Mixed works at Anxious Art Basel

After a disappointing series of auctions in New York in May, dealers bid on this year Art Basel The show in Switzerland – which opened to VIPs on Tuesday and welcomes the general public from Friday onwards – hopes to allay fears about a downturn in the art market.

The 53rd annual edition of this leading Swiss event, featuring 284 international galleries specializing in 20th and 21st century art, was the first under Art Basel’s new CEO, Noah Horowitz. It is being held in a climate of geopolitical uncertainty, with high interest rates and inflation hampering consumer spending in many countries.

“There’s a lot to worry about,” said Paul Gray, director. Gray galleryHeadquartered in Chicago and New York. But, he added, in his 40-year experience, the art market has suffered a few major downturns. “Serious collectors keep buying,” he said.

The booths of the largest international dealers at this year’s Art Basel show featured several trophy-level works on consignment from private collections. In recent years, auctions have tended to be the go-to channel for such sales, so their existence suggests that some wealthy collectors have been considering different strategies.

For example, Acquavella Galleries offered Mark Rothko’s 1955 abstract “Untitled (Yellow, Orange, Yellow, Light Orange)” from an American private collector, for the price of $60 million. Hauser & Wirth offered Louise Bourgeois’ 1996 bronze “Spider IV” for $22.5 million, while Pace offered Joan Mitchell’s 1963 “Girolata Triptych” for $14 million.

The latter two works found buyers by Wednesday morning, according to their galleries.

“Sellers who want their price tag give it a shot here,” he said, “rather than see their work sold for as low or less at auction.” Wendy Cromwellan art consultant in New York, explains why some owners choose to sell at Art Basel, rather than Sotheby’s or Christie’s.

“We’re up 40 percent from last year,” David Zwirner He said on Tuesday. He added that easing coronavirus prevention measures played a major role.

Asian collectors are here. “They can travel without restrictions,” Zwirner said. He estimated that 20 percent of his sales on the first day were to Asian customers. “The last auction cycle helped, too,” Zwirner added, referring to weak New York sales in May. “People bemoan the results, but it resets the market. Owners are no longer asking unrealistic prices. It makes sales easier to make.”

“Graduation,” a haunting 2015 painting by American artist Noah Davis, was among Zwirner’s first several days of sales at $2 million, according to the gallery; A White Cube spokesperson said the gallery sold another Davis painting, “Pueblo del Rio: Vernon,” from 2014, for $2.75 million. Demand works for Davis, who co-founded Underground museum in Los Angeles before his premature death in 2015, he is part of a general reorientation of the market toward the work of artists of color and women that has transformed Art Basel and other global art events in recent years.

In a section of the exhibition titled Feature, devoted to solo presentations, Dutch painter and writer Jacqueline de Jong, 84, was on hand to talk about her experiences in the international Situationist movement in Paris in the 1960s, where she produced Fierce Expressionist paintings. London dealer Bebe Holdsworth offered six of his 1960s de Young paintings at Feature, four of which sold out by Wednesday, priced between €110,000 and €165,000, according to the gallery.

“I don’t like the word ‘rediscovered.’” said de Young, whose paintings are currently showing in two museum exhibitions in the Netherlands. “It makes me feel a little older than I am.” “However, the recognition at this age is wonderful.”

But, as always, collectors were also after new works by young “rising star” artists, whose values ​​could take a steep upward trajectory. At least 10 collectors have purchased “portraits” of Canadian artist Sean Y Kane, 32. Inspired by Cantonese roles and Peking opera, these fun-filled digital works of gender are presented by London Gallery. Soft opening Its price ranges between 7,000 and 18,000 dollars. Fellow Canadian artist Lisa Lacroix, 35, sold a new abstract painting on the booth Gisela Capitendealer from Cologne, Germany, for $36,000.

By Friday, some of the top dealerships had already released long lists of sales. But for other exhibitors, the hustle and bustle of collectors, advisors and curators didn’t translate easily into handshakes and bills.

“I saw more talk between galleries and gallery-goers than usual. I didn’t see any actual transactions being made,” said Michael Short, an art consultant and Berlin resident. “When asked, most photographers told me they ‘break even. “. “No one panicked, but then no one was overly complacent.”