The new director of Art Basel— to follow Sam Keller who steps down in December following Art Basel/Miami Beach to head the Beyeler Foundation—will be announced today at 10am. The identity of Mr Keller’s successor has been the best kept secret since Watergate; all our attempts for advance disclosure have been firmly rebuffed by the Art Basel team. However, our own Deep Throat suggests that Mr Keller’s responsibilities will be divided and that the front-runners include Martin Schwander, currently one of the curators of Art Unlimited, and a former director of the Kunstmuseum Luzern. Our very own correspondent Marc Spiegler resolutely declined to comment but was intriguingly seen emerging from a meeting yesterday evening at which the new director(s) were introduced to Art Basel staff. Meanwhile, Mr Keller’s success in leading Art Basel for the last seven years has turned him into a veritable work of art. A 2007 portrait painting by Zheng Guogu (detail above) is on offer for $84,000 with Grace Li Gallery at the Volta art fair.
First appeared in The Art Newspaper Art Basel Daily as 'New Art Basel director announced today'