Art Basel Miami Beach 2010

The 9th edition of Art Basel’s sister art fair Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB) attracted 46,000 visitors. However, not all galleries were happy: The VIP preview started very calmly. For whatever reasons, the fair had cut the number of VIP tickets.

Then, in the next days there were solid sales of well established art. (Some investors consider this art as a hedge against inflation. )

For dealers specializing in younger art, the fair was not easy. Many had to cut prices in order to find buyers.

There were:

At the beginning of the current economic crisis, there were a number of observers, who said that only one of the large US art fairs will be able to survive (Armory in New York is the other one). So far, both to have managed to survive.

ABMB’s Selection Committee – comprised of 12 renowned International art dealers – made sure that the quality of the galleries is up to Art Basel standards. Besides the art, the beautiful weather and the legendary parties around the fair have helped to keep ABMB attractive for art collectors.

This year, there was a focus on 4 cites:

My personal favorite work of art was Ai Weiwei's pile of sonflower seeds at the booth of Urs Meile from Switzerland. It is so to say the living room version of the current installation in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.

This year, there were still 14 satellite art fairs in Miami. Well, this was not as many as there were in 2008: The total number then was 23.

It took me 2 days to study ABMB thoroughly. Then there were 3 days left to see the satellites and the museum shows. How can anyone manage to see 14 satellite art fairs? No, there are still too many.

A satellite fair, which is very likely to survive for a longer period was ‘Design Miami’: It opened its doors for the sixth time and offered limited edition design/art objects.

Craig Robins, co-owner of the fair said, ‘Last year, we had 14 galleries. This year there are 20 design galleries in the fair.’ The co-ownership of the Art Basel parent company, MCH Group, contributed certainly to the success of Design Miami. This time, it was the first edition without the charming director Ambra Medda. There is no doubt, the show will go on – however, we will miss her!