Each June the most important contemporary art fair opens in Basel, Switzerland. I was fortunate enough to go the the 2009 Armory Show in New York. This is the only reference I can compare with Art Basel, when reading the chapter: The Fair. The Armory Show was at Pier 94, exhibiting new art by living artists, and Pier 92, exhibiting modern and contemporary art.
The exhibition hall for Art Basel is described as a black glass box on the outside, with a clear-glass circular courtyard on the inside. Three hundred gallery stands are split between two floors, each arranged in two concentric squares. The ceilings are high, and the walls are sturdy enough to support the heaviest works. Most importantly, the artificial lighting is clean and white.
At the Armory Show, the ceilings were very high, and the walls were only high enough the display the art works and to isolate each gallery space. As described for Art Basel, the lighting was bright, but not distracting or glaring, and it was white. Most of the time, I had spent at Pier 94 (with approximately 185 galleries), since the first time at the Armory Show, I wanted to see the "marque" artists. The time I spent at Pier 92 (with approximately 85 galleries) was still inspiring. So, this year (March 2010) I hope to spend more time seeing the exhibits of new art by living artists. There were a fair number of galleries from outside countries.
I did not realize from the Armory Show, but it seems clear in the "The Fair" that it is important for galleries to be represented at Art Basel. From the admission committee "The fair is significant from a prestige point of view. If a gallery is not admitted, people might think that it is not as important as another gallery that is." From the New York Times article (October 17, 2009), the Frieze Art Fair in London, England was well attended. Because of the economy, 28 dealers dropped out of this year's fair. But, there was no trouble replacing them. In fact, this year they had more exhibitors (164 exhibitors compared with 151 in the previous year).
For galleries and dealers, they view their primary role as choosing, mentoring, and curating their artists. Collectors may come and go, but a strong stable of artists with developing careers is essential to a gallery's success. Artists tend to view art fairs with a mixture of horror, alienation, and amusement. They feel uneasy when all the hard work of the studio is reduced to supplying the voracious demand, and they wince at the sight of so much art accompanied by so little substantive conversation. As explained by John Baldessari, "At fairs, gallerists are reduced to merchants, a role in which they'd rather not be seen by their artists."
But, Paul Schimmel comments on Takashi Murakami in the chapter, "The Studio Visit", "To experience Takashi, you have to experience the commercial elements in his work." "Takashi understands that art has to be remembered and memory is tied to what you can take home." I wonder if Takashi Murakami goes to the art fairs and whether he enjoys it?
Don and Mera Rubell responded to Sarah Thornton, "We meet the vast majority of artists, because when you're acquiring young work, you can't judge it by the art alone. You have to judge it by the character of the person making it." "Occasionally meeting an artist destroys the art. You almost don't trust it. You think what you're seeing in the work is an accident." "What we're looking for is integrity."
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