ABB25, Messeplatz, Messeplatz Project, Katharina Grosse.
Art Basel had a lot of figurative art, serious craftsmanship, very little gestural abstraction or action painting – except for Katharina Große’s Choir on the plaza of the art fair – little photography, hardly any video art, and zero NFTs (avoiding the suspicion of AI-generated works). Hardly any text art, a moderate amount of Conceptualism, hardly any feminist, political, or decolonial art; hardly any knitting, knotting, or carpet art; no hard erotica, no empowerment vulvas and penises. The Global South represented, this time around with more quality. Did James Murdoch, the anchor shareholder of the fair’s company, call beforehand? Or Sheikha Al-Mayasa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani from Art Basel Qatar?
A High-Stakes Game
I imagine it more this way: a booth at Art Basel costs me CHF 150,000, all in. If I don’t sell anything twice in a row, I might as well wear my best black suit and go straight to the insolvency court. So, what to show? The gallerists sit there and wonder: What are the trends? What do the collectors want? Are so-called red chips still en vogue – ultra-contemporary, studio-fresh art, with wet paint straight from the easel, made by completely unknown artists with tongue-twisting names? Not right now. There just isn’t that much money in the market. Normally, that raises the quality: “Money has made more art possible but has not made art better,” as art critic Jerry Saltz once said.
I do get the impression that galleries are trying to make a little more effort. But what to do?
It’s difficult. Should one show Chamberlain, Alex Katz, KAWS, Tony Cragg, Louise Bourgeois again – the usual suspects, the marketable established artists, the global brands and blue chips that can be seen at every fair and in every auction catalogue? Is that the safe bet?
What is selling right now? At the Affordable Art Fair in Berlin, one gets the distinct impression that galleries were cleverly tailoring their program to an audience with smaller budgets and poor taste. And, of course, that works. There are so many people with hardly any taste, and there is so much bad art – a massive market. A perfect match.
Image Courtesy of Art Basel.
Long Skirts
Walking around the big fairs in 2025, you notice that in difficult economic times, skirts are getting longer. And what’s also interesting is that, prior to the political correctness movement, galleries relied on extremely pretty, young ’gallerinas.’ Sex sells best. Now they are still very pretty but dressed demurely. The mega-gallery Gagosian once even posted two slightly frumpy ladies in weird dresses at Frieze as a cheeky counterpoint. Speaking of which, do people still go to Frieze? Probably better to head directly to Art Basel Paris, set in the beautifully renovated Grand Palais – both fairs are taking place this October.
Leonardo DiCaprio
And then, of course, there’s the question for gallery owners: How do I convince a potential buyer? It might work to hover over a visitor who is staring at a work for too long and chat their ear off about what an exciting position it is and that this artist is really taking off just now, with an upcoming exhibition at the Wolfsburg Museum or wherever. Obviously, this artwork is also part of Leonardo DiCaprio’s collection.
But we still have a few pieces going for the old price. When I hear something like that, I immediately lose interest. If everyone wants it, I definitely don’t. Since when was it ever a good idea to follow a film star’s taste? Angelina Jolie collects, too. If I were to buy art according to the advice of gallerists and curators, my collection would end up saying more about them than about me. Anyway, I’m surprised how often I’m told that something is in DiCaprio’s collection – it must be massive! As a gallerist, you need a lot of experience to know who is a potential buyer and how to approach them. “If someone pulls up in a Rolls-Royce wearing a double- breasted suit, they’re not going to buy anything,” says gallerist Michael Haas.
ABB25, Unlimited, Public Interactions, General Impressions.
Onepointfive
But, of course, all visitors want to be there for First Choice on VIP Day at 11 a.m., and if you only have a ticket for the second VIP Day, it’s a narcissistic injury. I really wonder how all these people got their tickets. Many clearly can’t afford to buy a thing. A glass of champagne for CHF 20 – do I know anyone who will invite me? And when you ask how much a piece is, and the gallery director leans towards you and whispers, “Onepointfive”… well, then you know. But, of course, beautiful people must be let in, too – without them, no vibe, no buzz. Old billionaires alone just don’t make the vibe. And the influencers! I’d say 60 percent of visitors are firing off Instagram content nonstop. If you’re not at First Choice – do you even exist? Be the first to post. If a work of art can’t be used as a selfie backdrop, it’s practically meaningless.
The Curse and Blessing of Niche Taste
On opening day, I greet the gallerists with a friendly nod from afar. They have to make sales, not chat with me. But sometimes one of them corners me to a wall and says, “I’ve got something for you, it’s right up your alley.” Then I say: “Yes, yes, yes, that’s my style, but it’s still a few light years away.” Having a niche taste is a blessing for the wallet.