The billionaire Roman Abramovich and his partner, Dasha Zhukova, have paid tens of millions of dollars for a major group of works by Ilya Kabakov, the priciest living Russian artist.
While the amount paid for the group last year has not been disclosed, the asking price for the works ranged up to US$60 million (Dh220.3m), according to observers familiar with private art sales.
The group consists of about 40 paintings as well as important early albums and installations. Most of the works were made by Kabakov before he left Moscow in 1987. The artist was a founder of Moscow's conceptualist-art movement.
"It's one of the largest Kabakov collections in the world," says Emilia Kabakov, the artist's wife and collaborator since 1989, who confirmed the sale. "It's also the most outstanding in terms of quality and art-historical significance."
The seller was the American collector John Stewart, who spent two decades assembling the group.
"We knew the collection was on the market and we were concerned that it would be sold piece by piece at auction," said Mrs Kabakov. "Now it's saved. It has a future as a collection."
Mr Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea Football Club and his net worth is estimated at $14.7 billion.
Kabakov, 79, has held the title of Russia's most expensive living artist since 2008, when his 1982 painting Beetle sold for £2.9 million (Dh16.7m) at Phillips de Pury in London, now known as Phillips.
"John Stewart's collection has several masterpieces which, were they ever to appear at auction, could have brought the same value as Beetle," says Natalia Kolodzei, the executive director of the US-based Kolodzei Art Foundation, which promotes 20th-century Russian art.
Mr Abramovich and Ms Zhukova have been the Kabakovs' patrons for years. In 2008, Mr Zhukova's Garage Center for Contemporary Culture its first Kabakov retrospective in Moscow.
* Bloomberg News
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)
Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)
Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)
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Company%20Profile
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