2019, the year that was...

12:00 a.m.

One: The Art Market soared with U$S 67 billions, a perfectly oiled machine that nothing can stop. The highest price in auction was for Claude Monet’s “Meules”, sold for U$S 110,7 M, followed by Jeff Koons’ “Rabbit”, for U$S 91 M (the most expensive artwork by a living artist).

Two: The most talked-about piece was Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian”, displayed by Galerie Perrotin at Art Basel Miami. A banana stuck to the wall with duct tape. In spite of generating hundreds of memes and questions (Where is Art heading to? How will it affect the Art Market?), all three editions of it were sold, being U$S 150 K the highest price.

Duchampian in its nature, maybe its ridiculousness is what Comedian (a very appropriate title) is all about: bringing into the spotlight those with excess of money to pay for whatever we are all taking about.

Three: This year new museums saw the light or were remodeled. China leads the way with the openings, followed by the Arab countries, but the most innovative one (from an architectural point of view at least) is Norway’s The Twist. Last October the MoMA in New York opened its doors after a U$S 450 M renovation, with the addition of 4.000 sq mts of exhibition space.

Four: The most sought-after artist is still Banksy. This year he opened a pop-up store in London, which could only be window-shopped (an installation), offering pieces to be sold online only. There he displayed cups and carpets from refugees. In the Venice Biennial he showed up with a stall offering memorabilia for tourists just when a cruise was passing by (this was his way of protesting against those giants that affect the city so much). He also painted a refugee girl with a flare on a soon to be demolished house. Through Sotheby’s, he sold “Devolved Parliament” for U$S 11 M. This time the artwork did not self-destruct, as “Girl with a Balloon” did. He finished the year presenting a Nativity in the city of Bethlehem, in which the background for the figures was the Israeli wall hit by a projectile in the shape of a star.

Five: this year marked the 500th anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci’ death, remembered with exhibitions around the globe. Around 250 books about his art and inventions were published, among them Giorgio Vasari’s Lives (1556). There Martin Kemp and Lucy Russell placed special attention to the translation of the chapter The Life of Leonardo da Vinci.

Six: The MALBA in Buenos Aires reached a new record in quantity of visitors with Leandro Erlich’s exhibition Liminal. Curated by Dan Cameron, it presented 21 installations, among which was La Pileta (the most instagrammed one). Interactive and playful, the exhibition proved that imagination can transform reality into art and create illusions that feel real.