...Showing paintings on line, is now the main stream for the dissemination of an artists work.
Even though real life exhibitions are still relevant for many artists, and an online presence is essential (if only for the street cred).
There has been a major change in attitude towards painting (as a business) in the last few years. In part, this may be entirely due to the need for the high street galleries to survive the financial crisis, the one that started in earnest in 2009 and is still having an effect today, what with the European war at full throttle causing inflation the cost of living crisis and heat waves, why does contemporary art still bug me?
Today, more than ever, high street galleries need to sell 'more-stuff' and earn extra profit to pay those stupidly high 'business rates' and 'Bank Charges.' Lets be honest and get something obviously clear without bias-arty-farty thinking. Money is as much a part of Art as Art is a part of human activity. Life is short...Art is long.
Paintings sell much quicker than sculpture, and or, those 'cool' avant-garde installations of nonsense that rely on high brow art academics to authenticate the cultural importance of
something that most people wouldn't actually install in their homes (even if they don't say so publicly). The hypocrisy of wanting to seem to love contemporary art full of bull-shit maybe still trendy but it's totally vacuous.
There is of course the usually hefty price tag to consider for that sort of contemporary bull-shit art. The gravy train (as it's known) for museum curators who rub each others ego's and institution bank balances (which are brimming with Lottery money, given out like smarties by ill informed
Departments of Culture ran by politics of all persuasions). Consequently the neo-contemporary 'arty farty' marketplace is tiny compared to the 'popular paintings' art market.
Nonetheless, and speaking frankly, there are only so many landscapes or city nostalgic paintings that anyone can put in their home over the fireplace.
That market will also run dry unless some risk taking by artists and commercial galleries don't buck up their ideas, or insist the artists contribute more to sell the paintings.
The sheer size of the (art) market (because of the www) has outgrown all the 'avant garde stuff' by leaps and bounds, certainly as far as turnover is concerned.
So the www has become the place to set up your stall. Major funded on-line art galleries and some not so well funded independent artists have all had a stab at selling direct to casual art collectors and art lovers of all
