Photo credit: Farzad Owrang A CONVERSATION WITH DOMINIQUE LÉVY—AND how it resonated
Dominique Lévy is a Swiss art dealer based in New York and co-founder of Lévy Gorvy with galleries in London, New York, Hong Kong, and Zurich. Recently, I interviewed her for CNNMoney Switzerland about the future of the art market and art fairs. When asked about her experience with the online version of Art Basel Hong Kong, as the actual fair had to be cancelled, she said:
“Art Basel Hong Kong online was a very interesting experiment because I think what it showed us was that it doesn’t work.” She went on adding to add: “You aren’t having a conversation, you aren’t having fun, you aren’t seeing your friends….I think the only sales that were made was when you made the outreach before. Therefore, you don’t need an online art fair.” Artnet News quoted that part of the interview with Lévy.
The Financial Times quoted my interview in an article on April 30: “Lévy admitted to a ‘tremendous’ slowdown in her own business, which she said had fallen between 90 and 95 per cent since the crisis struck.”
Screenshot from the article in the Financial Times.
And the Art Market Monitor wrote an entire article based on my interview and highlighted her saying that business was down 90% and the “market is at a standstill” awaiting new price indicators.
The Art Newspaper cited the following from our conversation: “The Swiss dealer Dominique Lévy says she doesn’t foresee anyone wanting to visit an art fair before a vaccine for Covid-19 is found. ‘It’s time for the art world to be realistic [...] right now our health and our social responsibility and duty is much more important. I don't see any art fair [happening] before next year,’ she says. On the bottleneck of around seven major events between September and December, the dealer says Lévy Gorvy gallery would only consider taking part in two or three—if the fairs go ahead. But, she believes that unlikely: ‘I don't think they will be allowed to: that goes for [Tefaf] Maastricht [in New York], Basel and Miami.’”
And the Swiss newspaper BZ in the Basel area writes it was a well-received interview.
Besides all the info she gave on Art Basel and the business, she also spoke about the resilience of people and how she believes that her team is agile enough to get back to showing art, because “art is essential,” she believes. And that this lockdown and the pause is also a chance to rethink the business: “If we don’t grow…we’re not responsible,” she adds.
The interview has also been widely shared on Twitter and Facebook. New York Magazine art critic and Pulitzer Prize winner Jerry Saltz was one of the first to highlight it:
And further mentions of the interview are here:
The Art Newspaper on June 12, 2020
The New York Times on May 12, 2020
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ArtNews - English
DASartes - Português
ArtInvestment.ru - Russian
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Screenshot of the «New York Times» article quoting my interview.
In an interview I did with Zurich-based art dealer Eva Presenhuber a few weeks later, she confirms that Online Viewing Rooms won’t replace actual shows and sales. Watch that interview here.
Mention in The Art Newspaper on June 12, 2020.