Time: October 11, 2010 in Helsinki

Venues: Aalto University and Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki; Åbo Akademi University, Turku

Who wields power in today’s art market? Who will be the next big artist? Who sets the prices? What roles do galleries, museums andauction houses play?



Louise Neri, Director of International Affairs for the world’s largest privately owned international gallery Gagosian in New York, gave her views on these questions. Neri spoke from her own experience about the role the commercial contemporary galleries play on today’s art world and market.



In 2006 Louise Neri joined The Gagosian Gallery, the world’s largest privately owned international art gallery. For ten years before this she was the U.S. Editor of Parkett magazine and also co-curated the 1997 Whitney Biennial and 1998 Sao Paulo Biennial. After moving back to Europe in 2002 she curated exhibition programs and festival programs in London and Frankfurt.



Neri works principally on artist acquisitions, programming of exhibitions and publications, sales, consulting, research and development, and communications.



In Finland she held three lectures on the role that commercial contemporary galleries play in today’s art world and market. In a rapidly changing art world, where the lines between public and private are increasingly blurred, Gagosian has in many ways by-passed and surpassed the power once wielded by major museums and auction houses.



This lecture is organised with the cooperation of the Kiasma Foundation and Hjelt Art Foundation.