Lucca ’s Fondazione Ragghianti is inaugurating a new path of cultural insight with a series of meetings entitled The Global Art Market, dedicated to analyzing the economic, social and cultural dynamics that govern the world of modern and contemporary art. The initiative, which will take place at the Complesso di San Micheletto, brings together for the first time in Lucca leading international figures in the field, with the aim of offering the public tools for understanding and reading a complex and constantly changing field.
The program includes three appointments, the first of which will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m., with a talk by Clarice Pecori Giraldi, an internationally renowned art advisor, who will give a lecture entitled “Modern and Contemporary, Emerging Trends, Main Actors.” This will be followed by meetings on Wednesday, Nov. 19, with the participation of Bruno Botticelli, secretary general of the Florence Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato, and Sirio Ortolani, president of the National Association of Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries, and finally the one on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Introducing the cycle will be Alberto Fontana, president of the Ragghianti Foundation, who emphasizes the significance of the initiative as a moment of discussion and knowledge. “We are very pleased,” says Fontana, “to bring for the first time to Lucca illustrious protagonists of the art world such as Clarice Pecori Giraldi. The art market, which is complex and fascinating, profoundly affects the dissemination and appreciation of works and artists, and our institution is committed to guiding the public along this path of insight and awareness. Through this new series of meetings, the Ragghianti Foundation confirms its role as a reference in the cultural scene, offering critical tools and up-to-date knowledge to understand the logics and mechanisms that regulate the art market in our time.”
The inaugural meeting will be dedicated to the modern and contemporary market, with an analysis of emerging trends and the protagonists who are reshaping global balances. Clarice Pecori Giraldi, a leading figure on the international scene, will share with the audience her 40 years of experience gained at the top of major auction houses, from Sotheby’s to Christie’s to her role as regional director for Italy at Phillips, as well as positions in leading cultural institutions such as the Milan Triennale.
In his talk, Pecori Giraldi will offer a path through the history of the art market, from the Impressionist masterpieces of Claude Monet to the contemporary art of Anish Kapoor and Damien Hirst. The aim will be to outline the artistic and economic dynamics that have marked the 20th and 21st centuries, highlighting the relationship between the evolutions of taste, the logic of the market and the transformations of the art system. The conference will offer an in-depth analysis of the major movements that animate the international market, the fairs and galleries that determine its trajectories, up to the new digital platforms and private sales channels, which are increasingly decisive compared to public auctions.
“Today we are witnessing a consolidation of the art market, with sectors in decline and others growing, as well as witnessing an epochal generational transition, elements that have a strong impact in the art sector and its market,” Pecori Giraldi comments. “I think the idea of Fondazione Ragghianti to want to propose moments of sharing with experts in the market is forward-looking and relevant for all people who want to understand more, whether they are collectors or just art lovers.”
A central part of the meeting will be devoted to an often overlooked but decisive aspect: the state of conservation of works, a technical parameter that directly affects their value and circulation. The topic, which is highly topical, is part of a context of profound changes that are redefining the art market worldwide.
According to the most recent industry reports, the market is going through an adjustment phase, with a decline in auction volumes and an evolution in the behavior of collectors and dealers. In recent years, the large auction houses have experienced a reduction in turnover, while the online market has established itself as a stable sales channel. In Italy, digital sales reach as much as seventy percent of the total for certain auction houses, a sign of a structural change in buying behavior. This phenomenon is accompanied by the entry of new collectors, often younger, attracted by more immediate modes of fruition and greater transparency in sales processes.
The result is a market in transformation, where the quality of supply and the credibility of intermediaries assume a central role. Private sales, online platforms and new forms of collecting are redefining the very concept of intermediation, imposing the need for solid skills and in-depth knowledge of the economic, legal and cultural mechanisms that regulate transactions.
The course proposed by the Ragghianti Foundation, which will be articulated in the following months with talks by other leading experts, stems precisely from the need to offer the public orientation tools in a sector that combines economics, culture and aesthetic sensitivity. Subsequent appointments, with Bruno Botticelli and Sirio Ortolani, will delve respectively into the role of galleries and antiques fairs in the Italian market and that of professional associations in the promotion of modern and contemporary art.
Through this cycle, the Ragghianti Foundation continues its commitment to dissemination and cultural education, confirming its vocation as a place for discussion and reflection on the languages of art. The decision to address a complex issue such as the global market represents a sign of openness to an increasingly attentive public eager to understand the mechanisms that determine the visibility and value of works of art.
The project thus aims to make a concrete contribution to the construction of widespread awareness, inviting scholars, collectors, students and ordinary enthusiasts to participate in a path of knowledge that combines economic analysis with the observation of artistic phenomena. At a time when digital technologies, economic crises and cultural changes are redefining the relationship between art and society, the Ragghianti Foundation reaffirms its role as a research and dissemination institution committed to promoting a culture of art based on expertise and participation.
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| Lucca, a series of meetings on the global art market at the Ragghianti Foundation |
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