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mksultra's review against another edition
5.0
A really interesting look at the history of contemporary art focusing on dealers. Books like this always give me glimpses into artists who I had never heard of before, and I am always the better for it. It being a newer book as well really helps- Many of the 'recent' art books I've been reading were published upwards of ten years ago. To have some truly contemporary news was extraordinary.
ellie_outdoors's review against another edition
2.0
This book is a bit like learning algebra. You can’t skim over one chapter and expect to keep up with the remaining information that inevitably faces you.
I wanted to finish this book, I swear. However, I skimmed a bit in the first chapter and I never really got caught up. Yes, I could have gone back and reread everything again, but my heart was not in it.
I have a considerable love for fine artists and fine art in general. With that said, I struggled to connect to the artists, and gallery owners in this book.
It’s a pity because the author researched this information so extensively. Like I said I wanted to like this, but it read like a textbook.
Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.
*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *
I wanted to finish this book, I swear. However, I skimmed a bit in the first chapter and I never really got caught up. Yes, I could have gone back and reread everything again, but my heart was not in it.
I have a considerable love for fine artists and fine art in general. With that said, I struggled to connect to the artists, and gallery owners in this book.
It’s a pity because the author researched this information so extensively. Like I said I wanted to like this, but it read like a textbook.
Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.
*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *
dekdek's review against another edition
4.0
Really good book that goes in depth of contemporary artists and their dealers. However, I was feeling a bit bored with the verbose writing that I didn’t feel interested in the dealers anymore. I wouldn’t recommend this to newcomers to the art world, I felt like the book Seven Days in the Art World is better and accessible alternative to this book. If you know some of the artists and want a more academic approach than this book is for you!
koeniginnen's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.0
Moves very fast through the first couple of decades, with a chapter describing several years at times, only to get a very slow and detailed look into the 2000s, with a chapter for every year. That felt a bit unbalanced. Interesting if you want an overview of the art market, but curiously difficult for amateurs (because of missing context) and experts (because of the lack of depth) to truly appreciate, I think. Went a little too gossip-y at times, giving me details I did not need to know, like how many wives someone had, or that she was "a beautiful blonde" or sth like that, really annoying. Would have loved to get a deeper look into other topics instead, like the effects of the AIDS crisis on the art world, which was mentioned, but never really explained.