[intro]This Dealer Doesn’t See the Tragedy in the Art World’s Contraction[/intro]

The  number of articles currently circulating about the demise of New York’s  Contemporary market amazes me.  Art market writers are shocked by the  number of ‘Cutting Edge’ Contemporary galleries that are closing and Charlie Finch, in his recent piece on ArtNet titled Will Collector’s Step Forward?,  came up with an idea that made me say: What!?

Mr.  Finch proposed the following in order to save the New York market:

There  are many collectors who still have cash and who are not dependent on selling  their collections to keep the wolf from the door. What is needed is for these  fortunate folks to step forward publicly in a new kind of alliance which will  target struggling galleries and artists for rescue. High-profile collector-curated shows of work that they already own, in which these collectors  would publicly sell desirable work at a loss, subsidizing dealers and even  giving a resale percentage to the artists who created the work, would be an  excellent start.

WOW  … an art dealer/artist bailout package supported by people who bought into the  crazy hype in the first place — how nice!   Look, the Contemporary art world does not need private individuals to save it, what  it does need is a cleansing … and right now this  particular segment is getting a much needed high  colonic.

During every  art market boom cycle we see numerous people jump on the ‘art dealer band  wagon’.  They think it is easy money: rent a space, paint the walls white,  hire some staff and get some art.  And when the money is flowing, and the  hype is going, most of them can make a go of it.  The real problem is  that many of these people had no business being in the art world — and most had no idea what makes a work of art good or bad. Not to mention that some of  the artists they represented had no business being in the market.

Now  people should cry for them?  Sorry, but I am not one of those people.

The  cleansing of the Contemporary art market is here and was long  overdue. I do feel bad for some of the good galleries that will be  swept away, along with most of the artists since they were just pawns  in an art world chess game … many being used by these so-called ‘art dealers’ to make a quick buck.  Those artists who have the talent will be picked up by more established galleries … the others will have to wait  until the next boom arrives; and we all know that will  happen. It  is time that buyers stop listening to the hype and start using their eyes and  brains.  So many people bought works by artists with little ‘real’ talent because they were told it was the thing to do; those people are now feeling the pain — at least from a financial perspective.  However, those buyers who bought because they loved the piece (not strictly  for financial gain) will continue to cherish their art even if, for  the time being, its value has decreased.

-Howard L. Rehs