Boom, Michael Shnayerson
Boom, Michael Shnayerson
2 Rating(s)
List: $38.99 | Sale: $27.30
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Boom
Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art

Author: Michael Shnayerson

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Unabridged: 16 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 05/21/2019


Synopsis

The meteoric rise of the largest unregulated financial market in the world -- for contemporary art -- is driven by a few passionate, guileful, and very hard-nosed dealers. They can make and break careers and fortunes

“Shnayerson tackles his subject with gusto, parading a cast of colorful characters and charting how contemporary art went from being a tiny initiates-only part of the market to an international juggernaut.” — Financial Times

The contemporary art market is an international juggernaut, throwing off multimillion-dollar deals. But none of it would happen without the dealers—the tastemakers who back emerging artists and steer them to success.
 
Boom is a revelatory history of how art dealers have created, steered, and manipulated the market for contemporary art. Michael Shnayerson traces the meteoric rise of the most renowned names in contemporary art: Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner, Arne Glimcher, Iwan Wirth. From the early days on 57th Street to the rise of SoHo in the ’60s to the emergence of Chelsea as the hotbed of art galleries, it’s a story of backstabbing, betrayals, fruitful partnerships, and ever larger sums of money.

About Michael Shnayerson

Michael Shnayerson became a contributing editor at Vanity Fair in 1986 and is the author of eight books on a range of nonfiction subjects, including Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art. He lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jonathan on July 03, 2019

Too long and too much detail about the boring minutiae of the business dealings and ups and downs of the big-shot New York art dealers of the post war period. The earlier sections were interesting but too much time on petty gossip - not even good gossip - about mega-dealer Larry Gagosian. I was hopi......more

Goodreads review by Elliot on April 03, 2019

Boom is not only a modern history of the art world, filled with rich details, revealing anecdotes, as compelling told by Shnayerson, but it's also an examination of mass culture and mass consciousness. While reading this book I couldn't help but feel as though the rarefied art world Shnayerson turne......more

Goodreads review by Melissa on March 03, 2019

This is an illustrious book (pun intended) highlighting all of the major players of the contemporary art world. If you have an interest in the art world but are a beginner, this could be an overwhelming but at the same time, provides all of the history for you to get up-to-speed. Schnayerson shares......more

Goodreads review by Lawrence on December 13, 2021

Read on a plane to Miami, ironically on Miami Art Basil weekend (the trip was NOT to go to art Basil). Pretty good analysis of the large dealers and how they engage with the artists they sell. Lots of inside baseballs and it is hard to translate the magic of art onto the page, especially given the b......more

Goodreads review by Natalia on July 08, 2024

This book is exactly what I was looking for - basic course in art galleries history covering major events from the second half of the XX century till pre-covid years. It's well written, structured and insightful. However, for those who are not familiar with the art business at all, the abundance of n......more