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<\/p>\nThe Venice Biennale has long been a place where art is sold, though its commercial capacity is usually downplayed. As the Biennale is officially a government-subsidised, non-commercial institution, talking about sales\u2014let alone actually doing them on site\u2014is largely frowned upon. <\/p>\n
Not so this year, with an unprecedented number of dealers, auction houses and private foundations openly pricing and selling works to the crowds of collectors descending on the city this week, some perhaps spurred on by Italy\u2019s year-old 5% VAT rate on art imports\u2014now Europe\u2019s lowest.<\/p>\n
For the first time, Christie\u2019s is hosting an invitation-only selling exhibition in Venice, offering Old Masters such as Lucas Cranach alongside Modern and contemporary giants like Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois and Mark Bradford. Prices range from $500,000 to more than $35m. Several works are Venice themed, including a depiction of the city by JMW Turner from 1841 and \u00c9douard Manet\u2019s 1873 view of the Grand Canal, which has been hung alongside a portrait of Laura Dianti by Titian (around 1523). Exhibition viewings are by invitation only (4-10 May).<\/p>\n
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Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, detto Il Guercino, is on sale at Christie’s<\/p>\n
@ Christie\u2019s Images LTD 2026<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a first for us to present a selection of works to many of our most valuable clients who happen to be in town during the vernissage,\u201d says Adrien Meyer, Christie\u2019s global head of private sales. Meyer notes that Venice is also a natural fit for the auction house, given that a large portion of its billionaire owner Fran\u00e7ois Pinault\u2019s collection is housed in the city. Christie\u2019s has also in the past sponsored presentations in the British and Nigerian pavilions.<\/p>\n
Ghost Pavilion: A Venice Revealed, as the private selling exhibition is titled, is a nod to past shows by Bourgeois and Bradford, among others, as well as the \u201ccolourful history of the building\u201d, Meyer says. Immortalised by Monet in 1908, the Palazzo Ca\u2019 Dario, a Gothic palace remodelled by Giovanni Dario, the secretary to the Venetian Senate who negotiated a peace agreement with the Ottomans\u00a0in 1479, has since been occupied by countesses, aristocrats, financiers\u2014as well as the manager of rock band The Who.\u00a0The property is currently on the market with Christie\u2019s Real Estate.<\/p>\n
Meyer thinks Venice has the capacity to marry commerce and institutional clout in much the same way that Art Basel has made inroads to Paris\u2014a city chiefly known for its world class museums but with a growing market reputation. \u201cThere is a path ahead in Venice to the same effect,\u201d he says. \u201cCommercial and scholarly initiatives can be compatible, especially if we are mindful of the relevance of those different initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Private patrons footing the bill<\/p>\n
As public funding has dwindled, dealers and private collectors have upped their support for the biennale over the past decade or so, not only footing the bills for the production, transport, installation and staffing of the presentations that take place across the national pavilions and collateral exhibitions (as well as numerous others), but also the lavish dinners and parties that are the hallmark of the vernissage. <\/p>\n
As Pace Gallery\u2019s chief executive Marc Glimcher puts it: \u201cThere isn\u2019t a good system for funding these things anymore, so dealers are increasingly stepping in. That means they must cover their costs, primarily by selling the art. Some will cover their costs, some won\u2019t.\u00a0It\u2019s all dependent on the galleries\u2019 ability to support their artists.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Venice Biennale did not respond to a request for comment on the growing commercial aspect of the event; it is understood that it is not a requirement for exhibitors to declare whether they intend to sell works while in Italy, where a reduced 5% VAT<\/a> on art imports and sales has boosted the country\u2019s standing in the global art market. In 2019, Biennale organisers decided to remove art dealers\u2019 names from exhibition labels, suggesting a desire to visibly distance itself from any commercial activity.<\/p>\n
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