As mega-gallerist David Zwirner recently said, “the future has arrived so much sooner.” And there’s no better evidence of that than the current art fair calendar. Today is the VIP preview of a virtual fair called Intersect Aspen, and I am pleased to have been asked to share my top 10 picks. In addition, I participated in an interesting Zoom chat with the newly appointed Managing Director, Becca Hoffman, about the fair and the future.
Intersect Aspen was formerly Art Aspen, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary last year and typically hosts about 30 US exhibitors. This year, the fair has grown exponentially and includes an impressive roster of 110 international galleries from 28 countries. Participating in a digital platform such as this is attractive to galleries, since it is much more cost effective and will have many more attendees.
Globally, the vast majority of art fairs have taken place online since Art Basel Hong Kong in March, and they will do so for the next few months, at a minimum. Art Basel had another virtual fair in June, in lieu of what would have been the 50-year anniversary of the fair in Switzerland. And the next big, international fairs, Frieze London and TEFAF New York, were scheduled for October but announced recently that those too will be replaced by digital versions.
But before then, UNTITLED, ART – best known as one of the top satellite fairs during Art Basel Miami Beach – is launching the first virtual-reality art fair on July 31st. Attendees will be able to walk the fair, view the booths in a realistic manner and transact directly on the website.
While no digital image can ever replace standing in front of a work of art, buying art remotely is becoming increasingly common. I’ve placed a number of works in this fashion in the last couple of months, and I expect this to continue until it is safe to resume our in-person endeavors.
Please let me know if you’d like to talk about any of the fairs or other art-related topic.
Wishing you health and safety.
7/22/20