Art Basel (preview-) opened its sister fair in Miami Beach, Florida, for the eighth time now.
There was much at stake:
- Is ABMB still the leading contemporary art fair of the Americas?
- Will it loose the leading role to the urban Armory Art Fair in New York City?
I would say, both questions can be answered with 'yes': Many US and International collectors came back this year and bought again.
There were 265 leading galleries from 33 countries - about half of the art dealers were from the United States. However, after last year's disappointing performance, 60 galleries left the fair.
The art market had been severely hit by the current economic crisis - especially the important US market. Yet, some 40,000 art lovers visited the show.
One could notice more Latin American collectors and artists than the years before. Especially works by the Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, who will have a large retrospective at New York's MoMA later this month.
Even UBS continued the partnership with ABMB as main sponsor (despite its legal problems with the US government because of its tax haven consulting business).
As often in uncertain times, many art dealers (and collectors) went for the well-established blue-chip art:
At the booth of German art dealer Galerie Thomas I saw a new sculpture by the 81 years old pop artist Robert Indiana. In the 1960s, he created the hippy icon 'LOVE' - in 2009 he created 'HOPE' in the same style. It was offered for US $ 140,000.(I am sometimes wondering what this visionary 60s generation thinks about the present time: Hope - for what?)
- (c) Marc Bijl: 'Porn', sulpture, courtesy of The Breeder Gallery, Athens / MCH
Greek The Breeder Gallery offered a contemporary interpretation of Robert Indiana's piece: It is the reflecting scupture 'Porn' made by Marc Bijl.
New York art dealer Pace-Wildenstein offered a wonderful Yorkshire landscape painting by David Hockney of 2008.
This year's most important art exhibition, the 53rd Venice Biennale, was also quite visible at ABMB:
A number of art dealers offered works by the artist duo Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset. At the Biennale, they did the spectacular Scandinavian pavilion 'The Collector'. I liked their scary installation 'Last Performance' of 2009 at the booth of Galeri Nicolai Wallner, Denmark. The edition of 2 + 1 AP was offered for US $ 83,000.
Art dealer Claus Robenhagen told me about this work: 'It deals with the transitory qualities of life and death. A clown's nose, a make-up brush and pot, a whithered noose, and a chair that has been knocked over suggest a tired joker has finally put down his mask and hung himself.'
It is obvious that the overheated hype on contemporary art from China is over. However, the best Chinese artists will retain their position umong the leading artists of the world. Ai Weiwei is certainly one of them. I love his current show at the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany.
Urs Meile with spaces in Lucerne, Switzerland, and Beijing, China, offered a cube by Ai Weiwei in Chinese porclain for US $ 300,000. When I was at the booth, there was allready a hold on it.
Carolina Nitsch Contemporary Art from New York offers his edition 'Kui Hua Zi (Sun Flower Seeds)' of 2009 for US $ 7,500 each. The sunflower seeds are all fake: They are made of porclain and then put in a regular Ikea container. I am fascinated how he plays with the antipodes 'natural' and 'artificial'.
- (c) Ai Weiwei: i Hua Zi (Sun Flower Seeds), 2009, 1000 sun flower seeds in porcelain, sculpted and painted by hand, manufactured in Jingdezhen, China, in glass jar, inscribed with title and artist name, 6 3/8 inches x 4 3/8 inches x 4 3/8 inches, Edition of 30 with 12 A.P. Published by Carolina Nitsch for the New Museum, New York, courtesy of MCH
As on Frieze Art Fair in London, Grayson Perry presented an edition of his 'Walthamstow Tapestry' at 'The Paragon Press'. It shows the stages of a man's life form birth to death. Brand item logos and every day life scenes confront these images. If you like, you can read this piece as a critique on consumerism. I like it.
Here in Miamai, I counted 17 (!) satellite fairs. These are even for a place like ABMB to many and it was also not possible for me to see all of them.
On Scope Art Fair I found an interesting installation by the young Swiss artist duo Comenius Roethlisberger and Admir Jahic: At an auction they bought a rubber eraser formerly owned by young Lady Diana.
They made drawings from media photos depicting Princess Diana and her husband Prince Charles. Ironically, the rubber had originally 'For big mistakes' written on it.
Then they rerased these drawings and exhibited the empty sheets of paper with the rest of the rubber. Cool piece!
I still recommend to go to Miami Beach: It became less a place for a party trip, rahter than a place to buy great art.
by Chris Neuschler
Comments
<a href="http://cialisonlinq.com/">cialis</a>
free cialis coupon 2015
[url=http://cialisonlinq.com/]cialis[/url]
cialis coupon codes
http://cialisonlinq.com/
cialis super active plus canada
<a href="http://cialisonlinq.com/">buy generic cialis online</a>
cialis 5mg best price uk
[url=http://cialisonlinq.com/]cialis generic[/url]
cialis 40 mg professional for sale
http://cialisonlinq.com/
dosage for 20mg cialis
<a href="http://cialisonlinq.com/">generic cialis</a>
cialis tv commercial bathtubs
[url=http://cialisonlinq.com/]generic cialis online[/url]
walmart cialis prices without insurance
http://cialisonlinq.com/
generico del cialis en chile
<a href="http://viagrapipls.com/">viagra generic</a>
viagra price at walmart
[url=http://viagrapipls.com/]buy generic viagra[/url]
viagra generic walmart cost
http://viagrapipls.com/
cheapest brand viagra online
[url=http://cialisonlinq.com/]generic cialis online[/url]
levitra cialis viagra forum
<a href="http://cialisonlinq.com/">cialis generic</a>
cialis side effects dangerous
http://cialisonlinq.com/
cialis coupon 2016
<a href="http://viagrapipls.com/">buy generic viagra</a>
viagra dosage forum
[url=http://viagrapipls.com/]viagra[/url]
viagra coupon cvs
http://viagrapipls.com/
acquisto viagra generico in italia
<a href="http://cialisonlinq.com/">buy cialis online</a>
generic daily cialis lowest price
[url=http://cialisonlinq.com/]buy generic cialis online[/url]
cialis 5 mg does it work
http://cialisonlinq.com/
cialis super active+ 20mg pills
Recovery – seven days. Profound peeling performing in the beauty clinics. This is maximum effective procedure, although requires long period regeneration – about one month.
[url=http://chemicalpeel.in/chemical-peel-before-and-after]chemical skin peel before and after[/url]