Art 37 Basel: Interview: Samuel Keller, Director of Art Basel

Compared to the last couple of years, how to you find this fair, artistically and commercially?

Regarding the artistic level all the expert curators and collectors agree, that this fair is extraordinary when it comes to quality. Every year everyone thinks that the level cannot get any higher than the last fair, and every year everyone is surprised – us included.

In the department for 20th century art everyone’s talking about how scarce the material is. Most major works are already in museum collections and we were blown away to see how many major works by renowned artists that are exhibited this year. The prices are high but so is the quality, so they’re still being sold – even the works that cost several million dollars. But there’s also a huge demand for works by young artist and many of the stands at Art Statements sold out on the day of the opening!

Even complicated things that we’re showing at Art Unlimited - large installations - are sold. For us this year has been about adding some modern art dealers and furthermore to obtain a more substantial integration of young galleries from the recent years

Is that the Art premiere?

Yes that, and then making Art Statements larger and integrating more galleries in the general section. 99,9% of the galleries are reapplying every year, so natural replacement doesn’t occur and we have to base the selection on quality. Every year we replace 5-10% of the galleries. We also want to give the young dealers a chance to be accepted - not only for the artists’ project but for the gallery programme.

For how long do you think the market can continue to grow?

Well the potential is immense. Still there’s only a minority of people in the world who are buying contemporary art. A lot of wealth is still going into material things like cars, planes, boats and real estate - not into culture. It’s not a question of how much money there is, but of how much confidence and interests there are. Until recently the art market was focused on a dozen countries in the world. Now it’s spreading all over the world and there’re huge potentials in countries which are benefiting from globalization: for instance East Asian countries, china, India, Russia, and Latin America. Scandinavia was not a major factor ten years ago, now the scene is amazing there! Eastern Europe has also developed immensely. Every market goes up and down, but the potential is very big. - but that does not necessarily mean, that the market is only going up.

So globalization makes Art Basel much less fragile?

Absolutely, Art Basel has always been the most international fair but until the turn of the century we were very dependent on the economic situation in Germany, Switzerland and France. Now we see that even if Germany is undergoing some changes, the prosperity in for instance Italy, Spain and Portugal has balanced it out. Also, as all the participating galleries will tell you, the majority of their buyers are not from their own country. This is also the reason why artists can achieve success at a much younger age than earlier. If an artist is successful in Art Basel the whole world will know about it within one week.

Do you find that art fairs are taking over the positions of the biannuals?

No, the roles are different. We are witnessing a multiplication of both art fairs and biannuals all over the world. They have a very positive effect on their local art scene. They stimulate and function as catalysts, and this effect is just as important as – if not more – what is actually shown at the fair or biannual. The events are important and essential when it comes to networking and collaboration in the art world. Right now the art marked is strong and the galleries are doing well. Therefore the art fairs are able to show many of the best works. At Art Unlimited you’ll find works that only the very best biannuals can show. Here the galleries are taking the risk and show the works and all the directors of the biannuals come here just as we attend their events. The growth is sometimes different, and art fairs in general - and Art Basel in particular - are definitely thriving - but we still need the biannuals and they need us.

Have you spotted any new trends on this years fair?

Well, it’s hardly fair to speak of trends when you’re showing works by 2000 artists. The majority will always be doing something different. All the artists are individuals and every time you sport a trend you immediately spot a reaction towards that - artists doing things different again. Regarding the different media we see two things: many artists are inspired by engineering and are creating amazing works with detailed technical features - but on the other side you do not se painting or sculpture disappearing or weakening. The diversity is extremely great both with materials and strategies.

Rumours are circulating about the figures of the commerce. Can you comment on this?

Well, Art Basel is not registering sales and not publishing any. Prizes can be asked at the galleries but the fact that I mentioned earlier, that 99.9% of the galleries reapply, is good proof for excellent sales.

How many fairs can you have in Basel, when is the marked filled? This year Basel has five different fairs in the same week. Can you imagine a sixth fair on for instance Scandinavian artists in Basel during the art week?

What we know is that the galleries get more contacts being in a parallel art fair in Basel than being in a regular art fair in another city. I think this will continue – until it doesn’t work any more. In Miami we had seven fairs last year and this year we have nine - possibly ten. What will change is that the collectors will not visit them all. The fairs will need to have a god reason to exist and a clear profile. It’s not enough to say that “we’re showing young art”. I don’t think the regional aspect is necessarily a good approach. Usually artists hate to be seen like representatives of their native country. It can make sense for instance with an Asian fair, but in Europe I think is problematic. But other fairs are welcome in Basel. With the success we are experiencing it doesn’t take anything away from us. •