Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Bogota Art Fair along with several others (UNFair at the hotel Tequendama and various galleries showcasing local artists). The selection of galleries and artists of both national and international renown was admirable, and the installations, in many cases, thought provoking.
I found myself, however, wondering about the pricing structure and sales histories of many of the artists on exhibit. In short, who determines the prices in the art market? The gallerist? The auction house? The artist himself?
As a former gallery owner and current private art dealer, I believe it´s important to have an objective and trustworthy concept and history of an artist´s portfolio. To my surprise last week, I found that many galleries showed pieces with inflated prices and, seemingly, little justification. Simply put, if you´re about to make an investment of USD $ 70,000.00 on a piece of contemporary artwork, you want to know that it will hold it´s value, both in the short and long term. You want to learn about the artist´s trajectory and where he/she is going. Their CV, so to speak.
“Many stands could not provide convincing information on the “Why?” of the price of their artists´ works. That´s a bit unsettling.”
Alfred Wild
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