With 3D films and virtual tours, art dealers Röbbig, Daxer & Marschall and Stephen Ongpin reach customers from a (safe) distance. This is actually nothing new.
Since last week, public life has also brought physical gallery visits to a standstill. However, many gallery owners and art dealers had already conquered the virtual space before Covid-19. While the catalogue was once the means of choice for showcasing high-quality art, it is now a website that enables intensive viewing.
The art world is one step ahead
However, retailers who want to maintain their globally dispersed customer base are already using the virtual world. This became apparent even before the Tefaf-art fair in Maastricht had to end four days earlier than usual due to the pandemic. The Munich porcelain expert Röbbig had the foresight to email its Tefaf presentation to its customers as a link in advance of the opening. Those who did not want to travel from the USA to Europe were able to stroll through the impressively staged stand with the film and view the porcelain at their leisure.
The modern viewer is ideally equipped with VR glasses. But even without, porcelain fans can use the cursor to navigate through the Röbbig stand, zoom in on the exhibits and, above all, decide whether a visit is worthwhile without any time pressure. And then finally arrange a visit to pick up the original.
No time for visits - VR makes it possible
Online presence and VR have long been established marketplaces for Alfredo Reyes from Kunsthandel Röbbig. "For us, it has been a matter of course for years to reach our customers with 3D films. We now also sell works from virtual space, often to customers from Asia who don't have time to visit Tefaf in Maastricht."
Difficult times often open up unexpected opportunities. In principle, many businesses could benefit from this technical possibility. However, implementation certainly takes time and capital, which is unfortunately lying idle in many places.
Source: handelsblatt
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