There are also auctions and their receptions. Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips collectively are offering as much as 175.2 million pounds ($199 million) of works during Frieze Week.
Buyer Fatigue
“Too many art fairs coupled with too many auctions can cause buyer fatigue,” said Larry Wasser, a Toronto-based collector who has attended as many as 12 fairs a year and is scaling back to six. “It just feels like you are on a treadmill and it’s going faster than your feet.”
Art fairs have supplanted galleries as the starting point for new collectors and provide networking opportunities for the stalwarts. Fair organizers often offer perks for big spenders, from free flights to hotel rooms and lavish meals. Connecting with new clients is the most cited challenge for galleries, according to the TEFAF report, so fairs have become a hunting ground.
The costs can be significant for dealers. ViennaContemporary, a regional fair in September, charges as much as 25,000 euros ($28,000) for booths, depending on the size. At Art Basel Miami Beach, the largest contemporary art fair in the U.S., booths range from $10,000 for a smaller space focusing on one artist to as much as $100,000 in the main section.
The largest players, such as David Zwirner Gallery, have the capacity to add to their calendars. Zwirner, which is based in New York and London, is participating in 19 fairs this year, up from seven in 2010, according to the website. At least two members of Zwirner’s 19-person sales team attend each fair, according to a spokeswoman.
“We’ve come to see the fairs as a wonderful vehicle to develop new clients,” said Kristine Bell, a senior partner at the gallery. “It does make a big difference to come to the hometowns of these collectors.”
Zwirner is planning to open a Hong Kong branch and has added two Shanghai fairs this November, Bell said.
Stretched Thin
Smaller galleries that only have two or three full-time staffers can be stretched thin.