Kobel's Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 23 2024

Christie's has actually fallen victim to data thieves. Zachary Small writes in the New York Times: ‘Hackers said that Christie's failed to pay a ransom when one was demanded. ‘We attempted to come to a reasonable resolution with them but they ceased communication midway through,’ the hackers wrote in their dark web post, which was reviewed by a New York Times reporter. ‘It is clear that if this information is posted they will incur heavy fines from GDPR as well as ruining their reputation with their clients. GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, is an information privacy law in the European Union that requires companies to disclose when cyberattacks might have compromised the sensitive data of clients. Noncompliance with the law includes potential fines on companies that can rise to more than $20 million.’ Ursula Scheer summarises the article in German for the FAZ.

Olga Kronsteiner explains the risks for Christie's customers in the Standard: “According to the article, third parties 'downloaded data from the internal customer verification system'. Specifically, this is data from passports or other identity documents that include the full name, date of birth or even the document number: In other words, ‘authenticity-verified identity data of a clientele with purchasing power’, and this increases ‘the value for criminals’ as well as ‘the probability of identity theft’, explains Martin Tschirsich, information security consultant, in response to a STANDARD enquiry. As a result, ‘fraudsters can participate in online auctions, open bank accounts, launder money and obtain information on personal data in the name of the person concerned’. The list of abuse scenarios ‘opened up by the disclosure of identity attributes stored insecurely by Christie's’ is very long, as the German expert emphasises.”

It is one thing for a company like Christie's to allow its particularly sensitive customer data to be stolen. If the second incident of this kind is also dealt with by stonewalling the public and - as happened initially - even the customers concerned, the EU would have every reason to react without humour. The only chance of preventing the publication or sale of this data is probably to give in to blackmail. So far, no case has come to light in which the stolen data has turned up anywhere after the ransom was paid. Or you simply hoped that no buyer will be found for the data and that the thieves will not put their then worthless ‘treasure’ online out of revenge in order to avoid admitting that nobody wanted to pay for the data. Brian Boucher discusses the conceivable scenarios at Artnet.

Christie's is by no means the first company in the art industry to have its customer data stolen. It has even happened to Art Basel via its parent company MCH. According to the website haveibeenpwned, Artsy, Artvalue and Liveauctioneers have already been victims of successful hacker attacks in the past, and LinkedIn even twice. However, no proof of identity has ever been obtained before.

At the same time, Christie's has announced that it will almost completely abandon its June auctions in London with immediate effect, reports Stephanie Dieckvoss in the Handelsblatt: “According to Keith Gill, head of department at Christie's, the house wants to attract customers in the summer with unusual, innovative auctions, as he explains to Handelsblatt. The reorganisation is also strategic. ‘The June season has not been cancelled. But we are thinking globally about when and where we organise which auctions. We will soon be opening our own auction rooms in Hong Kong. We are therefore also considering New York, Paris and London. The October auctions in London, which we have expanded, were very successful, as was this year's March auction.”

Meanwhile, Sotheby's is said to be planning massive redundancies, especially in London, report Kabir Jhala and Anny Shaw in The Art Newspaper: “According to four anonymous sources, around 50 people are due to leave the firm in London. Further layoffs are expected at Sotheby's New York and its European locations, but The Art Newspaper understands Sotheby's UK workforce will be particularly affected.”

Paris+ par Art Basel is now called Art Basel Paris, according to a press release. Ursula Scheer is delighted in the FAZ: “The number of participating galleries has been increased from 154 to 194 exhibitors for the upcoming edition in October. They come from 42 countries and territories. The French focus is to remain a trademark of the fair. Around a third of the galleries are based in France, and 51 first-time exhibitors will provide a breath of fresh air.” The number of “galleries operating spaces in France” (press release quote) is 64, compared to 61 in the previous year, meaning that the French share has shrunk from 40 per cent to one third (including the international gallery corprations). Competing Art Paris will be pleased.

VIP access to Art Basel next week can be purchased for 750 Swiss francs, granting access only from 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The Premium+ Discovery package also includes participation in some exclusive events such as a studio visit and private guided tours of the fair; the cost is CHF 1,850 for one day.

I visited the London Gallery Weekend for Tagesspiegel (possibly paywall) and Artmagazine.

There's lots of lobbying and activism for perceived or actually disadvantaged groups in the art world, but so far none for people from low-income family backgrounds. This is currently changing, reports Aimee Dawson in The Art Newspaper: “A new club is being launched for people who work in the UK art scene and are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Called Arts and Graft, the London-based club is founded by Meg Molloy, who is the head of communications at Stephen Friedman Gallery. The independent organisation is ‘for bringing people together, networking, hosting events, socialising and more,’ says the online form for those who wish to register their interest in joining. [...] Molloy, who is from Margate and personally identifies as being from a lower socioeconomic background, says the idea for the club came from casual conversations on the subject with friends and peers. ‘I had been thinking for some time that there was something missing for people in galleries who were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,’ she says.” Is the initiative based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what constitutes the art scene and the art market, or is something revolutionary actually happening here, in that the art world's classism that is often lamented is actually being tackled?

Although solidarity is often demanded in the Berlin art scene, it only applies selectively, states Birgit Rieger in the Tagesspiegel (paywall) in view of the expulsion of the painter Frank Nitsche from his studio, which he had taken over from his friend Eberhard Havekost on Flutgraben, who died in 2019: “The association has been increasingly supporting groups and initiatives for some time, according to its website. The award criteria include social urgency, professionalism and diversity. The association wants to ‘strengthen access to the resources of the Flutgraben in the future for BIPoC and other people affected by discrimination (due to disability, trans hostility, classism, etc.)’.” It's interesting to see what happens when those who read themselves as oppressed are in control.

Caspar David's sketchbook, which was auctioned off by Grisebach in Berlin for 1.8 million euros at the end of last year, has now actually been banned from export as a national cultural asset following an announced review, reports Susanne Schreiber in the Handelsblatt. She criticises the practice here: “In France, the state acts as the highest bidder at the end of the auction and approves the market price. In the UK, a blocking period applies, which is used to attract third-party funding. In Germany, however, there is uncertainty for willing buyers from abroad and the seller.” Marcus Woeller also criticises the process in the WeLT: “The managing director of the Grisebach auction house was not even informed about this. She is shocked not only because of the lost commissions, but primarily because of the impact on the German auction market: ‘Those who are unsure whether they want to sell something of possible national interest will think very carefully about whether they do so in Germany,’ said Diandra Donecker in an interview with the ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’. This would cause lasting damage to the ‘art market location’. In any case, the owner of the sketchbook has suffered economic damage. He is now restricted to the German market in his attempt to sell it again. According to Donecker, the owner is planning to take legal action against the decision of the cultural property protection authorities. It could set a precedent.”

Two gemstones from a necklace stolen two years ago in a spectacular robbery at the Tefaf along with other pieces of jewellery have turned up in Israel and Hong Kong, reports the NL Times: “The police previously reported that the suspects came from the Balkans. They have now narrowed it down to Nis in Serbia. Investigation showed that the suspects stayed in Liège and Verviers in Belgium before the robbery and fled to Serbia via Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Hungary afterward. The police think the suspects may be hiding in Serbia or Belgrade.”

Easyfairs, the parent company of Art Brussels, is now majority-owned by private equity firms, according to a press release.

Peter Fabian, the publisher of Berliner Artikel-Editionen, has died. Holm Friebe dedicates an obituary to him at Monopol.