Zilkens'
News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 48 2023

Kobels Kunstwoche has now been around for 10 years. We would like to thank our loyal readership and warmly congratulate Stefan Kobel for not allowing himself to be bent over the years, but for retaining his critical spirit and writing style. When we started putting the idea of critically commenting on the art market online in 2013, I had cuffs because I feared that customers would turn away from us because a word or report that was not suitable for them would be taken the wrong way. Instead, our readership has grown steadily and we launched in English over a year ago.

The Kunsthaus Lempertz in Cologne is much older, dating back to 1798, when Johann Matthias Heberle founded an antiquarian bookshop in Cologne, which was later taken over by the Hanstein family. We congratulate and wish the upcoming auctions of contemporary art and photography every success. A Pechstein is the top lot for which between EUR 1.5 and 2 million is expected.

At the request of the Federal Criminal Police Office, the German Museums Association has warned museums with holdings of East Asian art in particular against theft. This year alone, three museums in Europe were hit by thieves and valuable Chinese ceramics were stolen. There was a spectacular robbery in Cologne in September, after two burglary attempts in the previous months had failed. Now it is possible that the collector-crazy client of all genders is out there, secretly squatting in his cellar and enjoying the loot. The insurance industry is beginning to react to the changing risk situation by slightly increasing premiums.

Allapattah seems to be the new art district in Miami. Located directly in the flight path to the airport, this neighbourhood seems to be well suited to exude the flair that young art needs in order to be successfully conveyed to the collecting individual (not to say collector of all genders) with its low rents and commercial-industrial environment. Voloshyn's from Kiev are also there.

More than 90 galleries took part in the Abu Dhabi Art Fair this year. German-speaking Europe was poorly represented: Only Krinzinger from Vienna and Anna Laudel from Düsseldorf were on show, the former in the "female artists" section and the latter in the "sustainability" section. The fair had put together two further sections Hong Kong with 9 galleries, some of which were not at all oriented towards the presumed local taste, and Latin America with 6 galleries, two each from Brazil and Colombia and one from Argentina and Mexico. Pablo Goebel from Mexico also travelled with the most expensive painting at the fair: a still life by Frieda Kahlo, which was offered for USD 4 million. Incidentally, a still life by Botero was on offer for USD 1.5 million. In the meantime, an impressive gallery scene has formed in the Middle East that is well worth seeing. Even galleries from Ramallah showed works by their artists. The mood among the exhibitors was good on the opening day. Let's see if the - incidentally all-female - organising team of the fair can publish figures to confirm this after it closes today.

We wish everyone a stimulating week - the first Advent is also coming up soon!

Stephan Zilkens and the team at Zilkens Fine Art Insurance Broker GmbH in Solothurn and Cologne