Kobel's
Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 31 2026

The good news is that art and antiques also appear to be exempt from the latest round of Trump-style tariffs, as indicated in a publication by the US Customs and Border Protection (PDF, p. 241ff.).

Brita Sachs demonstrates how to turn cutbacks into a source of strength in her report on the Bamberg Antiques Weeks in the FAZ (paywall) of 25 July: “Instead of the joint promotional campaigns that have always accompanied the Bamberg Art and Antiques Weeks, dealers are, for the first time, relying on the appeal of the format introduced three decades ago, without making a great fuss about it or organising a supporting programme. In fact, participation in international fairs is likely to help put the dealers’ home region on the map and entice more than just Bayreuth Festival guests to pay a visit. Above all, TEFAF in Maastricht – in which Senger has long participated and where Franke-Landwers made its debut this year – should draw the attention of collectors and new customers from far and wide towards Franconia and what is perhaps Germany’s most beautiful city.”

Whilst the auction market for Chinese antiques in German-speaking countries continues to stagnate, other regions of Asia are showing a positive trend, as Sabine Spindler summarises in the Handelsblatt of 24 July: “A breath of fresh air is currently sweeping through the market for art from Japan and India. Around ten per cent of Lempertz’s total proceeds of 2.6 million euros were attributable to an Indian miniature. [...] Koller also recorded five-figure proceeds in this sector. Adrian Heindrichs of Lempertz sees the increased proceeds as ‘a highly competitive situation, which also provides an indication of the potential of a market that is currently emerging’.”

Bettina Wohlfarth summarises the spring season in the French auction industry in the FAZ (paywall): “Christie’s mostly exceeded pre-sale estimates in Paris with 27 auctions – compared to just 22 in 2025. Auctions of notable collections, such as that of Arthur Georges Veil-Picard featuring 18th-century art or that of art dealer Thessa Herold, far exceeded expectations. […] At Sotheby’s, the prestigious modern art auctions in April raised 46.3 million euros, a significant increase on the 38.5 million recorded the previous year. Patrick Drahi’s auction house had less to offer than its rival Christie’s, yet the most expensive lot on the French auction market in the first half of the year was sold at Sotheby’s”.

Shanti Ecalante-De Mattei explains everything you need to know about the Art + Tech Summit and the prevailing view of the art market there in Artnews: “Can we expect tech wealth to follow in the footsteps of the great patrons of art, such as publishing magnate S.I. Newhouse? Whilst [Christie’s CEO Bonnie] Brennan spoke briefly about education and the guidance that Christie’s specialists could provide regarding taste, she was blunt about what buyers come in wanting. ‘It used to be that a trophy was a flat on Park Avenue and a Picasso above the fireplace,’ said Brennan. “Now they want a sports team or an $11 million Jerry Garcia guitar. Young buyers are interested in pop culture.” Christie’s, as always, is willing to adapt to the tastes of its clients, but the auction house also has multiple strategies for wooing tech wealth and trying to convert them to fine art.”

“The art market” is taking the easy way out by pinning its hopes on the next generation of collectors, believes Annika von Taube at Monopol (paywall): “It’s just that the art market, rudely jolted awake by fluctuating sales, is now attributing all the changes in the world that it has ignored for decades is now attributing to the ‘younger generation’ (and, incidentally, by using the outdated term ‘NextGen’, is also proving that it has remained as stagnant as it is often accused of being) and is pinning its hopes for its own renewal on them. However, shifting the problems onto today’s art buyers and believing that everything will be better with tomorrow’s buyers is not only naïve, but also disrespectful to all those who have tirelessly driven innovation in the art world rather than slumbering like Sleeping Beauty.”

Brian Boucher describes the idiosyncratic practices of the institutional art market in the US in Artnews: “In came a museum curator who expressed enthusiasm about the show, and even interest in acquiring a piece. But that news came with a pitch many dealers have come to expect, and not necessarily relish. It goes a little something like this, [gallerist Sonia] Dutton said: ‘We love the show. We love the work. We’d love to have something for the museum’s collection. But I’m not sure we have the funds for it.” In practice, that can translate to, ‘Who can you find to buy it for us?’ This presents a mixed prospect for the dealer: the chance to have a work of art enter a museum collection is a coup, but it is tempered by the fact that the dealer is, to some extent, being called upon to raise funds for the museum – a task one might expect to be the responsibility of the institution’s board or development department.”

Commenting on the EU’s decision to withdraw two million euros in funding from the Venice Biennale, Daniel Völzke writes in Monopol: “It is not aimed at Russian art as a whole, but at the official national pavilion of a state. The case therefore cannot simply be slotted into the many current debates on the threat to artistic freedom. The EU does not dictate what art may be created, but rather which institutions it supports financially. [...] However, the Russian presentation differs from the pavilions of other countries that are also currently accused of violating international law: in the Russian pavilion, the ruling elite of an authoritarian state presents itself directly and uses the event for its own ends.” According to an APA report, Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuco is outraged: “According to Buttafuco, the European Commission had asked the Biennale to answer questions in several letters. However, in his view, the institution’s responses had not been given due consideration. He also criticised the decision to withdraw two million euros from the Biennale. The protection of creative freedom is necessary, particularly to support young artists and their future prospects.”

The state museums in Baden-Württemberg are too cheap, according to the state audit office there in its annual report (PDF). Instead of generating just six per cent from admission fees, the institutions should aim for at least ten per cent, according to a dpa report. Why not 100 per cent straight away? Then, admittedly, nobody would come anymore, but the penny-pinchers could tick a box on their list. Museum ticket prices are the result of political and economic trade-offs between what is desirable and what is feasible. A Court of Auditors should monitor policy, not seek to make it itself.

David Zwirner is giving up his premises on New York’s Upper East Side, report Janelle Zara and Andrew Russeth at Artnet: “David Zwirner has just closed the branch it has operated in a townhouse at 34 East 69th Street since 2017. The global giant occupied the first three floors, with the [art] advisory firm Adler Beatty on the fourth floor. Zwirner’s departure comes a year after Hauser & Wirth vacated the space next door, at 32 East 69th Street, with Manuela and Iwan Wirth selling the building”.

Maribel López is stepping down from her role as director of Arco in Madrid and Lisbon to take the helm at the Fundació Miró in Barcelona, I report in Artmagazine.

Miart in Milan has a new director, Zoe Piccoli, as I report in Artmagazine.