Female artists and record sales at Art Basel 2019

Cover Photo: Courtesy of Art Basel

what sold at art basel 2019

The world’s most influential art fair is coming to an end. Art Basel attracted 93’000 visitors and record sales were made within the first 24 hours of the fair, as blue-chip galleries such as Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner tell me on camera:

The New York based gallery David Zwirner sold a painting by Gerhard Richter for USD 20 million. The German artist is one of the world’s most expensive living artists. “Die Versammlung” (Gathering) was sold within the first hour of the fair, as David Leiber, partner at David Zwirner, told me.

David Leiber during the interview with CNNMoney Switzerland.

David Leiber during the interview with CNNMoney Switzerland.

is the art world really becoming more female-friendly?

This is the question I asked art dealers and collectors before the fair opened to the public. In recent months, institutions have started including more artists that might have been overlooked due to their gender or race.

A few months ago I reported about the rise of African-American artists and how they are becoming art market superstars:

Now I was curious to know how diverse the selection of galleries at Art Basel was and if there’s still a gender pay gap between female and male artists.

For that TV-feature, which aired on CNNMoney Switzerland on June 14, I spoke to many players in the art world. Find out what they said:

In the feature Hans Ulrich Obrist tells me about Luchita Hurtado’s first ever museum show currently at Serpentine Galleries in London. The artist is 98 years old. Many female artists only get recognition late in their lifes.

One of the many conversations at Art Basel concerned motherhood and wether it is compatible with a career as an artist. Shireen Gandhy, director at Chemould Prescott Road and Eva Presenhuber, owner of Galerie Eva Presenhuber, tells me more:

women-only exhibition in switzerland

One of the women-only shows in Switzerland is the exhibition “A Women Looking at Men Looking at Women” at recently opened Muzeum Susch by Polish billionaire Grazyna Kulczyk.

She was amongst the visitors during the VIP-opening of the fair. I interviewed her back in January for CNNMoney Switzerland:

The TV-feature “Is the art world really becoming more female-friendly?” was filmed by Sebastien Chastellain and edited by myself for CNNMoney Switzerland.