Kobel's Art Weekly

Kobel's Art Weekly 29 2025

Coincidence or correlation? Following Tim Blum, collector Adam Lindemann is also closing his New York gallery Venus over Manhattan. On Artnet (probably paywall), he recalls an exciting time: "We had several good fairs in Hong Kong, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London, but do you want to know the truth about fair committees? They expect you to get down on your hands and knees, wag your tail and beg for forgiveness. Then they mercilessly put you on the waiting list. Opening a gallery as a collector really means making enemies on both sides. Dealers distrust you, and most collectors don't understand what you're up to, so they turn up their noses in disapproval – or worse, they resent you for switching sides. [...] That was then – and now that chapter is closed. There will be no reorientation towards consulting or private trading. I'm going back to air kisses, handshakes, fist bumps, hugs, nods, winks, waves, big smiles, thumbs up and good humour. I look forward to seeing you at the next art fair!"

The insights Tim Blum shares with Zachary Small in the New York Times (probably paywall) are worrying: "The pandemic has disrupted collectors' habits and triggered a speculative boom that ultimately burned a new generation of buyers. Blum said his clientele was dwindling. He reduced the number of annual exhibitions because fewer people were coming to see the shows, but he continued to pay over $12 million to keep his business afloat. ‘We were complicit in building the art market to this unsustainable level,’ Blum acknowledged. ‘It was like trying to turn a large container ship around in the Panama Canal.’ As the gallery became increasingly difficult to run, competition in Los Angeles also became fiercer.

Anyone interested in how art and money are connected and what role interest rates play in the art market should definitely read this essay by Janelle Zara, which the freelance journalist published on her blog What are we looking at in response to the closures of Tim Blum and Adam Lindemann's galleries: "This is the aesthetic of financial optimisation, a consequence of downgrading the value of art to currency. (I also tried to coin the term “quiet luxury”). In order to take the commercial path of least resistance, both quiet luxury and frictionless painting take no artistic risks and pose no challenge to the viewer's existing worldview. This defeats the purpose of art—art without tension is just decoration—but it's ideal for collectors whose smooth lifestyle has made them a little soft. Probably a little stupid, too. While the goal of art investment used to be to support the artist's practice, today it's about maximising profit while squeezing the life out of art. All this is the result of a self-reinforcing cycle: art that no one has put any effort into, for viewers who don't bother to look at it." Venmo account holders can express their appreciation to the author in monetary form here.

The move of gallery owners Ursula Wirth-Hauser and Iwan Wirth from London to Switzerland, reported by Josh Spero in the Financial Times (paywall), certainly has nothing to do with money (i.e. taxes): "Hauser & Wirth, who did not comment on whether tax reasons played a role in the move, said: ‘Iwan and Manuela Wirth are citizens and residents of Switzerland, where Hauser & Wirth was founded and continues to have its headquarters. They are now spending more time in Switzerland as they work on upcoming projects there while continuing to oversee others in the United States and the United Kingdom.’

Artnet's history, which is closely intertwined with the development of the art market in recent decades, does not necessarily predict success for the company's future after its takeover by an investor, warns Melanie Gerlis in the Art Newspaper (paywall): "Artnet's long road to privatisation had as much to do with personalities as with its business model, but the truth is that even its database, the jewel in its cumbersome crown, is no longer compelling enough in this market. First of all, individual auction prices can be found on Google, and AI will probably soon be able to piece them together into a seemingly convincing investment story. Meanwhile, the quarter-century-old myth of art as an investment is fading. Market disruptions are no longer about destroying prices. It's about turning the millions of NextGen enthusiasts into buyers, or at least consumers, in a way that somehow keeps the artists alive. The information is free. Monetising art today requires more imagination."

Kate Brown attempts to contextualise Wael Shawky's appointment as artistic director of Art Basel Qatar for Artnet (paywall): "The appointment of an artist as co-director of an art fair may seem unusual, but Shawky, who works with Lisson, Talbot Rice Gallery, Lia Rumma and Sfier-Smeler, is already involved in institutional programmes in Qatar. Last November, the artist was appointed artistic director of the Qatar Museums' creative centre Fire Station: Artist in Residence, where he will oversee the promotion of emerging artists from Qatar and the region and develop an educational programme. Other fairs in Basel have generally been run by gallery owners, with individual sectors curated by curators – Shawky's institutional experience and close ties to the region make him a suitable partner for de Bellis." Off the top of my head, however, I can't think of many Art Basel directors who were previously gallery owners. It is also unclear why this text, whose news value is based on a press release https://www.artbasel.com/stories/art-basel-qatar-unveils-new-fair-format-and-appoints-artistic-director, was placed behind a paywall.

Monopol summarises this press release: ‘The fair differs from the classic stand model of other art fairs: instead, the focus is on a curated exhibition with individual presentations by galleries that follow a common thematic framework. The aim is to enable an in-depth examination of artistic positions from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and beyond.’

With the Zero Art Fair in New York, Brian Boucher presents an art fair on Artnet where collectors can purchase art for free under certain circumstances: "Here's how it works: there is a price list, and visitors can buy works directly. But they can also choose to acquire a work for free. If an interested buyer later comes along, the person who got it for free has the right of first refusal: They can buy it to keep it. Those who acquire a work for free must agree to certain conditions, such as having their name appear in a public register and being willing to make the work available for exhibitions. If no other interested party comes forward after five years, they can keep the work, free of charge and without obligation." According to the organisers, last year's premiere was a complete success: ‘Last year, the organisers sent out a final press release announcing that they had placed 178 of 190 artworks, ’representing a value of $536,913 that was not sold". (Seven works were sold for a total of $3,850.) Lucky is the artist who can afford this business model.

A Japanese bidder paid €8.6 million for Jane Birkin's Birkin Bag at Sotheby's in Paris, reports Tessa Solomon in Artnews: "While Sotheby's did not disclose any details about the buyer, a source familiar with the sale told ARTnews that Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos' new wife, was an anonymous bidder for the bag. (However, a source close to Sanchez and Bezos denied that she had bid.) [...] The original Birkin bag changed hands several times after Birkin sold it in 1994 to support AIDS research. Since then, however, it has been on public display several times, most notably in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The bag was last auctioned 25 years ago." Ursula Scheer puts the price into context for the FAZ: "The most expensive “Birkin Bag” ever auctioned was a “Diamond Himalaya Birkin 30” made of grey-white crocodile leather with eighteen-carat gold fittings and diamonds. It went for $450,000 at Sotheby's in New York in 2022. Although far less luxuriously appointed, the first of all “Birkins”, which comes with battered sticker remnants, fetched a much higher price. The hammer only fell at seven million euros. With the buyer's premium, the new owner paid 8,582,500 euros and emphasised that with collector's items, it is less about the material value than the provenance, originality and sentimental value.

Hilka Dirks asked eight German art collectors for the FAZ why collectors collect and make their art accessible to the public.

Vera Drude laments the halving of Berlin's studio funding in the rbb: "In future, only 22 million euros per year will be available for the promotion of workspaces, including rehearsal and project rooms. Previously, it was 45 million. Thirty percent of the spaces are therefore at risk, explains studio representative Julia Brodauf. Some studios' leases are expiring, others are being repurposed by the city, or there is no money for necessary renovations. Brodauf is an artist herself and organises the allocation of spaces at the studio office of the Professional Association of Visual Artists. ‘Berlin is damaging its reputation, because it is one of the biggest centres for art and culture,’ says Brodauf.

The Grand Palais must generate income after its renovation, explains its director Didier Fusillier, according to Helga Meister in the WeLT: "The restoration cost 486 million euros, mostly financed by the state. 30 million came from patrons. The Grand Palais took out a loan for another 200 million euros, which it now has to recoup. Even the annual budget of 100 million euros is only 14 per cent funded by the state. The rest has to be financed through ticket sales and major events. This explains the eclectic programme of the venue's owner, who on the one hand relies on mega-events that bring in a lot of money, and on the other hand makes large parts of the Grand Palais accessible free of charge to attract families. [...] The Parisian cultural scene is already making fun of it. ‘C'est gonflé!’ (That's cheeky!), was the headline in Le Quotidien de l'Art. The magazine Marianne spoke of ‘fraud’ when family entertainment is described as an art exhibition. In the end, it's like going to a ball pit, as if you were shopping at Ikea." So, better just high culture and haute couture for the few in the hallowed halls, which are gladly renovated at the expense of the general public?