Kobel's
Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 30 2026

And there is, in fact, an international autumn art fair in Vienna, reports Werner Remm in Artmagazine: “From 10 to 13 September, an art fair initiated and organised collectively by galleries will take place in Vienna for the first time. The VAU – Vienna Art United association, founded a few weeks ago by 35 Viennese galleries, has managed to secure the funding for the ‘Astoria Art Show’. […] However, the association’s first event, which has now been announced, is not to be seen as a permanent solution, but rather as an interim step until, in autumn 2027, a suitable venue is found for a fair featuring around 130 participating galleries, both international and national.” The pricing for the stands is intended to be innovative and, above all, reasonable: “Small galleries with an annual turnover of less than 250,000 euros pay a flat fee of 500 euros. Medium-sized galleries with an annual turnover of between 250,000 and 600,000 euros will be charged 1,500 euros, whilst for large galleries with an annual turnover of more than 600,000 euros, participation costs 2,500 euros. The galleries must classify themselves into the respective categories, and the organisers are relying on the solidarity of the participants in this regard. For the ‘Editions and Collectibles’ section, the fee is significantly higher, ranging from 5,000 to 8,000 euros; institutions pay a flat fee of 1,000 euros.”

In keeping with the season, Eva Karcher, writing for the Handelsblatt on 17 July, looks at a number of fairs in popular holiday destinations which, in her view, are growing in market significance: “This highlights the new role being played by fairs such as CAN Ibiza, Art Monte-Carlo and Art Cologne Palma Mallorca, which was held for the first time in April. By choosing exclusive locations, these small-scale art fairs count among the so-called ‘destination fairs’, which offer their clientele far more than traditional exhibition stands. [...] Holiday homes, yachts and classic cars alone are no longer enough for many ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Younger collectors in particular appreciate the smart mix of styles and genres. They combine contemporary art with antiques, design or collectables. Art remains an intellectual adventure – whilst at the same time allowing for connections with other cultural spheres.” Clementine Kügler, writing for the FAZ (paywall), ranks the fair in Ibiza somewhat lower: “With 38 galleries from Spain, Europe, Asia and America, the fair is both generously scaled and manageable. The selection covers a wide range of tastes. Those wishing to avoid anything too colourful will also find serious discoveries.”

Art Bad Gastein, which Werner Remm visited for Artmagazine, is surely another such ‘destination fair’: “It is no longer enough simply to open the doors of a gallery or exhibition hall for art enthusiasts to flock in and buy. Younger collectors in particular expect art fairs to offer a mix of art and events that enable a special personal experience. Andrea von Goetz, the initiator of ‘sommer.frische.kunst’ in Bad Gastein, recognised the trend several years ago and established ‘art: badgastein’ at the Hotel Astoria, where the charm of an old spa hotel blends with contemporary art and the mountain backdrop of Bad Gastein. Thirteen galleries have heeded the call to the Gastein Valley this year.”

Ursula Scheer describes the business performance of the international auction houses in the first half of the year in the FAZ (paywall): “At the major auction houses, the jubilation over the results for the first half of 2026 seems to know no bounds: Christie’s reports ‘a 71 per cent increase in auction sales’ compared with the same period last year, along with its most successful private sales to date and a total turnover of 4.5 billion dollars, of which 3.5 billion came from auctions. Close behind is rival Sotheby’s, which reported total turnover of $4.4 billion for the first two quarters – an increase of 58 per cent, to which auction sales of $3.4 billion contributed.” However, these strong results were primarily due to a handful of consignments: “Mega-collections assembled by ambitious super-collectors – whether coming onto the market posthumously, as in the cases of Rockefeller, Allen or Mnuchin; for the purpose of transferring assets during their lifetime, as with Lewis; or following a divorce, as with the Macklowes – are fuelling the auction houses’ business. What’s more, they set the trend: according to the American analyst Art Tactic, ‘single-owner sales’ accounted for just under a quarter of their turnover in 2025. A decade earlier, the figure was less than ten per cent. […] The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals may be growing year on year, but the idea that capital flows at the top trickle down evenly like sparkling wine in a pyramid of champagne glasses is wishful thinking rather than reality, whether in the financial or art markets.”

Phillips has enjoyed an exceptionally successful season, reports Elisa Carollo in the Observer: “Phillips celebrated its 230th anniversary with a solid $507 million spring season, up 60 per cent from the previous year, according to figures released this week. Even more telling than the headline total is the 90 per cent sell-through rate, which confirms the impact of the auction house’s priority bidding and live-auction fee structures, which reward early written bids with a lower buyer’s premium. “What has been particularly encouraging this season is not just the strength of the results, but what they tell us about the market,” Phillips CEO Martin Wilson told the Observer before confirming that priority bidding has been a highly successful tool. Pre-sale bids have been three times last year’s level, and many sales have seen 40 per cent or more of lots sold before the auctioneer takes to the podium. “Collectors have embraced it because it offers a genuine financial advantage, whilst consignors are seeing the benefit in the exceptional sell-through rates.”“ However, this means that these are now only to a limited extent auctions in the traditional sense.

Elisa Carollo sums up the auction season in London in the Observer as solid but not thrilling: “The London sales opened with a record-breaking £393.4 million evening sale for Sotheby’s, led by the benchmark-shattering £273.6 million Lewis sale, which became not only the most expensive single-owner collection sold at auction but also the highest result for an evening sale in Europe in more than a decade. It was a tough act for the other major auction houses to follow, particularly given that in 2024, Christie’s restructured its summer season in London, limiting its flagship sales to October and March. Its summer sales also integrate categories whilst emphasising broader cross-collecting strategies rather than relying on blockbuster evening auctions built around a few star lots or artist names.”

“And in the end, it’s always the Bavarians who win,” says Ursula Scheer, summarising the past season in Germany in the FAZ (paywall). “That’s how the game has been played for some time now in the German auction world. Following the conclusion of the summer season with its high-value ‘Evening Sales’ of modern and contemporary art, the company – which is currently celebrating its eightieth anniversary – has emerged as Germany’s top-grossing auctioneer for the 16th consecutive year. According to Ketterer’s own figures, its evening and daytime auctions generated a total of 37.5 million euros, more than in the previous year. Five of the 57 lots offered in the ‘Evening Sale’ exceeded the million mark, including the most expensive lot of the German summer auction season. Wassily Kandinsky’s 1911 painting ‘Villa Seeburg am Staffelsee’ was sold for 4.4 million euros – double the lower estimate – and is now part of a private Swiss collection. Including the buyer’s premium, the total comes to 5.5 million. […] International consignors and bidders, a solid base in the domestic market and, time and again, thrilling moments in the auction halls that make one forget the daily grind: this is how German auctioneers can head off on their summer holidays with a sense of satisfaction.” I summarise the auction season in Germany for Monopol (paywall).

The auction of the insolvency estate of the Munich porcelain dealer Röbbig at Sotheby’s in Paris was not particularly impressive, reports Sabine Spindler in the Handelsblatt of 17 July: “Overall, the Röbbig auctions, Parts I and II, yielded a gross total of around 3.3 million euros, with relatively few lots withdrawn. However, this is nowhere near enough to settle the claims of more than 70 creditors, totalling around 22 million euros. So far, only 2.7 million euros of this has been recognised. The third tranche, which is due to be auctioned online at Sotheby’s in Cologne this autumn, is unlikely to make up the shortfall either.”

Hubertus Butin discusses in the FAZ (paywall) whether and how AI can be useful in the authentication of art: “According to Carina Popovici, co-founder and CEO of Art Recognition, AI is intended to be merely ‘a tool in the toolbox’ for art-historical experts, without replacing them. Humanities-based skills such as critical thinking within complex contexts remain the domain of art historians. Only they can bring together the findings of stylistic analysis, provenance research and material-technical analyses and assess them as a triad. AI can certainly be useful as a tool for art history, but it lacks the human capacity for comprehensive reflection and evaluation.”

Hubertus Butin has nothing good to say about celebrity actors who paint in the FAZ (paywall): “Such ‘celebrity art’ is noticed not because of qualities inherent in the works themselves, but because of the famous names of their creators. Their paintings are almost never original, complex, thoughtful or even relevant to the development of art. Nevertheless, the actors receive public attention, exhibition space and money for their works. They clearly lack the necessary distance from their own work, as well as a social corrective that would tell them: ‘Cobbler, stick to your last’ – that is, to acting. […] Of course, there is another Hollywood superstar who cannot be overlooked: Miss Piggy from The Muppet Show. As early as the first series in 1976, she can be seen sitting in front of a canvas, painting a self-portrait. In 2015, the glamorous pig lady received the feminist Sackler Centre First Award for her art at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.”

Bavaria, which has not exactly covered itself in glory when it comes to dealing with looted art, is adopting a new stance on the issue, reports dpa: “Around a year after the uproar over Bavaria’s handling of Nazi-looted art, the Free State is adopting a new stance on this issue. A research centre for provenance research and restitution issues relating to Nazi-looted art is to be established at the Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) in Munich, said Minister for the Arts Markus Blume (CSU) following a cabinet meeting. An independent commission will also be set up. However, according to Blume, the final decision on restitution to victims of the Nazis’ large-scale art theft is to remain with the Free State.”

The drastic downsizing of Pace Galleries is not a sign of the end of mega-galleries, believes Adam Lindemann in his article for Artnet: “Pace didn’t do anything that the others don’t do. What raised eyebrows was the way they did it. The sudden and drastic scale of the decision was the shocker (as was the public announcement). But the writing had been on the wall for a couple of years now, and anyone who didn’t adjust to the new realities was delusional. I’m referring to collectors, as well as dealers.” Sebastian Frenzel takes a slightly different view in Monopol (paywall): “The downsizing at Pace could mark a turning point: from the mantra of constant expansion towards sharpening the gallery’s profile, from quantitative to qualitative growth. Galleries that will be successful in the future ‘do not try to build empires, but communities’ – as former Art Basel director Marc Spiegler recently put it. This is because younger collectors, in particular, are less interested in the artwork as a status symbol than in experiences and a sense of belonging. But this does not arise in anonymous mass-market business; rather, it happens when a gallery owner truly knows and looks after both their artists and their collectors, when a personal relationship and a shared identity are built.”

The renowned Steidl publishing house is in provisional insolvency, reports Monopol, citing agency material.

Christiane Meixner has written an obituary in the Tagesspiegel dedicated to the Berlin gallery owner Klaus Märtens, who passed away at the end of June.