There were two interesting themes that came through in the predictions:
- India is the next China
- Big flashy art is over - small, considered (aka cheaper) pieces are coming back. Sweetly, New York dealer Leigh Conner suggested that with fine artists going back to making fine art, "gallerists will scramble to become sincere about art again."
3 comments:
Given the largely market-driven model that has evolved over the last decade, I would suspect next year's themes depend, at least in part, on which way the election goes.
If Labour retains the reigns we'll see the continued flourishing of artist-run spaces, a wider spread of represented names, and broader feed into the market at post-grad and experimental level.
National gets in we'll see a move to the named artist, as there will be a greater shift in disposable income at the top end of the market, and a potential tapering of resource available for project and experimental work at the entry point.
Mmmm. I got the distinct feeling reading the article that underlying all the "return to connoisseurship" "rejection of statement art" "appreciation for historical art" comments was the unspoken phrase "there's a recession coming on".
Out of interest - how much do you think our public galleries' programming choices are influenced by market trends?
I don't think public programming is too reliant on the marketplace, though obviously hot artists will transcend the public/private division.
Some exceptions where dealer shows have been transplanted with some supplementation (more common at porvincial level), though it's always interesting to play match the solo shows with the dealers. There are some obvious pairings (eg Stark White) and some surprising (City Gallery's fad with Mark Hutchings Gallery artists, for example).
Post a Comment