One of Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn portraits. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc / ARS, NY and DACS
One of Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn portraits. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc / ARS, NY and DACS

Our top three exhibitions this week: Andy Warhol and more



Trace the evolution of media art over the past 20 years through sound, vision and internet

Finding a space for personal reflection in a rapidly changing virtual world is a key challenge for artists today. This exhibition features works that manipulate images and sound from television, cinema, music and the internet. If the cut signifies collage and montage, then swipe suggests a 21st-century condition in which images disperse at the flick of a finger. Cut to Swipe runs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York until March 22. For more information visit www.moma.org.

The Orient in Poland: how the east influenced Polish painting, drawing and graphic arts

In the 19th century a new cultural current flowed into Europe. Orientalism, as it became known, manifested itself in art, architecture, music and theatre. But for Poland, the interest in all things eastern stretches back to medieval times. This exhibition in Istanbul showcases the eastern influence on Polish art, from drawings of landscapes to oriental characters to scenes of war. Orientalism in Polish Art runs at the Pera Museum until January 18. For more information visit www.peramuzesi.org.tr.

The New York of the 1960s arrives in Liverpool through the works of pop art genius Andy Warhol

He is the man who said art should be for everyone. Andy Warhol embraced the mass media of his time — film, photography, music, art — and in doing so challenged ideas of high and low culture. This UK exhibition brings together 100 artworks and offers new insights into Warhol's philosophies, artistic processes and implications of his work. Warhol transformed the art world for ever and redefined access to culture. Transmitting Andy Warhol runs at the Tate Liverpool until February 8. For more information visit www.tate.org.uk.

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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”