At CI Contemporáneo, art explodes between the profane and Saudi collectors.

In magnificent Istanbul, a city of domes and minarets, the great metropolis dotted along the banks of the Bosphorus, rises a tubular tangle of red neon, climbing from base to tip. The intricate and flirtatious clock-lighthouse—and undeniable phallus —is located at the Hotel Península, in the Galataport neighborhood, and is a light installation by Grimanesa Amorós. The Peruvian-born, New York-based artist, who has not shied away from the double meaning of her imagery or the subtle anti-patriarchal irony, erected it in this megalopolis that straddles two worlds: Europe and Asia, but also the prosaic and the profane. And it's a delightful spectacle to watch Passage & Maritime light up and then fade, while the hundred mosques call to prayer, two worlds there as well. Will the wives of Saudi dignitaries and millionaires, who are never present at this fair, lower the veil that covers their eyelashes to contemplate the Amorós lighthouse?

At CI Contemporary, the Turkish fair celebrating its second vigorous decade and opening today for collectors, there's no shortage of extreme luxury and a rich tradition in fine art, reinterpreted today in many of the works on offer. As French collector Pierre Sigg noted, digital resources push reinterpretations of the Ottoman past in all directions. It's also a cultural ecosystem where ceramics and textile art have a lineage of enormous authority, evident in many of its 42 galleries.

"When our fair launched in 2006, there was only the global Art Basel in Switzerland; we were the 21st fair in the world. Today, they've expanded to every continent, crowning the first edition in Qatar very early on, which has allowed them to control market prices worldwide. Today, there are 350 fairs," summarizes Ali Güreli, founder of the Istanbul fair and a tourism powerhouse in his work as a developer, now with a vast initiative to fully expand the Golden Horn neighborhood, the peninsula between the two shores.

This anniversary year's edition stands out for the maturity of its offering, which is to say that Istanbul has finally managed to attract some of the most influential galleries abroad. With its "Focus on America" ​​program, focusing on the United States, some prominent names have made their presence felt. Although its strong suit is the Turkish circuit, participation from central countries is growing.

At the Turkish gallery DG, there are works by Fernando Botero, Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami, and George Condo, whose two pieces range from one to two million euros. Condo is undoubtedly a very fitting figure for Istanbul: this artist, born in 1957, close to Jean Basquiat in his youth, then to the culture of the musical fringes, and today to rapper Kanye West, articulates in his work the imagery and boldness of pop and popular culture. Turkey is a major regional powerhouse of the entertainment industry, and anything resonates with hype .

The most anticipated piece, however, not yet hanging this afternoon, is "Conzetto spaziale," a slashed canvas by the Italian Lucio Fontana—the same Rosario-born artist who emigrated and never returned. His Klein blue piece costs 4.5 million euros .

According to director Güreli, the United States continues to lead the market, followed by China with 22%, and a group of European countries led by Great Britain. “Between the three largest markets, they account for 83% of all sales. And the proportion of art outlets has changed somewhat: auction houses sell 41% of works, followed by fairs with 31%, and galleries directly (28%). But he highlights another recent trend, starting mid-2024: “Now the power lies with the buyers; they make the market, no longer the dealers .” And the number of female artists continues to rise steadily, with up to 35% of sales, thanks to these new collectors.

His perspective is always attentive to the first signs. Güreli maintains: “Everything leads us to believe that the art market and its influence will be shifting to the Middle East in the coming years . What the United Arab Emirates, with its fair and biennial, achieved in 25 years, is taking Saudi Arabia just two years to accomplish. Qatar will make an even stronger impact with Art Basel. What we appreciate is this: while Western museums have some 250 years of history, the new great institutions of the Middle East have achieved this in just a few years thanks to their powerful alliance with the biggest names in global architecture . We will go to see art at fairs and museums in majestic buildings, in cities that have focused on these projections.”

There's much more, of course. Marina Abramovic's sequence of video performances, "Drop Art," where the artist—unkindly introduced as "the grandmother of performance" —explored its possible digital avatars over a decade ago , featuring icons cited from her works: a snake, a scorpion, the slow shedding of a flower. They are on display for the first time at Taek in London. Abramovic will participate via Zoom in a series of "Disruptive Dialogues" with local artists, part of the free program.

"Focus on America" ​​has brought established galleries and artists from the United States. Amanita offers Bill Jensen, master of abstraction, while Leila Heller's gallery has work by Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell, and pieces by the great ceramist Melis Buyruk (white and gold, in a motley baroque of flowers that joyfully succumbs to decorative temptation). Revolver gallery presents the work of Peruvian artist Elena Damiani , who participated in the 2015 Venice Biennale, curated by Okwui Envezor (representing Denmark, her second nationality). Also present are the Pontone and Helft galleries.

Founded by Frenchman Pierre Sigg, present at this afternoon's conference and a new member of CI Contemporary's Advisory Board, the Sigg collection began in 2000 and has included a painting by Johnny Depp—yes, the actor—in homage to his ex-wife, Vanessa Paradis. It's not for sale, nor is it of any interest other than the caption, but it served as a selfie spot for a swarm of influencers, a declared plague, here like the Great Wall of China. But they don't bother the crowd among the works, mostly dedicated to the designer sneaker park and the entry of television stars into this environment with local and global color: we are in the world capital of cosmetic surgery and a city that doesn't hold back its cult of luxury. Returning to Depp, he did so well that he was moved to a prominent wall. He was a photo op among collectors—500 collectors will come from abroad alone.

"What if women ruled the world?" asks the patchwork of the leading artist and activist Judy Chicago, an institution of international academic feminism. The place of women is one of the meridians that divide the world, and if for centuries Turkey was an object of Orientalist desire, it often fluctuates in its Western vocation, torn between the "emancipated" present of Europe and a region governed by religious parameters. Judy Chicago's large piece, which comes from India and is participatory—we've all been filmed and will be there one day—is almost a manifesto of modernizing will, a subtle woke nod in the Islamic context.

This is followed by other questions, answered by women of all ages and backgrounds: "Would private property exist? Would childrearing be a shared task? Would there be less violence?" Not all of them responded with optimism, but they did offer hope. Located outside the theaters, the micro-pavilion of Chicago's work is difficult to reach, and it's not the hit one might expect ; but there it is, majestic in its concerns.

The Chicago collaboration is part of the public art program of Tersane Istanbul, the company behind this fair, and aligns with long-term initiatives for this design neighborhood, as well as major events like this Biennale. It will be on view free of charge until September 28; the city is invited to contribute your personal responses.