Stefan Kobel reports today on trade fairs in Asia and Europe. The world around continues to go crazy.Share prices are plummeting because it is becoming increasingly clear that the shares have nothing to do with the companies behind them - except that they exist. Valuable companies generate dividends for their owners - i.e. shareholders. Gamblers with a lot of capital don't care, because for them ... read more
Last week brought nothing new in the East, Finland closer to Nato membership and the German Bundestag to a questionable downsizing reform. Instead of reducing the number of electoral constituencies in order to keep the value of direct mandates and proportional representation in a reasonable balance, a maximum number of parliamentary representatives has been written down and it is accepted that where democracy proves its ... read more
And the Oscar goes to "Everything Everywhere All at Once" as best film and six more of the androgynous objects. Fantasy before reality - in a way, the Academy remains true to itself. "Nothing New in the West" won a respectable four Oscars: Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography, Best Scene Picture and Best Soundtrack. Congratulations to all involved. Unfortunately, Claudia Roth is not coming back ... read more
Last Monday, I received a call from XL Germany informing me that Christina Dopplinger, who was introduced as Chief Underwriting Manager Fine Art Germany at the last Art Cologne, was no longer working for the company.As of Thursday, XL a Company of AXA is the main sponsor of TEFAF, which will once again delight you with a wonderful mix of art styles from all centuries. ... read more
One sixth of the new year is already behind us. What's in the next 5/6 - we'll see.90 years ago today, the Reichstag burned in Berlin and served the Nazis to cement their seizure of power. It then took a little over 12 years for the Allies (and in this case it was the Russians) to raise their flag on that building. Before that, millions ... read more
In the world of the art trade, the fair circus is slowly picking up speed. After the preludes in Geneva and Bologna, the first real heavyweight is now in sight with ARCO in Madrid. The harbingers of FRIEZE in Los Angeles give cause for optimism. So does Spain's relative remoteness (geographically) from the war. Let's see what Stefan Kobel will report next week.Some people find ... read more