Art Basel shifts to September amid coronavirus concerns
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 23, 2024


Art Basel shifts to September amid coronavirus concerns
Applicat-Prazan © Art Basel.

by Scott Reyburn



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Art Basel, the centerpiece of Europe’s summer art market calendar, has postponed its June edition in Switzerland until September as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Health concerns permitting, the 50th Art Basel will now take place Sept. 17 to 20, with preview days on Sept. 15 and 16. More than 280 galleries from 35 countries are slated to participate.

“We thank our galleries for the support and understanding of our highly complex decision to postpone the fair,” Marc Spiegler, global director of Art Basel, said in a statement Thursday. “We hope that the situation improves swiftly, and we will work closely with our exhibitors to deliver a successful fair in September.”

The event will now take place just two weeks before Frieze London, Europe’s other main destination contemporary art fair, and four weeks before FIAC in Paris.

“We all expected it,” said Richard Nagy, a London-based Art Basel exhibitor. “It’s hard to tell if it’s the right thing to do. There are going to be a lot of people hurting by then.”

The fair would provide a much-needed injection of revenue for Art Basel’s beleaguered Swiss-based parent company MCH, whose finances have been hurting in recent months. Exhibitor and attendance numbers have been declining at its flagship Baselworld watch fair, the company’s main income-earner, and in February MCH postponed the edition scheduled for April 30 because of the pandemic. (Bulgari and other watch brands are organizing a rival event.)

Art Basel Hong Kong, Asia’s biggest international art fair, was also canceled last month. The event, which takes place in March, transferred to a digital platform, with online viewing rooms. Exhibitors were typically charged only 25% of their booth fee for participating in the fair.




On Thursday, shares in MCH Group AG were priced at 13.40 francs ($13.91) on the SIX Swiss stock exchange, a decline of 55% of the stock’s price in December.

The pandemic has effectively shut down the bricks-and-mortar art trade. Frieze New York, Art Cologne and Masterpiece London fairs are among the raft of significant events to have been canceled or postponed. Hundreds of galleries have either temporarily closed or reverted to “by appointment only” arrangements. They are struggling to do business as best they can through digital platforms.

“It’s hard to sell anything online at the moment other than new works by blue-chip contemporary artists,” said Fergus McCaffrey, a New York-based gallerist who is a regular Art Basel exhibitor. He described his sales from Art Basel Hong Kong’s online rooms as “very modest.”

“But September is a pretty open moment; it could work, but people are going to be very cautious,” McCaffrey said.

Art dealers have become increasingly dependent on fairs, which in 2019 contributed about 45% of the value of their sales, according to the latest annual Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report. In 2010 they contributed 30% of equivalent sales, according to the report.

Dealers have also pointed out that the fair’s final days coincide with Rosh Hashana (Sept. 18 to 20), which is likely to be a complication for some visitors and exhibitors.

But others are just enthused by the prospect of Europe’s art market coming to life again. “The postponement is very sensible,” said Philip Hoffman, founder and chief executive of the Fine Art Group, a London-based consultancy.

“It’s an awful time for the art trade,” Hoffman added. “By then clients will want to spend money.”

© 2020 The New York Times Company










Today's News

March 27, 2020

Art Basel shifts to September amid coronavirus concerns

British Museum-led project launches global platform to counteract looting and trafficking of cultural artefacts

Contemporary Fine Arts Berlin presents a virtual exhibition of works by Georg Baselitz

Exhibition on Screen to broadcast free Facebook premiere of Vincent van Gogh film

Saul Steinberg exhibition is first created exclusively for Pace Gallery's online platform

Albert Einstein discusses important scientific accomplishments in Heritage Auctions' Historical Manuscripts Auction

Stellenbosch Triennale, a bold experiment

Seven dazzling new species of peacock spiders discovered by Museums Victoria's 'Spider Man'

Phoenix Art Museum website is now bilingual in English and Spanish

Hastings Contemporary launches robot-assisted gallery tours amid closure

Lyons Wier Gallery opens a virtual exhibition of works by Valeri Larko

Sims Reed Gallery opens an exhibition of fine art prints and original works on paper by Dale Chihuly

Moscow's Bolshoi to livestream shows for free

Exhibition of recent works by artist Bernadette Despujols opens at Arts+Leisure

First look at London's future Design District

Richard Benefield named Executive Director of The George Rickey Foundation

The Approach presents its first solo show by New York-based artist Sara Cwynar

Sabrina Amrani announces the online premiere of the film Geometría Popular by Dagoberto Rodríguez

How to see the world when you're stuck at home

Richard Marek, editor of Hemingway, Baldwin and Ludlum, dies at 86

Julia Miles, 90, dies; Pushed for gender parity in the theater

Richard Reeves, columnist and author on presidents, dies at 83

eMuseum provides connection to art online

Wysing launches new digital broadcast programmes for remote global audiences with international artists

The Evolution of Sourcing Your Music from the Internet

Instagram as a Social Media Network

10 Unique Ideas for Cremation Keepsakes




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful