ArtNet Declares Basel the New Art Hajj

ARTNET NEWS
By Kenny Schachter

Courtesy of Kenny Schachter

Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, a religious duty for Muslims to fulfill at least once in their lifetimes, as long as physically and financially fit and capable of supporting their families in their absence. Basel is the art equivalent, other than the prerequisite of being physically and financially able of undertaking the journey, or for that matter supporting others in their absence. Illiquidity never got in the way of an avid collector where deals are cemented by nothing more than the exchange of a few words with payment terms always at hand. What keeps the art world afloat is the religious buying of art. Amen. [link]