Konstsamlares agerande
Until recently, the art market has expanded for several consecutive years. The primary art market is characterized by an unclear pricing mechanism and an infinite as well as limited supply. Previous business studies have so far primarily focused either on art as an investment or on the gallery?s activities. This thesis takes an explorative approach and aims to shed a light on the art collector?s behavior on the Swedish market for contemporary art. By interviewing eleven Swedish collectors this study examines what premises there are in the relationship between the collector and the gallery, and how these premises impact on the collectors? activities. In order to complete the picture of the Swedish contemporary market, four galleries, one art market manager, and one art museum manager have also been interviewed. The results reveal that three distinct premises apply to the contemporary art market. (1) The gallery?s exclusivity, (2) the genuine contract and (3) the hierarchical distinction. If the genuine contract is broken the collector will lose its possibility to obtain high-demand art in the future. Further, the galleries apply hierarchical distinction when selling art, where institutions and collectors are ranked according to their symbolic capital and their individual relationship to the gallery. From the three premises, the collectors try to (1) signal trust,(2) increase symbolic capital and (3)create a debt of gratitude. The collectors also engage in the art market out of motives that are not directly connected to their possibility to purchase art in high demand, but their activities nonetheless affect their position in the hierarchical system applied by the galleries.