Billionaires, celebrities and some say, wealthy Chinese, handed over most of their cash last Sunday to Larry Gagosian at Art Basel, the annual prestigious art fair in Switzerland, which saw sales climb to $1.8 billion.
Forbes and Bloomberg are calling the sales a return to 2008 levels, a time when the global recession was just about to really kick in and when art and objects could be had on the cheap.
The craziest report coming out of the fair however was the $45 million made in 15 minutes by power dealer Gagosian, aka “Gogo,” who was named the world’s most powerful dealer by ArtReview magazine in October 2010.
American buyers were mostly absent this year.
Daniel Templon gallery director Anee-Claudie Coric told HuffPo, “There are very few Americans this year. I suspect this is due to the weakness of the dollar.”
“Gagosian sold $45 million of art within the first quarter of an hour, said two dealers with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named,” writes Bloomberg. “The company, which has galleries in seven countries, doesn’t release sales information.”
Above: Larry Gagosian and Dasha Zhukova at Art Basel.
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Gagosian has 11 galleries and one office, in New York, California, Paris, Rome, London, Switzerland, China and Greece.
Maurizio Cattelan’s 2002 sculpture of two New York policemen, “Frank and Jamie,” (above) priced at $3 million, was among sales by Gagosian at the June 14 VIP preview, reported Bloomberg.
Two examples of this edition of four sold at auction for about $1.6 million in 2010.
The Daily Beast’s Lloyd Grove had an interesting conversation with Gagosian, a shred dealer who is the 50 Cent, in attitude, of the art world.
Here’s what Grove wrote about his encounter with Gagosian during a cocktail reception on a Wednesday night in Basel.
During cocktails on the terrace, I asked Larry Gagosian, art dealer to the stars, if he thought Art Basel was a fair representation of the global art scene. “I don’t understand your question,” Gagosian retorted. “It’s an art fair. I’m here to make money.”
Gagosian said that the high-end market, after a slight dip the year before last during a period of financial uncertainty, has come back strong, with collectors paying record sums. “There was a time when you might have gotten a Rothko or something like that for a bargain price,” Gagosian said. “Not any more.”
Among the celebrities at this year’s fair were Will Ferrell, Linda Evangelista, Asia Chow and Naomi Campbell. See them after the break!
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Naomi Campbell at this year’s Art Basel.
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Will Ferrell and artist Christian Marclay.
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Peter Brant and Asia Chow.
