Introduction: When the Market Speaks for Art

In today’s global art market, auctions and art fairs are no longer simply distribution channels or temporary festivities. Auctions reduce art to quantifiable numbers, while art fairs promote the rapid reproduction and immediate consumption of market-friendly works. Empowered by capital, these two forces now dictate not only the market’s direction but also the survival conditions of artists themselves.

As a result, art is no longer the outcome of contemplation and practice—it is redefined as a consumable product with a price tag. Artists, too, are increasingly repositioned not as autonomous creators but as suppliers responding to market demand. This is not merely a shift in the market—it is a fundamental transformation of the very conditions under which art exists.



Auction: Art Reduced to the Language of Capital

On the surface, auctions may appear to offer transparency and fairness through public pricing and competitive bidding. However, in essence, they appropriate artistic value into the logic of the market, reducing an artist’s status to a single metric: the final hammer price.

This shift subordinates the multi-layered nature of artistic value—its aesthetic depth, conceptual inquiry, and social commentary—to that one number. Consequently, auction prices become synonymous with artistic stature.

What makes this system even more problematic is its structural intrusion into the artist’s creative process. Even before producing a work, artists are forced to anticipate the market—considering what format will sell, which subject will attract attention. Creation no longer stems from inner necessity but is shaped by calculated adjustments to market preferences. The artwork becomes a product, and the artist, a business-minded strategist versed in branding and analytics.

Such pressures are especially harsh on emerging artists. While inclusion in auctions may seem like an opportunity, it often leads to premature price formation and high-performance pressure. Their work is often reformatted to be “auction-friendly,” which in turn reduces diversity and experimentation in contemporary art.

Moreover, the auction model transforms the very act of viewing art into an economic transaction. Audiences increasingly focus on potential resale value rather than artistic content, and criticism is often reduced to a tool for validating price. In the end, art is no longer experienced—it is calculated. This irreversible shift rewrites the condition of art in capital’s terms, relegating it to just another item in an asset portfolio.



Art Fair: A System of Overproduction and Repetitive Consumption

Art fairs were once seen as alternative platforms for distribution—bridges between underrepresented artists and new audiences outside the traditional gallery or museum system. But today, they have evolved into a system that pressures artistic production and undermines the very essence of art.
Globally, dozens of art fairs are held every month. In South Korea alone, over 80 art fairs now operate annually across the country. This oversupply compels artists to continuously produce new works, stripping away the time required for conceptual development and experimentation. The compressed exhibition cycle forces artists to prioritize visual impact and production speed over depth or critical reflection—resulting in a decline in quality.

Works optimized for art fairs tend to rely on eye-catching color schemes, repeatable formats, and transport-friendly sizes and materials. These practical considerations flatten artistic diversity and complexity, leading to the mass production of simple, instantly recognizable imagery. In such settings, it is nearly impossible to convey artistic context or philosophy. Depth and interpretation are sacrificed in favor of surface-level visual consumption. Art becomes not something to understand, but something to scan.

More critically, this environment erodes reflection and criticism. The breakneck pace of exhibitions leaves no room for in-depth writing or curatorial thinking. Critics and curators are often excluded or reduced to symbolic roles. Social, philosophical, or historical discourse is displaced from the center of the conversation, as art becomes a product tailored to market taste.

Even the act of viewing art is transformed. Visitors to art fairs are less viewers than shoppers—they scan works with their eyes, take photos, ask for prices, and check availability. This turns the experience of art from something to be slowly digested into something to be instantly consumed, damaging the very foundation of aesthetic experience. Art becomes not a space for reflection, but a showroom for transaction.



Conclusion: Resisting the Aesthetics of Capital

We must acknowledge that auctions and art fairs have become essential infrastructure within the contemporary art world. But we must also confront how these systems erode the essence of art. They sacrifice autonomy, experimentation, and depth. Artists become producers. Artworks become assets. Exhibitions become logistics.

True art demands long-term accumulation. It reflects life, illuminates time, and probes the human condition. These processes do not align with the rotation speed of capital. Art must remain slow. It must embrace uncertainty. It must be allowed to fail, to be misunderstood. But today’s market system permits none of these conditions. This is not just an issue of the art world—it is a threat to the very conditions of human spirit and intellect.

What we need is not more fairs or higher auction prices. We need to restore meaning. We must build systems that value the thought and labor behind art. We must reimagine a market that serves art—not the other way around. And we must recover the unique force of art that cannot be explained in monetary terms.

In the age of artificial intelligence, art may become one of the last remaining public goods of the human spirit. Thus, we must learn to understand art not through pricing, but through meaning and thought. The first step in protecting the human voice is to question and reflect on the distorted structures that surround us.

Art must survive—as a tool for reflecting on the essence of humanity and the conditions of our existence. Its survival will not be secured by capital, but through meta-reflection, critical thinking, and a sincere gaze toward the world.

Jay Jongho Kim graduated from the Department of Art Theory at Hongik University and earned his master's degree in Art Planning from the same university. From 1996 to 2006, he worked as a curator at Gallery Seomi, planning director at CAIS Gallery, head of the curatorial research team at Art Center Nabi, director at Gallery Hyundai, and curator at Gana New York. From 2008 to 2017, he served as the executive director of Doosan Gallery Seoul & New York and Doosan Residency New York, introducing Korean contemporary artists to the local scene in New York. After returning to Korea in 2017, he worked as an art consultant, conducting art education, collection consulting, and various art projects. In 2021, he founded A Project Company and is currently running the platforms K-ARTNOW.COM and K-ARTIST.COM, which aim to promote Korean contemporary art on the global stage.