Kobel's Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 43 2024

The first edition of Art Basel Paris was an impressive demonstration. Who is top dog in Europe should be clear by now. It is not only the Swiss with their event that is outstripping London. There is now also a whole range of attractive satellite fairs, above all the Paris Internationale, for which there has never been a comparable avant-garde forum in the UK. However, things could also get difficult for the parent fair in Basel if Paris develops too well.

Bettina Wohlfarth of the FAZ puts the first ABP at the Grand Palais in an international context: “All eyes, as one dealer summarised, are on Paris. Some influential American galleries, including Matthew Marks and David Kordansky, skipped the Frieze Art Fair in London this time, but are taking part in Art Basel Paris. On the opening day, Thaddaeus Ropac confirmed that important collectors and museum directors from America and Europe were in the Grand Palais, and that Asian art lovers had also travelled there.”

Susanne Schreiber of the Handelsblatt was also very impressed by Art Basel Paris: “Paris combines tradition with avant-garde, joie de vivre with culture like no other city. There are countless five-star hotels, museums and private collections here, and the evening entertainment is more magnificent than in the rather staid Basel. On the first of two VIP days, collectors from overseas, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy therefore flocked to the renovated Grand Palais, alone, in pairs and in family sizes. And the exhibitors tried their best to stimulate the desire to buy.”

Martina Meister from the WeLT: “Art Basel Paris is the youngest and smallest of the fairs in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong, but with the Grand Palais it is undoubtedly the most beautiful offshoot. The organisers still swear that in Paris the connection to the city will be cultivated, and above all the French scene will be highlighted. 'A third of the galleries are from Paris or have offshoots here,' Delépine affirms. But after this third edition at the latest, it can be said that his fair has become more international. And that's a good thing.”

Laura Helena Wurth reminds us of the basics in the NZZ: “It is indeed strange that what was, so to speak, inviolably exhibited as an artefact at one of the most important art exhibitions in the Western world is now for sale. And yet we should not forget that the art market is an important part of what is called the art world. Artists who want to make a living from their art also have to sell it.”

The second renovation of the Grand Palais in this century does not appear to have eliminated all of the building's weaknesses, as George Nelson reports at Artnews: “By Thursday afternoon, though, the 124-year-old building was taking on water as heavy rain battered Paris. Several galleries moved fast to prevent the leaks from damaging their paintings. Art Basel said in a statement that it had called in extra art handlers to help the affected exhibitors protect their inventories. ‘Due to heavy rainfall on the afternoon of Thursday 17 October, several water leaks were reported on the show floor under the nave of the Grand Palais,’ a fair spokesperson said. ‘The Grand Palais's historic glass roof is prone to minimal leaks in situations of extreme rain. We remain in constant contact with the GrandPalaisRmn, the organisation responsible for the venue, who are determining possible actions.'’’

I was in Paris for the Tagesspiegel (paywall) and Artmagazine.

Aurelie Tanaqui visited some of the satellites of Art Basel Paris for the Handelsblatt: “Nine other satellite fairs are taking place between 15 and 20 October, including the 'Moderne Art Fair', 'Design Miami Paris', 'Asia Now', 'AKAA', 'Paris International' and 'Nada'.” She didn't like all of them. The market seems big enough for everyone, is the impression of Devorah Lauter of Artnews: “With so many events in such a densely packed week, the question inevitably arises as to whether the Parisian cake is big enough to satisfy everyone. But from what ARTnews has heard so far, the answer is a resounding yes. [...] The galleries are also very interested. Silvia Ammon, director of Paris Internationale, told ARTnews that she has never received so many requests to participate in the fair – 400 applications for 75 places. And this despite the fact that small and medium-sized galleries are struggling with constantly rising operating costs and a weakening market. ‘It's been a really difficult year for the entire art market, especially for young galleries, but I didn't have any rejections. I have a very strong desire to be in Paris and to be there that week in October,’ she said.”

In his report for the New York Times about the opening of the new Sotheby's branch: “The opening of Sotheby's new French headquarters is part of a more general renaissance in the Paris art scene. Increasing numbers of international visitors, some of them very wealthy, want to visit fairs, galleries, museums and auction houses in this intoxicatingly stylish city. But visiting is one thing; buying, another. And Sotheby's is a company under serious pressure to translate style into financial substance.”

Susanne Schreiber visited the small but elegant Highlights art fair in Munich for the Handelsblatt: “The highlights appeal to various customer groups: proven connoisseurs and museums, people with an eye for aesthetics and beginners. It is a shame that they mainly attract collectors and museum people from Bavaria rather than from all over Germany. [...] Art, especially that created before the 20th century, arouses curiosity. With growing knowledge, the joy of the art buyer increases, as he enters previously unknown worlds.” Despite the splendour of the Munich Residenz, not all that glitters is gold, observes Brita Sachs in the FAZ: “At the Munich Highlights at the Munich Residenz, the historical splendour of the interior is combined with the comfort of a modern tent construction in the Imperial Courtyard. This creates the perfect setting for a boutique art fair that challenges our viewing habits by juxtaposing old and new art, and proves how well works from different eras can harmonise with each other. [...] Not everyone, like the porcelain specialist Röbbig, will have ‘adjusted their prices to the market and corrected them downwards a little’.”

Sotheby's is auctioning off a portrait of Alan Turing, painted by the robot AI-Da, as the only lot in its Digital Art Day Auction, ending on 31 October. The estimated price of 120,000 to 180,000 US dollars seems rather low in view of the prices paid in the past for digital knick-knacks. But times are hard. At least, according to the catalogue, an irrevocable bid has already been submitted. Ursula Scheer attempts a classification in the FAZ.

From the list of the 500 richest Germans compiled by the Manager Magazin (paywall), Monopol has selected those related to the art world.

In the Spiegel, Hannah Pilarczyk, Wolfgang Höbel and Enrico Ippolito discuss what the Berlin Senate's austerity plans could mean for art and culture in the capital: “Regarding the Berlin state savings plans, Joe Chialo announced when he took office in April 2023 that tougher times were coming. But after that, we were no longer spoken to directly about it, and even now, with this much advance notice, there still seems to be no plan from the political side as to how savings should be made in a responsible and cleverly adjusted way. Instead, there is still the threat of the ‘lawnmower’ approach, which treats everyone the same without taking into account the different needs, obligations and response options of the many different institutions and actors. The same is not necessarily fair.”

After five years, the Kulturgutschutzgesetz has proven itself, says Nicola Kuhn in the Tagesspiegel, and there are even compliments: “That sounds completely different today, five years after its introduction. At the hearing of the Bundestag's cultural committee, which was held to evaluate the law, there was instead recognition for the ministry and its carefully crafted law. All parties offered praise, and the invited experts joined in. As a result, the minor changes proposed by the BKM were rubber-stamped at the meeting.” Art dealers, however, see it somewhat differently: “In the case of antiques and old art, it is almost impossible to trace through which hands an object has passed, she complained. The burden of proof is being placed on the trade, she criticised, saying that the requirements go too far for the smallest companies, which often have fewer than ten employees. Of the 10,000 export applications, only three were rejected in total.”

The trial against former art consultant Lisa Schiff is nearing its conclusion, reports Alex Greenberger at Artnews: “Lisa Schiff, a prominent art adviser who was accused of swindling her clients out of millions of dollars, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in a New York court on Thursday. [...] The court's release said that Schiff had agreed to forfeit $6.4 million. The count of wire fraud to which she pleaded guilty carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Her sentencing has been scheduled for January.” Sarah Maslin Nir summarises the full story in the New York Times.