Contemporary Art and Its Commercial Markets: A Report on Current Conditions and Future Scenarios

Contributions by Stefano Baia Curioni, Karen van den Berg/Ursula Pasero, Isabelle Graw, Goldin+Senneby, Noah Horowitz, Suhail Malik/Andrea Phillips, Alain Quemin, Olav Velthuis.

Contemporary Art and Its Commercial Markets: A Report on Current Conditions and Future Scenarios maps and analyzes the complex and contested entanglements of contemporary art and its commercial markets. Contemporary art as an asset category and celebrity accessory, the rise of the art fair, and the increased competition of auction houses are among the phenomena which are discussed by academics, theoreticians, and artists. While some of the contributions show how the market’s globalization and commercialization both reflect and propel the way art is produced, presented, and perceived, others downplay the impact of these developments and argue that the market’s structure has essentially remained the same. All the essays trigger the question, what will art look like in 2022, and how will artists operate?

Contemporary Art and Its Commercial Markets is published as part of the curated project Abstract Possible: The Stockholm Synergies, taking place at Tensta konsthall, the Center for Fashion Studies at Stockholm University, and the auction house Bukowskis—all located in Stockholm—at the beginning of 2012.

This is the first publication in an ongoing series co-published by Sternberg Press and Tensta konsthall.

Design by Metahaven.