UNTOUCHABLE ART: THE RISE OF THE NFT (NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS) AND SPECULATION IN THE ART MARKET

How can something be a work of art when it only exists in cyber-space? The history of high-risk speculation on the art market is a recent phenomenon, driven by profits from investment in contemporary art. Speculation is not new, having a long history in the evolution of culture and in the concept of social status, and art as a luxury good looms large in this history.

To understand why anyone would want to buy an NFT we need to delve into the art market, its actors, institutions and sectors, and how they all play together in the formation of taste, perceived value and consumption. As Oscar Wilde said cryptically, “All art is quite useless” – so why is it so valuable?

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THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER

Ms Vivienne Lawes

I am an art historian, curator, author and journalist with over 25 years’ experience in the art market. I teach at several Higher Education institutions, including the University of the Arts London, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the City & Guilds of London Art School, SOAS (University of London) and Imperial College. In January 2021 I received the Geoffrey Bond Bursary for Art, an annual prize awarded by the Worshipful Company of Educators to an “outstanding educator” nominated by their institution.

My articles, essays and reports have been published in numerous specialist journals, newspapers, catalogues, handbooks and websites, aimed at both the academic and general readership in print and online. The title of my current book project is The Bronze Horse: Themes in Equine Sculpture from Antiquity to the Present Day; in Spring 2021 I will embark on a critique and biography of contemporary Filipino artist Andres Barrioquinto.

Since 2011 I have been Senior UK Consultant to Singapore gallery One East Asia and have co-curated many exhibitions of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art in London and Singapore. I am also Head of Education for the London Asian and African Contemporary Art Fair (founded 2020).

When time allows I lecture as an on-board art historian for cruise lines.