A Year in Art Collecting – Contemporary Art

  December Art Basel, Miami Beach, Miami, Florida

            A sister event to Art Basel in Switzerland held in America. Art Basel in Miami has special exhibitions, parties, music, film, architecture and design making this a one of a kind cultural event. The exhibition is held throughout the upbeat Art Deco district of Miami, close to the beach, hotels and restaurants. A lively event in a lively city, this art show has become quite a social event.

early February - Christie's, London, Phillips de Pury, London, Sotheby's London

            These three prominent London galleries traditionally hold evening sales of well known art in February.

mid-February - ARCO, Madrid

            Spain's largest art fair located at the Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I. Galleries from one country are invited to participate as guests joined by curators and critics from around the world to discuss the current art scene.

late February - ADAA Art Show, New York City

            Seventy plus art dealers come to exhibit paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and photography from all periods. Organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) and held at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York City. All proceeds go to the Henry Street Settlement, one of the city's oldest social service agencies.

early March - Whitney Biennial, New York City

            The Whitney Biennial holds a signature survey of Contemporary American art in order to reaffirm its commitment to American artists and their future. The show usually spans painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video, filmmaking, photography, performance, digital art, and some outdoor projects. The last show, in 2006, conveyed an underlying sense of anxiety and uncertainty about today's world.

mid-March - Armory Show, New York City

            The Armory Show, the International Fair of New Art, is one of the world's leading art fairs solely devoted to Contemporary art. The show brings together over one-hundred galleries presenting new art from around the world. A new spacious location has been chosen for the show, Piers 90 and 92, (it used to be at 69th Street Armory which the show was named after).

late March - Berlin Biennial, Berlin, Germany

            The 4th Berlin Biennial in 2006, curated by artists Marizio Cattelan, Massimiliano Giono and Ali Subotnick, underscored the importance of this art exhibition. For geographic, political and economic reasons Berlin has proven one of the most exciting cities for Contemporary Art. Berlin is also home to many top Contemporary art galleries, including CFA Berlin, EIGEN + ART, Galerie Max Hetzler, Neugerriemschneider, and Galerie Guido W. Baudach. This is a major stop for serious Contemporary art collectors.

mid-May - Sotheby's, New York City, Phillips de Pury, New York City, Christie's, New York City

         The internationally profound auction houses of course join in on New York City's first season of the year for Contemporary art sales in May. All three galleries live up to their names. Christie's usually has a focus of Post-War accompanying its Contemporary art.

June - Carnegie International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

            Held every three to four years, a program of the Carnegie Museum of Art holds an event described as "the premier North American showcase for the best new art and new artists from around the globe." Usually contains a broad selection of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, film and video.

mid-June -  Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

            Called the "largest and longest-running art spectacle in the universe," the Venice Biennale was founded in 1895. On the scale of a world's fair exhibitions and pavilions display artistic trends of the visual arts, architecture, film, dance, music and much more. The 52nd Biennale was held in 2007 from mid-June to mid-November. This grand exhibition usually represents over sixty countries and is sure to surprise visitors with new and unique pieces of art with every visit, not to mention the party scene accompanies the exhibition accordingly.

mid-June - Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland

            The New York Times has named this art show "The Olympics of the art world." It is acknowledged as the world's leading art fair, usually attracting about 50,000 visitors and collectors from just about every continent. Painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, video, multi-media art, and performances make up the work from some 250 plus galleries that display over 1,000 artists. Art Basel surely displays the best of the best from the 20th and 21st centuries and lasts a mere six days!

mid-June - documenta, Kassel, Germany

            Since 1955 this show has been held every four, now five years. With many artistic genres represented, painting, photography, sculpture, installation, architecture and performance art, this exhibition showcases non-Western art alongside European and North American art. documenta is known for its consistently serious atmosphere.

late June - Christie's London, Phillips de Pury, London, Sotheby's London

            Once again, these three auction houses hold Contemporary art sales, mostly containing European art.

mid-September - International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey

            A very well attended international art fair provides a good excuse to travel far off to a very culturally diverse city. Biennials may seem quite common, but why miss a one of a kind show in Istanbul.

October - Sao Paulo Biennial, Sao Paulo

            The Sao Paulo Biennial is an international and highly political art fair. Brazil is another great and culturally rich place to stop on a global art tour.

late October - Frieze Art Fair, London

            Created by the founders and publishers of the British art magazine frieze, Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharpe have put together a magnificent fair, the first ever Contemporary art fair to be held in London. Every October this fair hosts over 140 Contemporary art galleries in Regent's Park. The fair is unique in that it also includes commissioned artists' projects and a wide programme of talks. The fair has also drawn a lively social event.

late October - FIAC, Paris

            Foire Internationale d'Arte Contemporain is France's annual art fair. It is slightly behind a few other European fairs, but hosts over 100 international galleries and is continuing to grow.

mid-November - Christie's, New York City, Phillips de Pury, New York City, Sotheby's New York City

            New York City's second season of Contemporary art sales comes in November and these three galleries wouldn't miss a heartbeat at the chance to display some of the top Contemporary art.