—Ai Weiwei to the Associated Press, explaining his decision to open a studio on the
Greek island to draw attention to the refugee crisis there. Moreover, he said, “as an artist, I have
t o r e l a t e t o h u m a n i t y ’s s t r u g g l e s ... I n e v e r s e p a r a t e t h e s e s it u a t i o n s f r o m m y a r t .”“The border is not in Lesbos; it really [is] in
our minds and in our hearts.”
Martina Batovic, a
specialist in the postwar
and contemporary art
department at Bonhams
in London, has left that
house for Vienna-based
Dorotheum, taking up
the post of director of its
London outpost, which
opened in Mayfair in
September 2014. “I am
thrilled to be joining
Dorotheum on the heels
of a record-breaking year,
and also to be heading the London ofice at such
a dynamic time in the art world,” says Batovic,
who brings to the job a substantial background
in sales and marketing. Prior to joining Bonhams
in January 2014, she worked at the Brancolini
Grimaldi gallery and at Seymours, a ine art
advisory, both in London. “I look forward to
helping make Dorotheum’s presence in London a
signiicant factor in the market,” Batovic adds.
INTHEAIR
Air of Independence
Ghana, the birthplace of such
notable artists as El Anatsui
and Ibrahim Mahama, is
getting a new venue for
showcasing the works of their
contemporaries. Gallery 1957
opens March 5 in Accra with
a performance and installation
by Serge Attukwei Clottey,
founder of the GoLokal col-
lective. The gallery, whose
name is a nod to the year that
Ghana gained independence
from Britain, is the latest
pet project of Lebanese-born
British construction magnateMarwan Zakhem, who has
built a substantial business
on the African continent,
establishing offices in eight
nations there. Among his
most recent projects is the
building of the luxurious
Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast
City, where the new gallery
is located. “While there
is an abundance of talented
artists from West Africa
deserving of visibility, their
opportunities have been
limited due to the lack of
gallery infrastructure here. We
hope to address that,” Zakhem
states. The inaugural exhibition
runs through April 28.From House to House
Primary Vision
After a brief stint at Christie’s
Hong Kong, where she
was a senior specialist
in Asian 20th-century and
contemporary art, Laure
Raibaut has taken up the
post of executive director of
de Sarthe Gallery in that
city. The French-born Raibaut
is no newcomer to the Asian
contemporary art scene,
having worked for Platform
China in Beijing, Chinese
Contemporary in New York,Schoeni Art Gallery in
Hong Kong, and Bonhams
Hong Kong, where she
spearheaded sales of Asian
contemporary art prior to
joining Christie’s in September- “After being involved
in nonprofit and commercial
projects for many years,
it has become clear to me
that the development
of contemporary art is most
active at the primary level,”
says Raibaut. “My role
with the gallery consists of
bringing the new generation
of artists we work with CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DOROTHEUM; SERGE ATTUKWEI CLOTTEY AND GALLERY 1957; DE SARTHE GALLERY; AIWW VIA INSTAGRAM
ART+AUCTION MARCH 2016 (^) | BLOUINARTINFO.COM
ON THE MOVE
GALLERY OPENING
ON THE MOVE
to international
attention, both
academically and
commercially.”
Gallerist Pascal de
Sarthe says of
her hire, “We are
delighted to welcome
Laure to our team.
Her great knowledge
of contemporary
art and her 15 years
of outstanding
experience in the
art world will be
a great addition to
our gallery.”
Photograph of Serge
Attukwei Clottey
between perfor-
mances of Awaiting
(Europe in the Eyes of
Africa Series), 2013.
Laure Raibaut
Martina Batovic
20