Kendra Jayne Patrick's booth was buzzing at Art Basel on Tuesday during the V.I.P. opening as visitors crowded in to admire - and consider buying - pieces by the tapestry artist Qualeasha Wood, whose work is currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In the past, Patrick would not have been eligible to participate in the fair, because her New York gallery has no permanent physical space. But over the past year, Art Basel changed its admission requirements and made a concerted effort to invite previously marginalized galleries to apply.
" We wanted to lower the obstacles to entry - not garound quality, but around how long you had to be in business and what the nature of your business is," said Marc Spiegler, Art Basel's global director. "These galleries have enough hurdles without our having these regulation, which are outdated."
