Date: Fri 01-Oct-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

icollector-online-Galerie-Loft

Full Text:

Icollector To Serve As Exclusive Online Source For Contemporary Chinese Art At

The Louvre

LONDON -- Icollector plc, the premium online auction service located at

www.icollector.com, has announced the launch of an exclusive online fixed

price retail service with the most comprehensive exhibition and sale ever of

contemporary Chinese art online, including one of the millennium sculptures

commissioned by the French government for display on the Champs Elysees.

Icollector has partnered with Galerie Loft to provide the online dimension of

the gallery's exhibition and sale. Galerie Loft will be simultaneously

exhibiting the works live at the Carousel du Louvre as part of the Art Paris

Fair.

The Galerie Loft will showcase the original works and prints of many of

today's leading Chinese artists in the temporary exhibition space at the

Louvre in Paris, as well as on the Champs Elysees.

The entire collection will be made available for public sale by the Galerie

Loft at the Carousel du Louvre and on the icollector site until December.

Icollector will also offer for sale several signed and numbered photographic

works created exclusively for the site.

In addition, icollector will feature online access to the exhibition

catalogue, as well as biographies on the individual artists, a history and

critique of Chinese contemporary art, and photographs of each work.

Juan Plata, the global communications director of icollector, said, "Over the

past few years, the international art market has significantly increased its

focus on the numerous young artists emerging out of China.

"While galleries worldwide have been rushing to exhibit works by these

fashionable artists, icollector, in conjunction with the Galerie Loft at the

Carousel du Louvre in Paris, now offers its customers online access to the

largest exhibit ever staged. We believe our fixed price service creates an

exciting avenue not only for the art dealers and auction houses looking to

expand their reach, but for millions of individuals looking for a cost

effective means of starting or adding to their personal collections."

Founded in 1994, icollector was the first to bring the auction industry to the

Internet through the launch of its Web site. By dealing exclusively in art,

antiques and collectibles assured as authentic by industry professionals,

icollector is able to offer the security and trust which is missing from

various person-to-person online auctions.