Perhaps the last word on the art market—is it good or evil?—should come from a major art dealer. Speaking to Spiegel Online, Thaddeus Ropac explains his own skepticism toward the market’s enthusiasm and the ways in which a good art dealer is a bulwark against the market’s volatile personality:

When it comes to enthusiasm for art, Paris is at the front of the line. The French are an appreciative audience. When it comes to pure business, and to making money with art, America remains on top. But whether an artist is valued highly on the market still says little about his importance. You can’t take the market too seriously. […] There are these rankings of the supposedly most important artists, and they too say nothing. One can only treat them with amusement. The market is the more extreme form of a ranking. But the records are deceptive, because they only reveal something about fashions and trends. Many outcomes are hard to comprehend.

Top Gallerist Explains Art Market Euphoria (Spiegel Online)