Mario Tavella, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s
Europe and European head of single-owner sales,
has been named président-directeur général
of Sotheby’s France. Based in London since
1991, the business-getter, who spearheaded the
house’s entry into the French market, has been
responsible for securing such notable collections
as those of Leon Levy, Barbara Piasecka Johnson,
Ariane Dandois, and most recently the Dillée
family. He was also
the architect
behind Treasures,
the highly curated
decorative arts
sales launched in
2010 and now held
in London each
July. In January,
Tavella took the
helm in the Paris
ofice, where he
will oversee a host
of initiatives
while maintaining
his role as chair
of single-owner
sales. “Business
development
is my passion,”
he says. “Now
that I’m based in
Paris, I will be
focusing on
pan-European
projects while
ensuring the
French capital remains Sotheby’s main selling
center in continental Europe.” Commenting on
Tavella’s appointment, Maarten ten Holder,
managing director of Sotheby’s Europe, says,
“Mario, whose charisma, sophistication, and
knowledge have enchanted so many great
collectors, particularly those in Paris, is a modern
Renaissance man, an inspiring leader, and a
great team player on the global stage.”
Flamenco
Dancers, 2012,
by Ibrahim
El-Salahi.18
INTHEAIR
Riding a Wave
“Great artists turn up
in unexpected places...
I was certainly not
expecting to find one in
Khartoum,” wrote the critic Ulli
Beier after seeing the work
of the Sudanese painter
Ibrahim El-Salahi in 1961.
More than a half-century
later, in 2013, the octogenarian
artist, who is now based in
Oxford, England, was honored
with a retrospective organized
by Tate Modern, which,
not surprisingly, triggered
an uptick in interest in his work.
That tide has since carried
El-Salahi to power dealer
Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn,
whose Salon 94 is presentingan exhibition of his work at its
Bowery space through April 10,
to coincide with Armory Week.
The show is the artist’s first
with the gallery and his third
New York outing in as many
years, with appearances at
Skoto Gallery in 2014 and at the
booth of London’s Vigo Gallery
at Frieze New York last year. In
describing his work, Greenberg
Rohatyn told Art+Auction
after a recent studio visit,
“They are actually drawings on
thick paper that he then
has mounted onto canvas.”Higher Elevations
Record price at auction for a dime, sold January 7 in Tampa by
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions. The 1894-S Barber dime is the inest
known survivor of only 24 struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1894.Fair Play
Even as the global art fair
landscape morphs from a high-
end tour of luxury events to
a proliferation of regional
expositions meant to promote
local communities, smaller
outlying marketplaces glean
benefits from belonging to
an umbrella organization with
its attendant resources. So
reasoned Art Santa Fe founder
Charlotte Jackson, who has
sold her fair to Ohio-based
Redwood Media Group,
owner of Artexpo New York,
Art San Diego, and Spectrum
Indian Wells. “Charlotte has
done a fantastic job over the
past 15 years and recently
placed Art Santa Fe in a perfect
time slot, co-locating with Site
Santa Fe and the International
Folk Art Market,” says Redwood
president Eric Smith. “ We planto take Art Santa Fe to the next
level.” Meanwhile, Smith has
enlarged his Miami Art Week
footprint with the acquisition
of the Red Dot Art Fair. “The
decision to acquire Red Dot
was based on our success in
growing Spectrum Miami from
38 exhibitors to more than
160 in the past five years,” he
says. “Many of the Spectrum
galleries expressed an interest
in larger spaces, which Red
Dot can provide.” In 2016 the
fair will run concurrently with
Spectrum Miami in December,
and a single ticket will allow
admission into both shows. CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: SOTHEBY’S; IBRAHIM EL-SALAHI AND SALON 94, NEW YORK; REDWOOD MEDIA GROUPART+AUCTION MARCH 2016 (^) | BLOUINARTINFO.COM
$1,997,
ON THE MOVE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
EXPANDING HORIZONS
Mario Tavella