Arteamericas Results: Shorter Distance to Crash

When you're close to the floor, you don't have far to fall.

That was the sentiment at the seventh Arteamericas event, which ran from March 27 – 30 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. This year, the fair drew 52 exhibitors, down from 70 last year. Collectors and dealers alike see this as positive in a generally harsh art market.

The Latin American art space, which is the focus of Arteamericas, did not grow as aggressively as the Chinese art sector, which has protected collectors. Since prices did not rise to absurd proportions (by art market standards, at least), the art crash of 2008 and 2009 won't impact these collectors as severely. Sitting on the panel, "Latin American Art in Today's Global and Local Art Markets," Vivian Pfeiffer, a regional director for Christie's in South Florida, said, "We don't have that much distance to crash." Further, collectors of Latin American art tend to be unwilling to sell their holdings even when times are tough.

The largest sale at the event was the 1945 painting Sorcerer, by René Portocarrero of Cuba. It fetched $135,000 on the first night of the event. Another Portocarrero, Woman with Birds (1982) sold for $40,000.

[Photo: "The Smoker" by Julio Aguilera"]