US marshals seized more than $6 million worth of paintings last week, which was an unexpected way to kick off America’s largest contemporary art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach. Literally minutes before the pre – preview, officers confiscated modern master gems by Leger, Miro and Klein, in attempt to resolve an insurance dispute between two dealers. Such unprecedented drama dominated the conversation for the first couple of hours and then the serious business began – to buy or not to buy?
With less after-parties and more breakfast fixtures, the tone has definitely mellowed and the pace slowed. This is still Miami – the hippest, flashest fair around – and, as one gallerist so acutely put it, ‘$500,000 is the new million.’ Although times are tough, deals are still sealed with a little adjustment. Savvy dealers streamlined their booths and heavily discounted their prices to lure the jet-set core of collectors. Emmanuel Perrotin, for instance, only installed two works by the increasingly popular Farhad Moshiri, one of which sold for $250,000 on the opening day.
In true American style though, the biggest trend this time round was ‘impact’. Whether it be loud in colour, show-stopping in scale or glittering in surface, the need for attention was critical, in some cases at the expense of artistic integrity. For all this, you can bet your bottom dollar that sales will continue to close to the end of this week.
