Art Basel pomp opens to steady art market
Art Basel pomp opens to steady art market (update)
JUNE 18, 2014 BY
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Warhol painting reportedly goes for $32 million
BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Art Basel, the world’s most prestigious art fair, opened Tuesday 17 June to select collectors, as wealthy buyers reportedly carried out steady sales in a currently strong international contemporary art market. Bloomberg reports that an Andy Warhol self-portrait, with the artist in a wig, went for $32 million in the first 15 minutes, sold by the Skarstedt Gallery to “American collectors”.
A greater variety of art than in the past, including pieces considered more cutting-edge, was on display according to regulars at the fair, which runs until Sunday 22 June.
Striking deals in a crowded market
Some dealers spoke of the rush to strike quick deals in a market saturated by year-round fairs, including two major events run by ArtBasel, in Miami, Florida and Hong Kong.
Marina Thouin, a Zurich-based independent dealer, explained that the multitude of fairs, generally held over a limited few days, accentuated the pressure for quick sales.
Tuesday at Art Basel is traditionally the so-called “pre-choice” day, with access limited to the galleries’ most preferred art collectors. Entry to Art Basel is based on a selective ticketing system, with the show opening to the general public Thursday 19 June.
This year Art Basel is introducing an additional breakdown in visitor categories, with the wealthiest of art clients entering before the mid-afternoon opening, which is now reserved for other VIPs. Participants report that in previous years some top VIP buyers were upset at not getting first viewing of the fair’s offerings.
Thouin said a fine line is played, with art fairs selectively distributing just enough tickets to keep the floors busy. “If it becomes too quiet, you don’t have the impulse to get people to buy. It’s part of the commercialism.”
Fresher mix, more “cutting edge” art
For Laurence Tuhey, of Timothy Taylor Gallery, sales Tuesday were good, with increasingly informed collectors present at the fair; the gallery has attended for over 10 years.
“It has been a very nice day,” the London-based dealer said. “Fairs are a meeting point. It can’t get much better. You have the best art with the best clients, all meeting in one place.”
Tuhey explained how his gallery is now exhibiting Antoni Tapiès, Pierre Soulages and Serge Poliakoff, and other European artists he said were overshadowed by popular American artists in the 1950s and 1960s. “They look so fresh now.”
Pace, a major New York gallery, is offering an assortment of established modern artists, including Picasso and more recent contemporary pieces, such as the pair of paintings, “Olympia”, by Brooklyn-based The Bruce High Quality Foundation.
“I can see an effort to bring in a more cutting edge selection”, Thouin commented. “This is a positive move, as in the past, you would have a hundred Picassos and a hundred Warhols.”
Most galleries refused to discuss sales details or give prices for major pieces on display.
Recent contemporary art sales at major auction houses presented very strong results. In May Christies’ sales in New York approached USD 1 billion, while Sotheby’s contemporary art sales there totalled USD 461 million.
Blurred lines: art, audience
Beyond the fair’s main art market, known as “Statements”, represented by 285 galleries from 34 countries, is the Unlimited section, housed in a neighbouring hall, redesigned by the local architectural team, Herzog and de Meuron. It includes monumental-size pieces , video projections, paintings and performance art.
Gianni Jetzler, Unlimited’s curator, described the exhibit as a “trans-generational dialogue”, which is “reloaded, recharged, seen from the other side”.
“14 Rooms”, a travelling exhibit of performance art presented in a vast space subdivided into stark white rooms set behind mirrored doors lining a long hallway, is, as Art Basel director Marc Spiegel says, not to be missed.
Its display of shows, Spiegel said offers a”blurring of the lines between audience and artwork”. These include a human revolving door, by Allora and Calzadilla, Marina Abramovic’s naked woman, attached between the legs to a wall, in “Luminosity” and a standing man, bent backwards by Xu Zhen, entitled “In just a blink of an eye”.
“14 Rooms” was originally commissioned by the Manchester International Festival before being shown in Germany and Australia.
