Connections Among Emerging Art Galleries: New Data and Exploratory Analysis

Studying networks among emerging art galleries in the contemporary art market, it is relevant to see whether it can influence both galleries’ performances and artists’ career. Although there is a fast-growing interest in investigating network effects in the art market, empirical research is needed for emerging art galleries in the contemporary art market. The focus on emerging galleries is due to the evidence that they bear a larger risk of default in a market well-known for its high risk of failure of galleries and artists. By investigating the resilience of small and young galleries, often showing the work of relatively young artists, we aim at shedding a light on the determinants of success in the art market. The objective of this chapter is twofold. First, to present a unique, novel dataset providing information on 47 emerging art galleries located in New York City (US), over the period 2011–2016, and 437 artists in the contemporary art market. Second, to develop an exploratory network analysis that provides a mapping of network interactions among the galleries in our dataset. We document specific artist- and gallery-patterns and well-defined linkages among galleries based on the exchange of artists through joint exhibitions.