Late in my adventures at Art Basel Miami last week, my friends and I followed a recommendation from a dealer to introduce ourselves to the work of a rising painter named David Ostrowski. A few different gallerists were showing Ostrowski in their booths, but only one - Peres Projects in Berlin - had dedicated their entire inventory at the fair to his work. Peres’s sales reps informed us of two interesting tidbits: first, that they were installing a different mini-exhibition of Ostrowski pieces every day of the fair; and second, that all of the pieces they would exhibit throughout the entire week had already been sold before they arrived in Miami.

After we left, the friend of mine least familiar with the art world raised a question that I think most people would ask: What’s the point of paying to travel from Berlin to Miami to mount an exhibition at one of the industry’s most well-known sales engines… only to show a collection of pieces that aren’t for sale?