Young Artists Get Shot at Success, Galleries Fight to Survive
Any successful entrepreneur can tell you that tough markets are fertile ground for future success. If you can carve your piece of the world out now, an upturn later will reward you handsomely.
This sentiment must be on the mind of young British artists – such as Merlin Carpenter. London's contemporary art galleries are starting to show affordable works by newer artists. Far from investing in the future or giving the hopeful a fighting chance, this tactic is seen as a way to develop a near-term revenue stream that will help galleries survive the current financial crisis. Retrospectively, this stopgap measure could be seen as pure genius for the art galleries that discover the next Richard Prince or (blech) Damien Hirst.
Claims of forward thinking, however, will have to remain in the future. For now, dealers and galleries in London are struggling. Allsopp Contemporary shut down an exhibition space, and Yvon Lambert pulled out of London.
The market is searching to find – and exploit – some young blood, and buyers are pressing for discounts. The winners may just be the artists. Those discovered through desperation will define the market in the future.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jenny Apr 15th 2009 5:19PM
Just because you are a young artist doesn't mean that you aren't trying to make a name for yourself in this market. I don't think that your age should be the determinate factor in carving your place in the world. Galleries should be looking at all kinds of artists that are willing to take that cut in their prices, but not too self-deprecating, to make it in this economy. Take artist Malenda Trick (www.malendatrick.com). She is an older, established, self-taught career artist who is still carving her place in this world. She may not be as contemporary and abstract as other artists these days, but she is definitely recreating her self over and over again and taking her piece of the pie.