Art Galleries Respond to Virus With Online Viewing

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Robin Pogrebin

From Art Basel’s new Online Viewing Room, the virtual exhibition by Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery of Keltie Ferris’s “Cloud Line.” Mitchell-Innes & Nash

In 2017, having realized how much business the gallery did through online previews before art fairs, the dealer David Zwirner decided to develop virtual viewing rooms. Now, as art fairs are canceled, museums close and auction houses consider whether to call off their spring sales in response to the coronavirus, Mr. Zwirner seems prescient. This week Art Basel will, for the first time, offer online viewing rooms to replace the Hong Kong fair that was canceled this month because of the pandemic. More than 230 dealers who planned to bring work to Asia will instead offer some 2,000 pieces through the virtual fair with an estimated value of $270 million, including 70 items over $1 million. And galleries throughout the United States are considering web-based works and curated online exhibitions. [More]