Art Basel Miami Beach 2008
The Art Newspaper presents exclusive coverage of Art Basel/Miami Beach 2008. For other fair editions and previous years click here
Don’t like the price – ask again…
Credit crunch, recession, even the weather is stormy—but Art Basel Miami Beach offers the committed collector competitive opportunities
Exactly one year after the US officially went into recession and after disappointing auctions in New York last month, dealers at Art Basel Miami Beach were busy clearing away the packing cases, sweeping aisles and touching up the paintwork on their stands. At the end of a distinctly chilly, rain-sodden day, an eerie calm descended as the seventh edition of the international fair was revealed in all its glory. Among dealers the mood ranged from nervous to stoical. Andrew Fabricant, a director of Richard Gray (J10), described himself as “guardedly pessimistic”, noting that the sales last month saw prices fall by 30% or more. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing,” he said. “In fact there is a fair amount of activity in the market, and while everyone said the auctions in November were awful, they actually sold almost $800m-worth of art, which considering the financial climate is amazing.” John Good, a Gagosian Gallery director, summed up the feelings of many when he said: “This is when...READ ON
Big bubbles are no trouble for Ai Weiwei
The most dramatic Art Projects public art piece at this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach can be found on Watson Island (888 MacArthur Causeway) where leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has installed 100 glistening ceramic blue bubbles across a 600 sq. m area (Bubble, 2008). The work took two years to create. “The individual porcelain pieces reflect the city lights and the water…Maybe the installation should rather be read as a metaphor for speculative bubbles of all kinds,” said a spokeswoman for...READ ON
TV interviews from Art Basel Miami Beach 2008
Miami’s satellite fairs in state of flux
After last year’s record 20 satellite fairs to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach (ABMB), closures were widely predicted this year—but despite the economic climate, a total of 22 fairs are opening this week. Nevertheless, some fairs cancelled (to be replaced by new ones) and several have rapidly downsized their dealer rosters. Pulse Art Fair is one of the very few that has grown, taking on more than 20 new dealers. Scope fair founder and director Alexis Hubshman had initially planned two...READ ON
Buyer of Warhol’s Green Car Crash revealed?
One of the acquisition mysteries of the late great boom—who bought the most expensive Andy Warhol ever to sell at auction?—appears to be resolved. The Art Newspaper understands that the buyer of Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I), 1963, is the ultra-secretive Paris-based Philippe Niarchos. The work was the cover lot of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale in May 2007—the season that marked the height of the New York art market. The large-scale “disaster painting” produced high...READ ON