Hilde Lynn Helphenstein satirises the excesses of art market behemoths through her @jerrygogosian Instagram account. Photo: Sotheby's
Instagram has a prominent place in the art market.
The social network's algorithms can significantly increase the visibility of certain artists among both the general public and industry professionals. That's why Sotheby's has decided to leverage them for one of its upcoming sales.
The sale in question is titled "Jerry Gogosian’s Suggested Followers: How The Algorithm Is Always Right." It is curated by Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the gallerist and exhibition organiser behind one of the most caustic - and influential - Instagram accounts in the art world.
The name @jerrygogosian references the American art critic, Jerry Saltz, and the king of art dealers, Larry Gagosian. It's the Instagram account of an art world avatar that mocks the excesses of the market's behemoths, especially the multi-millionaire artists and the powerful galleries that represent them.
This parody account has managed to build an audience of over 112,000 followers since its launch in 2019. Its success is, in part, due to the social network's discreet algorithms that recommend to art lovers accounts that they might like, as well as the social network's "Explore" page.
These same technologies also allowed Helphenstein to discover some artists whose works she selected for the "Jerry Gogosian's Suggested Followers" sale. Among them feature the American artists Gigi Rose Gray and William Buchina, the South Korean artist Ho Jae Kim, and the American-Japanese artist Megumi Shauna Arai.
"Think about how most people find art these days. It’s usually through Instagram: finding you like one artist and then suggesting you eight others in a similar vein. The further you go, the larger the web of artists becomes, and suddenly you’re intimately aware of their practice," said Helphenstein, writing as Jerry Gogosian.
The "Jerry Gogosian's Suggested Followers" sale is structured around some 20 works. They are being on auctioned on the Sotheby's Buy Now platform.
"Because 'the algorithm is always right,' it suggests artists likely to come to prominence in the near future. This collection represents the art of today, embodying unique perspectives and freshness," the auction house says.
Art lovers interested in viewing the artworks in the "Jerry Gogosian's Suggested Followers: How The Algorithm Is Always Right" sale will be able to see them at Sotheby's New York galleries from Sept 24 through Oct 3. - AFP
