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| Patricia Frischer, Bottomless Budha, Mixed media, 2016 |
When I was running a gallery in London in the mid 70’s, we
put labels on all the work with titles, medium and prices because we were in
the business of selling work to people who came into the gallery because they
were interested in the art on the walls. The gallery specialized in master
drawings from the 20th century. At the time these were underpriced
because the print boom was in full swing and it was more economical to promote
a limited edition of 100 prints than one original drawing. We helped people to
learn about these artists and tried to get them to trust us to introduce them
to some contemporary artist. I put on the first show of Judy Chicago in London.
A show of California artists (now all of note like Sam Francis, Roy de Forest,
Sam Richardson, Joan Brown, William Whiley) traveled to many of the capitols of
Europe with the aid of the American Embassy which actually had a gallery at
that time.
There were galleries, also in the West End, which were
dealing in very high end art both modern and contemporary. Sometimes there were
no labels or prices as they depended on the snobbery of a patron worth cultivating
that would know the artists and his/her worth (mainly his at that time!). This
was before installation or video art was much of a thing in London. These
galleries often made new collectors buy emerging artist before they were
allowed to buy what was presented as a limited number of works by the current
art stars. (for example: David Hockney, Patrick Caulfield, Peter Blake, Andy
Warhol).
Museums were supposed to supply education about the artists
at that time but of course, pricing is never mentioned in those august
institutions. The world of art marketing and art collecting was pretty much shrouded
in mystery. In the late 70’s I wrote a
book on art marketing for artists just to try to help them understand how this
world worked. My hope was that they would not be so frustrated once they knew
the system that existed then. At the highest end, this system pretty much still
exists. But the times have changed dramatically. You can see art on the
internet without having to go to a gallery or an international art fair. The
marketplace is at once more available and more confusing.
In this anything goes world, you have to make your own
aesthetic decisions. This is true not only of the buyers of art, but for the
artists as well. There are gallery owners, private dealers, curators, and art
critics to guide you, but there are so many types of art out there and so many
ways they are being promoted, that you have to hone in on what you like first
to start finding those who might advise you. Here are just a few things I am noticing
now in San Diego:
1. The
rise of the artist curators. A curator finds a point of view and then
gathers artist around a theme, shops the idea to venues and help administer the
relation between the venue and the artist. There are a number of professional
curators but we are also seeing artists step forward and put on shows that will
include their own work as well as others that supports a certain topic. This
might be a one off, or a continuing job for an artist capable of bringing these
skills together.
2. The new
artist rebels. There have always been the bad boys and girls
of art, but previously a gallery dealer would be the buffer between them and
the buyer and would make decisions about how the work was promoted. The artist
might be belligerently pulled out of their own world and paraded on occasion and
that was part of the mystique. The new rebel artist calls all the shots. No
artist statement, no labels, even confusion about art pricing. You can almost hear
them saying, “If you don’t understand my art, it is not for you. Fuck off.” By
nature, these artists are unpredictable, but that is the attraction. The work
is often challenging, even uncomfortable.
3. New generation
of master artists. These artists have been around the block. They
are no longer emerging but are hitting their stride. The work is usually
recognizable and they have shown so often that there is a great deal written
about the work. Prices are more or less established and, with luck, rising.
There is a maturity about the work which might change more slowly or become even
more deeply invested in their style and interests. They have gallery representation,
maybe even in more than one city and/or have connections with many museums.
4. Transitioning
artists. Once defined as emerging artists, I see these artists more
concerned with defining themselves on an ongoing basis. The art world no longer
demands a recognizable style, so these artists can search openly for what mediums
and themes interest them. Their exhibitions might at first look like a number
of different artists are showing. But they are free to explore their interest
in a more holistic way.
So as an art buyer, you can decide if you want a challenge,
if you want something to match the couch, if you want to invest in an artist
with a proven track record, if you want to follow an artist on the journey of
discovery. And this may not be an either/or decision. All of these different
artists can make work of excellence and so one of the main responsibilities you
have is training your eyes to be discerning. This takes time and is your own
journey of discovery.
You can see a series of in depth remote guest interviews with artists from the UCSD 2021/2022 series. The first was Every Ocean Hughes , a transdisciplinary artist and writer.
You can find more information about art collecting on our SmART Collector featured on San Diego Visual Arts Network.
