The major art event serves as an ideal catalyst for assembling the art-loving community from across the world, including gallerists, collectors, curators, artists, critics, general art enthusiasts and other assorted groupies. Susan Moore of The UK Financial Times recently conducted an elaborate interview with the brains behind the world’s premier event, to describe how it has turned into a bigger splash with each passing year. The Art Basel’s co-director, Marc Spiegler, stated:
“Our goal is to have a show that has a ‘choose your own adventure’ quality to it. If you’re looking for blue-chip art, it’s there! If a curator is looking for upcoming artists, they are also there. If you simply want an overview of all that is happening in contemporary art world, we offer that as well.”Art Unlimited, for example, puts the spotlight on innovative video or performance art. Spiegler states: “Every single thing we do must of the highest quality. No matter what you're choosing you feel that your time within Art Basel is being well spent.” An emphasis on quality, coupled with quest to improve and respond to the fast-changing realities of the art market, holds key to its continuing pre-eminence. Annette Schönholzer, who took it over as a co-director three years ago, reveals:
“Now we feel we understand this fair from inside out, and have a good understanding of what our galleries need, and so what we are doing this year seems entirely natural: that is, to optimize what we already have and to re-energize by creating something new.”One more example of making more of what the event already has on offer relates to video art. This year a partnership with the short film fest in Oberhausen, Germany is being prominently highlighted to collectors to make them aware of it. Now we know why Art Basel is counted among the world's largest platforms to showcase all conceivable forms of contemporary art and dialogue, year after year.
No comments:
Post a Comment