AP Television
Basel - 14 June 2016
1. Wide of "Prag 1883" by Gerhard Richter, offered for 20-million dollars
2. Various close of "Prag 1883" by Gerhard Richter, offered for 20-million dollars
3. Wide of "Mirori et Cuillere" by Juan Munoz
4. Tilt down of "Mirori et Cuillere" by Juan Munoz
5. Zoom in on "Number 21" by Jackson Pollock, offered for 25-million dollars
6. Various close of "Number 21" by Jackson Pollock, offered for 25-million dollars
7. Wide of "Number 21" by Jackson Pollock, offered for 25-million dollars
8. Exterior of Art Basel, VIP guests waiting to enter
9. Close of sign
10. Various of people entering VIP preview of Art Basel
11. People inside Art Basel halls
12. Wide of "New Rinso" by Jean-Michel Basquiat, offered for 15-million dollars
13. Various close of "New Rinso" by Jean-Michel Basquiat, offered for 15-million dollars
14. Art advisor Todd Levin speaking to woman
15. Close of Levin
16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Todd Levin, art advisor:
"In the beginning of 2015, the first quarter, it felt as if the art market rang the bell at the top of the market. And since then the market has begun a slow but gradual correction, or slide. It is nothing serious, but certainly I think that buyers are looking a little more carefully and thoughtfully."
17. People looking at "Anchorhead" statue by David Smith, offered for 7.3-million dollars
18. Various of "Anchorhead" statue by David Smith, offered for 7.3-million dollars
19. Wide of people in gallery
20. Mid of people in gallery
21. SOUNDBITE: (English) Todd Levin, art advisor:
"Certainly Trump and the presidential elections that are coming up, but even more so Brexit, really, at the moment it is making people concerned enough that they are thinking twice before any large purchases are made. The pound has fallen sharply in the last week. And people, as we approach Brexit in the next 10 days are taking a very cautious approach."
22. Woman taking photo of "OM+A" by Tony Oursler
23. Various close of "OM+A" by Tony Oursler
24. Various of "Femme assise sur un chaise" by Pablo Picasso, offered for 25-million dollars
25. Wide of "930-7 strip" by Gerhard Richter
26. Zoom out of "930-7 strip" by Gerhard Richter
27. Alexander Forbes, editor of Artsy art news website, walking next to "930-7 strip"
28. SOUNDBITE: (English) Alexander Forbes, editor of Artsy art news website:
"What we are seeing now I think is a return to quality. A race for quality rather than a race for mass consumption. You see that by a lot of dealers switching back to showing some more modern art. Things that have exceptional provenance. They have a real history. Artists of real quality and of a lasting nature."
29. Wide of "Portrait au manteau bleu" by Henri Matisse, offered for 35-million dollars
30. Various close of "Portrait au manteau bleu" by Henri Matisse, offered for 35-million dollars
31. Tilt up of sculpture
32. People at the Art Basel galleries
33. Various of people looking at "Memory Ware Flat" by Mike Kelley
34. Close pan of "Memory Ware Flat" by Mike Kelley
35. Pull focus of "Memory Ware Flat" by Mike Kelley
36. SOUNDBITE: (English) Alexander Forbes, editor of Artsy art news website:
"You know. We had this massive trend towards abstraction. Especially you know in 2012, 13, 14. That shifted back towards figuration in painting the past couple of years. But right now, again, across the halls here on both floors, you don't see too much of either thing. What you really see is a focus on the highest quality works. Something that Art Basel has always been particularly strong for."
37. Wide of "Untitled" by Joan Mitchell, offered for 5.5-million dollars
38. Various close of "Untitled" by Joan Mitchell, offered for 5.5-million dollars
39. SOUNDBITE: (English) Adam Scheffer, partner at New York based dealer Cheim & Read:
"Well, Art Basel is the Gold Standard of art fairs in the world. There is no place better and no place more important to show. And I think that people always bring out their A-game. They put aside the best of the best to show here because it is the centre of the art world. And galleries are the centre of the art world. And it is an opportunity for education, and acquisition and all sorts of other very important aspects that truly make you, not just a buyer of art, but a collector and a connoisseur. And that is what Art Basel offers."
40. Wide of "Bonley Landscape" by Gerhard Richter, offered for 13-million dollars
41. Zoom in of "Bonley Landscape" by Gerhard Richter
42. Various wide of people in Art Basel galleries
LENGTH: 7:03
LEAD IN:
With the prospect of Britain voting to leave Europe in just over a week, art dealers are showing caution with big purchases.
At Art Basel in Switzerland, where works from the likes of Pollock and Picasso move in multi million dollar exchanges, experts say the mood is optimistic, but subdued.
STORY-LINE:
This large, colourful abstract painting, titled Prag 1883 is by German artist Gerhard Richter.
Available for 20-million dollars, it's been brought to northwest Switzerland by New York-based Gagosian gallery.
It's just one of the pieces on show at Art Basel, the highlight of the year for art lovers and collectors.
Mitchell-Innes & Nash, also a New York-based gallery, is showing one of the famous drip paintings by American artist, Jackson Pollock.
The white, red and green drip painting, titled Number 21, is listed for 25 million dollars.
Like always, Art Basel is a celebration of the intersection between fine contemporary art and big business.
All of the 4,000 artworks, shown by 280 galleries, are for sale.
This year the total value of the art on sale exceeds 2.5 billion euros (2.8 million US dollars), according to AXA Art - an art insurer.
But the mood is somewhat dampened by a sputtering market.
In 2015 the global art market shrunk by seven percent compared to the year before, according to the annual TEAF (The European Fine Art Fair) market report.
There were still a healthy 63.8 billion euros (71.6 billion US dollars) in sales globally, but a significant downturn from the last few boom years.
"In the beginning of 2015, the first quarter, it felt as if the art market rang the bell at the top of the market," says Todd Levin, a New York-based art advisor.
"And since then the market has begun a slow but gradual correction, or slide. It is nothing serious but certainly I think that buyers are looking a little more carefully and thoughtfully."
Slide or not, the specially invited guests were still lining up on Tuesday morning (15th June 2016) to enter the fair ahead of the press and public.
Many paintings and sculptures are for sale for tens of millions of dollars.
But still, current events and political uncertainty is creating a cautious mood, according to Levin.
"Certainly Trump and the presidential elections that are coming up. But even more so Brexit. Really. At the moment it is making people concerned enough that they are thinking twice before any large purchases are made. The pound has fallen sharply in the last week. And people, as we approach Brexit in the next 10 days are taking a very cautious approach."
The Gagosian gallery is also showing a painting by American artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The graffiti style New Rinso is available for 15 million dollars.
Art dealer Dominique Levy, who has galleries in both New York and London, is showing a Richter painting called "Bonley Landscape."
The oil painting depicting a mountain scene is listed at 13 million dollars.
In the top tier of the market all seems to be going quite well.
"What we are seeing now I think is a return to quality. A race for quality rather than a race for mass consumption," says Alexander Forbes, editor of Artsy art news website.
"You see that by a lot of dealers switching back to showing some more modern art. Things that have exceptional provenance. They have a real history. Artists of real quality and of a lasting nature," he says.
The global art market is still dominated by ultra-high sales, with artworks selling for over one million accounting most of the global sales in 2015, according to the TEAF report.
New York-based dealer Helly Nahmad is showing a painting by Pablo Picasso.
The "Femme assise sur un chaise" is being offered for 25 million dollars.
Hanging next to it is a masterpiece by Henri Matisse.
"Portrait au manteau bleu" is offered by the dealer for 35-million dollars.
In the past few years abstract paintings have taken up a large part of the fair.
This has changed over the last year, according to Forbes.
"You know. We had this massive trend towards abstraction. Especially you know in 2012, 13, 14. That shifted back towards figuration in painting the past couple of years," he says.
"But right now, again, across the halls here on both floors, you don't see too much of either thing. What you really see is a focus on the highest quality works. Something that Art Basel has always been particularly strong for."
There are Art Basel fairs in Miami and Hong Kong, but it is the fair in the Swiss town of Basel, where the event was founded in 1970, that draws the most high-profile galleries and collectors.
According to the annual TEAF (The European Fine Art Fair) market report, around 40 percent of all global art sales were made at art fairs in 2015.
It shows how important fairs like the Art Basel are for dealers.
"Art Basel is the Gold Standard of art fairs in the world. There is no place better and no place more important to show," says Adam Scheffer, partner at New York based dealer Cheim & Read.
"And I think that people always bring out their A-game. They put aside the best of the best to show here because it is the centre of the art world. And galleries are the centre of the art world. And it is an opportunity for education, and acquisition and all sorts of other very important aspects that truly make you, not just a buyer of art, but a collector and a connoisseur. And that is what Art Basel offers."
Art Basel, opens to the public on June 16 and runs through to June 19.
