ART// What we learned about Art Basel Miami Beach without even being there

So we were in NYC this week, not Miami–but below is a rundown of what we learned about the fair from here…and it’s looking good!

From The New York Times:

“The art market is back!” was the chorus this week among most of the major dealers at the fair, even though some combination of canceled flights and the new economic reality kept the number of attendees down from prefinancial crisis years. Many dealers had come feeling cautiously optimistic after November’s successful auctions, but they were thrilled to see the new buoyancy playing out in the fair, and, in many cases, were eager to boast about it.

via nytimes.com

Numbers were high according to ARTINFO.com

Hunger for big ticket items at Art Basel Miami Beach continues at a steady tick after the whopping sale on Tuesday of the Richard Diebenkorn painting, “Man Drawing” from 1956, which sold for five million dollars from Acquavella Gallery.

via artinfo.com

Art as Luxury Good? The Art Newspaper asks the hard questions:

So how did art galleries become such big business? For those who believe that art belongs in the luxury goods market, the shift towards big-brand commercialism has been inevitable for some time. Look at the events around South Beach this week: LVMH, Fendi, Absolut and Cartier are all firms who know how to generate success from global marketing. This trend suits buying habits in some of the newer geographic pockets of wealth, many of which are temples to international brands.