Kobel's
Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 41 2026

The next art fair is being snapped up by some conglomerate or other. Brian Boucher and Maximilíano Durón report on the sale of the New York-based Independent to London-based Informa in Artnews: “Among its major shareholders are BlackRock, Newton Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management, Norges Bank, Artemis Investment Manager, and Invesco. Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is part of the FTSE 100 Index. Its 14,000 employees are spread across some 42 countries. The acquisition of Independent marks the company’s first New York-based art brand. Informa’s other notable ventures include the Monaco Yacht Show and Cannes Lions. Also under the Informa umbrella is South Florida Ventures, the organiser of art fairs such as Untitled Art, Art Miami and Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary; Independent will remain separate from South Florida Ventures.“

Meanwhile, with the design marketplace basic.space, another fair organiser (Design Miami) is staging a sales exhibition at Christie’s showroom in Beverly Hills, as reported by Alice Morby on Hypebeast.

In his follow-up report on Contemporary Istanbul, Osman Can Yerebakan points out in the Art Newspaper (possibly behind a paywall) a surprising announcement by the fair’s owner, Ali Güreli: “Whilst the fair has already announced its return for 2027 in the same week as the 19th Istanbul Biennial, Güreli also has future plans to launch another fair located on the city’s Asian side. He also added that his venture is in discussions with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism regarding an art taxation reform similar to Italy’s recent reduction of tax on art acquisitions to 5 per cent. “We need incentives to encourage corporations to collect art,” he said.”

Werner Remm presents the programme for Frieze Abu Dhabi in Artmagazine, whilst I present that of Art Basel Miami Beach.

In a rare instance of balanced journalism, Art Basel has Eileen Kinsella examine trends in the New York gallery scene in its Stories: “But beneath the bustle, something more fundamental is changing. New York’s galleries are becoming increasingly nimble in how they occupy the city: sharing premises, joining forces on exhibitions and art fairs, and turning to temporary spaces to test new locations and audiences – and keep overheads down. New York is particularly prone to pop-ups. According to the newly launched Storefront Pop-Up Index, New York is the leading US city for these types of spaces. What is more, galleries are among the biggest occupiers of pop-ups. Globally, art and galleries account for 15 per cent of demand for temporary spaces, second only to fashion, according to the index.“

Sotheby’s has unearthed yet another headline-grabbing collection for its New York autumn auction, reports Anny Shaw in the Art Newspaper (possibly behind a paywall): “For decades, the Blaquier-Arrieta collection was reportedly kept ‘under lock and key’ at the family estate outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. Today, five of its paintings are being unveiled at Sotheby’s in London, as the auction house begins an international tour of Impressionist and Modern masterpieces assembled by the Argentine sugar industry heiress Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier and her husband, Carlos Pedro Blaquier. Twelve paintings from the collection – one of the great remaining private holdings of its kind – are expected to fetch around $450m when they go under the hammer in New York in November.” The major transfer of wealth appears to be in full swing. At some point, the question will arise as to how many of these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities the market can absorb.

Antonia Krinninger introduces two young German auction houses aiming to make art more accessible in the FAZ of 2 October: “This is Anne Karge’s third auction. Last October, she opened her auction house in Dresden’s Neustadt district. She knows the auction business well, having previously worked for 20 years at other firms in the sector. The art historian spent twelve years at home with her children. ‘Now it’s my turn,’ she says. At Karge Auction House, many things are set to run differently from traditional competitors. ‘That impersonal approach doesn’t suit me,’ says Karge. ‘I want to do it my way.’ ‘That impersonal approach’ was also what initially kept the Berlin auctioneer Sebastian Greber away from the art market. He explains that he often felt uncomfortable in auction houses. ‘Everything was so formal; my shoes squeaked on the floor.’ After completing a banking apprenticeship, Greber studied business administration. He says he ‘got really into’ art. In November 2021, he founded the Auktionshaus am Grunewald. […] At the Auktionshaus am Grunewald, art is also available for modest sums. Every auction features works with an estimated price starting at 100 euros. They don’t make any profit from this, admits [Lena] Winter, but it’s the only way to give young people, in particular, a chance to get started. The strategy seems to be paying off. Some bidders are in their twenties and have now become regulars at the auctions.”

The connection to the art market that Eva Karcher draws in her report on the latest mega-yachts for the art market section of the Handelsblatt on 2 October is very tenuous: “Peter Marino, star architect and interior designer for many maisons of Louis Vuitton – the highest-turnover brand within the luxury group LVMH – fitted out the 101.5-metre-long vessel, which was delivered in 2015 by the Dutch shipyard Feadship and cost around 150 million dollars at the time, together with the renowned yacht designer François Zuretti, with all the hallmarks of eccentric exclusivity – African, Balinese and Thai furnishings, a multitude of exquisite materials such as silk, leather, bamboo and satinwood, and art – indeed, great art. For Arnault is one of the world’s most significant art collectors and founded the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. He is said to have recently commissioned a new mega-yacht, which is to be 143 metres long, have a volume around four times that of the Symphony, and cost 650 million dollars.” The article’s headline reads: “Environmental responsibility rather than ostentatious self-promotion”. It’s almost laughable.

According to a study, a lack of funding is the greatest threat to heritage sites, reports Francesca Aton in Artnews: “In a new study released by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) this week, the non-profit organisation found that insufficient public funding is the primary threat to heritage sites around the world. It continues to surpass climate hazards and gaps in expertise. The research was conducted as part of the organisation’s wider nomination process for its forthcoming 2027 World Monuments Watch list, due to be announced in February. Since 1996, the WMF has published the list every two years in an effort to address funding gaps in cultural preservation. The 2027 list has received 372 nominations, nearly double the figure it received in 2025.”

Switzerland is investing in provenance research, reports Anne Doran in Artnews: “The Swiss government will provide $2.4 million in funding for research into the provenance of objects in its museums and collections, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture announced earlier this week. Funding for 26 projects from 2027 to 2028 was awarded following a public call for proposals. A key focus will be on items acquired by Swiss institutions in colonial, archaeological and Nazi-era contexts. The successful projects range from initiatives involving several museums to collaborations with communities of origin, and the individual cataloguing of archives and databases.”

Wolfram Weimer’s term in office is increasingly turning into a political soap opera. “Documents cast doubt on Weimer’s account,” Jonas Mueller-Töwe first reported on 30 September on t-online. “Did Weimer fabricate his officials’ concerns?” was the headline used by Patrick Bahners on 1 October in the FAZ. There is no publicly available press release from the BKM regarding the allegations. A statement sent to various editorial offices can be read, amongst others, in the ZEIT.

In the case of the theft of a diamond necklace worth millions from the MAK in Vienna, the museum did everything correctly, according to an expert report commissioned by the MAK, reports the ORF.