Miquel Barcelo,Ai Weiwei @Elvira Gonzalez

Not in a buying mood

Amid global upheavals, even the wealthiest collectors are not in a buying mood. So, what can be done in a rather sluggish contemporary art market? Two strategies can be observed amongst the world’s most powerful galleries. Rather than lowering the prices of their most prominent artists—which would discredit their valuations, which have been pushed very far in recent years, reaching several million euros for almost emerging painters—they are instead showcasing works by artists who are relatively unknown or awaiting rediscovery, at sensibly lower price points.

The other approach is to exhibit works by well-established names with institutional recognition. Here, their classification as a “sure investment” justifies substantial financial compensation.

Maribel Lopez

In Madrid, the ARCO fair—Spain’s major art market event, this year held March 5-9 with 214 exhibitors—does not face these challenges. Simply because its price range has always been relatively measured, averaging between €20,000 and €50,000, according to Maribel López, the fair’s director, even if it has flirted with the million euro-tier for certain exceptional pieces (See here an other interview of Maribel Lopez).

No giant galleries

As a result, the international gallery giants do not attend. Neither Gagosian, Zwirner, Pace, nor Hauser & Wirth—despite the latter owning a vast space in Menorca in the Balearic Islands (See here a report a Chillida exhibition in Menorca)—is present at ARCO.

Luxury destination

In 2024, Spain was ranked the world’s most sought-after luxury destination, surpassing France (according to Atout France, the French public tourism development agency). In this spirit, ARCO is particularly targeting Latin American collectors. The fair even announced the presence of 110 of them, representing a certain artistic stature. “Madrid is booming,” exclaims the fair’s director.

Ignacio Mugica and Richard Serra

Ignacio Múgica, founder of the Carreras Múgica gallery in Bilbao, observes: “Right now, transactions with our Spanish clients are quite slow. We count on Latin America, especially our Mexican clients.” Like Gagosian and Zwirner, his small Basque gallery represents a major 20th-century sculptor, the American Richard Serra (1938-2024). (See here a report about the last Serra exhibition in Bilbao).

“He had a very special connection with our city since his first collaboration with the Guggenheim Bilbao, and wanted to sustain it by maintaining regular ties with us,” explains Múgica. His booth features, for instance, a black monochrome painting on a white panel by Serra, dated 1985 (priced at €450,000).

Richard Serra

Lithograph by Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois

Is this a response to collectors’ current “timidity”? The Lelong Gallery in Paris is dedicating a section of its large stand this year to its art print projects. A rare practice: All prices are on display in this part of the space. Visitors can find black-and-white lithographs by Serra himself (€5,300 each). However, the most remarkable piece here is a lithograph by Louise Bourgeois, published in 1999 in an edition of 100, depicting a tree with massive roots pushing the trunk out of the ground. “The Ainu Tree” is for sale at €9,000. (See here a report about the Louise Bourgeois show in Rome).

Sandra Vasquez de la Horra

Sandra Vasquez de la Horra

Like all collectors, those from Mexico, Uruguay and neighboring countries are particularly drawn to the talents of their own region. This is reflected in ARCO’s offerings. The Parisian gallery Juan Bendana Pinel has been representing Berlin-based Chilean artist Sandra Vásquez de la Horra (born in 1967) since 2018. This great draughtswoman’s works belong in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, MoMA in New York and Tate Gallery in London.

Yoruba Goddess

Sandra Vasquez de la Horra

Her work was also presented at the 2022 Venice Biennale’s international pavilion. She has developed her own poetic, visual vocabulary illustrating her visions and fantasies of a Latin American mysticism. At Madrid’s Bendana-Pinel booth, one can see a large wax-coated drawing depicting a hooded woman, arms full, on what appears to be a scooter. In reality, she is a Yoruba goddess holding skulls, seated on a skeleton (€18,000).

Torres-Garcia

Joaquin Torres Garcia

Guillermo de Osma from Madrid is among the country’s best Modern art galleries. At his stand, there are several small treasures to discover, such as a 1930s watercolor by Miró, a massive terracotta sculpture by Chillida from 1985, but also an extremely rare relief composition/collage by Uruguayan-born painter Joaquín Torres-García (1874-1949). Dated 1928, it depicts an urban scene (€200,000). The composition foreshadows his tightly gridded cityscape paintings.

Joan Miro

Justin Bieber as  god

Paul Pfeiffer

Spain remains a country with strong Catholic traditions. It is therefore no coincidence that American artist Paul Pfeiffer (born in 1966), known for his incisive critiques of the society-spectacle, has chosen to exhibit, among other works, a series of religious sculptures depicting singer Justin Bieber as a modern-day deity at the Guggenheim Bilbao (through March 16).

At ARCO, at the stand of Carlier-Gebauer Gallery (based in Berlin and Madrid), the artist exhibits what initially looks like the lower half of a large crucifix. In fact, he commissioned a specialist of religious sculpture to carve Christ’s legs in wood, embedding pop star Bieber’s tattoos  (€50,000).

Villa Magdalena

ARCO’s director emphasizes that the fair’s strength lies in being a terrain for discoveries. Consequently, she has implemented incentivizing policies to encourage young galleries to flow in fresh artistic blood. For instance, participating in a fair for the first time is the gallery Villa Magdalena from San Sebastián.

Cy Schnabel

Founded by Cy Schnabel, 31, the son of renowned American painter Julian Schnabel, it has developed an independent program over the past four years, composed both of young talent and older artists poised for rediscovery. Among them is Mie Yim (born in 1963), a New York-based, Korean-born painter. She was also represented by the highly regarded American gallery Simone Subal, which closed its doors in June 2024.

Mie Yim

Mie Yim creates colorful and rich compositions, often depicting lush gardens, at once fantastical and menacing, that are populated by strange beings that may not at first meet the eye. At ARCO, at Villa Magdalena’s stand, one of her whimsical reinterpretations of Fragonard’s painting “The Encounter” is on display. It is a fascinating composition in which a science-fiction flower-insect plays the central role (€29,000). In the spring, Villa Magdalena will open a space in Madrid and dedicate a solo show to Mie Yim.

Mie Yim

www.ifema.es/arco/madrid