Kobel's Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 28 2025

Sommer.Frische.Kunst in Bad Gastein is celebrating its 15th anniversary, this time with a miniature offshoot of the Positions art fair. Laura Ewert was there for Monopol and was impressed by the somewhat quirky event: "You have to imagine Sommer.Frische.Kunst as a school trip. It's full of fun people who initially divide themselves into artists, sellers and consumers. You go for walks with them, go swimming, have brunch, drink and look at art. You end up talking about limited partnerships, cleaning companies, LSD, Viennese fashion designers and Munich lederhosen." For Artmagazine, Werner Remm focuses primarily on the fair: ‘The atmosphere at art:badgastein is extremely relaxed, given the flair of the mountains and the location – there is no trace of the usual hustle and bustle of large art fairs. The opening weekend was very well attended and some initial sales were recorded.’

Stage Bregenz, on the other hand, is taking a break after only two editions, Werner Remm reports in Artmagazine: "In order to meet its own quality standards and put the concept of the fair on a broader footing, Renger van den Heuvel has now announced that STAGE Bregenz will take a break in 2026 to allow more time for the implementation of its plans. The art fair is scheduled to restart in spring 2027."

Surprisingly, Art Basel does not seem to have gone so well after all. At least not for the Big Five, whose published sales figures Harrison Jacobs and Angelica Villa compared with those of previous years for Artnews: "Still, an ARTnews analysis of five blue-chip galleries—Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and David Zwirner—found that their publicly reported sales at this year's Art Basel were over 35 percent lower than in 2024, around 8 percent below 2023, and just over 20 percent down from 2022. [...] Even so, the broader trend line points downward. And another pattern has emerged: a steady climb in the number of artists sold to hit those totals. In 2022, these five galleries reported selling work by 109 artists; in 2023, 113; in 2024, 149; and this year, 157. (Pace, curiously, bucked the trend—its artist count dipped from 39 in 2022 to 28 in 2025.)”

Amidst the overall disappointing London summer auctions, Eva Komarek identified a positive trend for the Presse on 6 July: "What is interesting about the current auctions is that works by female artists performed significantly better than those by their male counterparts. For example, 13.5 per cent of the lots at Sotheby's were by women, but they accounted for around 30 per cent of the turnover. Jenny Saville, who has been at the centre of the debate about female body images for years, achieved £2.1 million with her large-format drawing Mirror, a record for one of her works on paper."

Under certain circumstances, Old Masters can sell well after all, as Stephanie Dieckvoss observed for the Handelsblatt in London: "The overall good result of this evening auction, in which 34 of the 39 lots were sold for a total of £55.3 million, gives cause for optimism. This was the highest sales rate in this category since 2012. Bids came mainly from Europe and the USA, with collectors from Asia and the Middle East also bidding on a few lots. [...] Overall, both auction houses offered selected, market-fresh objects at realistic estimates this week. This shows that when there are good offers, sales are also good, with collectors apparently less and less interested in specific periods, schools of painting or even themes, but rather in the quality of individual works." This means that a strategy that auction houses have been pursuing for some time is now paying off, according to George Nelson's analysis for Artnews: "In a bid to stay relevant, the Old Masters trade has been trying to draw in younger buyers to counter its shrinking collector base, which generally comprises wealthy, older men. No easy task, but by encouraging cross-category buying and offering rare, unique works bolstered by compelling narratives, the top houses are seeing some success in a sticky market. This week saw Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams adopt these strategies as they held Old Masters auctions in London."

Brita Sachs visited Munich's Open Art gallery weekend, which took place for the first time this summer, for the FAZ: "The Gallery Weekend confirms once again that competition stimulates business. A few years ago, some of Munich's leading galleries broke away from the old association to switch to the new Various Others model, which aims to achieve a broader impact through cooperation with international colleagues. This prompted the Open Art organisers to refresh the old concept, resulting in the aforementioned innovations. Whether the split into two platforms makes commercial sense can only be determined by precise studies of visitor structure and purchasing behaviour. In any case, the public is being treated to two weekends filled with art and more.” Perhaps a master's thesis is not necessarily required – a glance at the bank balance might suffice for the galleries to assess their success.

Tim Blum (formerly Blum & Poe) is closing his galleries in Los Angeles and Tokyo. Daniel Cassady spoke to him about his reasons for Artnews: "Blum said that the decision was driven neither by financial strain nor a midlife reinvention, but by burnout. ‘This is not about the market,’ he said. ‘This is about the system.’ He was referring to the whole architecture of contemporary gallery life: the ever-expanding web of fairs, openings, obligations, and expectations that he said have grown more demanding year after year. ‘It's not working. And it hasn't been working,’ he said. ‘Even when it looked like it was.’

The Institute for Museum Research, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, has examined the economic effects of museums in a study. And lo and behold: they are not subsidy grabbers at all, explains Patricia Rahemipour in an interview with Radioeins: "According to the study, museums are important economic location factors. Every euro invested by the state generates 1.70 euros in added value. In addition, a further 2.40 euros in added value is generated through tourist spending.‘

Olga Kronsteiner has compiled the latest news on the Klimt case for the Standard: ’However, research by the weekly magazine Heti Világgazdaság (HVG) and the STANDARD recently revealed inconsistencies in the export of the painting to Austria. In response to an enquiry from HVG, the Hungarian monument authority denied the existence of an export licence in mid-May. According to the Austrian Federal Monuments Office and the Viennese art dealers, however, such a licence did exist: for the work of an unknown artist and without any indication of value or date. This means that the applicant may have circumvented Hungary's strict regulations."