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Arts & Communication Contemporary Portuguese art market tools

the leading artists of her generation, the international art stakeholders – namely auction houses, gallerists, dealers,
market was slow to recognize her. Rego trained at the Slade artists, collectors, and museums – while turning the
School of Fine Art in London (1952 – 1956) and went spotlight on the connections, and tensions, between global
on to build her career through prestigious galleries (e.g., and local markets. Meanwhile, international reports allow
Marlborough Gallery, Galeria 111, and Victoria Miro). She us to observe a year-on-year analysis of global sales. For
saw the founding of a museum dedicated to her work (the example, the Art Basel/UBS report from 2022 reveals that
Casa das Histórias Paula Rego in Cascais, Portugal), along global art sales in 2022 increased by 3% from the previous
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with significant solo exhibitions at renowned institutions, year to an estimated USD67.8 billion, The report serves
including the National Gallery of London; Tate Britain; as a tool for agents and scholars due to its macro-economic
the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; and the analysis of the state of global art markets. However, when
Serralves Museum, Porto). Considering Rego’s path, one we look closely at the survey’s sample, the unmeasurable
may well ask why the international art market was slow to private transactions of the dealer sales sector indicate
recognize her worth. We posit that she had to contend with the issue of data reliability. The geographical distribution
a lack of infrastructure to support the dissemination of her of the respondents to this report in 2022 comprised 53%
work from her country of origin. Moreover, there may galleries and dealers from Europe, 24% from Asia, and
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also have been marked resistance toward her as a female 16% from North America. These figures demonstrate
artist. 2,3 that this report focused primarily on countries with the
Over the past two decades, scholars and academics highest transaction volumes and concentrations of affluent
across the globe have shown newfound interest in the collectors, specifically, North America, selected European
potential of the art market as an interdisciplinary field. countries, and Asian countries such as China. This falls
The literature on this subject has been prolific, particularly short in contributing to comprehending and evaluating
studies conducted from the perspective of globalization. market behavior in countries beyond this primary axis,
In art markets, globalization can be considered to be particularly those from the Global South or semi-peripheral
the process by which the art world is interconnected on or peripheral regions. The uneven distribution of empirical
a global scale, a phenomenon that assimilates its actors data may result in inconsistent presentations of the data,
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and goes beyond national boundaries to fluidly circulate distorted interpretations, and imprecise conclusions.
works of art. Ultimately, globalization is about cultural Besides prioritizing countries that generated the highest
exchange, diversity, inclusiveness, and multiculturalism. number of transactions, the art market report confirms the
Nevertheless, scholars have highlighted that global hierarchical functioning of the art market, as previously
art markets operate within a hierarchical system of mentioned. The failure of globalization with regard to the
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countries, within a hegemonic structure of institutions for dominance of nations from the Northern Hemisphere
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contemporary art and with a segmented approach. In emphasizes analyses that consider economic indicators
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particular, internal mechanisms exist in the international and hegemonic structures, such as auctions and art fairs,
contemporary art scene that perpetuates the hegemony of and reinforces the invisibility and marginal position of
Western countries. The predominant role of a few countries markets in peripheral regions.
with a greater number of artists recognized by the art The extant literature on markets outside of the main
system, such as the United States and Germany, creates an structures is indeed fragmentary and represents an
illusion of inclusiveness associated with globalization. 7 opportunity for research. This gap represents a chance
Although there is growing academic interest in the to reveal unique, diverse, and dynamic new markets;
interdisciplinary field of global art markets, the literature deconstruct ideas of highly expensive, hierarchical markets;
falls short of adequately addressing the development focus on specific aspects that link the local with the global;
of art markets in emerging economies, countries, and and shine a spotlight on peripheral or semi-peripheral
regions that have historically lacked the infrastructure art markets, as is the case with the Portuguese art market.
to engage with art market development. Studies by We argue that analyzing a semi-peripheral art market
Becker; Moulin; Velthuis and Curioni; Robertson; using the concept of the Global South is an opportunity
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Force; Zarobell; 11,12 Lazzaro, Moureau, and Turpin; to decentralize narratives. The Global North and South
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Archer; Duarte and Pérez-Ibáñez; Chagnon-Burke and classifications traditionally divide countries based on
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Toschi; and the Bloomsbury Art Markets: Protagonist, socioeconomic and geopolitical factors, such as patterns
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Network, Provenance dictionary have provided valuable of wealth, development, influence, and privilege. This
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insights into pathways for internationalization, the classification can, however, oversimplify the complexities
scaling of emerging economies, and dynamics among of countries’ socioeconomic situations or the historical
Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 2 doi: 10.36922/ac.3317