Two realms in confrontation: consensus or discontinuity? An exploratory study on the convergence of critical assessment and market evaluation in the contemporary art system

The article explores the convergence between the market-oriented actions of commercial art galleries and the exhibiting choices in the museum environment. The convergence between museums’ and galleries’ choices not only jeopardizes the traditional hypothesis of independence of the art system but it could also produces a lack of informational balances and speculative behaviors. Specifically, the article studies the convergence between the two realms comparing the diffusion of artists in Art Basel and in a sample of contemporary art museums and centers. Two databases were used: one gathering all the galleries that participated in Art Basel from 2005 to 2012 and the presented artists; a second one collecting information about the exhibitions held in 34 institutions between 2005 and 2013, plus 2 editions of Documenta (2007 and 2012). The main evidences suggest that the curatorial side includes a larger variety of artists (only one-third of the artists exhibited in the selected institutions also participated in Art Basel). Nevertheless, both sides grant higher attention to the same smaller group of artists and orient their preferences in the same direction. Therefore, the contribution reveals, at least in the short term, a set common preferences and expectations, which could engender higher speculative risks.