Kobel's Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 15 2025

Tariffs or no tariff on art? If so, how much? The question of why doesn't really arise when considering the mafia-like methods of the Trump regime, which rules without parliament. (No, I don't plan on travelling to the US in the next few years.) Given the chaotic situation, most of the trade media are capitulating in the face of the possible repercussions. Only Katya Kazakina is trying to provide some clarity at Artnet (possibly paywalled): ‘On the ground in Chelsea, New York's gallery epicenter, anxiety was spreading fast. Dealers were glued to their computers, deciphering emails from shippers and trade organizations like the Art Dealers Association of America and the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA). By mid-afternoon on Thursday, many seemed to find some solace in an arcane, fine-print-type of a document, known as ‘50 USC 1702(b),’ which lists objects exempt from tariffs. Dated 2001, it includes prehistoric items like CD-ROMs (remember those?), microfiche, news wire feeds, and—drum roll, please!—artworks. By the end of the rollercoaster of a day, there was a growing consensus that important tariffs will not apply to art, with a big caveat. ‘Even though it looks like it doesn't affect art right now, it can change tomorrow,’ Green said. ‘It's fluid. Watches and wines are taxed. So, it makes little sense why art isn't.’’ Frauke Steffens has created a picture of the mood in the two neighbouring countries of the USA in the FAZ: ‘Donald Trump is imposing new tariffs on the world, and the art market is also becoming restless as a result. Until now, it was not clear how galleries, collectors and artists would be affected by the extra levies on imports to America. But after Trump imposed at least a ten percent tariff on all imports and even higher import taxes on countries like China, concerns are becoming more concrete – for example in the neighbouring countries of Mexico and Canada. Neither has been hit by the latest tariff hammer yet, but import tariffs of 25 per cent will probably come into force against them after a break. Works of art have so far been exempt from tariffs due to existing trade agreements with both neighbouring countries. However, in view of Trump's impulsiveness, this could possibly change quickly.’ Vivian Perkovic spoke to me on Deutschlandfunk Kultur about the looming tariffs and an exemption for art that is hidden deep in the legal thicket.

J. Emil Sennewald emphasises the regional focus of Art Paris in the Handelsblatt: ‘This time, the fair is going for a “French touch”: More than half of the 60 newcomers among the 170 exhibitors from 25 countries come from France. ‘Regional and cosmopolitan at the same time’, says Art Paris director Guillaume Piens, ‘geared towards discovery’. Above all, the event inspires confidence: with a consistently high standard, few speculative objects and affordable entry-level goods for new collectors.’ In the FAZ, Bettina Wohlfarth breaks it down: ‘Sixty per cent of the galleries are from France. Among the forty per cent of foreign exhibitors, some have travelled from far away; the majority come from Belgium, Switzerland and Italy. For several years now, major European galleries have been competing, such as the Galleria Continua with its headquarters in San Gimignano, alongside internationally renowned French dealers such as Kamel Mennour, Almine Rech, Daniel Templon and Lelong. Art Paris is able to assert itself as a more affordable complementary event compared to the autumn fair hosted by Art Basel.’

SP Arte in Sao Paolo also draws its strength from the region, reports Mercedes Ezquiaga at Artsy: ‘As the fair has grown more local, its audience is becoming increasingly international. ‘We have a record number of international visitors this year,’ noted Feitosa. “More than 80 collectors, curators, and advisors from countries like Japan, Australia, Germany, Poland, South Korea, and the United States have come.”’

Miart in Milan is characterised by a recovery in the Italian art market, writes Julia Stellmann in the FAZ: ‘After being outdone by its Italian competitors – Artissima in Turin and Arte Fiera in Bologna – the fair is clearly back on its feet again. After the low point of 2012, when only 92 galleries participated, the number of exhibitors under the direction of Nicola Ricciardi has risen again to 179 from 31 countries. This may come as a surprise in view of the looming global recession and the protests in Italy against the still-high VAT rate of 22 per cent on art. Moreover, as foreign gallerists report, the Italian market is said to be difficult to break into anyway.’ However, anyone who has ever visited the Arte Fiera in Bologna would find it hard to imagine that the Miart has ever been superior to it in any way over the last two decades, except in terms of the number of exhibitors. At Artsy, Sofia Hallström explains: ‘Ricciardi noted that, as more people relocate, the expatriate community is growing. Its high-net-worth collector base is growing in tandem, partly thanks to its attractive tax regime. Major galleries are also following suit, like Thaddaeus Ropac, which is preparing to open a new gallery in the city, and Ben Brown Fine Arts, which is looking to expand its presence.’

Art Basel's parent company, MCH Group AG, has reported a net profit for the first time since 2016, I report in Weltkunst Insider (60 days free trial) and in the Handelsblatt of 4 April.

Culture seems to be more important to people than policymakers realise. This is one of the conclusions that can be drawn from the Liz Mohn Foundation's Relevance Monitor for Culture (PDF): ‘Around four-fifths of respondents believe that cultural offerings encourage discussion and independent opinion-forming as well as critical thinking (81% each) and that they promote tolerance and understanding (79%). Almost three-quarters believe that cultural offerings create access to education and knowledge for all (74%, Figure 8) and that they comprehensively represent diversity (71%). Two-thirds (67%) of respondents believe that cultural offerings provide perspectives on social issues that do not appear in the news.’ The Hamburg Senator for Culture, Carsten Brosda, comments on the results of the survey on Deutschlandfunk Kultur (audio).

Stephan-Andreas Casdorff calls in the Tagesspiegel for culture to finally be included as a national goal in the Basic Law: ‘Twenty years ago, in 2005, the Bundestag's Enquete Commission on Culture in Germany unanimously recommended that the Basic Law be amended to include the sentence ‘The state shall protect and promote culture’. Therefore: the state goal of culture must finally be included in the Basic Law during this legislative period.’

Meanwhile, the Berlin Senate is brandishing the radical free-market club and threatening to privatise parts of the theatre business, reports Natahlie Daiber on Radioeins (text and audio): ‘According to rbb information, the Berlin Senate is working on a reorganisation of the five state-owned theatres. The stages - Volksbühne, Deutsches Theater, Maxim Gorki Theater, Theater an der Parkaue and the Konzerthaus - are currently preparing for talks with the Senate about a possible privatisation.’ If, as is often speculated, Joe Chialo, the senator for culture, were to become federal minister for culture, it would be time for the first street protests against the appointment of a minister.

Nikolai B. Forstbauer reported on the Stuttgart gallery tour Art Alarm and its 22 participants Forstbauer took part in the Stuttgart gallery tour Art Alarm with 22 participants for the Stuttgarter Zeitung.

Abu Dhabi's stake in Sotheby's is likely to be higher than previously thought, reports Harrison Jacobs at Artnews: ‘Earlier this week, the Financial Times published a wide-ranging interview with Sotheby's CEO Charles F. Stewart, seemingly meant to talk up the auction house's business ahead of next month's all-important marquee auctions in New York. The biggest takeaway, however, didn't come from a quote, but was tucked halfway through the piece. The auction house's recent $1 billion investment deal with ADQ, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund and investment company, the FT reported, was for a 25 to 30 percent stake in the company.’

Rose-Maria Gropp reports in the FAZ on the resounding success of the Warhol auction at the Dorotheum auction house in Vienna, which was held to sell the archive of the former Galerie Daniel Blau: ‘The event turned into a ‘white-glove sale’, with every single lot sold. A total of 4,500 bids from around the world were received during the online auction, which lasted seven hours. The lower total estimate of €321,200 was ultimately exceeded by a gross total result of €2.8 million. Most lots exceeded their starting price many times over.’

E.T., on the other hand, has to go back home, reports Richard Friebe in the Tagesspiegel.

In the FAZ, Nicole Scheyerer points out some peculiarities in connection with a Venice veduta allegedly by William Turner: ‘In 2005, the work came into the possession of its current owner. The owner named in the study, who had not previously come to light as a collector, commissioned Artziwna with the expertise. That too is unusual, because the art dealer primarily sells Austrian art created after 1945. However, gallery owner Gerald Ziwna, who has been in business for over forty years, emphasises that, as a trained restorer and former dealer in Old Masters, he has already done quite a few such studies. The fact that the work has not yet appeared at a London or New York auction is probably primarily due to the incomplete provenance.’

Importing works of art into the EU is becoming more complicated, explains lawyer Zacharias Marwick in Weltkunst Insider: ‘What has long played a major role in Germany due to the Cultural Property Protection Act will now also gain importance at the European level: the examination of foreign legal norms to clarify whether the import or export is legal. The rules for the import of cultural objects from third countries, which were adopted in 2019, will come into force on 28 June 2025. These stipulate that anyone importing objects from an archaeological context that are more than 250 years old must obtain an import licence, regardless of their value. Applicants must prove that the objects were legally exported from the country of origin by submitting the relevant documents.’

On 1 April, Dirk Knipphals in the taz Klaus Wowereit zum neuen Kultustaatsminister, I let Art Basel stir up the Viennese art fair scene at Artmagazine, and Monopol makes the Last Generation and Just Stop Oil the curators of the German Pavilion in Venice. The magazine seems to have found the joke so good that the next day it felt obliged to explain it.