BASEL, SWITZERLAND.- Art of outstanding quality, good to excellent sales results, high-caliber visitors from around the globe. Art 34 Basel, the International Art Show, closed its doors on Monday, June 23. Participating galleries, Show Management, art aficionados and the media unanimously considered this year’s Art Basel to have been an outstanding year. This was because of the quality of the works on display, the throngs of art collectors and art lovers, the excellent sales, the international significance of the event and its positive impulses for the art market.

Art Basel has impressively con­firmed and expanded its position as the world’s leading market place for the Classical Moderns and for contemporary art. Over 50,000 visi­tors (19% more admission tickets sold, but 15% fewer Vernissage guests since a smaller number of invitations were sent out) including 1,500 media representatives came to the International Art Show. The 270 exhibitors from every continent were positive about the outcome after seven exciting and rewarding days full of fascinating discoveries.

The 34th staging of the International Art Show closed with excellent results.

Participants rated this year’s Art Basel as one of the best years ever. Samuel Keller, Director of Art Basel, summed up the art show as follows: «The 34th staging of Art Basel delighted the art world.» This year, over 50,000 art collectors, museum representatives, artists and art aficionados from around the world visited Art 34 Basel. Among them, 1,500 media representatives from every continent gathered information on everything that the international art market has to offer. The media’s great interest in Art Basel also ensures the exhibiting galleries additional attention and coverage in the press. The German daily, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, laconically wrote «Die Kunst als Naturgewalt oder Besser geht’s nicht.» [«Art as a force of nature, or: It couldn’t be better.»] Le Figaro of Paris summed up the show as follows: «D’avis unanime cette 34e édition est ’un excellent cru’, plus contemporain encore au rez-de-chaussée.» [«Opinions were unanimous: this 34th edition is an excellent vintage and still more contemporary on the ground floor.»], Le Monde reported: «La foire de Bâle a définitivement un statut hors normes.» [«The Basel Show is definitely in a class by itself.»] and Welt am Sonntag commented: «Nirgendwo auf der Welt wird so viel und so ausnahmslos hochklassige, moderne Kunst ge­zeigt wie in Basel. Keine Messe ist so wichtig für Galeristen und so beliebt bei Besuchern.» [«Nowhere else in the world is so much – without exception, high-caliber – modern art on view as in Basel. No other show is so important for gallery owners and so popular with visitors.»]

The elaborately designed show catalogue, which provides an extensive overview of the current international art market, was sold out on the last day of the show, as was the «Art Unlimited» catalogue.

This year’s staging of «Art Unlimited» – which offered 66 exciting outsize pro­jects – was considered by the experts and art lovers from around the world to be both interesting and of high quality. Indeed, Art Basel has boosted its status still further as the world’s most important annual meeting place for all those concerned with art, in part also thanks to the exhibitions mounted in museums and the many events taking place in parallel to Art 34 Basel. In addition, there was great interest in the wide selection of services available to visitors at the International Art Show. The gourmet restaurant Stucki, for example, was fully booked almost every day while the «Art Kids» kinder­garten and the Wellness Studio, where tired visitors could recharge their batteries, proved highly popular.

This year, the international financial institution UBS celebrated its tenth jubilee as main sponsor of Art Basel. This long-standing relationship was expanded last year to include the first edition of the sister show Art Basel Miami Beach. Art Basel is one of the most important commitments entered into by UBS in the field of contemporary art, an involvement which also includes the prestigious UBS Art Collection.

Visitors

All those involved in Art 34 Basel considered it to have been an excellent year. Comments regarding the course of the show ranged from «satisfied» to «delighted». There were reports of exceptional interest on the part of visitors. Never before had so many major art collectors from all over the world attended Art Basel. Hotel rooms in and around Basel were booked out and the EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, reported a sharp in­crease in take-offs and landings by private planes. In addition to private collectors from every continent, almost all the world’s leading museums sent delegations to Art 34 Basel. There was a greater number of organized groups of collectors, particularly from the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, France, Spain, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Great Britain and the USA. There were more art experts and more visitors from the Basel region and from southern Germany. Once again, many artists attended the Inter­national Art Show: Sylvie Fleurie, Jim Lambie, Paul McCarthy, Ugo Rondinone, Santiago Sierra, John Baldessari, Robert Gober, Fischli/Weiss, Gilbert & George, Muntean/Rosenblum and numerous others. Many of them created new works, especially for the platform «Art Unlimited», and installed these works in person. More than ever before, Art Basel is the world’s ‘most international’ art event.

Statistics

Despite the sunny and hot summer weather prevailing throughout the seven days of the show, over 50,000 visitors (19% more admissions sold), flocked to Art 34 Basel. Because fewer invitations were issued, Vernissage attendance was down by 15%. Nonetheless, the International Art Show received more than 10,000 high-caliber guests on the Tuesday. About 1,500 media representatives from every continent visited the art show to gather information on the exhibits and on current developments. The Show Management and the exhibiting galleries are delighted by the huge interest shown and by the media response.

Sales

According to a survey by the Show Management, all the exhibiting gal­­­leries found potential buyers for their works of art. All spoke of «good» to «excellent» sales. Long-standing exhibitors considered this year’s Art Basel to have been a very good vintage. Excellent sales were re­corded in the price category from € 5,000 to € 50,000. Sales of works in the € 50,000 to € 500,000 bracket were also extremely brisk. A number of works priced at over € 500,000 also found buyers. The proposal launched this year by the Art Committee and the Show Management, whereby works costing less than € 5,000 were indicated by a yellow dot, was well received by visitors as well as by media representatives. This practice also helped to make pricing clearer. Collectors were interested in works by the Classical Moderns as well as in contemporary art. In the case of the 66 outsize projects on show in «Art Unlimited», participating galleries reported many sales of exhibits costing more than € 100,000. It was pleasing that works by young artists, some of whom are still unknown, also sold very well. The international art market is clearly in good shape, despite a difficult economic climate in recent months and the feared con­sequences of the Iraq war. The market is heavily supported by private col­lectors, while most public institutions continue to have limited funds at their disposal. It is gratifying to note that a young generation of collectors is focussing on the very newest artistic creations. Society is showing an interest in contemporary art and its precursors that is greater than ever before.

Chantal Crousel, owner of Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris: said: «Art Basel is more beautiful than ever and the quality of the art on show is excellent. What is more, visitors are extremely well informed.»

Gerhard F. Reinz, owner of Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Cologne: «Fantastic! From the very first day, visitors were in a positive mood. The doors opened in the morning and, in no time at all, our booth was crammed with people. We sold very well.»

David Juda, director of Annely Juda Fine Art, London: «Vibrant, exciting and quite a lot of business.»

Patricia Ortiz-Monasterio, director of Galería OMR, Mexico: «One of the best shows I have ever done. All the galleries have made a great effort to show their best works.»

Hans Mayer, owner of Galerie Hans Mayer, Duesseldorf: «This year’s Art Basel was outstanding. Visitors from every continent came to Basel.»

Robert Landau, owner of Landau Fine Art, Montreal: «The show got off to a very brisk start, becoming a little quieter towards the end. Many people complimented us on having the most beautiful booth. The public was very well informed and knew plenty about modern art.»

Peter Blum, owner of Blumarts, New York: «I came with low expectations because of the world’s bad economic and political situation. I’m therefore all the more surprised how well the show went. One steps into the space ship that is Art Basel, blasts off, and leaves everyday cares behind.»

Giò Marconi, owner of Giò Marconi Gallery, Milan: «The show was outstanding. I met many new collectors.»

Massimo Minini, owner of Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia: «I am happy and proud that I have been here for so long. For 27 years now, my booth has been in the front row, just as Art Basel is still in the front row after 34 years.»

Art

The attending cognoscenti agreed that the quality and variety of works exhibited at Art 34 Basel was unique on a worldwide scale. The partici­pating galleries had done their utmost to present the most interesting works of art and to display them in carefully conceived exhibitions. Various booths featured thematically grouped exhibitions and one-person shows. While Art Basel has been known from the start as the most im­portant show for the classics of modern art, it has in recent years also established itself as the world’s most important platform for contemporary art, setting standards in this area, too. This year, Art Basel attracted not only all the significant dealers in modern art, but also the leading galleries for the young generation of artists, all of them making their most important appearance anywhere in the world at Art Basel. No other art show features so many galleries for con­temporary art (approx. 200). At Art 34 Basel, the long-standing pro­motion of young art was also evident in the fact that many booths showed newly created works of art. Various galleries presented video works and large installations. Paintings and paper works experienced a new upswing, and photography was once again much in evidence.

Sectors

The outcome of «Art Unlimited» was also highly positive. This platform

was making its fourth appearance, featuring works that transcend the boundaries of exhibition booths at art shows and, frequently, also those set by galleries and museums. Sixty-six projects were exhibited: large installations, video projections, outsize paintings, huge sculptures, instal­lations, performances and digital art. Enthusiasm came, not only from the participating galleries and the artists, but also from the experts and the general public. All considered this year’s «Art Unlimited» to be the best since its inception in the year 2000. Several times each day, the «Art Lobby» communication platform gave visitors a chance to make contact with leading personalities from the international art scene. It was, for example, possible to meet with Thierry Raspail, Harald Szeemann, Francesco Bonami, Kasper König, Christoph Vitali, Hans Ulrich Obrist and a number of leading collectors from around the world. The highlight of «Art Lobby» was unquestionably the appearance of the internationally renowned artists Gilbert & George, who visited the International Art Show on Saturday, June 21, and talked with media representatives and interested members of the public.

Another crowd-puller was «Art Statements», consisting of 17 one-person shows by young artists. The participants were highly pleased with visitors’ interest in this platform, which not only produced good sales, but also an opportunity to meet many exhibition makers from around the world. This section attracted huge media attention. This year’s prize donated by the Baloise group specifically for «Art Statements» worth CHF 25,000 in each case, went to two artists: Monika Sosnowska of Poland and Saskia Olde Wolbers of the Netherlands. Visitors also showed great interest in the «Art Edition» sector, where international publishing houses presented prints and multiples. The «Art Film» sector in the Stadtkino Basel with the Open Air cinema showing films by and about artists, has become an institution dear to the hearts of visitors.

Around Art Basel

Never before have so many exhibitions and events taken place in parallel to Art Basel. Not only the museum exhibitions in Basel, but also the cul­tural programs in the neighboring cities are an important supplement to the art show and contribute to its appeal.

Art Basel Miami Beach

Art Basel Miami Beach, the new international art show which made its debut last year, exceeded all expectations. Top-quality art works, a high-caliber international audience (30,000 visitors in the year 2002), good sales, immense media attention – the first staging of Art Basel Miami Beach on the American continent was a complete success. December 4 to 7, 2003 are the dates of the second edition of this International Art Show. A record number of over 500 galleries have applied to take part, including 93% of those showing last year. Forty galleries have been newly admitted, making it possible to strengthen each and every sector and ensuring that the list of participants at this year’s Art Basel Miami Beach will be even more star-studded than it was in 2002.



Outcome

Art 34 Basel once again sparked great enthusiasm within the art world.

It is the most popular international meeting place for gallery owners, col­lectors, art intermediaries and aficionados. The excellent sales results provide positive stimuli for the art market. Art Basel has confirmed its undisputed position as the leading art show in an impressive manner and justified its reputation as an art event of international acclaim. The 35th staging of Art Basel takes place from June 16 to 21, 2004.