The 45th edition of Arco Madrid, which runs until Sunday, March 8, opened under an unseasonably cloudy Madrileño sky—an atmospheric departure for a fair more often associated with early spring brightness. Inside IFEMA Madrid, the city’s sprawling exhibition and convention complex, a second surprise awaited.

Despite bringing together 211 galleries from 30 countries, the fair floor did not immediately hum with its usual intensity. At the entrance to the first booths in sight, waiters and waitresses lined up with trays of champagne glasses and pastel de nata, ready to greet collectors and VIPs. But by 10 am, the aisles remained relatively uncrowded and unusually navigable. “It’s kind of empty, which surprises me,” said an exhibitor who asked to remain anonymous. “We have been coming for 20 years to Arco, and this morning proves to be particularly slow.”