“Creativity takes courage”, the Henri Matisse quote could have never been more relevant in any space of time before. As the pandemic COVID-19 continues to sweep across the countries shrinking any semblance of normality, the human mind has diverted to the belief that now it is time to improvise and turn to what the mankind does best; adapt.
The rich valley of art is something that has always been regarded as the pinnacle of human culture. The strength that art provides to depict the most powerful of elements both in reality and abstract has been its’ most illuminating facet. Despite the fact that the world has been struck with the pandemic, the capability of art continues to instill the hope for a better future emphasizing that the culture remains strong and thus human minds along with it. In an initiative that can be regarded as an extension of such belief, David Zwirner has introduced a major development in the art that is based on normalizing the routine for collecting art.
The New Online Gallery To Look Out For
Platform: New York is the name given to the viewing room hosted by the David Zwirner Gallery, which would offer the artists a domain to exhibit their major works online to the interested prospects. The online room would also allow the smaller galleries in the cultural hub of New York to garner this opportunity and dive into the potential of online retail. The decision was made in an attempt to rejuvenate the art scene of the city, which has been disastrously struck by the COVID-19. The art galleries have suffered massively in the social distancing measures, so it was pivotal that there be a platform which allows art curators to recalibrate their approach.
Recently, David Zwirner has collaborated with 12 galleries in New York to organize an art exhibition.
David Zwirner’s Platform Initiative has extended to other cities as the mega gallery has rendered its online viewing space for the art galleries in Los Angeles and London. In what can be termed as the fourth phase for the initiative, the leading art-gallery has made a decision to incorporate the galleries in Paris and Brussels to its online facility.
COVID-19 has been prominently detrimental to the business of the art galleries resident in the city of Paris with a third announcing shut down plans. The initiative by David Zwirner has given a ray of hope for the businesses to redirect their approach and sustain in the unfavorable times. The Zwirner team would follow a similar template implemented in previous phases by selecting 12 galleries from Paris and Brussels for collaboration on its online viewing space so that art connoisseurs can continue collecting artworks while fulfilling a moral obligation as well. The move has also overlapped with the art giants’ initial plan of re-opening its’ physical gallery in the city.
Other Avenues for Collecting Art
The trend of opening online viewing spaces is not driven only as a response to COVID-19 as most of the art galleries were already exploring the waters and developing their own virtual viewing spaces. The Art Basel Hong Kong had already decided to close their physical space and venture into the area of organizing online viewing sessions where each participating gallery would hold their own exhibition. Auction houses like Paddle8 occasionally furnished online sessions for the art collectors. Top art galleries like Zwirner and Gagosian have had a fair share of success with online sales, attracting a decent number of people collecting art.
Just recently, Gagosian sold a $5.5 Million Cecily Brown Painting in a dedicated online Viewing Room from 4 to 10 May. Since the $6 million sale of Albert Oehlen’s Untitled last March, this is the mega-gallery’s most valuable deal. Last year, Zwirner revealed that a third of its sales were acquired through the email images of the works which showcase the potential of the online integration of the industry. The gallery’s director of publications, Alison McDonald, mentioned last January that Zwirner’s experiences with online viewing rooms is a testament to the fact that there is an online market on a consistent basis.
The dilemma surrounding the pandemic has prompted the art businesses to explore other venues in a bid to keep the industry afloat. The experiences have been encouraging, evident by the interest in the online session organized by the art fraternity. The gap introduced by the COVID-19 has presented an excellent opportunity for collecting art online, which has consistently flirted with the idea of normalizing online spaces, to test the waters and assess the impact of the technology which has already revolutionized other segments of the global economy.
No Comments