Book Discussion: Dark Side of the Boom: The Excesses of the Art Market

Dark Side of the Boom: The Excesses of the Art Market in the Twenty-First Century, by Georgina Adam, scrutinizes the excesses of the 21st-century explosion of the contemporary art market. Buying art as an investment, temptations to forgery and fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering all form part of this story. Drawing on interviews with artists, collectors, lawyers, bankers and convicted forgers, the author charts the voracious commodification of artists and art objects, and art’s position in the clandestine puzzle of the highest echelons of global capital. With discussion leader Kendra Eberts.