SUBSCRIBERS

Buying high-end art during a pandemic

Social distancing forces art collectors to purchase million-dollar artworks after viewing them only digitally

Helmi Yusof

Published Fri, Mar 20, 2020 · 09:50 PM

UBS

Singapore

COVID or no Covid, the high-end art market is determined to carry on. On Wednesday at 6pm, the celebrated Art Basel Hong Kong didn't open at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre as it has for years. The actual physical art fair had been cancelled after thousands of gallerists and collectors voiced concerns about flying to Hong Kong.

Instead, a virtual fair popped up online on Art Basel's website, where VIP collectors were given special access to view thousands of great artworks mostly priced between five and seven fig…