Exceptionally High Quality and Very Solid Sales at Art Basel Miami Beach 2010

MIAMI BEACH, FL.- The ninth edition of Art Basel Miami Beach closed on Sunday, December 5, 2010. More than 250 galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa exhibited works by over 2,000 artists. The show attracted 46,000 visitors, a record number. Art collectors, museum directors, curators and cultural journalists from all over the world enjoyed a program of special exhibitions, panel discussions, private collection tours, and events featuring film, performance, and video.

A great number of artists also attended the event, among them Michelangelo Pistoletto, Ernesto Neto, Vik Muniz, Pedro Reyes, Jonathan Meese, Martin Creed, Tony Oursler, Teresita Fernandez, Thomas Zipp, Julie Mehretu, Ugo Rondinone, Mark Handforth, Julian Schnabel and Isaac Julien. Over 130 museum and institution groups visited the show, as did private collectors from the Americas, Europe and many emerging markets of the artworld.

Art Basel Miami Beach proved again that high-quality works remain in strong demand, as collectors rewarded excellent material and booth presentations with steady sales throughout the week: Many exhibitors also reported making valuable new contacts, especially in Latin America. Gallerists offered positive reports, including:

•Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, Sprüth Magers, Berlin, London

‘We are very impressed with the quality of international collectors at this year’s fair and have really enjoyed participating.’

•Marc Glimcher, Pace Gallery, New York

‘This year in Miami was, without a doubt, for the overall quality of the art and the energy, one of the best art fairs I have been to and it certainly was for Pace: we practically sold out works in our booth within hours of the opening.’

•Gordon VeneKlasen, Michael Werner Gallery, New York City

‘We’re really happy with our participation in Miami Basel. Major collectors came this year with a strong showing of our clients from all over the world. Sales of our established artists were terrific and the fair also provides a great platform for our younger generation of artists – Aaron Curry, Enrico David and Thomas Houseago. With great support from local collectors such as the De la Cruz’s and the Rubells, the fair has matured into the major art event it intended to be.’

•Thomas Dane, Managing Director, Thomas Dane Gallery, London

‘We are very pleased with how the fair has gone. We had a strong opening day and good consistency throughout the rest of the fair. We have met numerous new clients and are happy to see older clients returning to Miami.’

•Glenn Scott Wright, Director, Victoria Miro, London

‘Art Basel Miami Beach has been a great catalyst for sales of works by Yayoi Kusama with her impending museum retrospectives in 2011/2012.’

•Alexandre Gabriel, Galeria Fortes Vilaca, Sao Paulo

‘We did very good business. The Brazilians did a great part of the collecting at the fair.’

•Joanna Kamm, Galerie Kamm, Berlin

‘This year’s ABMB was very alive in the sense of meeting new people and having talks more in depth. Also I feel a return of interest to discover young European artists. Both, curators and collectors, have shown an amazing interest in the work of Kathrin Sonntag, one of my very young Berlin based artist, who I have shown for the first time at Art Basel Miami Beach.’

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