, had better luck. Prominent galleries such as Perrotin, White Cube, Almine Rech and Whitestone hosted a second booth at West Bund Art & Design, with aims to cater to a slightly different audience base and express overall commitment to the market. But citing “health and security concerns,” West Bund also wrapped up a day early.
At West Bund, Whitestone Gallery offered a solo presentation of Japanese artist Etsu Egami, whose 12 works, ranging from $14,000 to $37,000, had already sold out before the fair opened.At Art021, many galleries, including David Zwirner, Perrotin and Shanghart, were able to close deals for around 50 percent of their works on the first day of the fair. Beijing-based Line Gallery sold 70 to 80 percent of its artworks before the fair opened to VIP guests.
“Usually you discover one or two unusual, experimental or emerging artists. I saw some interesting stuff as well, but I just felt overall, they [galleries] were going for the safer side,” Hourani added. “We see fewer blue-chip artworks showing up at Shanghai’s art fairs. It’s possible that the gallery’s attitude toward themarket, in terms of return on investment and travel expenses, has cooled,” Zhang said. “How the overall market will recover, including COVID-19 and its spillover effects, is yet to be seen.”