‘Sold-out' is an unheard word in this year art fairs and auctions' sales in London. At the London Frieze 2009, only the Zero gallery of Milan was able to sell-out its entire merchandise on the preview day, which astonishingly comprised of one painting only. According to Alice, the Zero's gallery assistant "the decision to show one work only was expressively requested by the artist and accommodated by the gallery to enable a more careful consideration of the artist's profile". Someone wonders whether this choice was also part of a communication strategy aimed to attract press coverage and contain costs in a time in which sales' expectations are low, dragged down by the two-year lasting economic downturn.

To gauge where the contemporary art sector is heading, it is important to recall the trend of recent arts sales. In addition, the just concluded London Frieze art fair also offers interesting suggestions on future prospects. To begin with, the past year was astonishingly difficult for the contemporary art market: prices plummeted a noticeable 63 pct, according to Art Market Research. But this sudden drop occurred after two consecutive years of remarkable price hikes, in which prices of contemporary art increased by 31pct from September 2006 to September 2008. It is in this climate of apprehension that the art jetsetters converged to London for the Frieze Art Fair 2009. This edition proved particularly helpful to gauge the state of the art market and its trends, since the fair attracts well-established market players as well as new high flyers.

ALIVE, BUT...

Sonia Rosso, the owner of the homonymous Turin based gallery, came to Frieze without great expectations. Especially for small galleries like hers it is financially risky to advance money for fairs if sales don't materialise timely. On the other hand, Roger Tatley, former head of communication of ‘Hauser & Wirth' and Senior Director of the London based ‘Alison Jacques Gallery', felt that the fair was profitable and had the exciting vibe of past editions of the renowned Miami Basel. The general feeling among art professionals is that the market is alive, but it is in contraction. This view was confirmed by many exhibitors. For instance, Ludovica Barbieri, the director of the Massimo de Carlo gallery based in Milan, remarked that exhibitors offered only a few pieces of great values and the majority of artworks were in the range of 50,000 and 300,000 US dollar, whereas in the past editions the proportions were inverted. Nonetheless, in the view of many, mid-price artworks stimulated turnover and transactions were up, although not at the level of the boom years.

Apart from the contraction in sales, the more fundamental question among arts professionals is to what extend the economic downturn is changing the quality of art. Whitney Hintz, the press manager of the Frith Street gallery in London, showcased sellable, less experimental, artworks at Frieze, in order to meet the taste of more conventional collectors and appeal to a wider audience. On the other hand, Catherine Bastide, the owner of Catherine Bastide gallery based in Brussels, exposed an innovative video work realised by artist Sebastian Diaz Morales, which, in her view, is more in line with the innovative soil of Frieze. Similarly, Laura Lord, gallery manager of the Vilma Gold gallery in east London, believed that expositors showcased more innovative artworks since artists can devote more time to create innovative pieces rather than struggling to meet growing demand. According to this conjecture, shared by many, the past heydays of contemporary art, despite lucrative in sales, prevented the development of innovative art. The current period characterised by low transactions stimulates a careful consideration of arts and it might pave the way for a new, more innovative, art.

END OF EXCESS?

For the past twenty years the British art scene was dominated by the Young British Artists, whose sale figures reached unprecedented highs and whose artists played impudently with the market and its mechanisms. During the current sales contraction the collectors' focus shifted from speculative financial considerations to more affordable but equally valuable artworks. This year the private purchases were in line with suggestions from curators and museum acquisitions rather than inspired by trends in auction sales.
The 2009 Art Review power list placed curators and museum's directors on top, while in previous years these places were consistently occupied by influential collectors and acclaimed artists.
The feeling that a shift in focus is happening is supported by the choice of Frieze Director Amanda Sharp to introduce a new section called ‘Frame', exclusively devoted to solo artist's projects represented by galleries opened by less than six years. Curators Daniel Baumann and Sarah McCrory selected 29 galleries to take part in ‘Frame', which represented approximately a fifth of the total Frieze expositors, a hefty number for a new experimental section. In the view of the curators, ‘Frame' is aimed to introduce a new angle into the seven year old fair. The reaction of art dealers and critics was very positive. Laura Bartlett, owner of the homonymous gallery in London, presented a project by artist Cyprian Gaillard and felt that the new section enables a careful consideration of the artist's profile, which is unusual in a big fair. Paola Capata, director of the Monitor gallery in Rome, who also took part in ‘Frame' with a project by artist Ursula Mayer, remarks that the new section attracts particular attention from curators due to the strong emphasis on the curatorial aspect of the projects.

This view is in line with the decision of Amanda Sharp, the director of Frieze, to invite internationally-acclaimed museum curators and art critics to take part to the preview day of Frieze. In the view of many, this year edition was attended by the most influential curators and art critics in the world, which helped to attract a vast international audience.
It seems that the Frieze Art fair strives to propose new directions for the contemporary art world. This fair often identifies the new trends in the contemporary art market. The recent edition showed that small galleries, narrowly focused on emerging artists, can co-exist with established galleries whose business is on blue chips artists. This could be evidence that the way ahead is likely based on the content of arts rather than hefty sale figures. Perhaps it is the beginning of a new renaissance, and a different way of intending art, for both artists and their lucrative professionals.

Romina PROVENZI
is a writer and lives in London. She is a specialist of the Cuban art market and of the London art scene.