Ukraine

Ukranian Billionaire Flys in Ducasse, Cirque du Soleil for $6 Million Birthday Bash

Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk (above) is spending more than $6 million on an opulent 50th birthday bash for himself in the posh French ski resort of Courchevel tonight, flying in the Cirque de Soleil and superchef Alain Ducasse for the occasion. The steel magnate and contemporary art collector, whose has an estimated fortune of over $3 billion, is sparing no expense for the 300 guests invited to the event, the London Telegraph reports. It has taken 50 workmen two weeks "under difficult climactic conditions" to set up an enormous marquee to showcase the Cirque du Soleil, the world-renowned Canadian circus troupe, the paper notes.

Ducasse's haute cuisine will be accompanied by oceans of the finest champagne, vodka and top grand cru vintage wines. The evening will end with a spectacular fireworks display before guests retire to the resort's 11 five-star hotels, all booked out for the occasion. Pinchuk, who owns one of London's most expensive houses, has his own private museum in Kiev housing major works by Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Louis Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami. He has a number of philanthropic projects and arts sponsorships in the works with the likes of Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Steven Spielberg, George Soros and Bill Clinton, all of whom could turn up at the birthday blowout.

Tags: Alain Ducasse, billionaire, Cirque de Soleil, contemporary art, Courchevel, Damien Hirst, events, france, Jeff Koons, museum, oligarch, parties, Paul McCartney, Russian billionaires, Takashi Murakami, Ukraine, wealth

Hirst Collector Pinchuk to Bring Contemporary Art Center to Kiev

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Ukraine is about to get a new contemporary art center. Victor Pinchuk is shooting to make Kiev a major art destination, so the wealthy art collector is creating a new center that will be larger than the existing PinchukArtCentre, which was the first private contemporary art center in the former Soviet Union and has had more than 830,000 visitors since its doors swung open in 2006.

Pinchuk, a steel billionaire, is an avid collector, with pieces by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst and Andreas Gursky. His new endeavor, he tells Bloomberg News, "will make Kiev and Ukraine a fantastic place for contemporary art." Pinchuk made the proclamation at a show for 20 Ukrainian artists who were nominated for the first Pinchuk Art Center Prize, which comes with a cash component of $12,200 and a one-month internship with an artist from the international scene. Hirst himself will announce the winner on December 4, 2009.

Pinchuk has a strong relationship with the ~~artist~~ celebrity and owns "probably half" of the skull paintings (by the collector's own estimation) in the current Hirst show at the Wallace Collection in London. He also participated in Hirst's solo auction in September 2008 but wouldn't tell what he bought.

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Tags: art, art center, art collection, art show, ArtCenter, ArtCollection, artist, ArtShow, artwork, billionaire, billionaires, damien hirst, DamienHirst, jeff koons, JeffKoons, london, london england, LondonEngland, pinchuk center, PinchukCenter, russian billionaire, russian billionaires, RussianBillionaire, RussianBillionaires, ukraine, ukrainian, united kingdom, UnitedKingdom, victor pinchuk, VictorPinchuk, wallace collection, WallaceCollection

Ukraine To See Major Hirst Exhibit

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Ukrainian steel billionaire Victor Pinchuk is bringing Damien Hirst to the people of Kiev. The Pinchuk Art Center is a private art museum in Ukraine's capital and it will host "Requiem," a retrospective of over 100 Hirst works borrowed from collectors around the world. Pinchuk is a Hirst collector who was one of the many buying art and filling Hirst's pockets at the solo auction in London last year.

The news of the exhibit by one of the world's most expensive artists comes as Ukraine is suffering major economic hardship, propelled partly by a drop in steel and aluminum exports. Oh well, at least admission to the exhibit, which starts on April 25, is free.

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Tags: art, damien hirst, DamienHirst, meet the billionaires, MeetTheBillionaires, ukraine, victor pinchuk, VictorPinchuk

Ukranian Billionaire Was Big Hirst Buyer

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Ukranian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk has revealed he was a major buyer at Damien Hirst's record-breaking $200 million Sotheby's sale last month, but has declined to say exactly what he purchased. Pinchuk, who's worth an estimated $5 billion, has his own museum in Kiev, the first private institution of its kind in the former Soviet Union, which already houses works by Hirst, Jeff Koons and Vuitton collaborator Takashi Murakami. He says he plans to display his new Hirst acquisitions at the Pinchuk Center in the spring.

"Victor Pinchuk is having a great impact on the [art] market," Simon de Pury, chairman of auction house Phillips de Pury & Co., who credits him with starting the oligarch art collecting trend, tells Bloomberg. "The contemporary art market in both Ukraine and Russia has really taken off in the past two years, and I expect this growth to continue." Earlier this year Pinchuk paid a record $150 million for a house in London, the world's most expensive at the time.

Tags: Damien Hirst, DamienHirst, Jeff Koons, JeffKoons, Kiev, Pinchuk Center, PinchukCenter, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, Simon de Pury, SimonDePury, Ukraine, Viktor Pinchuk, ViktorPinchuk

Ukrainian Vodka Producer Plans New Vodka Plant

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Big doings in the Ukraine liquor world. Last month we wrote about Nemiroff's designs on the world market. Today comes the news that the Olimp Corporation, which is, along with Nemiroff one of the top beverages producers in Ukraine, is spending $38.5 million on a new distillery. The distillery will increase production by an astounding 75%. The new facility is in in the village of Malynivka, Kharkiv region and will become Olimp's main production facility. The company which does well in the lower end of the market is planning to create new cognac and vodka brands aimed at the mid-priced market. The new liquors will be sold to the Ukrainian market and exported to Russia and the U.S.

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Tags: alcohol, liquor, olimp, spirits, ukraine, vodka

Nemiroff Ukrainian Vodka Seeks A Worldwide Market

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

We could probably do a whole blog on vodkas alone. The Moodie Report mentions that Nemiroff, the leading Ukrainian vodka producer is seeking a larger part of the Western market and plans to travel retail to sell their vodka. Nemiroff sells a variety of spirits including the Nemiroff Lex which has a linden-tree blossom flavor and a mild taste, the Nemiroff Premium which is their elite line, and the Nemiroff Ukrainian Honey Pepper which uses flower-flavored buckwheat honey and the aroma of the steppe herbs along with chili pepper. Their newest vodka, Nemiroff Birch Buds was launched on the Ukrainian market in March 2005 and draws from the centuries-old traditions of the Ukrainian horilka distilling. It will be interesting to see if the more exotic taste of Ukrainian vodka will seduce Western palates.

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Tags: alcohol, liquor, spirits, ukraine, ukrainian, vodka

Ukraine's President To Get Pricey Plane

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Ukraine's president Viktor Yuschenko is getting quite the present, a fancy new plane. ITAR-TASS reports that Ukraine has raised 12 million dollars for a luxury plane for President Viktor Yushchenko. The presidential An-74 plane was decorated with amber, mahogany and 18K gold and is being tested at the Kharkov aircraft plant. The lining of the interior features rare gems and the lamps and handles are all gold per the demands of the first lady, Yekaterina Yushchenko.

Tags: private plane, PrivatePlane, ukraine, yuschenko