Cosmoscow’s Director gives his view on the controversy around the modern art market

The art market is currently in a state of crisis, with the prices of contemporary art in freefall

COVID-19 and the resulting economic downturn have certainly had a significant impact on the art market, but the rot had set in long before the pandemic struck. There are no new buyers for all the mediocre art that has flooded the market, and with supply far outstripping demand, the result has been an inevitable collapse in prices.

“There is a lot of very average art out there, and artists are not making a living from their work”, says Margarita Pushkina, the director of Moscow’s Cosmoscow art fair, in an interview with Afisha Daily. “The prices reached a plateau three or four years ago, and now they have started to fall. This year, 90% of Cosmoscow exhibitors have either reduced prices or are offering discounts on their art.”

Contemporary art is increasingly becoming a plaything for the super-rich, while serious work is going unrecognized

The collapse in prices has left many artists on the breadline, and for those starting out, getting a break is becoming more difficult by the day. The problem, Pushkina believes, is a lack of connection between the art market and real life — “the art market is like a computer game that has nothing to do with our reality.”

As a result, contemporary art is increasingly becoming the preserve of the super-rich. Pushkina refers to a recent sale at Christie’s in Paris, where there were no bids on two paintings by Marlene Dumas that failed to reach their reserve price, while Damien Hirst’s spot paintings and Jeff Koons’ stainless steel sculptures sold for tens of millions of euros. “The prices for the Hirst and Koons works were totally crazy,” Pushkina said. “It’s clear that this market is out of control and losing its connection with reality.”

Pushkina believes more needs to be done to support emerging artists, and the art market needs to do more to connect with real life

For Pushkina, the key lies in supporting emerging artists and giving them the opportunity to exhibit their work at established art fairs like Cosmoscow, whose next edition will take place in September. The fair has a number of initiatives in place to support young artists, including the Cosmoscow Foundation Grant, which offers financial assistance to emerging Russian artists, and the Cosmoscow Young Artist Program, which provides free exhibition space to promising artists.

Pushkina’s desire to connect the art market with reality is reflected in the theme of this year’s Cosmoscow fair: “The Future of the Past.” This theme reflects the fair’s focus on the importance of preserving the art of the 20th and 21st centuries for future generations, and its belief that contemporary art should be accessible to everyone, not just the super-rich. “We need to bring art into the lives of ordinary people,” Pushkina said. “We need to make it something that is part of everyday life, not just something that is reserved for the elite.”