Lorenzo Rudolf: Art Basel Has Lost Its Way and the Art Market Must Change Course

In 1959, Lorenzo Rudolf was born in Bern and served as the director of Art Basel from 1990 until 2000, during which he expanded the event to Miami Beach. Following this, he managed the Frankfurt Book Fair from 2000 to 2003 and established ShContemporary, Art Stage Singapore, and Art Stage Jakarta. At Art Basel Paris, he pointed out a market crisis linked to globalization and neoliberal economics, where financial interests eclipsed artistic endeavors. While he acknowledged growth from the 2008 crisis to 2015, he expressed concerns over diminishing quality and diversity. Rudolf criticized the current leadership, drawing a comparison to FIFA, and noted the exit of watch brands from Baselworld in 2019. He called for attention to emerging art scenes, avoiding reliance on AI for research.