A Greek gallery has made its debut on one of the art world's most competitive commercial stages, using its first appearance at Volta Basel to pitch two emerging artists to the collectors, curators and dealers converging on Switzerland for UBS Art Basel week.
By Lyto Mysiakouli
Roma Gallery arrived at Volta with works by Salomé Economides and Mr. Aubert Issachar — two names its director, Irdanos Tsirigoulis, believes are ready for the international market.
Both artists already have works held in private and corporate collections abroad, and their Basel prices reflect serious intent: Ms. Economides's pieces were priced between €10,000 and €15,000, Mr. Issachar's between €8,000 and €12,000.
The reception was immediate. Mr. Issachar said the Roma booth drew around 5,000 visitors within the first two hours — the kind of exposure that money alone cannot buy and that only a fair of Basel's stature can deliver.
For Mr. Tsirigoulis, the trip is as much strategic as commercial.
"Fairs like Volta and Art Basel not only shape trends in the art market but also act as security and a guarantee for collectors," he said, framing the debut as a deliberate move to widen both artists' reach well beyond Greece.
Art historian and curator Alia Tsagkari, who has tracked the market's recent shifts, said demand in contemporary art is gravitating toward colour, larger-scale works and humour deployed as social critique — with representational painting also regaining momentum after years on the margins.
"These fairs connect artists with an international network of historians, curators, critics and gallery owners, and that creates the conditions for future collaborations," she said.
For Ms. Economides, 25, the experience was galvanising.
"A fantastic experience," she called it — and, she believes, a turning point. She described Switzerland as a more discerning, better-informed market in which interest in Greek art has grown considerably.
For Roma Gallery, Basel was never just a showcase. In a market where contemporary art is increasingly treated as an asset class, it was a proving ground — and by most measures, the gallery passed its first test.