shining a light on the shadowy fine art industry
Rendering of Ohad Meromi, “The Sunbather.” Image credit: Forward.
Earlier this week, DNA Info reported that New York’s City Council had approved a bill that would strengthen the community review hurdle in Gotham’s public art commission process. And ironically, this populist move risks replicating the same conditions that have been undermining visual innovation in blue chip galleries and elite art fair booths for the past several years.
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Jeff Koons x Dom Pérignon, 2003 Rosé with limited edition “Balloon Venus” bottle holder (2013). Image credit: Luxpresso.
During a recent episode of Marion Maneker’s excellent (for wonks like myself, anyway) Artelligence podcast, New York Times art market columnist Scott Reyburn presented an analogy that I thought was worth publicizing and unpacking a bit.
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Deborah Butterfield, “Silver Bow” (2010). Image credit: Purdue University.
While contemporary art’s dominance in today’s market is unquestionable, the reasons behind it are far more debatable and diverse. I’ve written about many of them here on the blog: branded blue chip art’s transformation into a globally recognized status symbol; value-unconscious herd mentality; even plain old arbitrage.
Brand-within-a-brand Loic Gouzer of Christie’s would tell you (through Carol Vogel) that it has to do with the “raw angst” that appeals to “a generation of rich embryonic collectors.” Jerry Saltz and artist Matthew Weinstein would counter that it’s because contemporary art has been saddled, mounted, and ridden into the sunset by pop culture.
But when we search for the motives behind contemporary art’s dominance–especially when it comes to artists still living and working–one that tends to get overlooked is simple but powerful: certainty.
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Klaus Biesenbach selfie. Image credit: Instagram / @klausbiesenbach
In place of the usual blog post this week, I took my maiden voyage on Genius to annotate the most hotly discussed art world article of of the past five days: Christian Viveros-Fauné’s anonymously sourced, would-be takedown of MoMA Chief Curator at Large Klaus Biesenbach, the man primarily responsible for the Icelandic shipwreck that is the Björk retrospective.
You can read my reactions to Viveros-Fauné’s piece here–including the answer to why I picked this title for this post.
Let me know if you think this exercise is interesting. It’s something I could definitely see myself doing more of in the future, but not if it’s a terrible reading experience.
What can the Apple Watch–particularly a $17,000 Edition model–tell us about fine art sales right now?
I started thinking about this question after watching the video embedded above. (Note: You'll have to click through the 'Read more' button to see it if you're just on the general blog page.) It’s a 16-minute presentation by NYU Stern School of Business professor Scott Galloway at this year’s DLD (Digital-Life-Design) Conference. Galloway’s topic is what he calls the Four Horsemen, or the four most dominant companies in digital today: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.
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Jeff Koons with “Antiquity 3” (2011). Image credit: Zimbio.
While I can’t pass a day without at least one moment of paranoia about Twitter’s long term effects on my cerebral wiring, occasionally a legitimate insight springs out of the frantic, schizophrenic way it forces me to process competing streams of information. Yesterday, the sky cracked open and revealed one of those Halley’s Comet flashes.
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Helen Pashgian, “Untitled” (1968). Image credit: MCA San Diego.
For all the bile-spewing and garment-rending over a possible new art market bubble, the froth may have a silver lining, even for the most committed art purists.
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Scott Reeder, “Real Fake” (2013). Image credit: Art Basel.
Beginning next week, London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery will use its exhibition space as the venue for the art world’s most thought-provoking amateur detective investigation. In collaboration with multi-disciplinary artist Doug Fishbone, the museum will open Made In China, a show consisting of 269 of the 270 pieces in the Gallery’s permanent collection–plus one unlabeled fake, commissioned from a Chinese painting “replicator."
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David Lynch, “Snowman 08” (1993). Image credit: Kayne Griffin Corcoran.
Another week, another reminder that the art market is a make-up mirror reflecting the world economy–for better and worse, depending on who (and where) you are.
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Joseph Beuys, “Felt Postcard” (2000). Unlimited edition. Image credit: IMRC.
After lamenting the fact that I haven’t been able to find a free business-centric recap of noteworthy developments in the art industry every week, I decided to start one myself.
For now, each edition of the Gray Market newsletter will round up a handful of relevant articles from across the web on the types of topics I write about here. I’ll frame every link with a quick comment or two of my own to try to advance your thinking. And to insure this stealth convoy of industry awareness lands in your inbox every Sunday night, all you have to do is click through the title of this post (or, alternatively, go here) to complete the sign-up process.
I’ll also be permanently slamming the subscription link onto the site from this point forward. So if you want to marinate on the decision, talk it over with your family, or consult a rabbi/priest/physician before committing, you’ll have plenty of chances to do so. (I’ve added a shiny new “Newsletter” link in the toolbar at the top of the site for easy anytime access, too.)
Thanks as always for reading. Hope to see you all in a “To” field sometime soon.