Basel’s Art Fair Mania!
Last week the art world took Basel, Switzerland by storm, invading the city for its annual art fair week. Art Basel (this year - Art 41 Basel) was the main show (as usual), welcoming a record 62,500 visitors (way up from last year’s numbers and a much higher total than anticipated). The art fair exhibited the work of 2,500 international artists and nearly 300 leading galleries from around the world.
Celeb visitors and art world “VIPs” in attendance included Dasha Zhukova; Peter Brant; actors Val Kilmer and Bianca Jagger; museum head-honchos Nick Serota and Jeffrey Deitch; auctioneer Brett Gorvy; big-name NYC-based dealers Marc Glimcher, David Zwirner and Tony Shafrazi; and artists Christo, Richard Phillips, Agnes Varda, Gavin Turk and Robert Pruitt.
While Art 41 Basel was the major art fair, what would an art fair be without its satellite fairs?
This year’s satellite art fairs saw more success than in the past few years at Basel (although everyone is pretty keen to the fact that the success could very easily be short lived and that hard times still remain). The smaller fairs included Volta6, Liste15 - the young art fair in Basel, SCOPE Basel 2010, and HOT ART fair Basel 2010.
For those jaded art lovers wondering if there are things on view here [in Basel] that haven’t made it to New York, the answer can be found at Metro Pictures. That Chelsea gallery, which has a booth at the main fair [Art 41 Basel] is featuring a new series by Cindy Sherman. It is actually wallpaper with backgrounds of Central Park and life-size images of Ms. Sherman posing naked with props like a sword or juggling clubs. Examples of the series were included in ‘Sexuality and Transcendence’ at the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kiev this year. Janelle Reiring, of Metro Pictures, said collectors can order a single wall (about $150,000) or an entire room (around $70,000). Then they receive a CD and a certificate.
– No matter where you go, NYC’s art scene is always relevant! (via a NY Times “Inside Art” report about Basel’s 2010 art fair season)The [Sino] Group believes that promoting arts and culture enhances the quality of life and creates a more diverse, open-minded and harmonious society… In early 2006, Sino Group initiated the ‘Art in Hong Kong’ programme, which transforms various Sino properties into public galleries and organizes art exhibitions and activities at different venues
– “Art in Hong Kong”
Art HK 10
Check out the Hong Kong International Art Fair: Art HK 10. Art HK reflects Hong Kong’s “Gateway” status in presenting a unique opportunity for collectors to see and buy work of a quality and geographically diverse area.
The fair also boasts itself as a valuable educational resource, vitally important in nurturing the art market in the region for the long term. As accessibility remains a key priority, Art HK 10 hosts guided tours and workshops for aspiring collectors and works available for as little as $1,000.
The art fair runs from May 27th through May 30th and will host over 150 galleries from 29 countries around the world
FACTS about Art Indonesia 2010
What: The mission of Art Indonesia 2010 is to create a broad alliance of artists, collectors, gallery owners, educators etc to come together to promote art awareness and appreciation. It aims to attract a diverse group of visitors from industry players to those with an interest in Art. The exhibition will showcase a wide spectrum of works from local and international artists.
Dates: Saturday, May 1st - Tuesday, May 4th, 2010,
Times: from 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM daily
Where: Hall D, Jakarta International Expo, Kemayoran - Jakarta
Official Airline - Lufthansa
Official Hotels - Alila Jakarta, Sheraton, La Grandeur,
