Exploring the Art World with Michèle Sandoz
If you’ve been a regular VIP at Art Basel in the past few years, you know her name: Michèle Sandoz. She was the Global Head of VIP Relations at Art Basel for almost a decade and is now the Managing Director of Grisebach Switzerland, a German auction house. Michèle Sandoz has an intercultural background, having been born in Zimbabwe to Swiss parents and growing up in various African countries. She studied Sinology and East Asian art at the University of Zurich and at Beijing Language and Culture University before she entered the art market working for the auction house Koller Auktionen. At one point, she was able to read 4,000 Chinese characters.
Having recently returned from the 60th Venice Biennale, Sandoz shared her enthusiastic impressions with our host Tanya König. «I got back kind of full of energy, inspiration, and I really loved this edition,» she said, reflecting on her experience. Sandoz, a seasoned attendee of the Biennale, found this year's event particularly invigorating.
In the first episode of season 2 of Swizz Art Biz, the art world habituée tells us how her background influenced her career choice, what she liked about the ongoing Venice Biennale curated by Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa—the first Latin American and openly queer curator in the history of the Biennale—about her current trip to Art Basel Hong Kong, and what she is planning with Grisebach Switzerland.
Hint: A first event in collaboration with kurimanzutto will take place ahead of Zurich Art Weekend from 5th-7th June.