Judith Benhamou-Huet's Art Business (2) Updated for 2007 Market

Judith Benhamou-Huet has released an expanded edition of her 2001 book 'Art Business (2)', published by Éditions Assouline. The book offers a critical portrait of the art market, highlighting the staggering increase in artwork prices over the past year and the accompanying excesses. It covers phenomena such as Damien Hirst's diamond-encrusted skull priced at $100 million and Wim Delvoye's plan to sell a tattooed man's skin after his death. The work examines buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and artists, scrutinizing advisors, curators, collectors, museums, galleries, media, auction houses, and fairs. A new development noted is that in 2007, collectors have begun selling as well as buying. The book concludes that if irrelevant art sells for colossal sums, it suggests money is trivial, and the auction system of Sotheby's and Christie's has made money seem derisory. The review was written by Anaël Pigeat for artpress.