With the Frieze Art Fair in full swing, artists, collectors and dealers have flocked to London on Oct. 14-17 to view works of art in every medium and for every budget. The focus now is on private collectors as the world seeks to test the temperature of the art market following the global economic downturn. And for many of these collectors, Picasso is the keyword. Frieze is a sprawling mass; from the showy stalwarts of contemporary art drawing in crowds at White Cube and Hauser & Wirth to the smaller galleries focusing on emerging artists, the fair is showing work by almost 200 galleries from 30 countries. Organizers estimate that around 60,000 visitors will have attended the show in Regent's Park over the four day period. In contrast, the Pavillion of Art and Design (PAD) in Berkeley Square has limited itself to 50 stands, hand selected by organizers Patrick Perrin and Stéphane Custot. Specializing in works of art created after 1860, the smaller size of the fair and refined Mayfair location creates a more intimate environment and attracts a different clientele. It is the ideal setting for the Swiss gallery Espace Nelombos and French art dealer Oliver Thomas, who have collaborated to show a unique collection of Picasso works. Sourced primarily from five private collectors across Europe, the display includes 10 oil paintings and five works on paper, ranging from the late 1950s to early 1970s and priced from $200,000 to $6 million. Many of the works are being shown in public for the first time, and offer an insight into the artist's treatment of the male portrait within a concentrated period. Indeed, two of the oils from 1965, both titled Tete d'Homme were painted within hours of each other, displaying varying degrees of abstraction and nuances of style that give a sense of the artist at work. The high level of work at the stand is indicative of the astonishing quality of art on display at this year's fair. From the surprising realism of the 1968 pencil drawing, Mousquetaire et Courtisane, to the vibrancy of color and movement displayed in Buste d'Homme (1969), the pieces have been selected to demonstrate the artist's mastery of numerous styles and media. Several of the works are of Musketeers, illustrating Picasso's interest in the Dumas novel in the late 1960s. According to Thomas, the work that has attracted most of the interest (now sold) has been Tête, an oil portrait of a Musketeer head, as collectors have been drawn to the level of work evident in the application of paint as well as the energy of the wild hair and beady eye. This highlights the trend towards craft and more painterly works that has been evident in recent sales. The degree of consideration with which the collection has been exhibited is also striking, with a stand created by Camu & Morrison to enhance the impact of the pieces. In contrast to the white trade-fair backdrops of Frieze, many of the booths at PAD have been specially commissioned, contributing to the atmosphere of chic elegance which permeates the fair, a development recognized with a prize being offered by Moët Hennessy for Best Stand. This different attitude towards attracting buyers and collectors has clearly paid off. With three of the paintings sold within the first two days, at prices of $1-2 million, two more on reserve and others still garnering considerable interest, confidence is evidently returning to the high end of the market and collectors are buying into the sense of connoisseurship so apparent this year at PAD. Thomas was quick to emphasize that the mood is still very much different to the heady days of 2006, but nevertheless feels that the market is picking up and has noticed “a considerable increase both in the number of visitors and the quality of works on display”. With buyers so far coming from the UK and Switzerland, it seems that despite the economic shifts the client base has remained much the same. Why this selection? Both prices and demand for Picasso works are steadily increasing. In May, his Nude, Green Leaves and Bust became the world's most expensive work of art at auction by selling for $106.5 million at Christie's New York, while in June the Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto generated £34.7 million. The publicity from such sales reaffirms the artist's prominence at the top of the market and his works are seen as a shrewd, tangible investment in a period of financial uncertainty. Later this year, Sotheby's will take 40 works to be auctioned in Hong Kong, as a means of testing the Asian market's burgeoning interest in Western art. It seems that regardless of the overwhelming amounts of contemporary art on sale in London this week, the master of modern art still reigns supreme.
