Bruno Bischofberger, Legendary Zurich Gallerist, Dies

Bruno Bischofberger, the renowned Zurich gallerist who represented artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente, Sandro Chia, and Enzo Cucchi in Europe, has died. The news was shared by Ezio Pagano, a Sicilian gallerist, who recounts a surreal encounter with Bischofberger in 1986. Bischofberger, known for his private jet and wine collection, visited Palermo, where Pagano organized a tour of cultural sites including the Duomo and Chiostro di Monreale, Palazzo Reale, and the Cappella Palatina. During the visit, Bischofberger gave Pagano four signed catalogs by Cucchi, Clemente, Paladino, and Basquiat. Pagano also recalls a lavish lunch at the Charleston restaurant where Bischofberger ordered four bottles of wine for tasting, costing nearly one million lire. A friend of Bischofberger purchased a copy of the "Evangeliario delle chiese d'Italia" for twenty million lire. The story also involves a lost photograph of Pagano and Bischofberger, which resurfaced thirty years later at the Segno magazine archive during the Bologna Fair. Bischofberger's death marks the end of an era for the art market.