Contemporary Fine Arts, a Berlin gallery that represents artists such as Peter Doig and Georg Baselitz, has made profit at every art fair the past five years.
The winning streak may end this week at Frieze, London’s largest art fair, which is taking place during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
“I don’t expect it to go really well,” said Nicole Hackert, a Contemporary Fine Arts partner. “We are not separate from the rest of the economic world.”
Frieze this week coincides with evening contemporary-art sales in London that auction houses estimate will make at least 107 million pounds ($183 million). Last week, Sotheby’s five-day series of auctions in Hong Kong tallied $142 million, about half the presale estimate. Sellers at New York’s auctions in November are watching to see if bank bailouts and economic gloom reduce demand, especially by Russian buyers who have propped up sales.
On Oct. 15, VIP guests will be admitted to Frieze’s 200,000 square-foot temporary structure in Regent’s Park. Now in its sixth year, the event is considered one of the world’s three most- important art fairs, with Art Basel in June and Art Basel Miami Beach in December.
This year’s edition will feature 152 galleries from 27 countries, offering new work by more than 1,000 contemporary artists, said Frieze in an e-mailed statement.
Beginning on Oct. 17, on the Friday of the Frieze fair, Sotheby’s, Phillips de Pury and Christie’s International will hold a series of evening sales. (Bloomberg)