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.

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:

Female artists have long been underrepresented at institutions, galleries, and history books. Tanya König visited Art Basel and spoke to dealers, collectors, artists, and curators to find out whether the focus is shifting when it comes to female representation.

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.

Luchita Hurtado is 98 years old and is having her first museum-show ever @serpentineuk. I wanted to know more about how female-friendly the art world is and visited @artbasel and asked galleries such as @davidzwirner @hauserwirth @gagosian @chemouldprescottroad @galerieevapresenhuber @galerieursmeile_beijinglucerne, collectors like @erlingkagge, and curator @hansulrichobrist about female artists. Find out more in my TV-feature via link in bio or on cnnmoney.ch! And I'd be interested in your feedback. Photo: Oresti Tsonopoulos. Luchita Hurtado, Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

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:

Is #motherhood compatible with a career in the arts? @tanyakoenigcnn posed the question @ArtBasel to Shireen Gandhy of @chemouldprescot and @evapresenhuber. Watch the full story: https://t.co/1mhQtPo9dp #artbasel2019 pic.twitter.com/TPA2os4fXx

— CNNMoney Switzerland (@CNNMoneyCH) June 14, 2019

He's the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London and one of the most influential people in the art world. Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist tells Tanya König how he's fighting against forgetting by continuing his research of female artists.

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:

Grazyna Kulczyk made billions with real estate projects and other investments. Now she has opened a museum in Susch, which is the biggest art project in the Engadin Valley in recent years. She tells Tanya König why she chose this small town of just 200 inhabitants for her ambitious project.

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