ArtInternational in Istanbul breaks sales record

ISTANBUL

Yayoi Kusama’s painting “Blue Sky in the Midnight”

Contemporary art fair ArtInternational, which kicked off at the Haliç Congress Center on Sept. 4, ended on Sept. 6 after registering a record-breaking set of sales. More than 30,000 people visited the fair over the three days. 

More than 2,000 collectors and art traders visited the fair, bringing in a record-smashing total sales value of $30.2 million. 

Besides the leading world galleries such as the Paul Kasmin Gallery, the Pearl Lam Galleries, the Gallery Lelong, the Deweer Gallery, the Robert Miller Gallery, the Leila Heller Gallery, the Sakshi Gallery and the Galerie Du Monde, the fair brought together artworks by master figures of contemporary art, including Joan Miró, Jan Fabre, Marina Abramovic, Banksy, Yayoi Kusama, Jaume Plensa, Marina Abramovic and Ai Weiwei. 

Kusama the most expensive 

The Paul Kasmin Gallery announced that “Golden Age” from Turkish artist Taner Ceylan’s recent series “Satry II” found a buyer for $150,000. Yayoi Kusama’s painting “Blue Sky in the Midnight” was sold for the highest prize in the fair. 

The Ülker Kids Workshop, which was placed in a special are in the fair venue and brought together children with artworks, hosted 1,000 children this year. The workshop is being organized within the scope of the fair and has so far hosted 14,000 children. 

One of the founding members of the fair, Yeşim Avunduk, said they were very pleased at the increase of sales in the third year of ArtInternational. “This is the gift of a good strategy and plan. The experience of the founders is very important here. [This year’s fair] proves the economic power of culture tourism,” Avunduk said.