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Panamarenko, Bing II, courtesy Panamarenko Collectief vzw | | |
PRESS RELEASE
30 September 2010
New projects as eye-catchers
Art lovers and collectors are indulged with new highquality projects at the ultimate art fair of Flanders
New section ‘The Moderns’: a high-quality sales platform with global
appeal
The art fair team of Lineart 2010 leaves no stone unturned in its efforts to make the 29th occurrence of the ultimate ‘fusion’ art fair of Flanders yet again a resounding success. During last year’s resoundingly successful event, which enchanted over 24,000 visitors (a 50% increase compared with 2006), project leader Ward Caes developed Lineart further still, into a high-quality sales platform.
The sweeping substantive and strategic changes in direction that he has implemented over the last three years has manifestly been enthusiastically received by galleries and the public alike; with a total of 24,073 visitors, Lineart 09 recorded a staggering 50% growth in three years. This coming December, the lion’s share of the exhibiting galleries will take part once again, but the fair is also welcoming a host of new galleries, both from Belgium and abroad. Talking about a successful repositioning…
Thanks to the proven success of artistic projects and a few new, refreshing initiatives, he is directing the visitors attention more than ever on the top-quality items that will be offered for sale.
Art lovers visiting the 29th Lineart event between 3 and 7 December 2010 can look forward to numerous innovations, which will make this international art fair for ethnographic, modern and contemporary art in the central hall of the Flanders Expo exhibition complex in Ghent an absolute must.
The ultimate eye-catcher this year will be the initiative called ‘The Moderns. 20th century Art Zone’, which is giving Belgian 20th century art a privileged place in the context of the trade fair. Other refreshing creations, such as the ‘Focus on Singapore’ exhibit, underline that Lineart more than deserves its reputation as a high-quality sales platform with global appeal.
The new positioning as a ‘Fusion’ fair is bearing fruit
The gallery owners who will define Lineart in 2010 continue to place their main focus on Belgian academic art in recent years, while also making room for work from international artists. Not only plastic art, but also ethnic art, design, graphic art, photography and new media expressions are featured. This is how Lineart retains its profile of a high-quality ‘fusion fair’ which it has managed to develop over the last three years, independent from niche fairs, such as antique fairs, or fairs solely dedicated to contemporary art.
The very diverse range of works on offer from the galleries at Lineart was particularly appreciated by last year’s 24,073 visitors (50% more than five years ago!). Not only do galleries manage to sell 3,000 euro works at Lineart, but items at 300,000 euro also find buyers. The 2009 fair proved once again that Lineart has grown; into an established event as a commercial sales platform, but also in terms of public interest. Lineart has managed to assert itself in the difficult economic and social context of the last few years, and it even made substantial progress. Lineart is, and remains, loyal to its vocation as an international ‘fusion’ art happening, with attention given to all significant artistic disciplines of the last one hundred years. At the three most recent events, collectors came particularly into their own at the ‘focal displays’, high-quality isles of specific art disciplines and art styles. Currently, a few are growing into specific ‘sections’; last year with the young avant-garde in the contemporary art zone of ‘The border’, and the 2010 event with top artefacts of the 20th century in the ‘20th century art zone’ of ‘The Moderns’.
Galleries and art dealers: only professionals please!
This year, approximately 60% of the exhibiting galleries come from our own country and 20% from neighbouring countries. Ten per cent originate from the rest of Europe and approximately the same proportion from Asia. This emphasises the international dimension of Lineart. Crucially, only professional galleries and established art dealers are entitled to take stands. Gift shops and individual plastic artists are consistently excluded. Carrying this strategy through is the ultimate challenge for Lineart, which does not spare any cost or effort to please visitors and participating galleries as much as possible. Through a comprehensive series of focal displays and projects, Lineart has increasingly involved curators, custodians and opinion leaders from the art world in its selection procedure. |
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