"FOMO ist kein Geschäftsmodell"
Marc Spiegler, former Global Director of Art Basel, argues in a New York Times guest essay that the gallery system is in structural crisis. He cites recent cutbacks at Pace Gallery and quotes its CEO Marc Glimcher calling the current model 'not repairable.' Spiegler blames an imbalance between an expanded art world and a stagnant market, with galleries forced to fund more fairs, biennials, and museum shows while too few new collectors emerge. He criticizes the industry for marketing art as an asset class, attracting speculators and deterring genuine collectors. Separately, a hacker stole around 7,200 unsold NFT certificates of Gustav Klimt's 'Der Kuss' from the Belvedere in Vienna, causing theoretical damages of over €13 million, though the museum deactivated the NFTs and halted sales. Additionally, a suspected scam targeting young artists offered fake residency stipends in Georgia via the Instagram account 'Abstract Magazine,' demanding a $25 processing fee.
Spiegler's critique matters because it comes from a leading voice in the global art fair ecosystem, signaling that even major galleries are struggling with overexpansion and market saturation. His call for regional focus and relationship-building over global growth reflects a broader reckoning in the art market. The Belvedere NFT theft highlights the ongoing volatility and security risks of digital art assets, while the residency scam underscores how vulnerable emerging artists are to exploitation in an increasingly digital and unregulated art world.