having survived both the amsterdam art fair and the kunstrai, i can truly say i’ve had my fair share. for the moment art fairs in general are a necessary disappointment to me. where trade fairs focus on commerce and therefore commercial products or services, the art fair sells only one thing… art. however diverse the selection may be, they present a veritable economic cul-de-sac. no wonder the shows are riddled with snooty over dressed gallery owners imbuing their litany of clients and references. my issues with galleries started long ago but as of late i’ve happily seen artists being much more successful in promoting themselves via social media and such. for one, it’s cheaper for the buyer and therefore more sustainable for the artist. it’s not that i pray for their demise, i’ve met quite a few very handsmome guys in galleries… but the fact remains that it just doesn’t make money and sense. without entering into the democratisation of art debate, i imagine the next of next generation might have the confidence to create a market based on individual choice rather than artificial manupilation. i guess i’ll be scrapped from quite a few opening invite lists for this but i believe the days of art fairs or galleries are numbered.
having said that, the fact that one can view so many representations in one go is still obviously quite convenient even if it’s counter productive.
roos van haaften / francis boeske projects
winde rienstra / wow amsterdam
marian cramer projects
les deux garçons / jaski art gallery
