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Bloomberg

Within 20 minutes of the doors opening to VIPs for the first day of Art Basel Miami Beach on the morning on December 4, collector Komal Shah had already bought a painting by Vivien Zhang.
Standing with Zhang’s dealer, Pilar Corrias, Shah noted it would be only her first purchase of the day.
She had been sent previews by other galleries, and “I have some things I’m very attached to already”.
As hordes of collectors seeped through security into the fair’s aisles throughout the day, it seemed a similarly acquisitive sentiment – not seen in the art market for almost two years – was back.

“ People sat on the sidelines for 18 months,” said art adviser Candace Worth. “They watched their stock portfolio go up, they’ve got some cash. They’re ready to buy.”
A market recovery was inevitable, participants say, because for a certain segment of the very wealthy, buying art isn’t just about acquiring things to put on your wall – it is also a lifestyle, one that is hard to quit.
“In its simplest terms, the art world and the art market is as commercial as it is social as it is intellectual,” said Art Basel chief executive Noah Horowitz, speaking on opening day.
People are going to play a little bit safe … they’re here to sell art
Art adviser Candace Worth on apolitical art at this year’s event
A few minutes later, Sarah Arison, the Museum of Modern Art’s board president, seemed to echo that view.
“I don’t love fairs, but what I love about fairs is that you get to see everybody and connect with everybody from all around the world,” she said, adding that cities’ art worlds tend to put their best foot forward whenever a fair is on.
“Yes, there might be a fair, but also you’re going to see the best work from the galleries, from cultural institutions.”
“People love doing this,” said David Hoyland, owner of London-based gallery Seventeen, standing in front of his booth in the hyper-contemporary Nada Miami art fair, which opened to VIPs on December 3 and ran until December 7.
“Your desire to have fun, and to be engaged in something cultural and have meaning as a collector [overrides] your fear about what’s happening in the world,” he added.

Not for nothing, it appeared most works on offer at Art Basel Miami Beach this year were studiously apolitical – a sea of lovely abstract paintings that extended across the fair’s 286 galleries.
“Of course people are going to play a little bit safe,” said Worth. “They pay a lot of money for these booths, they’ve got a lot of staff, and they’re here to sell art. So, you know, that’s no mystery.”
More broadly, art at the fair was notable for its diffusion thematically, culturally and aesthetically. Collectors had definitely returned, but not for any one thing in particular.
“Every several years there’s a group of artists that feel like they’re the most interesting and the art market is most excited about,” said Matthew Newton, an art advisory specialist at investment firm UBS Group.
“On the whole, I don’t think there’s any one really clear driving narrative about which art people quote-unquote should buy.”
And yet there was a raft of solid sales.
Until people pay, it’s not called a sale
Gallerist Pearl Lam dismisses jubilant sales reports at this year’s fair
Several of the mega-galleries reported multiple million-dollar transactions, including US$4.75 million paid for a work by David Hammons at Hauser & Wirth, US$3.5 million for a painting by Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner and €2.5 million (US$2.6 million) for a piece by Georg Baselitz at Thaddaeus Ropac.
Lisson Gallery reported selling at least 15 pieces, including an US$850,000 painting by Lee Ufan; Lehmann Maupin said it sold eight works, among which was a painting by Calida Rawles, who currently has a solo show at Pérez Art Museum Miami.
While this is notably better than the fair’s 2023 edition, where sales – when they happened – came in slowly over the course of the event, the temperature was still cooler than a few years ago, when there were seemingly four buyers for every painting and people rushed to buy in the fair’s opening minutes.

Several dealers this year weren’t willing to let themselves get too enthusiastic.
“Until people pay, it’s not called a sale,” said Hong Kong art dealer Pearl Lam halfway through the first day, dismissing some of the jubilant sales reports soon to be sent out by her peers.
“A lot of people say they’re interested,” she continued, “but money that pays into your account? That’s a sale. And so far, I have not had money reach my account.”


Hong Kong art show that’s homage to Wong Kar-wai ponders meaning of home for expat workers

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Actor Chow Yun-fat, showing his photographs of Hong Kong, says ‘It works when it’s right’

Should museums return antiquities to their countries of origin? Some say no

Has art market turned a corner? Art Basel Miami Beach 2024 sees big crowds and big sales

Portrait de Dora Maar by Tom Sachs at Art Basel Miami Beach. Photo: AP

A piece by artist Matt Mullican at Art Basel Miami Beach on December 4, 2024. After a two-year slump in the art market, crowds were back and buying at this year’s event. Photo: AP

Portrait de Dora Maar by Tom Sachs displayed at Art Basel Miami Beach. This year, collectors were not only back, but eager to spend. Photo: AP

Leonardo DiCaprio attends the VIP preview day for Art Basel Miami Beach on December 4, 2024. Photo: AP

Another celebrity to attend this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach was rapper Gunna. Photo: AP

How a Japanese leaf-cutting artist found fans, and solace, through his delicate depictions

Lito’s Wait a second! That’s my baby! Photo: Lito via AP

Lito holds up one of his freshly cut works in Tokyo. The Japanese leaf-cutting artist spends hours at a time carving his works, in a process that has helped him deal with ADHD. Photo: AP

A piece by Lito featuring a frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. Photo: AP

Lito’s Choju Giga/Scrolls of Frolicking Animals. Photo: Lito via AP

Lito’s Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Photo: Lito via AP

Lito draws an outline on a leaf with a pen for one of his works, in Tokyo. Photo: AP

Lito uses a design knife to cut a leaf for one of his works. Photo: AP

Lito holds his freshly cut work featuring a frog with a taro-leaf umbrella. Photo: AP

Lito’s Leaf Aquarium. Photo: Lito via AP

Lito, who turned to leaf cutting after being diagnosed with ADHD, sees it as the perfect use of his patience and concentration. Photo: AP

Korean author Kim Su-hyun on being true to yourself, as her hit guide gets English version

Kim Su-hyun’s I Decided to Live As Me has sold millions of copies in Asia since 2016. The South Korean author shares her excitement about a new English-language translation. Photo: Penguin Life

The cover of the English translation of Kim’s book. Photo: Penguin Life

Pedestrians in Seoul, South Korea. In her book, Kim gives checklists with the aim of helping readers follow the path they want to, not just the ones society sets out for them. Photo: AFP

Jungkook in New York. The BTS member helped propel sales of Kim’s book when it was seen among his possessions in travel series BTS: Bon Voyage. Photo: Reuters

A wooden pavilion stands amid modern buildings in Seoul. Kim’s message of being true to oneself has been a tenet of Eastern and Western philosophy for centuries. Photo: AFP

‘We represent the future,’ Juilliard School head says of its multicultural Tianjin campus

Michelle Kim, founder and artistic director of Hong Kong Generation Next Arts, interviews Damian Woetzel, president of The Juilliard School (middle), as Wei He, chief executive and artistic director of The Tianjin Julliard School looks on, ahead of the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra recent performance in Hong Kong. Photo: George Wong

Damian Woetzel, president of The Juilliard School, highlighted the progress of its China campus in Tianjin on a recent visit to Hong Kong, where the Tianjin Juilliard School orchestra performed as part of the HKGNA festival. Photo: Todd Rosenberg Photography

The Tianjin Juilliard School is in a newly built park along the Haihe River in the Binhai New Area’s Yujiapu financial district Photo: Zhang Chao

Michelle Kim, founder and artistic director of Hong Kong Generation Next Arts, interviews Damian Woetzel (centre), president of The Juilliard School, as Wei He, chief executive and artistic director of The Tianjin Julliard School, looks on ahead of the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra’s recent performance in Hong Kong. Photo: George Wong

Young naked women are their canvas – nude art of 2 anonymous Hong Kong artists challenges city’s conservative attitudes towards sex

Lousy’s body paint on a nude woman. The anonymous Hong Kong graffiti artist paints bold designs on young, naked women then photographs them in erotic poses. Photo: Lousy                                                         

Another of Lousy’s “kissfaces”, on Queen’s Road West in Hong Kong. Photo: Lousy

Lousy’s photobook “Yook”, published in 2020. Photo: Lousy

Matsushimaon’s body art on a nude woman. Photo: Matsushimaon

Professor Sonia Wong says there is not a lot of space in erotic or explicit artistic disciplines for women to express their sexuality, especially in Hong Kong. Photo: Professor Sonia Wong

Artist Lousy’s portrait. Photo: Lousy

Lifestyle

Arts & Culture

Crowds were back and buying this year. Several major galleries reported multiple million-dollar sales, giving cause for cautious optimism


Crowds were back and buying this year. Several major galleries reported multiple million-dollar sales, giving cause for cautious optimism.


Art Basel

United States