ERIC T. WHITE/THE ARMORY SHOW
Today Art Basel announced that it has tapped Noah Horowitz, the director of the Armory Show fair in New York since 2011, to be its Director Americas, which will put him in charge of Art Basel’s annual December edition in Miami Beach, Florida. (The company also runs fairs in Basel, Switzerland, in June, and Hong Kong, in May.)
Horowitz, who previously served as director of the ill–fated online-only VIP Art Fair and who penned a strong book about today’s art market, Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market, will be based in the United States and work alongside Adeline Ooi, Director Asia; Marco Fazzone, Director Resources and Finance; and Patrick Foret, Director Business Initiatives.
“I am delighted that Noah Horowitz will become Art Basel’s first Director Americas as we work toward our 14th edition in Miami Beach,” Art Basel’s director, Marc Spiegler, said in a statement released to press.
Horowitz joined the Armory Show as managing director and became its leader after co-founder Paul Morris departed in 2012. As director, he cut the number of exhibitors in the fair, which many felt was bloated, and worked to attract more top-shelf galleries to compete with the upstart Frieze New York fair.
“I am honored to join the Art Basel team and look forward to directing the fair in Miami Beach,” Horowitz said in a statement. “The Americas have been a leading center in the art world for many decades, and the region continues to show distinctive and ongoing growth in many different countries. I look forward to working with collectors and arts institutions throughout the two continents—from Canada to South America, and across the entirety of the United States—in an effort to bring the fair in Miami Beach to ever-greater heights.”