Montreal Mural Festival 2021

A Celebration of Creativity and the Democratization of Urban Art

As the Montreal MURAL Festival comes to a close, we would like to take a moment to celebrate this event and the artists it supports. 

Montreal’s MURAL Festival is an annual event celebrating the international urban art community featuring live art, music, exhibitions, and artist talks. This year’s event, which ran from August 12 to 22, was the ninth edition of the festival, and has yet again transformed the cultural landscape of the city. As MURAL comes and goes each year, artist works from previous years intermingle with new works, creating a rich tapestry of styles and themes. Old with new, architecture with art, mundane with extraordinary: urban art allows for the intersection of all. 


Graffiti Alley, tribute to Alex Scaner

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MURAL transforms Saint Laurent Boulevard into an open-air museum, with large-scale displays of urban murals and installations. A forgotten alley becomes an explosion of colour in an homage to Montreal graffiti artist, Alex Scaner, who recently passed away at the young age of 36. An empty parking lot becomes a space to observe Inti’s character “Kusillo,” as well as Hsix’s proud figure with fist held high, and finally DENIAL’s poignant “Sorry is not enough” Black Lives Matter piece. Brilliantly coloured bricks enter into dialogue with dull pipes, faded store banners, and cracked sidewalks as these artists make their mark on the metropolis. 


Inti, 2014

Though the festival has ended, the art remains! We invite you to consult this interactive map to learn more about the murals and to take a gander to admire the newest additions. If you have a passion for graffiti or street art, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.


Hsix, 2016


Denial, 2019


Buff Monster, 2016


Five Eight, 2016

Art Market Review: From Spring Auctions to Basel

Artistic duo Eva and Adele at Gagosian’s booth at Art Basel (Featuring Koons, Ruscha and Lichtenstein)

The number of sales in the art market proves that it means big business

The art market has managed to shield itself from the apprehensive outlooks on global trade and economic welfare, proving to be stronger than ever. This past Spring auction season yielded more than $2 billion in New York city alone. The artworld does have a history of performing strongly despite economic woes. A noteworthy example is Sotheby’s New York who hosted a successful sale on the very day the Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.

The recent auctions boasted an unprecedented amount of record shattering numbers for approximately 50 artists ranging from European Old Masters to Contemporary American artists. Claude Monet’s Haystacks sold for $110.7 million, a record for an Impressionist work and Jeff Koons reclaimed his record for the most expensive artwork by a living artist when his silver bunny sculpture sold for $91.1 million. Milestones were established for many other artists, including several for female and black artists.

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Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986, Stainless steel, 41 x 19 x 12 inches

Last month’s auctions established a favourable precursor to Art Basel’s 49th edition that I had the pleasure of attending this past week. Of the hundreds of global art fairs, Basel Switzerland is the most significant of them all, where gallerists offer their most important artworks to their biggest spending clients. There was an overwhelming amount of artwork to behold with seemingly endless rows of booths displaying serious and mostly original artworks, devoid of anything trendy or overly commercial.

Strong sales were prevalent from the outset. David Zwriner notably sold a Gerard Richter painting for $20 million, Levy-Gorvy sold a Christopher Wool for about $6 million as well as a Mark Grotjahn for about $5 million. Although no red dots were visible, more often than not, when I inquired about a piece I was informed it had already been sold.

The staggering Spring auction results and Basel’s fast and furious sales prove that the art market means big business, which is not only attractive to collectors, but to the more mainstream investment community in general.


Claude Monet, Meules, 1891, Oil on canvas, 28 5/8 x 36 3/4 inches

 

Finds From the Fair: Miami Basel 2018

While the jaw-dropping masterpieces at Art Basel are impressive, the fair also contains great accessible pieces fit for any budget.

Another Art Basel has come and gone, the elite fair where art collectors and enthusiasts flock to Miami where an incalculable amount of artwork is displayed at the main convention, as well as at a slew of satellite fairs. While it is always a delight to encounter great masterpieces in the flesh, such as Mark Rothko’s 1955 canvas that reportedly sold for $50 million, we have rounded up some great finds from the fair that won’t necessarily break the bank. See below some of our top picks of artwork ranging from $2,500-$75,000.

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Please contact us for enquiries.

Reclining Tahitian Women painting by Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz, Repro: Glyptoteket (Reclining Tahitian Women, Gauguin), 2018, Digital C-print, Edition of 6, 43.5 x 68.5 inches AND 74.5 x 119.25 inches

Etching by Richard Serra named Finally Finished

Richard Serra, Finally Finished IV, 2018, Etching, Edition of 44, 76.5 x 60 inches

Cantilever Pool House oil painting by Andy Burgess

Andy Burgess, Cantilever Pool House, 2016, Oil on canvas, 49 x 52 inches

Yellow and Red Poppies shaped aluminum by Donald Sultan

Donald Sultan, Yellow and Red Poppies, 2018, Shaped aluminum with powder coat on polished aluminum base, Edition of 12, 24.5 x 24 x 3.5 inches

The Hamptons Veduta print by Jean-Francois Rauzier

Jean-Francois Rauzier, The Hamptons Veduta, 2018, C-print, Edition of 8, 58 x 98 inches

Si Three Acrylic Painting by Dan Christenses

Dan Christensen, Si, Three, 2003, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 40 inches

Jello wave goodbye artwork by Lucy Sparrow

Lucy Sparrow, Say Jello, Wave Goodbye, Felt, acrylic and thread in Perspex, Edition of 20, 16.5 x 19.5 x 3 inches

Coloured pencil crayon artwork by Meaghan Hyckie

Meaghan Hyckie, UFO-76, 2018, Coloured pencil crayon, 12.75 x 16.75 inches