The 40th edition of Art Basel sees a return to more understated works
The era of diamonds and gold as artistic materials is passing, judging by the art on offer at the latest edition of Art Basel which opens to VIP visitors today.
While the ground floor of the fair has always been strong in classic modern works of art, there is a noticeable increase in historically established names such as Donald Judd, Alexander Calder and Arte Povera artists including Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni and Michelangelo Pistoletto. Meanwhile, artists who exploited the boom years with factory-like production systems, such as Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami, are much less in evidence this year.
“The bling is really off. A lot of the bling artists are in a free fall,” says Arne Glimcher of PaceWildenstein (2.0/E1) which is showing a 1929 wire sculpture of the US tennis star Helen Wills Moody by Alexander Calder ($3.8m) and an untitled six part sculpture by Richard Tuttle made of humble materials such as wood, paper and wool thread ($400,000).
Buyers are particularly interested in works that demonstrate intense labour on the part of the artist, says Marianne Boesky (2.1/V3). “They like things that look handmade, not as if they’ve been farmed out to a fabricator,” she says.
An example, by one of Boesky’s artists, is Torre de Málaga, 2007, in Art Unlimited—a ramshackle tower house by Yoshitomo Nara. Made of recycled materials, it contains a cramped space modelled after the artist’s own studio ($600,000). A 10-ft sculpture, Le Verso Versa du Vice Recto, 2000-07, by artist Pascale Marthine Tayou, which resembles a woolly mammoth, is displayed in the same section. It is made of paper recycled from computer printouts (€220,000) and is on offer with Galleria Continua of San Gimignano and Beijing (2.1/X1).
The return to simple everyday materials recalls the artists of the Arte Povera movement who are represented this year by more than 25 galleries. “This is a movement where there has never been much speculation,” says Gianfranco Benedetti of Galleria Christian Stein from Milan (2.0/F1) in explanation of the strength of their prices at a time of falling values.
The gallery is offering classic works by Jannis Kounellis dating from 1969 and 1970, as well as contemporary pieces, and works by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Giuseppe Uncini and others. Galleria Tega (2.0/W3), another Milan-based specialist in Italian art, is offering three Lucio Fontana Concetto Spaziale: Attese paintings from the early 1960s for prices up to e1.55m and a rare Piero Manzoni “Achrome” work from 1959 for €1.9m.
Tried and tested
As ever, galleries throughout the fair are relying on the giants of modern art such as US minimalist Donald Judd—but many this year are presenting them in heavily curated booths.
They include the González gallery from Madrid (2.0/R2) which has devoted its entire stand to “Progressions”, a single exhibition of six Judd sculptures made from anodised aluminium, galvanised iron and stainless steel, dating from 1967 to 1976.
The artist also takes pride of place at L&M Arts (2.0/E2), which is offering a 1987 Untitled sculpture consisting of ten copper and Plexiglass units for “under $4m”. According to gallery director Dominique Lévy, it is the only single copper stack in the world. “Judd completely reinvented the language of sculpture,” says Lévy, who stresses that the gallery is presenting a “more heavily curated” stand than in previous years.
The prevalence of curated displays this year is catering to the connoisseurs who are returning to the art market now that the speculators have disappeared, says Mathias Rastorfer of Gmurzynska gallery (2.0/V1), which is juxtaposing works by Calder with thematically-linked pieces by Alexander Rodchenko.
Calder “pulls together modernism and contemporary art”, says Nathalie Seroussi (2.0/U5) who is showing an Untitled iron mobile painted in red, white and black from 1961 (€1.25m).
A recurring favourite at Art Basel is Andy Warhol who is represented this year by 31 galleries. They include Bischofberger from Zurich (2.0/J1) whose entire stand is devoted to a single, 11-metre canvas by the artist, Big Retrospective Painting, 1979. Priced at $74m, it could be the most expensive work on offer at the fair and a considerable gamble for the gallery.
Works by Picasso, traditionally one of the most expensive artists at the fair, include a 1965 group portrait, La Famille du Jardinier, at Richard Gray (2.0/S1), priced at $6.5m. The work has been in a private collection and has never been publicly shown.
Most dealers surveyed say they expect far fewer American visitors this year. The speculators and their entourages are also gone, they say. “The under-educated guy with a cell phone who fancies himself as an art advisor has completely disappeared,” says Andrew Fabricant of Richard Gray. “This is a return to dealing like it was before. There’s no more impulse buying and the amateurs are gone,” he says.
“There’s much more to art than expensive materials,” says London dealer Maureen Paley (2.1/P3) who is showing work by Wolfgang Tillmans and Seb Patane among others. “All that glitters is not gold—sayings like this have real meaning.”
