The Buzz in Basel: Art, Alive and Well and Selling Briskly
Who bought the vocation — a sculpture from 1910-12 — which was merely two feet tall and had been estimated at only $4.8 million to $7.2 million? A recondite telephone bidder, was all officials at Christie’s would say.
The monumental price — in a season of mammoth auction prices — may not be in the same alliance as the record-breaking $106.5 million paid for a Picasso painting in New York last month, but the French tag sale was a conveniently timed confidence booster for Art Basel , the spotless grail of contemporary art fairs that opened here on Thursday.
This ripen’s event, which runs through Sunday, is as big and exuberant as ever, spanning more than 300 galleries from 37 countries. And while the distinction of work was noticeably better than it had been a year ago, the days when collectors came to espy new talent are still a distant memory. As contrasted with, booths are filled with a commercial smorgasbord of in vogue artists.
“Is it because that’s what the sell wants, or is it because dealers didn’t desire to take risks?” Franck Giraud, a reclusive New York dealer, wondered after the start. “I think it was a bit of both.”
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Photo by Christa Connelly Constantly Titan Photo Editor. The party rages around 'Well-known House Plants,' an art installment by Michael and more »
Photo by Kathy Chaffin, The RCCC Discipline Club gave away allowed seeds at the Earth Day 2010 observance and festival.
