A Changed Fair Map at Art Basel Miami Beach Reveals Shifts in the Market

"Last year at the fair, there were four shared booths in the Nova section for young galleries; only two shared booths appeared in the main sector, with the New York-based Bortolami gallery splitting one with London's Thomas Dane, and New York's Franklin Parrasch splitting his with his Los Angeles project, Parrasch Heijnen.This year, the situation has flipped. The only galleries sharing a booth in Nova are Isabel Aninat and Espacio Valverde (the latter shared a Nova booth with Fabian Lang last year), and in the main sector, it's not just Bortolami/Dane and Parrash/Parrasch Heijnen that are pairing up. It's also New York galleries Andrew Kreps and Anton Kern, whose namesake dealers are longtime friends; New York's March gallery and LA's Parker; and São Paulo's Galatea and Buenos Aires's Isla Flotante."

"Other changes to the map: the Positions sector, for solo presentations, has moved into a regular gallery booth section, right next to the Washington Street side of the fair floor, between exits A and B; in its place is the new Zero 10 initiative for digital art, announced in early November. All this adds up to a map where it looks like less space is dedicated to the main sector, perhaps in reflection of a wobbly market for the fair's bread and butter: fresh-from-the-studio contemporary art. On that subject, it seems only appropriate that the big news story going into art week is the birth of a new gallery, Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries. Partner Marc Glimcher told the New York Times that the gallery will solve the problem of there being "no great, great secondary market galleries." (That the paper showed no skepticism toward such a dubious claim perhaps speaks to the quality of its market coverage. But kudos to Glimcher for getting away with that flex.) After all, the New York auctions were largely about great historical material."

Booth allocations at Art Basel Miami Beach have shifted, with fewer shared booths in Nova and increased gallery pairings in the main sector. Multiple New York and Latin American galleries are sharing booths in the main sector, including long-standing dealer partnerships and cross-city collaborations. The Positions sector for solo presentations moved into a regular gallery booth area adjacent to Washington Street, and the new Zero 10 initiative for digital art replaces its former slot. The fair map shows less space devoted to the main sector, suggesting a wobblier market for fresh studio contemporary art. A new gallery, Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries, positions itself as a major secondary-market entrant.

Read at ARTnews.com