66
NOVEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
whichcelebrates its10thanniversarythis
year.Spinello,32,hasshownatBasel’s
mainMiami fairtwice, first inPositions
andthe followingyear inNova.Hesays it
openeddoors forhimthatwouldn’thave
beenavailableatthatpoint inhiscareer.
“It felt likesomesortofvalidation,
likeweweregoing intherightdirection,”
Spinellosays. “Itwastherighttime.My
artistswereproducingthebestwork
they’deverproduced. It’snodoubtthat
Baselbringsaspecificaudienceandabig
audience,andyouneedtobeprepared for
howtodealwith it. I felt itbroughtusto
another level. Itwasamilestone.”
B
aselhasawayofmaking
everything feel specialor im-
portantornecessary.FOMO is
realhereand it’stiring.
“Vampireshavetostayup latewith
eachother,”Saltzsays, “andthat’swhat
art fairsare for.”
Partof thathastodowiththe factthat
asArtWeekhasgrownsohas its ideaofa
VIP. “ThenotionofwhataVIP is
isshifting,and it’sstartingto include
peoplewhoarenotnecessarilyabovethe
ageof60withmuseums intheirname.
It’salso influencersandbloggers,”Greene
says. “It isexhausting. I’mavictimof it,
butI’malsoaperpetrator.Youreallydo
needtoprioritizeandhaveasenseofwhy
you’regoingandwhatyou’re looking for.”
Fortheseriouscollector—thosehigh
rollerswiththedeepestpocketsandmost
exclusiveaccess—thepartiesmaynot
factoratall.Theirto-do lists likely involve
moreresearchthanRSVPssothatthey
arrivereadytobuy.Horowitzresiststhe
ideathatmajorart fairssuchasArtBasel
MiamiBeachareprohibitivelyexpensive.
“Ithinkoneof themisperceptions
aroundBaselandmanyof the leading fairs
isthatthepricepoint is inaccessible,more
thannormalpeoplecanafford,andIthink
tothecontrary,”hesays,pointingtowork
available fromyoungergalleries. “Art fairs
—evenBasel—areactuallyquiteabit
moreaccessiblethanmanypeoplethink.”
Certainly, thatdependsonone’s
definitionofaffordable,butart fairsare
aprovenmodel forgettingcertainartists
paidandexpandingartcollections.
Horowitzsays thatoneofArtBasel’s
strengths is the leadershipposition
itholds in theworldofart fairs.That
advantage“will enable theorganiza-
tion to lookatothermodelsandother
waysof supportinggalleries inareally
fundamentalwayandcultivatingnew
collectorsandsupportingexistingcollec-
tors,”hesays.
It’sworthwatchingtoseehow
Horowitzwilloperate inthisnewdirector
Americasposition.ArtBasel isacultural
Ironmanthat’ll testyourendurance,but,
asHorowitzputs it, “Toseeall theseex-
hibitorsthatarecoming fromalldifferent
partsof theworld isvery,verycool.”
Dancersperform in
anexhibit featuring
theworkofChinese
artist ShenWei
titled “InBlack,
WhiteandGrey.”
PHOTO
LYNNE SLADKY/CORB I S
DEBBIEMICHAUD
is theeditor-in-chief of
CreativeLoafingAtlanta
, theSoutheast’s largest
alt-weekly.
“ARTFAIRS—EVENBASEL—
AREACTUALLYQUITEABIT
MOREACCESSIBLETHAN
MANYPEOPLETHINK.”
