratives that are taken for granted in the West.

Until museums such as the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi open and establish a regional canon, auctions offer serious art lovers the opportunity to help shape that future, but as the Vogels and Khayat would agree, that's an investment that can only really come from a genuine appreciation of the work.

Christie's auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art, sponsored by Zurich, takes place at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai, on October 23 and 24, 2012. Free viewings are open to the public on Sunday and Monday (2pm to 10pm), October 23 (10am to 10pm selected lots) and October 24 (10am to noon, selected lots). For more information telephone 04 425 5647 or visit www.christies.com

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Christie's art auction not to be missed

Whether you plan to buy or not, the latest Christie's auction of modern and contemporary art from Turkey, Iran and the Middle East is an opportunity you can't afford to miss.