• UBS will release new insights into US-based collectors' behaviors and buying trends in a special Investor Watch Pulse Report
  • UBS Lounge to feature abstract artworks by Sarah Morris, Frank Stella and Howard Hodgkin from the UBS Art Collection

Miami, 27 November 2018 – UBS, Global Lead Partner of Art Basel for over 25 years, will kick off the opening of Art Basel Miami Beach (December 6-9, 2018) with the release of a new study on the attitudes and behaviors of US-based wealthy fine art collectors. According to the 2018 Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, the U.S. continued to hold strong as the leading market for the world’s top 200 collectors, of whom 50% are based in the U.S. Moreover, 68% of global art dealers also cited the U.S. among their top three most important buyer nationalities.

"Art Basel in Miami Beach sits at the nexus of North America and Latin America and we have had incredible interest in the show from across our global collecting community this year. With strong figures and confidence in the U.S. art market, Art Basel in Miami Beach is assured as a key destination for collectors"
said John Mathews, Head of Ultra High Net Worth Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

The UBS Lounge will feature a unique wallpaper, War of the Roses [Sound Graph], by painter and filmmaker Sarah Morris created especially for the show, as well as works by Morris from the UBS Art Collection, including a newly acquired painting, Precious Stone [Sound Graph], 2018. Morris is renowned for her complex, large-scale abstractions that are grounded in architectural concepts of space, form, and geometry, creating a vibrant graphic language all her own. Her work captures the energy of the modern city and explores systems of power that impact the urban as well as socio-political landscape. The UBS Lounge will also feature work by twentieth-century masters Frank Stella and Howard Hodgkin, offering visitors a snapshot of non-representational artwork across generations and styles.

Works by all three artists will also be featured in the newly renovated lobby of UBS’s Midtown New York headquarters at 1285 Avenue of the Americas, to be completed in early 2019. Morris's redesign of a monumental wall painting originally created as an on-site installation at a former UBS building in Zurich will be a highlight of the new lobby. Also included in the space will be a wall sculpture by Stella, as well as a large-scale mixed-technique print by British artist Hodgkin, which is among his most ambitious and complex works.

"I want the viewer to be subsumed by the system of paintings that I'm creating,” said Morris.

"Sarah has always had a clear and unique vision," said Mary Rozell, Global Head UBS Art Collection. "There is an incredible energy, vibrancy and boldness to her paintings. We first commissioned her wall painting in 2001 and we are thrilled to bring this reinterpreted work to the New York headquarters. This type of relationship with an artist, spanning decades, illustrates our approach to collecting the art of our time."

Celebrating Female Mentorship, Creating Greater Inclusivity

In the public area of the fair, the UBS Art Studio will celebrate female mentorship in the art world. Additionally, UBS’s Project Entrepreneur will partner with Leche Lounge, founded by Stephanie Conduff, to offer a mobile lactation suite in the West Lobby that will be available to the public for the duration of the fair. Project Entrepreneur is UBS’s flagship philanthropic initiative which aims to increase the pipeline of female founders and is part of the firm’s overall commitment to driving toward a more inclusive landscape for entrepreneurs.

In addition, UBS and Village Capital will host a special discussion on inclusive entrepreneurship on Saturday, December 8 in the UBS Lounge. The event will convene a group of early-stage startup investors, female founders, and business support organizations from Miami and beyond, for an important dialogue on how to level the playing field for underrepresented founders.

UBS Investor Watch Pulse Report

In a special Investor Watch Pulse Report, UBS surveyed the attitudes and behaviors of wealthy fine art collectors and will release the findings the week of December 3, to coincide with Art Basel in Miami Beach. For more information please visit: ubs.com/investorwatch

These findings will be highlighted in a panel discussion on Thursday, December 6 from 10-11am in the UBS Lounge on “The Passion and Purpose of Collecting”, hosted and moderated by Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of the Financial Times. Panelists will include Mary Rozell, Global Head UBS Art Collection; Sean Kelly, Founder of Sean Kelly Gallery and host of the “Collect Wisely” podcast; and a prominent US Collector.

Notes to Editors

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UBS’s passion for art drives its role as a longstanding supporter of the arts. UBS actively enables clients and audiences to participate in the international conversation about art and the global art market through its global lead partnership with Art Basel. These activities are complemented by partnerships with fine art institutions including the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, Fondation Beyeler in Riehen, Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Milano, Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, and Nouveau Musée National de Monaco.

About UBS Investor Watch Pulse
The UBS Investor Watch Pulse Report is designed as a shorter, "rapid response" reaction to pressing issues of the day. In addition to the December Investor Watch Pulse Report, UBS published the 2017 UBS Investor Watch Pulse Report, 'For the love of art’ which offers insights on US-based collectors’ behaviors and buying trends. ubs.com/investorwatch

About the UBS Art Collection
UBS has been an active contemporary art collector since the 1960s, a practice driven by the company’s long-held belief that the art of today provides inspiration and challenge while encouraging the innovative thinking that has shaped UBS’s corporate culture over the last half-century. Today the UBS Art Collection is considered one of the largest and most important corporate collections of contemporary art in the world. It is comprised of various individual art collections with unique attributes that have been integrated over time through a series of mergers and acquisitions – notably Union Bank of Switzerland, Swiss Bank Corporation and PaineWebber Inc. The vast majority of these works are displayed in more than 700 UBS offices around the world, serving as an inspiration for employees and a platform for dialogue with clients and the public. UBS takes a dynamic approach to the Collection, continuing to evolve and grow through acquisitions of works from around the world in accordance with the geographical reach of its business. UBS also supports artists and galleries and actively lends works to major art museums and cultural institutions for public exhibitions.

UBS and Art Basel
The relationship between UBS and Art Basel began in 1994 when the Swiss financial services firm began serving as lead partner for the original edition of the show in Basel. In 1999, the partnership was extended to include Art Basel’s Unlimited exhibition platform – which enables artists to realize highly original and ambitious projects – and, in 2002, the inaugural edition of Art Basel in Miami Beach. In 2014, UBS became involved with Art Basel in Hong Kong, officially assuming its current role as global Lead Partner of Art Basel for all three of its acclaimed international shows. In June 2016, it was announced that Art Basel and UBS would partner to commission a comprehensive, new annual art-market report by renowned cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew. The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report was issued in March 2017 during Art Basel in Hong Kong. In March 2018, UBS and Art Basel co-published the second Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report by Clare McAndrew. UBS has furthered its support of Art Basel by becoming Global Lead Partner of Art Basel Cities. Find more details at ubs.com/art.

About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives such as Art Basel Cities, working with partner cities on bespoke cultural programs. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.

Sarah Morris Presentation
The unique print-on wallpaper, War of the Roses [Sound Graph], by Sarah Morris created especially for the UBS Lounge is printed with the help and assistance of Maharam.

UBS Group AG

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