Art Basel in Basel, 2017: Part 2
By HG Masters
The commercial art world is winning so much that it’s getting tired of winning. Especially for for the mega-galleries, the 48th edition of Art Basel in Basel has seen strong headline sales in the seven- and eight-figure bracket. Blue-chip contemporary galleries in the inner ring of the Messe Hall barely have enough space in their booths for their legions of directors and artworks from their ever-expanding rosters. But the trickle-down effect from the top of the pyramid has not been as consistent in other sectors of the fair and elsewhere in Basel, at least in the first part of the week. Within Art Basel, activity began picking up on Wednesday in the younger-artist-focused Statements section, where Martha Atienza won the CHF 30,000 (USD 30,800) Baloise Art Prize for her work Our Islands 11°16'58.4”N 123°45'07.0”E (2017), at Silverlens Gallery’s booth. Over at the satellite fairs, Liste and Volta, which both opened on Monday, foot traffic grew after the VIP day of Art Basel on Tuesday had consumed collectors’ attentions. Here’s a look at more sights around Art Basel, the public installations of the Parcours section, and Volta and Liste.
HG Masters is editor-at-large of ArtAsiaPacific.
