For the country's new Russians, the holiday season can be so stressful.
He already drives a Mercedes 600 and wears a gold Rolex. She's already got a closet full of furs and designer dresses. With only 44 shopping days left until New Year's gift-giving, Russia's nouveaux riches are really in a pickle: what to buy that special someone? They may find themselves longing for the days when a polyester tie or a bottle of Krasnaya Moskva was enough to elicit tears of gratitude from anyone they had on the shopping list.
Well fear not, monied shoppers: A new exhibition that opened at the Americom Moscow Art Gallery in the Radisson Slavjanskaya Hotel this week may offer renewed inspiration for the muddled consumer.
Sponsored by the Dieleman Gallery, a Belgian firm specializing in 19th- and 20th-century sculpture, the exhibit highlights include two original works by August Rodin and his pupil and lover, Camille Claudel, among them Rodin's "Eternal Spring," and Claudel's masterpiece "La Valse." Works by Rembrandt Bugatti, Alberic Collin, and Raymond de Meester de Betzenbroek, among others, are also on display.
But the real beauty of this exhibit is that you need not go home empty-handed. Anyone with a love of art and a small fortune can purchase a Rodin, Claudel, or Bugatti of one's own to brighten up the home or office.
All but eight of the 73 exhibit pieces have a list price beginning at $5,600 and ranging up to $166,000. For the two Rodins, Claudels, one Bugatti, and a few of the works by Collin and de Meester, the Dieleman Gallery is inviting individual bids.
"This is the first time since the beginning of this century that such an exhibition has been organized on a private basis," said Florence d'Hellemmes, a representative of the Dieleman Gallery at the Tuesday opening.
The gallery plans to open a similar exhibit in Monaco next month, as well as in the United States and Asia next year. Dieleman, which opened in Brussels in 1985, also has galleries in Dusseldorf, Gstaad, Tokyo, Nagasaki and Osaka. But the Americom exhibit represents their first business venture in Russia.
Launching such an endeavor in Russia was not without its challenges, transportation, security, and customs among them. "And you are lucky if you can even get insurance," said d'Hellemmes, adding that insurance premiums per piece are exorbitant when you are dealing in a country as risky as Russia.
But the risks may be minimal compared to the payoff. "We think it is the right time to be here, considering the renewal of the artistic environment and the opening of the market in Russia," said d'Hellemmes. This year they are testing the Russian market, but they are already looking ahead to a second exhibit next year.
"We're coming here because we think we can find customers," said d'Hellemmes.
At Tuesday's mink and diamond studded opening, Dieleman received several serious offers from private collectors, and in the coming days they will be hosting hundreds of potential customers representing Russia's major financial institutions.
"Buying such high quality sculpture brings a good image to any company," said d'Hellemmes.
For the country's elite these works of art do not just represent legitimacy and prestige, but an investment opportunity for wealthy Russians wary of an unstable currency and uncertain financial structures.
Dieleman may have already received bids from collectors in Australia, Japan and Europe for the Rodin and Claudel sculptures brought here on display, but many are speculating that the Russians will outbid them all.
But bidding wars are not for everyone. Those who are willing to settle for something slightly less pricey than priceless still have plenty to choose from.
Take Jules Noignez's two "Spaniels with Pheasant," for example. They might make an exquisite set of bookends to adorn the home library. Or Antoine Louis Barye's "Stag Attacked by a Puma" might add inspire that spirit of the hunt needed to stimulate any work environment.
For those who prefer that their art work induce a more harmonious atmosphere, de Meester's "Tumbling Bear Cub," or "Sitting Polar Bear," may be a more appropriate choice.
"We had to take different type sculptures to figure out what people here would like," said d'Hellemmes. "It's a new market."
The exhibit will be on display at the Americom Moscow Art Gallery from 10 A.M. through 11 P.M. until Nov. 20. Private viewings are reserved for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
He already drives a Mercedes 600 and wears a gold Rolex. She's already got a closet full of furs and designer dresses. With only 44 shopping days left until New Year's gift-giving, Russia's nouveaux riches are really in a pickle: what to buy that special someone? They may find themselves longing for the days when a polyester tie or a bottle of Krasnaya Moskva was enough to elicit tears of gratitude from anyone they had on the shopping list.
Well fear not, monied shoppers: A new exhibition that opened at the Americom Moscow Art Gallery in the Radisson Slavjanskaya Hotel this week may offer renewed inspiration for the muddled consumer.
Sponsored by the Dieleman Gallery, a Belgian firm specializing in 19th- and 20th-century sculpture, the exhibit highlights include two original works by August Rodin and his pupil and lover, Camille Claudel, among them Rodin's "Eternal Spring," and Claudel's masterpiece "La Valse." Works by Rembrandt Bugatti, Alberic Collin, and Raymond de Meester de Betzenbroek, among others, are also on display.
But the real beauty of this exhibit is that you need not go home empty-handed. Anyone with a love of art and a small fortune can purchase a Rodin, Claudel, or Bugatti of one's own to brighten up the home or office.
All but eight of the 73 exhibit pieces have a list price beginning at $5,600 and ranging up to $166,000. For the two Rodins, Claudels, one Bugatti, and a few of the works by Collin and de Meester, the Dieleman Gallery is inviting individual bids.
"This is the first time since the beginning of this century that such an exhibition has been organized on a private basis," said Florence d'Hellemmes, a representative of the Dieleman Gallery at the Tuesday opening.
The gallery plans to open a similar exhibit in Monaco next month, as well as in the United States and Asia next year. Dieleman, which opened in Brussels in 1985, also has galleries in Dusseldorf, Gstaad, Tokyo, Nagasaki and Osaka. But the Americom exhibit represents their first business venture in Russia.
Launching such an endeavor in Russia was not without its challenges, transportation, security, and customs among them. "And you are lucky if you can even get insurance," said d'Hellemmes, adding that insurance premiums per piece are exorbitant when you are dealing in a country as risky as Russia.
But the risks may be minimal compared to the payoff. "We think it is the right time to be here, considering the renewal of the artistic environment and the opening of the market in Russia," said d'Hellemmes. This year they are testing the Russian market, but they are already looking ahead to a second exhibit next year.
"We're coming here because we think we can find customers," said d'Hellemmes.
At Tuesday's mink and diamond studded opening, Dieleman received several serious offers from private collectors, and in the coming days they will be hosting hundreds of potential customers representing Russia's major financial institutions.
"Buying such high quality sculpture brings a good image to any company," said d'Hellemmes.
For the country's elite these works of art do not just represent legitimacy and prestige, but an investment opportunity for wealthy Russians wary of an unstable currency and uncertain financial structures.
Dieleman may have already received bids from collectors in Australia, Japan and Europe for the Rodin and Claudel sculptures brought here on display, but many are speculating that the Russians will outbid them all.
But bidding wars are not for everyone. Those who are willing to settle for something slightly less pricey than priceless still have plenty to choose from.
Take Jules Noignez's two "Spaniels with Pheasant," for example. They might make an exquisite set of bookends to adorn the home library. Or Antoine Louis Barye's "Stag Attacked by a Puma" might add inspire that spirit of the hunt needed to stimulate any work environment.
For those who prefer that their art work induce a more harmonious atmosphere, de Meester's "Tumbling Bear Cub," or "Sitting Polar Bear," may be a more appropriate choice.
"We had to take different type sculptures to figure out what people here would like," said d'Hellemmes. "It's a new market."
The exhibit will be on display at the Americom Moscow Art Gallery from 10 A.M. through 11 P.M. until Nov. 20. Private viewings are reserved for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
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