Barbara Kruger says it all at Frieze NY
It was once a risky business for an artist to pass critical comment on the state of their own industry and its economy. But Barbara Kruger ain’t afraid of the big bad wolf that is the art world. Her recent work-cum-potent propaganda, on show at the first Frieze Art Fair in New York this Spring, definitely caught the attention of many.
The Art Newspaper recently reported that $2billion worth of art had been brought into the Big Apple for the art fair, which suggests that the current art market is mirroring the financial activities of the mid-2000s. (For the full article, click here.) For a quick summary, continue reading.
'Too big to fail' by Barbara Kruger
Artist, curator and critic, Robert Storr acknowledges that the art market is divided by two very different types of people: die-hard art lovers and investment buyers. A complementary mix they seem to be though, for the art market is very much alive and well – and still expanding. The number of people buying art for investment is increasing, and just like the slash slash generation, some art lovers try their hand at being art investors. Storr says, “there are so many people involved right now that it is beginning to mimic the investment banks in seeming like it is ‘too big to fail.’” Although if one market can crash, so can another.
Image from the Art Newspaper.