Bùi Công Khánh @ The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6)

Bùi Công Khánh | Vietnam b.1972 | The harmless crowd 2008 | Porcelain, handpainted | 58 x 20 x 20cm | Purchased 2009. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

Bùi Công Khánh’s paintings, performances, sculptures and ceramics address history and contemporary society in Vietnam, particularly the increasing impact of global capital. His paintings and drawings are often figurative and deeply personal, drawing on Buddhist and Taoist philosophy. Bùi’s most recent series of works incorporate drawing into the traditional form of Vietnamese blue-and-white porcelain vases. In Vietnam, as in China, blue-and-white wares were primarily produced as a trading commodity, and absorbed numerous influences from China, Cambodia and India. Bùi’s vases address what he calls ‘the character of the present’, the sounds and sights of daily life. They include motorbike riders, street signage, advertising and romantic interludes. By working with the traditional form of the ceramic vase, Bùi aims to place the culture of modern life into the flow of history. For APT6, he will display a selection of vases, including one for each day of the week, creating a kind of diary for ‘life that seems never to be interrupted’.

Bùi Công Khánh. b.1972 Da Nang, Vietnam. Lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Exhibitions (group): ‘Time Ligaments’, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong, China, 2009; ‘Who Do You Think We Are?’, Bui Gallery, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2009; ‘Reflow’, Java Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006; Nippon International Performance Art Festival, Japan, 2004.

Some of his works:

Bùi Công Khánh, sketch for "The Hit of New and Old" series

Bùi Công Khánh, "Dollar Man", photograph and performance, 2005

Bùi Công Khánh, "Love Juice". oil painting on canvas

Philppe Cramer, "Nature" jewelry

Philppe Cramer, coral ring © philippe cramer

Swiss designer Philppe Cramer had released a new series of jewelry designs inspired by sea creatures and the natural growth patterns of crystals. the 'sea beauty' series uses creatures and other organic structure  found in the sea as a source of inspiration. jellyfish, corals and octopus form the main subjects, each executed in gold and silver finishes. in the 'virtual crystal' collection, cramer used computer generated algorithms to simulate the natural growth of crystals. using these forms he developed a series of rings that pay homage to the crystalline formations found in the alps. http://www.philippecramer.com

Philppe Cramer, fluorite rings © philippe cramer

Philppe Cramer, gold quartz ring © philippe cramer

Philppe Cramer, carbon and gold quarz rings © philippe cramer

Philppe Cramer, quartz rings © philippe cramer

Philppe Cramer, jellyfish ring © philippe cramer

Philppe Cramer, jellyfish ring © philippe cramer

Philppe Cramer, squid earrings © philippe cramer

Important Furniture, Silver & Ceramics @ Sotheby's London

A magnificent large gilt-bronze-mounted chinese bleu-turque porcelain vase and cover. Louis XV, circa 1765. Est. 600,000 - 1,000,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

On the 8th December, the Sotheby’s Highly Important Furniture, Silver and Ceramics Sale, will offer two magnificent treasures from Woburn Abbey, the seat of the Dukes of Bedford, one of England’s finest stately homes. It contains one of the finest private art collections in the country, with a strong emphasis on French furniture and works of art. Lots 16 & 17 were both acquired by either Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765-1802) or John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766-1839). The vase now being offered (lot 16) is of exceptional scale and quality and is the largest recorded ormolu mounted vase of its type. Prior to entering the Bedford collections, this vase was originally owned by the famous banker to the French Court, Nicolas Beaujon (1718–86), one of the richest men in France. He bought and refurbished the hôtel d’Evreux in Paris (now the Elysée Palace) and this vase was placed in the salon au cabinet des tableaux, the principal room of the private apartments of the banker.

A magnificent pair of gilt-bronze-mounted granite and bronze athéniennes. Louis XVI, circa 1775-1780. Est. Est. 400,000 - 600,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

We are also offering Property of the late Edmund L. de Rothschild, from Exbury House, Hampshire, coming from the collection formed by his great grandfather of Baron Lionel (1808-1879). These include an Italian rock crystal vase (lot 6), three tankards, two from the 16th century and an ivory example with 17th century silver-gilt mounts (lots 7, 8 & 9); also a pair of Louis XV encoignures by Joseph Baumhauer (lot 10). From other properties, the sale includes a good selection of Italian painted furniture - see lots 20-22 inclusive.

An Italian rock crystal vase engraved with the story of Actaeon attributed to the Saracchi. Workshop, Milan, circa 1580 and later. Est. 20,000 - 30,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

A German silver-gilt tankard, maker's mark an arrow and two pellets, (Rosenberg no. 4771 b), Ulm, circa 1580. Est. 12,000 - 18,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

An Elizabethan silver-gilt tankard, maker's mark se in monogram, (Jackson’s p.100), London, 1578. Est. 20,000 - 30,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

A silver-gilt carved ivory tankard, the drum attributed to Bernard Strauss, the mounts. Possibly by William Schroder of Luneburg. Est. 60,000 - 80,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

A pair of gilt-bronze-mounted kingwood, tulipwood, amaranth and bois de bout floral marquetry encoignures by Joseph Baumhauer. Louis XV, circa 1755. Est. 100,000 - 200,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

A silver marriage basket for the wedding in 1754, of George IIs daughter Anne, Princess Royal of Great Britain and William IV, Prince of Orange and Nassau-Dietz (lot 18) is a very rare example of Royal silver by Paul de Lamerie. The magnificent pair of silver candelabra (lot 25) belonged to the 1st Marquess of Anglesey who famously remarked to the Duke of Wellington when his leg was blown off at the Battle of Waterloo ‘By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg!’ eliciting the Duke’s reply ‘By God, sir, so you have!’

The Orange-Hanover silver marriage basket, Paul de Lamerie, London, 1733. Est. 180,000 - 200,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

An impressive pair of George IV five-light silver candelabra, Robert Garrard, London, 1827. Est. 180,000 - 220,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

Vase bouteille. Chine, marque et époque Qianlong, XVIIIe siècle. Monture en bronze doré du XIXe siècle

Vase bouteille. Chine, marque et époque Qianlong, XVIIIe siècle. Monture en bronze doré du XIXe siècle

à panse sphérique et haut col évasé, en porcelaine à glaçure pourpre nuancée où se mêlent les émaux bleu et aubergine prenant un aspect flammé au niveau de l'ouverture. L'intérieur est émaillé bleu lavande. Une marque Qianlong en quatre caractères zhuanshu est incisée sur la base. (Très léger fêle à l'ouverture). Haut. vase 40 cm Belle monture en bronze doré du XIXe siècle, comportant une base ajourée de têtes de ruyi et rinceaux stylisés et un dragon en ronde-bosse remontant le long du col jusqu'au bord cerclé d'un lotus. Un bouchon avec prise en forme d'éléphant couché supportant un vase complète la monture. Estimation : € 12,000-15,000

TAJAN. ARTS D'ASIE, 17 déc. 2009 19:00, Espace Tajan www.tajan.com

'Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, 2009' @ Marian Goodman Gallery

Gerhard Richter, Abstract Painting (894-2), 2005. Oil on aludibond, 11 3/4 x 17 3/8 in. ( 30 x 44 cm ) Inv.#12625. Courtesy: Marian Goodman Gallery, New York.

NEW YORK, NY.- The Marian Goodman Gallery is showing an exhibition of new work by Gerhard Richter which will be on view through January 9th, 2010.

On view are a major representation of works made by the artist from 2005 to the present, including an important new cycle of paintings titled Sindbad , 2008 as well as individual paintings presenting medium to large format abstractions, and a new group of large scale near-monochrome paintings whose underlying chromatic structures are layered by translucent veils of white paint. The exhibition is the most recent presentation of the artist's work in New York since his solo exhibition at Marian Goodman NY in 2005.

During the past two decades Gerhard Richter has made several important cycles of abstract paintings. The current exhibition follows on other recent series of abstract works by Richter, including the Silicate paintings of 2003; the Cage paintings of 2006, conceived as a single coherent group and first displayed in 2007 at the 52nd Venice Biennale curated by Rob Storr; and a recent group of white abstract works exhibited at Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris in 2008.

A fully illustrated catalogue, Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, 2009 has been published on the occasion of the exhibition and includes a new text by Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Modern Art History at Harvard University. The catalogue also includes full-color reproductions of the exhibition. In his essay, Buchloh traces the historical and aesthetic framework of Richter's abstract paintings and considers the artist's recent white non-representational works within the larger context of a postwar trajectory of reductivist painting in the US and Europe.

In the current exhibition, a continuum of production procedures can be seen to be inherent in the recent history of the artist's abstract works. "Richter's deployment of texture, structure, and gesture in painting deliberately suspends itself between scientific and expressive conceptions of painterly process. It is oscillating with the same deliberation, between painting as an act and painting as an accident, between composition as a result of mere chance encounters of materials and structures, and composition as the tracing of a subject's residual intentionality." (B. Buchloh, in Gerhard Richter: Large Abstracts, Hatje Cantz, 2008).

Of the new white paintings in particular Buchloh writes, "We should begin by noting that the white surfaces in the recent paintings do not function in the manner of tabula rasa that effaces color altogether…but rather in the manner of a palimpsest. More than mere elisions or eclipses of color, these monochromes operate with alternating and intertwining layers and lesions of paint, their partial removal a simultaneity of addition and subtraction. All of the new paintings allow residual colors to break through in minuscule quantities and in unpredictable, seemingly aleatory structures (never quite painted, never quite drawn, suspended between an intentional graphic incision or an aleatory splintering of paint and an accidentally formed ridge or edge of pigment and paste, the haphazard byproduct of an awkward brush move with various tools that have replaced the skillfully handled brush. The tools themselves – primitive wooden rulers or squeegees—perform the transition between craft and industry and between chance and control, enacting thereby the ambiguity between artisanal competence and mechanical execution)." (Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, 2009, Marian Goodman Gallery, NY, 2009).

In the last two years several prominent solo museum exhibitions of Richter's work have recently been on view in Europe, including in 2008 Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris; Gerhard Richter: Opening of the Richter Room at the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London; Gerhard Richter: 48 Portraits, DePont Museum, Tilburg, Netherlands; Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1963-2007, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China; Gerhard Richter: 4900 Colors, Serpentine Gallery, London; Gerhard Richter: Overpainted Photographs, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen, which traveled later to Centre de la photographie, Geneva, and Fundacion Telefonica in 2009; and Gerhard Richter: Abstract Paintings, Museum Ludwig, Cologne which traveled to Haus der Kunst, Munich in 2009.

This past year, in 2009, solo shows have included: Gerhard Richter: Retrospective at the Albertina, Vienna; Gerhard Richter: Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, London; Richter en France, Musee de Grenoble, Grenoble; and Gerhard Richter: Paintings from Private Collections, MKM, Duisburg, and others.

Gerhard Richter was born in Dresden in the former German Democratic Republic in 1932, where he lived until 1961, studying first at the Kunstakademie, Dresden from 1951-1956, and then, after leaving for the West (in 1961), at the Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf, from 1961-1963. He has been the recipient of numerous distinguished awards, including the Staatspreis of the State Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, in 2000; the Wexner Prize, 1998; the Praemium Imperiale Award, Japan, 1997; the Golden Lion of the 47th Biennale, Venice, 1997; the Wolf Prize in Israel in 1994/5; the Kaiserring Prize der Stadt Goslar, Mönchehaus-Museum für Moderne Kunst, Goslar, Germany, 1988; the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Vienna, 1985; the Arnold Bode Prize, Kassel, 1981; and the Junger Western Art Prize, Germany, 1961.

Over the past decade important exhibitions of the artist's work have included: Painting as Mirror, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan and Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Sakura-City, Japan; "18.Oktober 1977", exhibited for the first time in Richter's home town of Dresden, Germany at the Galerie Neue Meister, Albertinium. Gerhard Richter, a retrospective at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K20), Düsseldorf, Germany, and Stadtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich. Gerhard Richter: Image After Image, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark. Atlas and Paintings, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London; 40 Years of Painting, Museum of Modern Art, New York, Art Institute of Chicago, SF MoMA, San Francisco, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.; Eight Gray, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin. Atlas, Kawamura Memorial Museum of Art, Sakura-City, Japan; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan, Oita Art Museum, Japan. In 2000: Drawings, Watercolors, New Paintings: Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Krefeld, Germany; Watercolors and Drawings 1964-1999, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden, Germany. In 1999, Gerhard Richter: Drawings 1964-1999, was shown at Kunstmuseum Winterthur, accompanied by a catalogue raissoné of the drawings.

Important group exhibitions have been numerous and include, most recently, Art of Two Germanys/ Cold War Cultures, LACMA, Los Angeles (2009); the recent inauguration of the permanent collection galleries in the new Modern Wing of The Art Institute of Chicago and a gallery devoted to Richter's work; Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2008); The 52nd International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2007); 30/40: A Selection of Forty Artists from Thirty Years at Marian Goodman Gallery, Part One (2007); From Caspar David Friedriech to Gerhard Richter: German Paintings from Dresden, The Getty Center, Los Angeles (2006); Six Gray Mirrors, 2003 in the re-installation of the permanent collection at Dia: Beacon, Beacon, NY, 2003; Documenta 10, 9, 8, & 7, Kassel; and the 52nd, 47th, , 40th, & 36th Venice Biennale(s), Venice.

Gerhard Richter, 894-1 "Abstract Painting", 2005. Oil on aludibond, 11-3/4 x 17-3/8 in. Inv.#12624. Courtesy: Marian Goodman Gallery, New York.

Gerhard Richter, 908-10 "Abstract Painting", 2009. Oil on wood, 23-5/8 x 19-5/8 in. Inv.#12665. Courtesy: Marian Goodman Gallery, New York.

Céramiques coréennes à couverte céladon du XIIème siècle @ Tajan

Vase meiping en céramique à couverte céladon. Corée, période Koryo, XIIe siècle

et décor en barbotine blanche rehaussée de noir, de grues en vol dans des médaillons et parmi des nuages stylisés. Le petit col et le pourtour du pied sont soulignés de feuilles de lotus et de bananier. (Restaurations et égrenure). Haut. 37,5 cm - Estimation : € 12,000-15,000

Provenance : Collection JT Tai, 1971 ; coll. Sackler Gallery.

Vase piriforme en céramique à couverte céladon. Corée, période Koryo, XIIe siècle. 

orné en blanc et noir, de grues parmi les nuages. Haut. 37,5 cm - Estimation : € 5,000-6,000

Petite bouteille en céramique émaillée céladon. Corée, fin de la période Koryo

à décor sous couverte de grues en vol. . Haut. 14 cm - Estimation : € 400-600

Vase bouteille en céramique à couverte céladon. Corée, période Koryo, XIIe siècle

à panse sphérique basse au décor réticulé de rinceaux et médaillons ornés de grues, le haut col octogonal rehaussé de motifs floraux et agrémenté d'une petite anse. Haut. 27 cm - Estimation : € 3,000-4,000

Provenance : Collection Warren Cot, 1965 ; coll. Sackler Gallery

TAJAN. ARTS D'ASIE, 17 déc. 2009 19:00, Espace Tajan www.tajan.com

Rare bol en grès porcelaineux à couverte céladon bleuté. Chine, fours de Longquan, époque Song XIIe-XIIIe siècle

Rare bol en grès porcelaineux à couverte céladon bleuté.  Chine, fours de Longquan, époque Song XIIe-XIIIe siècle

parcouru de fines craquelures. Les parois, s'évasant à partir d'un petit pied, portent à l'extérieur un décor moulé de pétales de lotus.. Haut. 6 cm - Diam. 14 cm - Estimation : € 3,000-4,000

Un modèle similaire est conservé au Victoria and Albert Museum à Londres ; deux autres sont reproduits respectivement dans : - He Li, La céramique chinoise, les éditions de l'amateur, no 269, p. 158 ; - D. Lion-Goldschmidt, Les poteries et porcelaines chinoises, Paris 1957, pl. XIIA.

TAJAN. ARTS D'ASIE, 17 déc. 2009 19:00, Espace Tajan www.tajan.com

The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT6) @ Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art

Kohei Nawa | Japan b.1975 | PixCell-Elk#2 2009 | 240 x 249.5 x 198cm | Taxidermied elk, glass, acrylic, crystal beads | Work created with the support of the Fondation d’enterprise Hermės | Courtesy the artist and SCAI, Tokyo | Photograph: Seiji Toyonaga

BRISBANE.- Spectacular large-scale installations and compelling sitespecific and performance works feature in ‘The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’ (APT6), which opens tomorrow.

APT6 shows at the Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery, in Brisbane, until April 5, 2010.

Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said APT6 was the most ambitious Triennial exhibition yet, in physical scale and geographic scope and included cinema programs, public programs and Kids’ APT.

‘The Queensland Government has been Founding Supporter of the Triennial since the series commenced, and Santos is presenting sponsor this year as part of an unprecedented fiveyear sponsorship agreement with the Gallery.

‘APT6 is also assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, and the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy.

‘Each APT exhibition aims to reach further and deeper into the region and APT6 is a superb example of this ambition. The show presents, for the first time, art by practitioners from Iran, Turkey, Tibet, and countries in the Mekong region, including Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as a major group of works from artists employed by the Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK),’ he said.

‘The APT6 exhibition presents 313 art works by more than 160 artists from over 25 countries. The APT6 cinema programs present 260 feature and short films by more than 120 filmmakers.

‘This weekend’s free public opening celebration involving many of the exhibiting artists, will feature talks, performances, films, programs for children and families, and a Saturday night performance event, Pacific Reggae Sounds.’

Mr Ellwood said one of the highlights for visitors will be the six-panel mirror mosaic, Lightning for Neda 2009, commissioned by the Gallery from Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. At 85 years of age Monir is the most senior artist to participate in an APT and this work demonstrates age is no barrier to great art making. It is a privilege to bring her story to our audiences.’

'The 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT6) profiles new commissions and recent work by more than 100 artists and filmmakers from over 25 countries across the region.

APT6 includes for the first time contemporary artists from North Korea (DPRK), Iran, Turkey, Tibet, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma). Australian artists presented in APT6 are the Philippines-born, Brisbane-based husband-and-wife team Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan; the Melbourne collective DAMP; Raafat Ishak (Melbourne); and Tracey Moffatt, who lives and works in New York and on the Sunshine Coast.

APT6 includes three groundbreaking presentations: The Mansudae Art Studio project, co-curated with filmmaker Nicholas Bonner (UK/China), the first presentation in Australia of contemporary art from North Korea (DPRK); Pacific Reggae, co-curated with broadcaster Brent Clough (NZ/Australia), showcasing for the first time music and music video by reggae artists from Hawai’i, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia; and The Mekong, co-curated with artist Rich Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam), featuring painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography and video from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).

Internationally acclaimed directors Ang Lee (Taiwan/USA), Rithy Panh (Cambodia/France) and Takeshi Kitano (Japan) are the filmmakers featured in the Australian Cinémathèque at the Gallery of Modern Art.

Ang Lee | Taiwan b.1954 | Production still from Se, Jie (Lust, Caution) 2007 | 35mm, colour, Dolby Digital, 157 minutes, USA/China/Taiwan/Hong Kong, Mandarin/Japanese/English/Hindi/Shanghainese/Cantonese (English subtitles) | Image courtesy: Universal Pictures International, Sydney

Chen Qiulin | China b. 1975 | Garden No. 1 2007 | Photograph | 127 x 152cm, ed of 8 | Image courtesy: The artist and Max Protetch Gallery, New York

Cheo Chai-Hiang | Singapore b.1946 | Fei Chang Ku 2007 | Stainless steel, perspex, neon / 3 parts: 53 x 55 x 13cm (each) | Image courtesy: The artist and NAFA, Singapore

Subodh Gupta | India b.1964 | Line of Control (1) 2008 | Brass and copper utensils, stainless steel and steel structure | 500 x 500 x 500cm | Collection: The artist | Courtesy The artist and Arario Gallery, Beijing

Gonkar Gyatso | b. 1961, Tibet/England | Angel 2007 | Stickers and pencil on treated paper. | 152 x 121.5cm | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

Kyungah Ham | South Korea b.1966 | Nagasaki Mushroom Cloud, Hiroshima Mushroom Cloud 2008 | Hand embroidery on silk | Diptych: (a) 120 x 150cm; (b) 120 x 150cm | Sigg Collection, Switzerland | Image courtesy: The artist and Kukje Gallery, Seoul

Runa Islam | Bangladesh/United Kingdom b.1970 | First Day of Spring (still) 2005 | 16mm film, colour, sound, 7:00 minutes | Image courtesy: The artist and White Cube, London | Photograph: Todd-White Art Photography

Ayaz Jokhio | Pakistan b.1978 | Working designs for a thousand doors and windows too… 2009 | Site-specific work for APT6 | Image courtesy: The artist

Production still from Glory to the Filmmaker 2007 | Director: Takeshi Kitano | Image courtesy: Celluloid Dreams

Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba | Japan/Vietnam/United States b.1968 | The Ground, the Root, and the Air: The Passing of the Bodhi Tree 2004-2007 | High definition digital video projection, 14:30 minutes, colour, stereo | Collection: The artist | Image courtesy: The Quiet in the Land, Laos/Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo/Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York | Photograph:Yukari Imai

Rithy Panh | Cambodia/France b.1964 | Production still from Neak Sre (Rice People) 1994 | 35mm, colour, stereo, 125 minutes, Cambodia/France/Switzerland/Germany, Khmer (English subtitles) | Image courtesy: CulturesFrance, Paris

Qiu Anxiong | China b.1972 | The new book of mountains and seas (part 1) (still) 2006 | Digital hand-painted animation, AVI file, 3 channel projection, continuous loop exhibited from PC, 4:1, black and white, sound, 30:15 minutes, ed. 1/10 | Image courtesy: The artist and Hanart TZ Gallery, Hong Kong

Kibong Rhee | South Korea b.1957 | There is no place – Shallow cuts 2008 | Glass, fog machine, artificial leaves, wood, steel, sand, motor, timer | Installation view, Kukje Gallery, Seoul | Images courtesy: The artist and Kukje Gallery, Seoul

Hiraki Sawa | Japan b.1977 | Luritja Road, Central Australia 2008 | Image courtesy: The artist

Shirana Shahbazi | Iran b. 1974 | Flowers, fruits & portraits series [Voegel 01-2007] | C-print on aluminium Sizes variable, Ed. of 5 | © The artist | Image courtesy: Bob van Orsouw Gallery, Zurich and Salon 94, New York

Shooshie Sulaiman | Malaysia b.1973 | Masculine moth’s eye 2007 | Photo collage | 6.9 x 8.9cm | Image courtesy: The artist

Charwei Tsai | Taiwan b. 1980 | Mushroom mantra 2008 | Black ink on fresh mushrooms | Dimensions variable | Image courtesy: The artist

Yang Shaobin | China b.1963 | X – Blind Spot No. 18 2008 | Fibreglass and clay | 61 x 74 x 108cm | Image courtesy: The artist and Long March Space, Beijing

Yao Jui-chung | Everything will fall into ruin (detail) 1990–2009 | Black and white digital photograph, AP 1 | 100 x 150cm | Gift of the artist through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation 2009 | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

Zhu Weibing, Ji Wenyu | People holding flowers (detail) 2007 | The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2008 with funds from Michael Simcha Baevski through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery.

Deux robes chinoises @ Tajan

Robe en soie bleu nuit brodée en fils polychromes et doré de six dragons, Chine, XIXe siècle.

un de face et deux de profils par côté, parmi chauves-souris, nuages stylisés en ruyi, motifs auspicieux, au-dessus des pics montagneux sacrés sortant des flots. Le tiers inférieurs est orné de stries polychromes.  Estimation : € 3,000-3,500

Robe en soie de couleur chocolat brodée en fils polychromes de papillons et bouquets. Chine, XIXe siècle.

Les bords sont rehaussés de soie noire à décor floral en camaïeu de bleu ; l'intérieur des manches est brodé de papillons sur fond crème. (Usures). Estimation : € 1,000-1,200

TAJAN. ARTS D'ASIE, 17 déc. 2009 19:00, Espace Tajan www.tajan.com

Christie's Expects to Break Auction Records with Rembrandt and Raphael Sale Next Week

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Leiden 1606-1669 Amsterdam) Portrait of a man with arms akimbo, signed and dated 'Rembrandt 1658' (lower left), oil on canvas, 42¼ x 34¼ in. (107.4 x 87 cm.). Est. £18,000,000 - £25,000,000 ($29,862,000 - $41,475,000). Image 2009 Christie's Ltd

LONDON (REUTERS).- Christie's is confident the recession is well and truly over in the world of fine art, with a record old masters sale in London next week that includes important works by Rembrandt, Raphael and Il Domenichino.

The world's largest auctioneer is calling its December 8 old masters and 19th century auction a "landmark," and pre-sale estimates range from 45-63 million pounds ($75-105 million), its highest ever for such a sale.

"This auction promises to be a landmark sale for the art market," said Richard Knight, international co-head of old masters at Christie's.

"The (old masters) market has shown great stability over the last year and ... collectors continue to seize opportunities to acquire works which rarely appear on the market."

Unlike other sectors of the art market, notably contemporary and Russian, values of old master works have held up relatively well during the financial downturn.

The star lot on Tuesday is expected to be Rembrandt painting "Portrait of a man, half-length, with his arms akimbo," painted in 1658 and unseen in public for nearly 40 years.

The last time it was sold at auction was in 1930 when it fetched 18,500 pounds at the time.

Its pre-sale estimate is 18-25 million pounds, meaning it could set a new auction record for the artist. The record currently stands at 19.8 million pounds (then $29 million).

The top price at auction for any old master picture is 49.5 million pounds ($77 million) for "The Massacre of the Innocents" by Peter Paul Rubens set at Sotheby's in London in 2002.

Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael (Urbino 1483-1520 Rome) Head of a muse, black chalk over pounce marks, traces of stylus, watermark encircled Saint Anthony's cross, 12 x 8¾ in. (30.5 x 22.2 cm.). Est. £12,000,000 - £16,000,000 ($19,908,000 - $26,544,000). Image 2009 Christie's Ltd

Also on offer on December 8 is a drawing by Renaissance master Raphael used as a study for a figure in a Vatican fresco.

"Head of a Muse" is expected to fetch 12-16 million pounds ($20-26 million), well above the existing record for an old master drawing at auction which stands at 8.1 million pounds.

The third highlight of the December sale, which comprises 43 works, is "Saint John the Evangelist" by Italian artist Domenico Zampieri, also known as Il Domenichino.

The Baroque work has been valued at 7-10 million pounds. By: Mike Collett-White (Editing by Paul Casciato)

Domenico Zampieri, Il Domenichino (Bologna 1581-1641 Naples) Saint John the Evangelist, oil on canvas, 102 x 78½ in. (259 x 199.4 cm.). Est. £7,000,000 - £10,000,000 ($11,613,000 - $16,590,000). Image 2009 Christie's Ltd