brafa`s russian campaign - Russian Art and Culture

BRAFA’S RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN
BRUSSELS FAIR LOOKS EAST TO LURE NEW COLLECTORS
BY SIMON HEWITT
A DECADE AGO the Brussels Antiques & Fine Art Fair moved from domestic insularity to
the international stage thanks to the towering figure of Jan de Maere, who engineered
its move from the Palais des Beaux-Arts – where most exhibitors were confined to little
stands in the corridors of a culture centre – to the spacious, glass-and-brick Turn & Taxis
warehousing site.
This year (24 January–1 February 2015), BRAFA –
as it is now snazzily known – celebrated its 60th
anniversary secure in its reputation as
continental Europe’s number 2 fair (after TEFAF
Maastricht), with over 120 dealers from a
variety of fields, and a determinedly
international mindset in which Russia plays a
significant part.
Dynamic Moscow-based PR specialist Katerina de Rochambeau, a native Russian who
speaks fluent French (and English), was first hired to spread awareness of BRAFA among
the Russian media in 2009 – and found herself needing to promote not just the fair itself,
but also Belgium as an art destination.
‘Paris, London and New York have no need to
advertise’ she says. ‘But Brussels and Belgium
remain relatively unfamiliar to Russian art
lovers.’
Katerina’s role has mushroomed in recent years.
In 2012 BRAFA created a Russian version of their
website then, in 2013, asked her to prospect for
new Russian collectors as well as pursuing her
work in PR. ‘Only a synergy between client and media relations can bring tangible results’
she claims. BRAFA now jets in a sizable group of Russian journalists and high-powered
collectors to Brussels each year, treating them to an intensive cultural programme that
also includes visits to museums, art foundations and Belgian private collections.
The BRAFA management team – headed by long-serving Beatrix Bourdon and the
unflappable Bruno Nelis – is, says Katerina, ‘very creative and supportive,’ and aware of
the need for ‘a mid- and long-term approach to promotion… They understand the
investment required for such a prestigious event.’
It’s not just one-way traffic. BRAFA President Harold
t’Kint de Roodenbeke [shown here with Katerina] visited
Moscow to meet collectors and media in 2012 and 2013,
when he was joined by the eclectic Belgian interior
designer Gerald Watelet, who talked about his experience
and approach to a number of Russian colleagues.
BRAFA is renowned as an attractive fair for decorators.
Legendary Paris-based interior designer Brigitte Saby, whose exquisite taste has earned
her a string of high-profile Russian clients over the last twenty years, praises BRAFA for
its ‘quality, value for money and breadth of choice,’ adding:
‘I come here every year and am never disappointed. I always find works of art I can be
sure my clients will like.’
2014 heralded a milestone in Belgo-Russian collaboration with what Katerina calls a ‘real
upsurge in Russian clients.’ This January – despite the tough economic circumstances –
‘many of them were back, because they love the fair. They came with a special objective:
to buy.’
Their main targets were in the fields of Design, Sculpture, Paintings, Icons and Jewellery
– attracted by prices which ‘have none of the exaggeration so typical in Russia.’
Katerina’s compatriots also appreciate the fact that BRAFA opens up new fields – such
as Antiquities or Comic Strips – which have scant exposure on the Russian domestic
market.
Several galleries brought Russian works to the fair this
year. North Italian dealers Chiale Antiquariato showed a
small Goncharova Woman In An Armchair dated 1904;
Charles Bailly (Geneva) had a Leon Bakst drawing; there
was a handsome abstract painting by Serge Poliakoff at
Lancz Gallery (Brussels); Brenske (Munich) displayed an
array of 16-19th century Russian icons, priced from €7000
upwards; and there were old maps of Russia at Sanderus
(Ghent). Other galleries with an eye on Russian buyers
included Claude Bernard
(Paris) with witty silver designs by Goudji, who worked in
Tbilisi and Moscow before settling in France; and Cento Anni
(Brussels) with a broad selection of the Art Deco bronze and
ivory statuettes – including several by Chiparus – that
Russians find irresistible.
Paris furniture dealer Benjamin Steinitz, meanwhile, has
taken part in several fairs in Moscow over the past decade;
his spectacular 18th century panelling ensembles appeal to
the ‘New Russian’ taste for grandeur. But with the Russian
domestic market hit by the falling ruble, Steinitz has scaled
down his visits to the country, and looks to BRAFA as a showcase to appeal to Russians
living in Western Europe.
The highest proportion of Russian works at this year’s fair was to be found at
Kunstberatung (Zurich), whose stylish Art Deco stand – alongside works by Tamara de
Lempicka and a chrome-plated 1930s table-football game – contained noteworthy
pictures by Boris Anisfeld, Alexander Yacovlev and Nikolai & Svetoslav Roerich, together
with Gluckman nudes; a flamboyant Kalmakov gouache Abduction; one late – and several
early – works by Kandinsky; and an atypical Malevich snowscape.
But perhaps the most eye-catching pictures on display here were Petrov-Vodkin’s early,
Vrubel-esque Archon (1904), in an extraordinary Symbolist frame [below right]; and
Simka Simkhovich’s The Fight: a boxing-ring scene [below left] painted in 1932, eight
years after the artist emigrated to the USA from the USSR. Given the situation in Ukraine,
Kunstberatung’s decision to show this work appeared symbolic.
The European fair focus now shifts to the southern Netherlands, where TEFAF
Maastricht opens its doors on March 13. Russian interest here has long focused on the
Fabergé and Belle Epoque trinkets to be found at Wartski and A La Vieille Russie. But this
year – for the first time in living memory – a Russian dealer in Fine Art has also been
invited to take part: London’s James Butterwick, who will present a refined selection of
Avant-Garde works on paper under the Mayakovsky title TIME, FORWARD! accompanied
by a special catalogue.
Rather surprisingly, TEFAF has no Russian representative performing the role that
Katerina de Rochambeau does so diligently for BRAFA – an omission they may soon be
inclined to review. With glowing press reports and satisfied clients, the Brussels fair can
be proud of its foresight in appointing its elegant Moscow Ambassador six years ago.