“No one was quite sure what to expect this week,” said new Art Basel chief executive Noah Horowitz. The arts journal during the fair’s first VIP preview day on Tuesday, noting that mixed results from marquee spring auctions in New York last month had signaled a “true reset” in the market.
Just hours after the fair opened to its most prized collectors, Horowitz observed “exceptional energy” on the floor. The question is whether this energy is translating into sales: commentators say business is “a bit tough” and “not as good as hoped”.
As of the end of Tuesday, confirmed sales amounted to a conservative estimate of $245 million worth of artwork, although that figure also includes works pre-sold to collectors in the weeks leading up to the fair. Six of the top galleries accounted for at least $175 million of that total, with Hauser & Wirth alone reporting a low of $57 million in sales. Gagosian has remained tight-lipped about individual sales, but a well-placed source claims around $70 million worth of artwork was sold on the first day, including $30 million via a 102-page preview document sent to clients. The gallery declined to comment.
Sales reports continued to pour in on the second VIP day, including Glenn Ligon’s Stranger #95 (2022), priced at $2 million from Hauser & Wirth, and an early multi-panel painting by American Abstract Expressionist Joan Mitchell, priced at $14 million, which Pace sold to a private American collector. The gallery declined to comment on how far in advance the work had been secured. Pace President, Samanthe Rubell, says: “A great deal of effort is being put into preparing for the fair. We have to balance the interest of our current collectors, who know what we bring to the fair, with a real desire to have as much work as possible when the fair opens.
Despite the energetic opening of Art Basel – described by Gagosian COO Andrew Fabricator as “the busiest in years”, there are clear signs of tension in the market. Just last week, news broke that the euro zone had entered a recession, while the US central bank raised interest rates to the highest level in 16 years last month. But the impact of these headwinds on the art trade is complex, as the many loosely related submarkets that make up the “art market” seem to react differently.
Blue chips are up?
Conservative times generally lead buyers to look to more proven artists. As artistic advisor Nilani Trent, who is in Basel this week, notes that “a shift in consumer confidence” is leading to money being diverted to different parts of the market. “For many years, money has flowed into speculative artist markets, and in times like this, collectors see more long-term value in established markets like Warhol.”
Art Basel has always been a haven for the biggest names in art, and names such as Picasso, Richter, Basquiat, Calder and Bourgeois are – as always – regulars this week, although many works are selling more slowly . The most expensive piece reported at the fair, a 1955 sunset-hued Rothko painting donated to Acquavella Galleries and reportedly consigned by Steve Wynn with a $60 million price tag, remained unsold at the time of the writing.
Acquavella director Esperanza Sobrino notes that the canvas, formerly in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, is “the most expensive work we have brought to Art Basel in a few years”. Why now? “The secondary market works differently; you don’t choose, she said. “This job was given to us over the past few weeks and our client wanted us to place it as soon as possible.”
According to Trent, it takes much longer to place works on the secondary market with customers. The deals she had previously closed “in about a week pending viewing” now drag on “for several weeks with a lot of back and forth between buyer and seller.”
Rhythm sold Triptych of Girolata (1963), one of Joan Mitchell’s first multi-panel paintings, to a private American collector for $14 million david owens
Shortage
Swiss dealer Dominique Lévy says the scarcity of hardware is another major factor impacting the secondary market as cautious sellers hold on to their wares. At the fair this year, “some [galleries] have made exceptional efforts to bring fresh, high-quality, well-priced works,” while others “chose to bring previously seen works to market,” she says. “It’s the story of two cities.”
In the latter camp is a Picasso that sold for $9.9 million at Sotheby’s in November, which is offered by Landau Fine Art for $25 million. (As of this writing, he has yet to find a home.) Gagosian sells Willem de Kooning’s Untitled III (1978-80) for an undisclosed sum; it also last hit the market in November, but did not sell at Christie’s, having been estimated at around $35 million. Hauser & Wirth, however, pulled off a quick turnaround for Louise Bourgeois Spider IV (1996), which sold for $22.5 million on the fair’s opening day after fetching $16.5 million at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in April 2022.
Lévy detects a “sharp readjustment” of the market, especially after the May auctions in New York, which seem to have undermined spending by American buyers. Observers noted few Americans at the fair, though Asian shoppers were in evidence. “The Art Basel market is like any other market; it reacts and adapts,” adds Lévy.
Private sales up
Another sign that the market is becoming increasingly price sensitive is the growth of private sales versus public auctions. At the fair, the David Zwirner gallery announced that it would no longer publish prices for sales on the secondary market. “I believe it is the gallery’s responsibility to look after the best interests of our senders,” says Zwirner. “We have a responsibility to our clients to respect their privacy and appreciate when they choose to sell through the gallery rather than put the works up for auction.” A spokeswoman for the gallery says its activity on the first VIP day has increased by more than 30% compared to last year; sales reached a low of $17.8 million.
The secondary market works differently; you don’t choose
For younger galleries showing experimental works as part of their main program, secondary market sales can be a crucial lifeline. Zurich-based gallerist Pier Stuker, who sold his stand of Monica Mays works (priced between SFr4,000 ($4,500) and SFr12,000 ($13,000)) to List, sells between five and ten secondary market paintings a year per blue -chip artists such as Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Gerhard Richter and Andy Warhol to help support his business. “We’ve been dealing with low bids lately,” he says. “It has also become more difficult to procure good works from private hands.”
Young artists wanted
There is reason to be optimistic about the primary market. Trent says that young artists from established galleries “still command strong waiting lists with no possibility of discounts”. She adds, “I suspect galleries are pre-selling shows earlier than usual to secure their cash flow.”
Liza Essers of Goodman Gallery has seen an “increased concentration” among collectors for acquiring works of art “that offer quality and value”. Clients are “eager to invest in emerging and sometimes late-career talent that reappears,” she says. The gallery’s major sales to date include new works by established names such as El Anatsui, whose Untitled (Blue) (2023) sold for $1.9 million, and Zineb Sedira, whose DREAMS HAVE NO TITLES (Lightbox) (2023) was acquired by the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art for €80,000.
The market for works shipped directly from artists’ studios “remains strong”, according to Louise Hayward, partner at the Lisson Gallery. “And it’s in all areas, whether it’s Sean Scully, Anish Kapoor, Li Ran, Liu Xiaodong, Hugh Hayden or Ryan Gander.” at Scully Deep Tappan (2023), for example, sold for $875,000 in the VIP preview.
As Hayward summarizes: “Some elements of the market are broadly predictable, and others are more variable. The market which continues to be active is very diversified.
