Art Basel

One of the most important contemporary art fairs is currently in progress, Art Basel.  Bloomberg has a quick look at the fair, some offerings and notes on the positive mood.

Bloomberg reports

“The mood is buoyant and collectors are feeling flush again,” the New York-based adviser Mary Hoeveler said. “The success of the recent auctions has given them more confidence in the market. That said, buyers should be cautious about paying inflated prices in the excitement of the moment.”

The New York contemporary auctions saw the world’s wealthiest collectors concentrating on classic works by 20th-century artists with proven critical and commercial reputations.

“It’s only the rarest pieces that are fetching extraordinary sums,” the New York dealer Dominique Levy -- formerly the “L” in L & M Arts -- said in an interview. “The rest is performing in-market. We’re seeing new buyers at the highest level. Some have come out of Old Masters and Impressionism.”

Picasso’s Pipe

Levy, exhibiting at Basel for the first time under her own name, will be showing on consignment works by Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and Frank Stella ranging in price from $4 million to $7 million. Picasso’s 1971 drawing “Man Smoking a Pipe” is tagged at $4 million to $5 million.

Robert Mnuchin, Levy’s former business partner, will also be showing at Basel. A 1983 Willem de Kooning abstract, “Untitled,” will be a highlight on his booth at $8.5 million.

These older “blue chip” brands will be complemented by established art fair favorites and “hot” emerging names.
A large sculpture by Paul McCarthy is an obligatory presence on the booth of Hauser & Wirth at an art fair. Here at Basel, the multi-galleried dealership will be showing the 2012 painted bronze, “White Snow #3,” priced at $2.8 million. This being a Biennale year, collectors will also be looking for emerging names that made an impact in Venice.

A video by French-born Camille Henrot won the Silver Lion award for the most promising artist. Henrot is represented by the Paris-based dealer Kamel Mennour, who will be offering her bronze, plaster and wood sculpture “Overlapping figures,” at 18,000 euros ($23,760).

There will also be a mass of other art to see -- and buy -- at satellite events such as Volta, Liste, Scope and Design Miami/Basel. Art Basel’s VIP previews begin at 4 p.m. today and the fair closes on June 16.

Source: Bloomberg