At the press conference for the 42nd edition Art Brussels fair (April 23–26), director Nele Verhaeren was refreshingly straightforward. “We’re not going to hide it,” she said, referring to the event’s smaller numbers: 138 participating galleries, or 26 fewer than last year. The downsizing has meant a shift toward a “quality-first” approach, per organizers, who framed the current edition as an opportunity to create a different kind of art-fair experience that allows for both seeing a lot of art, but also taking it slower. Art Brussels “embraces a clear shift this year towards more focused, legible fairs in which the quality of the experience prevails over quantity,” according to a pre-fair press release. The reduction in exhibitors by 15 percent also meant that all the fair’s exhibitor booths could now fit in one hall of the Brussels Expo instead of 1.5 halls as it had in previous years. With mounting operational costs and ongoing geopolitical and economic tensions straining dealers, “galleries need to think twice about which fairs they want do to,” Verhaeren said. “Art …