Art Basel set to impress

"Collector Power: Who Has It and Who Doesn't' is just one of the provocative-sounding talks on the docket during Art Basel. The who's who of the art world, powerful and not so much, will be among the 60,000 visitors to swarm the Swiss city of Basel for Europe's premier modern and contemporary art fair next week.

Adding an educational factor to the many special events and exhibitions that are part of the fair is Art Salon, a formidable set of talks, panels, book signings and other presentations by curators, artists, and experts. Art Unlimited is the fair's ambitious section of 56 large-scale projects (shipping costs be damned) that will fill a 17,000-square-meter exhibition hall.

The heart of the hoopla, and the meat for buyers, is the fair's Art Galleries section. Even with 99% of exhibitors re-applying to get into this year's edition, the 248 represented galleries will include 13 first-timers to the show such as New York dealer Edward Tyler Nahem.

Hopes are high for momentum from recent post-War and contemporary art auctions to buoy sales.

The $106.5 million world record price for Picasso's 1932 “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” at Christie’s in New York last month may trigger a broad selection of top-dollar works by the modern master on the market. The Financial Times reports that Montreal-based Landau Fine Art, for one, will bring six Picassos, including “Homme et Femme Nue” (1965), with a $15 million price tag.