In no way is the worst over in the art economy or the wider global financial world. Beware that next year should be at least as equally excruciating as the past 12 months. The stock market, gold and oil will test their lows in the coming year, the same with Richard Prince, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
In a sense, its not surprising that so few art galleries have gone out of business or worse, declared (or been declared) bankrupt. Part of the reason is that many gallery buildings are owned by the proprietors and don’t face ongoing rent obligations and more so, dealers are as resilient as cockroaches and certainly not (solely) in it for the money as there are far easier routes to take for that task. Believe me. But, as sure as another spot painting will be dated 2010, there will be a fresh slate of gallery closings throughout the upcoming season.
Will we be faced with better art as a result of all the present upheaval? What is certain is that there is better value across the board; I had no interest in paying historic prices for artists with no history. Nowadays, 30-40% discount is the new 10%. For the first time in nearly two decades the balance of power has shifted to the collector in a way not seen since the market nearly evaporated during the early to mid-90’s. I also think better art will result simply due to the fact that the diamond skull was nothing more than a glittering mirror held up to our times, and personally I’d rather non-economics based art content; so if it takes a mega-recession to bring about art based on something other than it’s costs, so be it. The world feels fresher seen through eyes not clouded by rampant consumer fetishism, as we all seemed to suffer from when caught with our pants down at the onset of the crisis.
We have all had a cleansing by default, a baptism not of our own choosing. The violent economic whiplash was a slap in the face and a stern reminder that there are repercussions from excessive and obsessive pursuits, and accountability can be sobering. But there is a resulting democratizing in the fact that proportionately, almost everyone has lost something (except for a few hedge funders). And now that time is no longer money, there seems to be a lot more of it for soul searching.
Will galleries be as global as multinationals? The fact that you can add a few more Go Go’s to Gogosian’s ever-expanding international base of operations is primarily a phenomenon of one. There really is no one in his rear view mirror…yet. But this is mainly a reflection of how swiftly people get around to track down the art they are after, which in turn is part of the process collectors have grown to love—trotting off to biennials and fairs (though fairs less so of late). So in effect, it truly is a global art market. After so many years of lip service as to how interconnected the world was becoming, well, it has finally happened.
Wonderful art activities do seem to emanate from adversity when people appear to come out of the woodwork to industriously present exhibits and make work, so there rarely are any real lulls or stoppages. Slowdowns yes, but the tops, middles and bottoms are largely as before it’s just that now all involved are selling less for less. Artists don’t really fix anything, they are more like sieves, filtering nuggets out of the vastness of our endlessly expanding and ever changing (info) universe and then rubbing our faces in it.
In the coming years there should be a lot fewer art fairs that will result in a realignment and retrenchment of the surviving events; in the process, some will go by the wayside. Which is a good thing. A medium sized booth (a must for displaying sculpture and design) ends up costing upwards of $100,000, including crating, shipping, travel, installation technicians, hotel and assistants. At this stage of the game, with little or no business to be done, people are growing tired of spending $100,000 to make new friends.
Which all makes it quite difficult for the status quo to remain intact. Advertising is an obvious area for cutbacks and artists and designers are beginning to express some malcontent about the somewhat dire situation. “What can you do for me next? If its not you, surely someone else will step in with the means and inclination”. Adverts though are seen more as a bonbon, a nice treat but not a meal or effective sales tool. Artists always complain about participating in fairs until you stop doing them. Then they really complain.
Kenny Schachter