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Rise and Fall of the Titans

Rise and Fall of the Titans
by: Gabriel Diego Delgado

In recent times, the rise of the international art fairs has dominated the art markets. The pull for collectors and buyers to one location that in some cases houses over 200 art galleries is too much of a temptation. Why wouldn’t it make sense to go to these events, see the “cream of the crème” and meet the high caliber artists who are making guest appearances like some kind of art rock starts at the art booths that showcase their artwork?  

Nationally, it used to be just the signature fairs in New York and California, with the who’s who of the art work present, but over the last 10 to 15 years the numbers have increased steadfast with some estimates tallying over 250 annual art fairs internationally.

Now let’s take in to account the people trekking to all these events trying to purchase the artists riding waves of trending prices and buzzworthy notations. Major collectors have woe stories of always on the go, planning that next art fair, scheduling vacations around art fairs dates etc. etc.  However, the exhausted accounts are reflective of an ever increasing jet lagged patron, crisscrossing the globe to see and be seen at these at these events. Flying and buying, more crowds and higher prices are making some collectors second guess these decisions to attend these kind of happenings.  Galleries see this push back and are talking to their clients to get a bigger picture on ever increasing unsatisfactory experiences.   Resurrect the role of the galleries, with buyers again choosing to stay close to home.

 A reinforcement of a cyclical trend we see as the gallerist play a role in sales decisions as consultants. Major collectors are beginning to feel burned out in the quest to buy the latest and greatest artist at these art fairs and are relying on the gallery dealer to make recommendations and acquire the pieces to be viewed in the gallery, not some international location where overhead is high and patients are waning.

Art Dealers and Gallerists used to be considered a middle man, to be kept at arm’s length with a sales driven mentality with sustainability always in the lurches as rent and bills had to be paid. However, that concept has begun to change as the rules of the game have begun to change. Yes, as in any retail business, products do need to be sold, and money made, but with the rise of so many galleries going out of business, only the strong ones stay to sell art another day. For the consumer, this means that those people who are running those galleries are the educated, scholarly and pedigree art dealers who have somehow weathered the turbulent financial art financial-scape of unpredictability.  They are the ones to be trusted, balancing a sincere interest in careers of artists they represent, accurately reporting and accounting for after-market sustainability and investment and hoping for subsequent generations of art collectors to continue in the art community patronage.

Believe in your local art gallery dealer, and forge a relationship with their staff and owners. In almost every case, they are passion drive individuals who care a lot about their craft and have a heavily vested interest in the arts. Trust their judgement, recommendations, and vision, and continue to buy art whether from an art fair or a gallery.

Selected Upcoming Art Fairs
 
  • Art Miami (Miami, FL)
    December 1 - 6, 2015


By: Gabriel Diego Delgado
Gallery Director, J.R. Mooney Galleries-Boerne

as seen in the July edition of the Boerne Business Monthly July 2015

http://issuu.com/laurenstumberg/docs/july_2015_bbm_online

http://issuu.com/laurenstumberg/docs/july_2015_bbm_online

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