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Art attack: your time is valuable and so is the Art Basel experience. How to maximize a tour of its potentially dizzying array of international contemporary art and attendant satellite fairs

South Florida CEO, Nov, 2007 by Johanna Marmon

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While it goes without saying that art is nothing if not subjective, there is a crop of both living and dead artists whose work will likely be in high demand at ABMB--and command high prices, according to Charles Dupplin, an art expert at the Bermuda-based Hiscox, a specialty insurer that works with collectors around the world. Dupplin cites living artists such as Damien Hirst, Richard Prince, Jeff Koons and Gerhard Richter as ones to watch, while works by Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning will also command attention.

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In general, the value of both contemporary and modern art has risen during 2007--by 55 percent and 44 percent, respectively, according to an index of auction data compiled by Hiscox. "[Contemporary and modern art] has had a tremendous run," Dupplin says, though he cautions the market may soon slow down a bit. "Every sort of record has been broken in Europe this year by the highest auction prices, by four or five times." But, he adds, "Anything that goes up that much might see a correction." He points to the ripple effect the recent credit crunch in the US is having on world markets as an indicator that buying at ABMB may not be as frenzied this year. "There's a distinct possibility that the people who have been buying the art and driving up the prices are those who will be feeling much less rash. We might see interesting times in the contemporary market," he adds.

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Alan Bamberger, a California-based art consultant and appraiser, says ABMB will be a good indicator of how recent worldwide economic changes will effect the art market going forward. "Art prices for certain artists have increased absurdly, and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," he says. "There's been a substantial art market bubble. Basel will begin to tell the tale of how the changes will ripple out."

Beyond the Main Fair

Of course, not all of the action during Art Basel Miami Beach is relegated to the Miami Beach Convention Center, or even the container show on the beach. This year, there are 17 satellite fairs and exhibitions, held in locations such as Miami art hotspot Wynwood, scattered throughout hotels on South Beach and even as far away as South Miami. During this year's fair, for instance, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden will debut a large-scale exhibition of 10 sculptures by one of the American pop art movement's seminal artists: Roy Lichtenstein. According to Fairchild, the exhibition (scheduled to run through May 31, 2008) marks the first time Lichtenstein's sculptures will be shown in a botanic garden.

Spin-off mainstays of ABMB include Scope Miami and Pulse. Scope, which had its inaugural show in 2002, is known for presenting cutting-edge contemporary works, with an emphasis on emerging dealers, curators and artists. Like last year, Scope will fill a 40,000-square-foot pavilion with 90 exhibitors in Wynwood's Roberto Clemente Park--blocks away from important collections such as the Rubell Family Art Collection and the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, both of which are hosting events during ABMB. Contemporary art fair Pulse Miami is moving this year, from a tent it formerly occupied to a 40,000-square-foot space at SoHo Studios, also in Wynwood.

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Art attack: your time is valuable and so is the Art Basel experience. How to maximize a tour of its potentially dizzying array of international contemporary art and attendant satellite fairs

South Florida CEO, Nov, 2007 by Johanna Marmon

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