I've got both the (art) degree and background in researching, writing-about and producing art - and can confirm this is very veryvery much the case.
I've produced (sizable) canvases, I've covered Art Basel (in-person) for publications, read and researched tons about : consignments, gallery history, art valuations, businesses, auctions, speculation, high-volume producers and more.
There's a massive money laundering scheme in the art world that is woefully under-reported - but it exists in the same way real-estate is a laundering vehicle - and it's right out in the open. It's also way under-taxed. Any future gains on a work can, with a little savvy, be totally off the books. Capital gains or CGT are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Art is far more fluid and CGT is optional. Even sales taxes from art is sheltered in many states : https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-11-tax-secrets-every-art-collector-needs-to
You can tell how shady art can be when you consider the world of stolen art. Stolen art isn't procured for private James Bond Villain lairs - they're stolen for use as currency in the black market. A 10+ million USD canvas is far easier to use as an exchange item due to it's appreciation and it's portability vs cash or precious metals in the drug world. These works rarely surface not because they've been lost - but because they're in storage and exchanged as a unit of currency itself.
Art is one hell of a racket. And don't get me started on speculation and co-ordinaton among galleries to convert consignments into under the table cash-flow.
It's small wonder that Jeff Koons started as a Wall Street commodities broker before entering into the world of art in the 1980s. You'd think a high-roller on Wall Street with direct connections to Florida (and all that entailed in the late 70s and early 80s) - during the the most cocaine fueled decade - ever (those high rises in Miami were mostly laundering projects) - would have stuck with the market. He played his connections with the financial world as a vehicle for making massive and expensive art right out of the gate.
If you want an easy path to research the art-world and how drenched it is in oddball cash flow - start with Koons. He's a freaking mad-scientist genius in every single aspect of the contemporary art world and took the Wall Street model of creating speculation vehicles and marketing straight to the art-scene. He created the template for artists for decades afterwards to go from obscurity to brand-leadership equity producers for art-speculation and so much more, I'd have to sit here and write for hours to list the impact (and no this isn't a cut and paste - this is all off the top of my head in 13 minutes).
I've got both the (art) degree and background in researching, writing-about and producing art - and can confirm this is very very very much the case.
I've produced (sizable) canvases, I've covered Art Basel (in-person) for publications, read and researched tons about : consignments, gallery history, art valuations, businesses, auctions, speculation, high-volume producers and more.
There's a massive money laundering scheme in the art world that is woefully under-reported - but it exists in the same way real-estate is a laundering vehicle - and it's right out in the open. It's also way under-taxed. Any future gains on a work can, with a little savvy, be totally off the books. Capital gains or CGT are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Art is far more fluid and CGT is optional. Even sales taxes from art is sheltered in many states : https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-11-tax-secrets-every-art-collector-needs-to
You can tell how shady art can be when you consider the world of stolen art. Stolen art isn't procured for private James Bond Villain lairs - they're stolen for use as currency in the black market. A 10+ million USD canvas is far easier to use as an exchange item due to it's appreciation and it's portability vs cash or precious metals in the drug world. These works rarely surface not because they've been lost - but because they're in storage and exchanged as a unit of currency itself.
Art is one hell of a racket. And don't get me started on speculation and co-ordinaton among galleries to convert consignments into under the table cash-flow.
It's small wonder that Jeff Koons started as a Wall Street commodities broker before entering into the world of art in the 1980s. You'd think a high-roller on Wall Street with direct connections to Florida (and all that entailed in the late 70s and early 80s) - during the the most cocaine fueled decade - ever (those high rises in Miami were mostly laundering projects) - would have stuck with the market. He played his connections with the financial world as a vehicle for making massive and expensive art right out of the gate.
If you want an easy path to research the art-world and how drenched it is in oddball cash flow - start with Koons. He's a freaking mad-scientist genius in every single aspect of the contemporary art world and took the Wall Street model of creating speculation vehicles and marketing straight to the art-scene. He created the template for artists for decades afterwards to go from obscurity to brand-leadership equity producers for art-speculation and so much more, I'd have to sit here and write for hours to list the impact (and no this isn't a cut and paste - this is all off the top of my head in 13 minutes).