Art Antwerp 2023: End of Fair Report
The Boutique Fair welcomed 13.650 visitors, exceeding last year's visitor numbers with 16,1%
Art Antwerp 2023 has consolidated its position in the international art fair calendar. With its spirit of discovery and its convivial boutique atmosphere, reinforced by its strategic location in a host city known for its avant-gardism, the third edition of Art Antwerp exceeded the expectations, both in visitor numbers and sales.
Art Antwerp 2023 announced itself as a Boutique Fair and kept that promise. The human scale fair with a local and international programme paid particular attention to the experience of its participants and visitors.
The atmosphere at the fair was convivial, outgoing, positive and festive. Even if the fair was more intimate and more personal in its approach, Art Antwerp welcomed 13.650 visitors, exceeding the 11.760 visitors of last year with 16,1%
"What a great 4 days! We sold very well at Art Antwerp, both to very good foreign collections and to a young couple who bought their first work of art here. I love that diversity."
— Jason Poirier dit Caulier, PLUS-ONE Gallery
The fair also welcomed more than 35 national and international museum and collector groups including those from The Cultivist, TheMerode, Bonnefanten, Delen Private Bank & Bank Van Breda, First Sight (La Loge), FOMU Patrons & Friends, The Art Society, S.M.A.K., Fundación Amigos del Museo Reina Sofía, MM Friends, Musée d'Ixelles, The Art Society, MHKA, Young Stedelijk, & many others.
Collectors highly appreciated the size of the fair, the ambiance, the high number of solo and duo presentations and the unique mix of established artists and emerging talent across this 'boutique fair'.
"Art Antwerp left a very good impression on us. It is a fresh, vital fair where numerous young galleries from Belgium and abroad get the chance to promote new talented artists. For us, it was a very pleasant discovery. Art Antwerp is a must on the art circuit and certainly worth repeating!"
— Belgian art collectors Philippe and Ines Kempeneers
“Art Antwerp is thé place where the urgency of art shows itself in all its forms.”
— Dutch collector and art historian Cathelijne Blok
"A visit to Art Antwerp is a fascinating escape from the everyday, an exploration of the artist's latest imagery. Art Antwerp is well organised, varied, cosy and trendy."
— Belgian art collectors, Paul and Marie-Rose Declercq
The fair also benefited from and contributed to the attractiveness of the Antwerp art scene, with numerous exhibitions in partner museums such as KMSKA, FOMU, M HKA… and galleries.
"The resounding success of Art Antwerp's third edition unequivocally affirms a true appetite for a contemporary art fair in Antwerp. This result bolsters our confidence, leading us to announce the fourth edition for the upcoming year."
— Nele Verhaeren, Director of Art Antwerp
With the generous support of its main partners for 2023, Delen Private Bank and Bank Van Breda, Art Antwerp has cemented its role in the city of Antwerp as a platform for international contemporary art, firmly positioned at the heart of the city's flourishing art scene.
This third edition of Art Antwerp could also count on the support of the City of Antwerp.
Sales Reports
- Galerie Lelong & Co (Paris, New York): Big success with David Nash, one major sculpture by Jaume Plensa, one drawing by Barthélémy Toguo and several works by Alechinsky
- Base Alpha Gallery (Antwerp): sales of Gianni Conrad to the Nederlandsche Bank and two photographic works by Veronika Pot to the collection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- PLUS-ONE Gallery (Antwerp): sold a work by Nel Aerts to an important Swiss corporate collection
- Keteleer (Antwerp): reported sales of 21 works by Joëlle Dubois, Enrique Marty, Sybren Vanoverberghe, Valgerdur Sigurdardóttir and Antoine Rogiers. The gallery also acquired five new clients.
- Stigter Van Doesburg (Amsterdam): reported really good sales of the works by the very young artists they brought to the fair (Bobbi Essers, Wolfgang Messing, Andrei Nitu, Erica Peucelle)
- Schönfeld Gallery (Brussels): sold out booth with artist Jesse Willems
- Gallery Lumen Travo (Amsterdam): sold a work of their solo artist Thierry Oussou to the collection of the Nederlandsche Bank
- Kant Gallery (Copenhagen): sold all the works by Anne Mette Larsen, next to two sculptures by Steen Ipsen
- Martin Kudlek (Cologne): successful sales with Gideon Kiefer and Simon Schubert
- Zwart Huis (Brussels): sold about 20 landscape paintings by Stefan Peters
- Berthold Pott (Cologne): sold an important wall piece by Jens Kothe to a Belgian collector
- Maurice Verbaet (Knokke): registered numerous sales
- Belgian Gallery (Brussels): multiple sales of works by Robin Wen, Cindy Wright, Manu vb Tintoré
- Hopstreet Gallery (Brussels): sold several paintings by Tinus Vermeersch
Notes to Editors
- Visitor Figures 2023: 13.650 (+16,1 % compared to 2022)
- The dates of next year’s fair have been announced as 12 – 15 December 2024 at Antwerp Expo
- Browse Art Antwerp 2023 until 22 December via Artland here
- Download high-res installation shots of the fair here
- The 40th edition of Art Brussels will take place from 25 - 28 April 2024 at Brussels Expo.
- More info on Art Brussels here and on Art Antwerp here
Selection of images
