Art Basel: Where the Dealers Are More Nervous Than the Buyers

Robin Pogrebin spent some time with Dominique Levy as she spends $300,000 preparing for Art Basel, the fair where she graduated from “behind the toilet” to across from Zwirner and Nahmad:

“It’s really your one moment where you can show who you are,” she said. “It’s acutely important for existing relationships, new relationships, the way the art world perceives you.”

“You’re put to really high standards,” she added. “Every collector would say to you Art Basel is the most important art fair.”

Because Ms. Lévy is Swiss, Art Basel also matters most for personal reasons. The dealer, who recently announced that she would be taking over the whole building at her Madison Avenue gallery, has been coming to this fair since she was a child. (Her mother still attends.)

“Art Basel is what made me want to be a gallerist and an art dealer,” she said.

How a Dealer Prepares for the ‘Most Important’ Art Fair of the Year (The New York Times)