Yes, Some More on Art Basel Miami Beach

Fellow appraiser Franicne Proulx of Art/Antiques Information Resource sent me the following clip from a recent Kovels Comments analysis of Art Basel Miami Beach. As you know I have had several posting about the large art fair that draws the rich and famous (and also the FBI). Many of the reviews were mixed, with some outlets stating the crowds were down, sales were down and dealers were depressed. Others stating things were not so dower, and that is how the Kovel analysis is. So smart appraiser should not always take published reports at face value. I would assume Art Basel Miami Beach was not as bad as expected, but not as strong as in years past. But, depending upon what is published and read, differing viewpoints and opinions will be made. Just like most shows, talk to a dealer who did well, and he is very happy and the show was good, talk to a a dealer who fared poorly, and of course the show had problems. Keep this information in mind as market trends change and are reported on.

Kovel's stated The good news about the show is that the economy did not ruin the show--although the early newspaper reports said it did. The crowds were a little smaller and buying carefully. Last year it was "Grab it as soon as you see it." This year it was "Take your time, check to see if the price could be lower, and buy carefully." There have been many doom-and-gloom articles about the collecting world, but we have seen that "good" will sell, "great" will still sell for high prices, and "ordinary" has problems unless it's useful (like a chair or kitchen bowls). But all require extra effort in marketing and display.

Anyway, to wrap up Art Basel Miami Beach I have cut and pasted the Seven Things We Learned at Art Basel from New York Magazines entertainment section by Alexandra Peers.

Even New Yorkers who couldn’t care less about art could take something from the just-ended Art Basel Miami Beach fairs, which sent market-changing telegrams for party planners, real-estate agents, and even fishmongers. Here are seven things we learned from ABMB:

1. Party sushi is over. Virtually no one served the addictive and pricey staple of boom time.

2. Condo prices are going to get reaaally cheap in Miami. Several new name developers (Mondrian, Gansevoort, Icon, Ritz-Carlton, Fontainebleau) are hawking lush new waterfront properties, but Florida leads the nation in homes in foreclosure — over 7 percent. And the rate of price declines in the city has been accelerating this fall.

3. Even for the superrich, it’s tough times. Halfway through a packed "Champagne and Canapés" brunch at the Cartier dome, the jeweler stopped serving Champagne. Gulp.

4. Party hosts trying to cut costs are sending out e-mail invites only. All over Miami, invitees were crowded at velvet ropes, calling out to "the girl with the list" and scrolling through BlackBerrys to prove they were welcome.

5. Cutting-edge has become cliché. After days of parties where the entertainment was almost always scantily clad dancers or singing drag queens, one bored Sotheby’s wag noted that "a string quartet would have been more radical."

6. The disinvited never forgive. One name in design, left off the party list for Craig Robins’s dinner this year, announced on Collins Avenue, "I made him."

7. Dubai is the new Miami. Representatives of the UAE and its many art events hung out in the main fair’s VIP lounge courting the art world’s biggest players, announced the biggest single prize for an artist in the world, and are meeting with U.S. museums to schedule collector trips. Since the art world is a community of people who’d cross the Alps for a free crab cake, saddle the camels. Said one Russian art dealer invited to the Art Dubai Fair, to a friend, smiling, "I’ll go if you go."

The Wall Street Journal also has a good wrap up on Art Basel Miami, click HERE to read.