A New Currency in the Art World
4 April 2016
The recent exhibition at the Chelsea gallery Houses of Mirth introduced a new form of currency to the art world. The gallery was partitioned into a warren of grand hallways with plush, regal carpeting. Along the walls, framed behind glass in the style of a display at a history museum–conservative, in good taste–were what appear to be monetary bills of various denomination. We are told that the paper is water marked and that the physical process of lithography leaves such specific, minute physical traces that counterfeit is essentially impossible.
However, verification of authenticity is formidable as well. In order to sell such an artwork, not only must one produce an extensive documentary trail of provenance but the work must be analyzed by one of two authorized authenticity experts that put the purported original artwork through a series of laboratory tests. Circumventing the usual exclusion from future profit that is hoisted on to the artist, these authenticity experts forward a substantial proportion of their fee to the artist.
The artist said, “I am highly critical of the way that the art market works, but why should my career suffer?”
Review of Piano Piece based upon Reviews of Piano Pieces
The review for this piece writes itself:
[list quotes from the score]
Daniel Fox 