Raffaella De Chirico on Mid-Size Gallery Crisis and Survival

In a candid essay published on Artribune, gallerist Raffaella De Chirico of Raffaella De Chirico Arte Contemporanea in Turin diagnoses the collapse of the mid-size gallery system. She argues that the global economic crisis, combined with the rise of social media, has created a market flooded with 58 million self-styled dealers. Auction houses have capitalized on sellers seeking liquidity and buyers hunting bargains, while galleries have abandoned expertise for Instagram hashtags. De Chirico criticizes the obsession with artists' market value ('Will it go up? Will it go down?') and the humiliation of paying thousands for fair booths. She admits galleries are partly responsible, having sent works to auction at low prices, damaging artists' records, and exploiting unpaid interns. However, she proposes a survival strategy: networking with fellow gallerists, sharing collectors, reducing opening hours, letting assistants work from home, and reclaiming the gallery space for genuine dialogue. She advocates for direct communication over Instagram, leveraging years of experience, and organizing events in collectors' homes worldwide. The essay, accompanied by a Polaroid by Andi Kacziba, appears in Artribune Magazine #47.