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The last major art fair of the year, Art Basel Miami Beach, ends in Florida. The sales recorded in the first days of the event, dedicated to collectors and VIPs, were significant, but for many they did not reach the level of previous years, reflecting the current conditions of the global art market. In 2023, in fact, there was a contraction after the post-pandemic euphoria, due to various factors, including, first and foremost, wars and inflation.
The Italian galleries in Miami
“The 2023 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach was below our expectations” explains Alfonso Artiaco, one of the Italian gallery owners who participated in the fair. “Beyond the inauguration day and shortly after the second, the fair was mostly attended by a general public. The impression is that a large portion of the American collecting that was present in Paris for Paris+ has not also returned to Miami. The result is an uninspiring fair with few sales or in any case no high-value works.”
It therefore confirms the opinion of many that, with Paris, Art Basel competes with itself. Artiaco presented works by established artists such as Sol LeWitt, Carl Andre, Jannis Kounellis, Ann Veronica Janssens, Anri Sala, Vera Lutter, Juan Uslè, while a part of the stand was dedicated to the Kabinett section with a solo exhibition by Diego Cibelli and his porcelains .
Nicolò Cardi’s perception of the fair was more enthusiastic: “Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 was super, with over 15 sales before the start of the weekend and many negotiations still underway. The most appreciated are Donald Judd, Alexander Calder, Jannis Kounellis, Mimmo Paladino, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Gianpietro Carlesso, Paolo Scheggi, Agostini Bonalumi and Davide Balliano”. On the first day the gallery sold a white Bonalumi from 2013 for $90,000, a marble by Gianpietro Carlesso for $80,000, a work by Bosco Sodi also for $80,000, a sicofoil by Carla Accardi from the 1970s for $60,000 and three works by Davide Balliano between $40,000 and $60,000. Bonalumi was also successful at the Mazzoleni stand, present at the fair for the ninth consecutive year. Furthermore, Salvo’s market hype moment was confirmed, with some works sold at prices between $90,000 and $250,000. His works, together with those of other post-war Italian artists, including Accardi, Alighiero Boetti and Bonalumi himself, have been put into dialogue with some of the leading exponents of kinetic and optical art, such as Jesús Rafael Soto and Victor Vasarely.
Untitled and Nothing
Italian art is also exhibited in fairs parallel to Art Basel, such as Untitled, where Galleria Studio G7 in Bologna was present with works by Daniela Comani, Marilisa Cosello, Giulia Dall’Olio, Flavio de Marco, Franco Guerzoni and Jacopo Mazzonelli. “Good energy at the fair, a little subdued compared to last year perhaps due to the greater number of galleries present in this edition” said Giulia Biafore, owner of the gallery. “Many American collections, fewer European collections, the Italian proposal confirms itself as a winning choice”. The gallery sold out the works of Daniela Comani and Marilisa Cosello and numerous sales also for Guerzoni, Mazzonelli and Dall’Olio. The price range was from $4,000 to $40,000.
Luce Gallery from Turin was also present at the fair with American artists and, also, the Italian Francesco Pirazzi, based in Turin, born in 1994. At the Nada fair, however, Ribot from Milan exhibited, which presented only one show by Stefano Perrone, whose installation by the young Stefano Perrone he sold for $25,000. “At our first participation in NADA Miami we received good feedback from the American and international public” declared the owner of the gallery, Monica Bottani. “Many visitors, especially on the first day, and a lot of curiosity about the project created by Stefano Perrone specifically for this occasion.”