This year, the autumn edition of Art Basel, hosted in the Ville Lumière, brought to Paris a chorus of 195 galleries from 42 countries, 65 active in French spaces. The attendance in a few days – VIP days on October 16 and 17 and public from October 18 to 20 – brought over 65,000 people to the Grand Palais.
Contemporary art is closely tied to the market, whose trends and “whims” are particularly fascinating to analyze. An artist who becomes successful is not necessarily more valid than others, who remain unknown and “off the radar.” This does not mean that achieving recognition does not require an effort, sometimes titanic, to understand where the trends are headed. The intent is to make one’s work known to reach the right circles and those who are best suited to appreciate it. However, the doubt remains whether to follow one’s expressive instinct or to compromise with what the market demands.
Summary
Art Basel arrives at the Grand Palais in Paris
The Art Basel in Paris, directed by Clément Delépine, takes the place but reconnects with the historic fair Fiac. Art Basel Paris benefits from an honorable guest: the Grand Palais, just restored in the wake of the enthusiasm of the Summer Olympic Games. This grand building with its vastness, its network of green iron arches, and its gigantic glass windows manages to flood the stands with light. The orthogonal arrangement of the booths also reflects games of strength, placing the most prestigious galleries at the center.
Art Basel Paris has introduced “Premise”, a new sector dedicated to curatorial proposals that brought together 9 galleries. Emerging artists and galleries were highlighted in the “Emergence” section, with the participation of 16 exhibitors.
Important patrons and collectors from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Asia have arrived for the occasion. The 2024 edition involved representatives from over 220 prestigious museums and foundations from around the world. In addition to the Pompidou, the following are worth mentioning: the Art Institute of Chicago, the Elgiz Museum in Istanbul, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); MAM | Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; M+ Museum, Hong Kong; Serpentine Galleries and the Tate in London; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the MoMA in New York.
In addition to the works of arte, a project curated by Sarah Andelman was presented: “Art Basel Shop”. Unique pieces were produced such as the clothing and accessories line AB by Artist designed by the artist collective Claire Fontaine. A series of collaborations were inaugurated with Guerlain, Uniqlo x Musée du Louvre, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club.
What were the works sold at Art Basel in Paris?
But which artworks have been sold and which galleries have been riding the wave? How have the Italian galleries performed?
Contemporary artists, masters of the 20th century, and emerging voices, who have recorded the highest peaks, going on sale to museums and private collectors, have been: Louise Bourgeois, Julie Mehretu, Willem de Kooning, Lee Ufan, Olga de Amaral, Paulina Olowska, Camille Henrot, Lungiswa Gqunta, Juliette Roche, and Mimosa Echard.
The artist Steffani Jemison, represented by Madragoa (Lisbon and Rome) of Matteo Consonni, has been selected to produce a new work in the Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation Galeries Lafayette workshop.
For the centenary of the Surrealist Movement manifesto, the Pompidou has inaugurated a gigantic exhibition. The galleries at the fair have thus taken the opportunity to bring many works by the protagonists of this specific historical avant-garde for sale. The same thing happened for the artists of Arte Povera, for which a large exhibition was inaugurated at the Bourse de Commerce of the Pinault Collection. Tornabuoni and Cardi Gallery were among the galleries leading the sales of Arte Povera artists. Cardi sold two 1994 works by Jannis Kounellis to a Dutch museum for 300,000 each.
The growing transparency of the market and the availability of data allow us to go deeper.
The most powerful galleries on the market
The White Cube sold many works from the booth, particularly Insile (2013) by Julie Mehretu was sold for 9.5 million dollars. Born in Addis Ababa, Julie Mehretu, 53 years old as of autumn 2023, is the highest-valued artist of African origin in the world. Until January 6, her solo exhibition is hosted in Venice, at Palazzo Grassi (Pinault). Also in the White Cube booth, Untitled, 1975 by Howardena Pindell reached the figure of 1.75 million USD.
Among the most established galleries, Pace (Sold out already by midday) and Hauser & Wirth have concluded prestigious deals. In particular, Hauser & Wirth sold Spider I, 1995 by Louise Bourgeois for 20 million to a renowned private collection, while Not Quite in a Hurry, 2024 by Mark Bradford was acquired for 3.5 million.
David Zwirner (New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Hong Kong) sold K, 2014 by Victor Man for 1.2 million. Also at David Zwirner was one of the most expensive works (if not the most) Suprematism, 18th construction from 1915 by Kazimir Malevich priced at over 30 million.
Gagosian sells the two black artists Jadé Fadojutimi and Amoako Boafo, but also Smoker #20 (1975) by Tom Wesselman for 4 million. Works by Wesselman have been sold by many other galleries, given his leading role in the new exhibition at Fondation Vuitton.
The performance of contemporary artists: the prices of Italian and French galleries
“`htmlAmong the Parisians, Mennour sold Response by Lee Ufan for 900,000 USD, while Chantal Crousel sells Pierre Huyghe (exhibition at Punta della Dogana), Gabriel Orozco, Anri Sala, and many other works by artists from the stable. The international Perrotin reaches 8 million Euros considering all sales. Xavier Hufkens (Brussels) sells Irma Seitz, 1963 by Alice Neel for 1.2 million USD.
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Again, KARMA (New York) sells Momo, Kiki, and Me in Mungo’s Time Mirror, 2024 by Jonas Wood for 1.6 million USD.
Lisson (London, New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Los Angeles) Viento Oro, 2014 by Olga de Amaral for 800,000 USD to an American private collection. Sprüth Magers (Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong) George Condo for 600,000 euros Barbara Kruger for 450,000 USD. BLUM Gallery (Los Angeles, Tokyo) is sold out, including works by Asuka Anastacia Ogawa for a price range from 22,000 to 160,000 USD.
Among the Italian galleries, excellent performances for both MASSIMODECARLO and Galleria Continua. Alfonso Artiaco sells Kounellis, Sol LeWitt, Tursic & Mille, and Maria Thereza Alves. P420 sells a work by Filippo de Pisis to a private Chinese museum for 65,000 euros, then Laura Grisi for 120,000, recently also included in the Centre Pompidou collection, Irma Blank and Shafei Xia. Ana Lupas attracts the interest of collectors and curators.
Among the Emergence WHATIFTHEWORLD (Cape Town), while Catinca Tabacaru (Bucharest) works by Xavier Robles de Medina and Petrine (Paris) Pierre Allain.
Among the “Premise”, Loft Gallery (Marrakesh) sells Untitled, 1980 by Mohammed Melehi for 130,000 euros to an institution; Bombon Projects (Barcelona) Anarcoma, 1985 by Nazario for 5,100 euros; Pauline Pavec (Paris) Femme allongée, c.1930 by Juliette Roche for 80,000 euros to a major American collection.
Art Basel Survey of Global Collecting
Finally noteworthy is the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2024 that reveals the behaviors of high-net-worth individuals in 14 global markets in 2023 and the first half of 2024.
A decrease in sales of 4% is recorded in 2023, for an estimated total of $65 billion (but it is just a market adjustment), the number of transactions is increasing.
The survey, conducted by Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics in collaboration with UBS, analyzes spending, participation in events, the motivations of collecting, and the interactions of HNWI with artists, galleries, and institutions. In 2002, Clare joined the American company Kusin & Company, a boutique investment banking firm specialized in art investment.
This survey, the largest of its kind to date, gathered responses from over 3,660 HNWI in Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mainland China, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
A separate survey conducted on over 1,400 private collectors among the VIP guests of Art Basel also highlighted a large share of spending through dealers (73%) in 2023 and 2024, with a significantly higher 26% through art fairs, more than double compared to the broader HNWI survey. Auctions, on the other hand, accounted for a substantially lower share, equal to 12% of spending.
