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Selling initiatives
Independent curator Jeni Walwin looks at issues relating to selling work and examines a number of different ways that artists can engage with the art world on a commercial basis.
Commercial galleries in the UK, particularly in London, have experienced unprecedented expansion over the last ten years. In addition to their original showrooms, many have opened new, exquisitely designed spaces in Mayfair and have presented concurrent exhibitions in each gallery. The burgeoning art market has been influenced by so many factors, not least of which was the emergence of a new breed of UK collectors, spurred on by city bonuses, the popularity of Tate Modern, the success of Frieze and Zoo Art Fairs, and the increasingly high media profile of a number of British artists. International collectors now view London as the hotbed of visual art activity. Thirty years ago the contemporary visual arts were regarded with some disdain by the majority of the British public. Anyone involved in the scene was considered rather quaint and eccentric and apart from occasional columns in the review pages of the broadsheets, media coverage was generally tabloid and negative. Opportunities to buy work were scarce, with only a handful of commercial galleries centred around Cork Street and there were very few private collectors in the UK. By contrast contemporary art is now high fashion;...
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