Nathaniel Kahn's Documentary 'The Price of Everything' Examines Art Market's Commodification

Nathaniel Kahn's documentary 'The Price of Everything,' currently available on HBO, explores the complex relationship between art and money without assigning blame for the market's evolution. The film features interviews with diverse art world figures including artists Jeff Koons and Larry Poons, curator Paul Schimmel, and Sotheby's Executive Vice President Amy Cappellazzo. These conversations reveal a business-oriented language that often reduces artistic discourse to banal rhetoric. A significant historical reference point emerges from the early 1980s, when substantial financial investment began transforming contemporary art into a full-fledged commodities industry. The documentary captures ironic moments, such as painter Gerhard Richter expressing discomfort when his paintings reach prices equivalent to houses. Kahn's cinematic approach avoids definitive conclusions, instead presenting open-ended dialogues that reflect the art world's current state. The film includes footage of Larry Poons' studio preparations for a forthcoming retrospective of his densely chromatic poured paintings. While some viewers find the content substantial yet depressing, the documentary maintains a neutral directorial perspective throughout its examination of auction houses, collectors, and promotional strategies.