From Auction Week to Art Basel, What’s Happening in the Art Market

Podcast

The Artsy Podcast, No. 79: From Auction Week to Art Basel, What’s Happening in the Art Market

Artsy Editors

Jun 6, 2018 12:38 pm

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On this episode, we take stock of the state of the art market. May was a frenzied month for the industry, with the Rockefeller and New York auctions providing key litmus tests about the health of the market. There were some objectively massive sales, including works by

Picasso

and

Modigliani

. But with big ticket works selling, why didn’t the action on the salesroom floor feel exciting? And what does that tell us about the role that expectations play when it comes to the art market?

We also get a firsthand account of the sale that did electrify the art world: the $21.1 million auction of

Kerry James Marshall

’s Past Times at Sotheby’s. Finally, we look ahead to Art Basel in Basel, which opens to VIPs on June 12th.

This podcast is hosted by Artsy Associate Editor Isaac Kaplan, joined for this edition by Executive Editor Alexander Forbes, Senior Reporter Nate Freeman, and Art Market Editor Anna Louie Sussman. This episode was produced by Louis Sansano with assistance from Surya Tubach.

Outro music: “Something Elated” by Broke For Free

Advertising music: “Wild Ones” by Jahzzar

Cover image: Auction at Sotheby’s New York, May 16, 2018. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.