Zilkens' News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 12 2024

Vladimir the Terrible has been elected president for the fifth time, as expected, by around 80% out of around 75%. No reason for him to even think about peace.

The TEFAF in Maastricht came to an end on Thursday. More than 50,000 people crowded into this temporary museum and had to put up with long waiting times in front of the only ticket booth with just one ticket seller. This was pretty grotty in organisational terms - but highly profitable for the organiser, as tickets could also be purchased online. This is how you replace human labour with bits and bites when labour becomes too expensive. Public employers, such as the railways, do not yet dare to take such measures, but instead allow themselves to be blackmailed by wild-eyed trade unionists who still cling to post-socialist ideals in a globalised world. They make policy for those who (still) have work - for those who, poorly trained, are looking for work, things are getting tighter and this is not due to the people who come to us from other countries.

More than 40,000 people visit Art Karlsruhe in 5 days, more than 50,000 visit TEFAF in just under 8 days and 20,000 a year visit the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne or a few more the interim of the Roman-Germanic Museum. The Museum Ludwig will attract around 280,000 visitors in 2023. The crowds of buyers at the fairs are driven by curiosity, not their desire to buy. Only a small fraction buy at trade fairs. Now you might ask yourself why the curious go to the trade fairs but don't make it to the museum. Perhaps there is a lack of curiosity supporters? A stupid show like the Banksy fakes in Cologne attracts thousands because the local press is constantly beating the drum. This is how people are weaned off originals and their understanding of the value of an original decreases. And if AI then makes art historians of all genders unemployed in matters of authenticity, large parts of the school of seeing can be closed.

Despite all the moaning - I liked the SPARK in the Marx Halle in Vienna. Big names were there, even if the gallery owners were represented by their representatives. Maastricht and Vienna on the same day is really bad, with all the strikes. The fair's egalitarian concept is impressive: all booths have the same dimensions and each gallery is only represented with one position. However, the team of experts appointed by the fair has a say in this - the gallery owners should actually decide who they show.

EURAPCO - ever heard of it? It's a club of mutual organisations (insurers) in Europe that maintain a lively professional exchange and support each other through networks and capacity. Achmea, Caser, Gothaer, Schweizer Mobiliar, Lansförsäkringar, Local Tapiola, Reale Group and, most recently, UNIQA, together with Aviva, form the core. The practice group dealing with art insurance met at TEFAF to exchange experiences.

Stefan Kobel has once again compiled a lot of information - we hope you enjoy reading it

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