Ah, art – the ever-changing, impossible to define, subject to much criticism, necessary frivolity of life. Both toddlers and Picasso have made it, and I, like many others, have a lot of questions about it. What makes it valuable? What should I pay for it? Is it a wise investment? Is this piece even good?
The best way to go about making decisions about what constitutes art – leave it to an international committee of experts. Carefully selected galleries from all over the world showcase their goods and make up each of three cities’ Art Basel exhibitions (Basel, Miami Beach, and soon to be Hong Kong). If you don’t agree with the quality of what’s on display from any of the hundreds of participating galleries or just don’t really care about the great art debate, well then, there are also parties.
What started as the brainchild of two gallerists in Basel, Switzerland, the inaugural show brought in over sixteen thousand visitors in 1970. It was a buzz-worthy debut for the art world and a preview to the momentum that the Basel brand would gain in the decades to come. The show hit its target by connecting the international art community. The Basel-based show remains the most prestigious art fair, and has even been championed by The New York Times as the “Olympics of the art world”. While the original Basel seems to be taken the most seriously, each location was chosen for its own reason and has developed its own personality.
In 2002, Art Basel made its debut in Miami Beach, a city seen as the perfect liaison between North and South America and a tempting place to spend December when climates are cold elsewhere. This venue brought Basel to a whole new level of publicity, and in the past decade has brought with it a new realm of criticism.
The celebrities and socialites have made their way to Miami and the parties surrounding the scene are growing in grandeur with brands like Chanel and Moncler hosting their own events. The free champagne and on-going schedule of surrounding events is enough of a reason to take a beach vacation for scenesters and celebrity-chasers. With everyone from Beyonce to Kanye West in attendance at Art Basel Miami Beach 2012, it’s no wonder that there were endless blog posts about celebrities and street style, parties and brand names. While it may seem like Art Basel is selling out, chances are, it’s exactly the opposite. The Miami Beach scene has consequently become a huge topic of conversation for social media, and most importantly, sold art. And isn’t that exactly what Basel set out to do?
There’s heavy debate about whether the celebrity appeal and media attention has cheapened the art brand, but the fact remains that Art Basel is the best and biggest art fair in both the United States and abroad. When a show can get tens of thousands of people into a city for the sake of culture (perhaps not all are solely going for the purpose of art but, the art factor is unavoidable) a major feat has been accomplished. Basel is not just an exhibition hall in the Miami Beach Convention Center. It’s comprised of performances and exhibits that sprawl across nearby landscapes. It inspires pop-up shops, satellite fairs, and big name concerts to bring in big-money crowds.
So what to do next when you’ve already got an established, now seemingly old-world, art institution in Europe and a Florida art party full of pretty young things with money to burn? Move on to Asia, of course. Half of the participating galleries in the the upcoming Art Basel Hong Kong hail from Asia and Asia-Pacific, and a new personality is sure to emerge from the latest installation. With over seven million inhabitants in the city, I don’t think anyone can predict what this fair will bring to the art world. Hong Kong is the fourth largest home to millionaires (Switzerland is first) and the world’s third-largest art auction market (only behind New York and London), and for these reasons the upcoming Basel appears destined for success. It also helps that what’s now Art Basel Hong Kong, is actually a purchased and rebranded, already successful Hong Kong international art fair, that’s now had the ante upped with the high Basel standards.
This third addition, being held from May 23-26, is about to break down international borders and will open up the art market in Asia in a new way. Basel’s goal has always been that of relationships, between artists and buyers and all of the middlemen who bring them together. From the notion of European refinement to the pop-culture crazed social media stereotypes in Miami, word has spread about art. And now, Asia, here comes the Art… Basel.
For more information and future dates, please visit www.artbasel.com.
