The Miami Herald conducted a survey of gallery sales at Art Basel. Here are their results:
Bouncing back from last year’s weak showing, nearly 75 percent of galleries at Art Basel Miami Beach said sales revenue grew at least 15 percent over 2008, according to a Miami Herald survey. More than a third reported a sales hike of more than 30 percent at the country’s largest contemporary art show.
“Everybody’s happy this year,” Rachel Adler, owner of Adler & Conkright Fine Art in New York, said Sunday from her space across from two German galleries in the Miami Beach Convention Center. “The people who buy art are not unemployed. They seem to be a little bit more secure.” […]
Nearly 90 percent of the 68 galleries in The Herald’s survey expected to turn a profit this year at Art Basel Miami Beach, with most of the work selling for less than $150,000. Forty-three percent described their sales as “much better than expected.” Only 18 percent said sales met or fell short of expectations this year.
The fair’s organizers say they don’t track sales — making the Miami Herald survey the only quantified barometer of a fair that regularly packs hotels as the unofficial start of South Florida’s winter tourism season. The fair comprises more than 250 galleries from around the world.
Sales Rebound Paints Pretty Picture at ArtBasel Miami Beach (Miami Herald)
