Art Market
Josie Thaddeus Johns
Photo by @mariasantosphotography. Courtesy of Ibiza Contemporary Art.
It was a typical Ibiza scene: a DJ playing upbeat lounge music, beautiful, happy people in bohemian attire dancing and drinking cocktails from super cool bartenders. No, this wasn’t a beach club; instead, we were at an art fair.
At the third edition of the contemporary art fair, Ibiza Contemporary Art Fair (CAN), held at the FECOEV event space, you can forget the usual art fair atmosphere of suits, handshakes and formal manners. Part of the attraction here for visitors and galleries is the relaxed social scene. The event, open every evening from 6 to 10 pm (perfect timing after a day at the beach), brings the typical elements of an art fair (booths and artworks, gallery owners and visitors) to Ibiza. For example: the opening party took place at the legendary nightclub Pacha and lasted until 6 am
Opening of CAN Art Fair Ibiza 2024. Photo by @mariasantosphotography. Image courtesy of Ibiza Contemporary Art.
Obviously, Ibiza’s natural beauty, endless networking opportunities and luxurious glamour are huge draws for any visitor, but the island is far from the typical art fair route. As CAN kicks off its third edition, focusing on the local Balearic art scene, the fair demonstrates how its ideal location and targeted curatorial approach have created a thriving scene that stretches far beyond the traditional art world centres.
In conversations at the VIP opening on Wednesday evening, many of the returning gallerists made it clear that the social element played a big role in their decision to attend the fair. Brussels-based Ballon Rouge, which has attended every edition of the fair to date, is well aware of the benefits. “First, time,” said Helene Dumenil and Nicole O’Rourke, the gallery’s founders and founding directors.
Installation view of Ballon Rouge’s stand at CAN Art Fair Ibiza 2024. ©Sayana Cairo. Image courtesy of Ibiza Contemporary Art.
That “work vibe” spilled over into the booth, where conversation was muted. Ballon Rouge’s booth, which sells for up to €5,000 ($5,348), featured figurative paintings and textiles by queer artists (the gallery specializes in work by women and LGBTQ+ artists) in bright colors, a style that was prevalent throughout the fair: “We realized we could be a little brighter and more flamboyant here,” the pair added.
Indeed, there was a palpable sense of coherence between the 35 booths, with many works fitting in nicely with other galleries’ booths. Above all, the fair’s focus is on accessible figurative painting—which is why it’s no surprise that the curators were all chosen by one person: Saša Bogojev. “Contemporary figurative art is what I’m most passionate about and most familiar with,” the curator said, noting that the fair is intended to be a boutique experience. “This fair has the potential to be so niche and so focused on this corner of the art world.”
Still, he noted several striking abstract works at the fair—like a series of new, bright halo paintings at Ruttkowski Gallery; 68 by José María Yturralde, a renowned Op Art painter who has received considerable acclaim in Spain. Almost all of the works at CAN were created within the past three years, he said. Prices throughout the fair were affordable, with most in the four- to five-figure range.
Bogoev was invited to curate the fair by founding director Sergio Sancho, who also founded the long-running Madrid fair UVNT (a satellite fair held in conjunction with the Madrid Contemporary Art Fair). Sancho explained that the focus on figurative painting was meant to cater to what he sees as CAN’s natural audience: the growing number of new residents on the island who have moved into second homes since the pandemic began.
Opening of CAN Art Fair Ibiza 2024. Photo by @mariasantosphotography. Image courtesy of Ibiza Contemporary Art.
Opening of CAN Art Fair Ibiza 2024. Photo by @mariasantosphotography. Image courtesy of Ibiza Contemporary Art.
He estimates that the group in Ibiza is between 35 and 50 years old, who may have spent time in Ibiza before and are likely to stay on the island year-round – as the pandemic has proven that traveling in person to New York, Paris or Munich is no longer necessary.
As they spend more time on the island, this audience grows more interested in cultural events: “People who normally live in London and are here year-round need some cultural events – they want to go to exhibition openings and meet new people,” Sancho says. Likewise, these collectors have more time and space on the island: “When you take up residence a second time, you may only have a few things,” he says.
Similar dynamics have also boosted the cultural sector in Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands, where the art scene has flourished, especially in the past few years. Many of Mallorca’s new galleries are represented at CAN Ibiza, such as LA BIBI, which exhibits fluorescent, glittery paintings by the likes of Michael Staniak.
Fran Reus, also from Palma de Mallorca, who founded his eponymous gallery in 2016, noted that while Mallorca is “not a hub like London or Paris,” many collectors still pass through the island on holiday. “At Untitled Miami, I see collectors saying ‘Oh, Mallorca, I have a house there!’” he said. “We have been increasingly known by people who have second homes, especially in the last two or three years,” he added.
While Mallorca has a more established gallery scene (Menorca, of course, has Hauser & Wirth), Ibiza has very few contemporary art galleries. However, this is slowly changing. Just six weeks ago, the trendy London gallery Gathering opened a new space in the north of the island. The gallery also attended the fair, with a stand featuring large abstract paintings by artists such as Christopher Page. During the fair, Gathering hosted a major joint exhibition by Stefan Brüggemann (who has a studio in Ibiza) and Bruce Nauman.
Of course, Ibiza is also an attractive hotspot for tourists without second homes, and the fair also has a program that allows each gallery to bring a nominated collector to the fair free of charge, making full use of the timeless appeal of the White Island to promote the fair.
Installation view of Hollis Taggart’s booth at CAN Art Fair Ibiza 2024. Image courtesy of Hollis Taggart
But for some galleries, CAN Ibiza meant much more than just attracting in-person visitors. For New York gallery Hollis Taggart, which showed a range of brightly coloured abstract works by Osamu Kobayashi, Dana James and Kathryn MacNaughton, the fair’s impact extended far beyond booth visitors: “It not only attracted ‘Ibiza collectors’ but also brought wider exposure to collectors in Madrid, Barcelona and the surrounding areas,” said gallery founder Hollis Taggart. “More importantly, the social media push brought in inquiries and interest from a wider audience around the world. We sold a Dana James [work] To a collector in Omaha! …We have met artists and art advisors here that we would never have met in the U.S.
As the fair grows in size to include more established international galleries (notably, Italian mega-dealer GALLERIA CONTINUA is participating for the first time this year), it also seeks to strengthen the local art scene and keep island residents engaged with the contemporary art world year-round. CAN Ibiza organizes an “off-site program” to highlight local artists and projects, especially those that focus on recent history and current issues in local island life.
Sa Punta des Molí. Photo by @mariasantosphotography. Courtesy of Ibiza Contemporary Art.
For example, at Sa Punta des Molí, a windmill-turned-art space, Ibiza-born artist Irene de Andrés explored the consequences of the island’s reliance on clubbing tourism, evoking the dusty glamour of Ibiza’s failed mega-clubs through photographs and sculptures.
Down the road, with nothing but fig trees and dust, an abandoned open-air reservoir has been transformed into a land art space where Austrian artist Christian Eisenberger works with woodcut snowmen and photographs. The venue, called SAFA, is run by Eva Fischer, who grew up on the island. Fischer says that when she was young she didn’t think there was any possibility of a career in Ibiza, but now, as the island’s art scene grows, she’s excited to bring international artists like Eisenberger to the island, bringing art to everyone from tourists driving by (she just showed a family with two children around) to local farmers. “This is a boom time, let’s seize the opportunity now,” she says.
Josie Thaddeus Johns
Josie Thaddeus-Johns is an editor at Artsy.
