Yesterday The Art Newspaper tried to sneak into the newly installed exhibitions at the Rubell Collection in advance of today’s press preview and tomorrow’s public opening. We failed. And we were not alone. Over the last few days, a regular stream of visitors has attempted to finesse its way into the private museum before the official inauguration of eight new exhibitions and project rooms curated by director Mark Coetzee.
All early callers to the Rubell Collection, including ArtBasel director Sam Keller, have been refused entry. Most of them have been art consultants who advise collectors and buy on their behalf. They have included advisors with clients in France, Germany, and the US.
Work by the artists included in the new shows at the Rubell will sell fast at Art Basel/Miami Beach and is likely to escalate rapidly in value over the coming months. If any advisors have infiltrated this morning’s press preview at the Rubell (most likely), they will have a competitive edge over their rivals when buying at the private view of the fair today.
The Rubells wield more power than other private collectors in Miami because they operate on an institutional scale with a strong education and publishing programme and established relationships with other US museums to whom they regularly send touring shows. Their exhibition “Life after death: new Leipzig paintings” which opened to coincide with last year’s ArtBasel/Miami Beach is currently at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts (until 31 March 2006) and will then continue its US tour through 2007.
All the Rubell’s exhibitions are drawn from their permanent collection so the artists who go on public view tomorrow have all had their work bought by the Miami collectors. And where the Rubells go, countless other collectors will follow.
Details of the exhibitions at the Rubell Collection will be in tomorrow’s paper.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'For the love of art or money?'