Auction house Sotheby’s has launched an online, ‘buy-now’ marketplace for partnering galleries. The Sotheby’s Gallery Network allows collectors to make immediate purchases directly from the website.
Prices will be listed publicly and works of up to $150,000 (Dh550,000) can be bought as point-of-sale transactions, much like on other e-commerce platforms. Visitors can send enquiries to staff for works priced beyond that amount.
Sotheby's Gallery Network was created to help partners during 'these unprecedented times'
For every piece sold, Sotheby’s will collect a commission, which is stated in the price online.
The marketplace, which launched on Wednesday, currently showcases viewing rooms for eight New York galleries. This includes Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, Jack Shainman Gallery, Kasmin Gallery, Lehmann Maupin, Luhring Augustine, Petzel Gallery, Sperone Westwater and Van Doren Waxter.
The "buy-now" function is not unique to Sotheby's. Online art platform Artsy introduced this feature for member galleries on its website last year. What's different about the Gallery Network, however, is that it will focus on primary sales as opposed to the typical auction house approach of secondary market sales.
The project was created to help partners during "these unprecedented times", according to the announcement. This refers to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has caused closures of galleries and cancellations of art fairs and auctions. Amid the crisis, art fairs and galleries have stepped up their digital strategies.
Last week, Sotheby’s marked its highest total in online sales with their "Contemporary Curated" selection, bringing in $6.4 million. Pre-sale estimates were placed at $4.2m to $5.8m.
This was initially intended to be a live auction in London, but the event was converted to an online sale due to the pandemic.
The top lot was a painting by George Condo titled Antipodal Reunion, which sold for $1.2m. Second to that was Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian's Geometry of Hope, which sold at $470,925. Other names in the lot included Fahrelnissa Zeid, Yayoi Kusama, Robert Indiana, Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.
The auction house is due to host a Covid-19 charity sale in collaboration with Google to support the International Rescue Committee on May 1. This online auction will offer bidders the opportunity to converse with some of the biggest names in music, politics, science, culture and sport – from Hillary Clinton to Madeleine Albright.
For more information, visit www.sothebys.com
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Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
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The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
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CREW
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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