The art market and private capital operate on the same underlying logic — identifying value before it's legible to everyone else. I work at the intersection of both.
AUTHOR: ricardodiaque on 6/29/2026 FIRST: D.J. on 6/29 | RECENT: Rishiraj Sethi on 7/17
Comments
I've been trading for a short amount of time Mark, but to answer your question: yes, but with crypto. The conclusion that I arrived at is that gains were made when I was watching the computer all the time, and as soon as I took a day off; losses took place. I do not want to live my life stuck in front of a computer, so I desisted. The long term plan would be to start my own venture, but not leave the workforce all together, again, that lifestyle seems lonely and harsh.
I take the term "Degenerate" from Howard Lindzon, who made (from what I understand) a tracker called the Degenerate Economy, which has outperformed the S&P 500 in the last few months.. It's quite interesting, here's a link: https://www.gothematic.com/index/degencom In terms of the auction houses and their strategies, it's quite interesting, they operate with methodologies which few really understand, I'd guess even people who work there aren't so familiar. Fair point on the single item difference, although I disagree that it must hold its price for linger time frames, since there are artworks that in-themselves are much older than many publicly traded companies. Perhaps the comparison has less to do with time, but with volume of operations. Stocks are traded daily, while artwork sales are far from that. Absolutely agreed on access, and it's double-edged sworded nature in today's world. It's very easy to experience a 10% upswing in minutes, just as it is to experience it towards the opposite direction. Now, your bias sounds something that I'm tempted to be jealous of, since my generation (like you say) doesn't have that luxury. Natural selection is much harsher now a days, but if one manages to capture an upswing and get out on time, perhaps retirement can become possible since a very early age. I've learned to insist on the positives, and be weary of being too pessimistic; it's too easy to notice the negative aspects of the present.
If enough people have a vested interest in something, the value of something can be determined. Your Rothko example can be quite illustrative; in the sense that there is tangible evidence of the US Government (through the pentagon) being invested in the careers of various abstract expressionists including Rothko. Like any relational network, if there is sufficient leverage between players, then it stands to reason that emergence will likely take place – in this case the market of abstract expressionism. Art goes beyond stories, just as stocks do. It's ultimately the ones who get in early who end up benefiting the most. More than one person saying it's "worth" something, there has to be a complex network of interconnected interests.
Hi Mark, The pricing for near perfection is exactly what auction houses in art do with lots, by pricing in the guarantees from clients before the auction even starts. It's somewhat similar to the valuations of a company, where the evaluating party has an interest involved (JP Morgan, and the rest of the banks that helped SPACE X with the IPO). The parallel is interesting, because the macroeconomic impact, of as you said, something that may change society. In a lot of ways, the change is already tacit, only generating profits to tiny parts of society, whilst affecting the rest by proxy. The true effect though is not innovation, but a degenerate economy where investing is mostly understood as betting. More traditional indexes may wait, but surely SPACE X will find itself there soon. The question about TESLA remains though; it's a Stock that to this day is overvalued by all financial standards and still depends on speculation about its future projects and their potential profitabilities. I'm pretty new to this, but it seems everything is changing and the rules are constantly being re-written, not just in terms of regulation, but more importantly, in speed. If one learns to work with that quickness, there may have never been a time with more opportunities to generate wealth. What are the positives that you see?
Hi D.J., Your professor is so right. Art as an asset is notorious for being illiquid, especially on a rainy day. The interesting dynamic which makes owning art more tangible in terms of wealth, is that if a collection is positively valued (one which a bank or an auction house assigns to be worth millions), then people can take out loans with the collection as collateral. Even if an artwork is not liquid in itself, a collection of artworks can produce liquidity through leverage.
I disagree with you there R Quinn, there is something called "Provenance" in art. In a nutshell, it's the transaction history of the past sales of the artwork. There is definitely hype, sure, a similar type of hype that propels a stock with dubious financials to be overvalued.
Hi Mark, you're right that they have something to be checked against, and I agree that Art is a different asset class, though there needs to be more regulation around it so that it can be more comparable to gold. An interesting question remains though; given the financials of Space X, Tesla and other companies of the sort, why is the stock price so inflated? How come regulation was changed in order for new companies to be more quickly accepted into publicly traded markets?
Comments
I've been trading for a short amount of time Mark, but to answer your question: yes, but with crypto. The conclusion that I arrived at is that gains were made when I was watching the computer all the time, and as soon as I took a day off; losses took place. I do not want to live my life stuck in front of a computer, so I desisted. The long term plan would be to start my own venture, but not leave the workforce all together, again, that lifestyle seems lonely and harsh.
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from July 1, 2026
I take the term "Degenerate" from Howard Lindzon, who made (from what I understand) a tracker called the Degenerate Economy, which has outperformed the S&P 500 in the last few months.. It's quite interesting, here's a link: https://www.gothematic.com/index/degencom In terms of the auction houses and their strategies, it's quite interesting, they operate with methodologies which few really understand, I'd guess even people who work there aren't so familiar. Fair point on the single item difference, although I disagree that it must hold its price for linger time frames, since there are artworks that in-themselves are much older than many publicly traded companies. Perhaps the comparison has less to do with time, but with volume of operations. Stocks are traded daily, while artwork sales are far from that. Absolutely agreed on access, and it's double-edged sworded nature in today's world. It's very easy to experience a 10% upswing in minutes, just as it is to experience it towards the opposite direction. Now, your bias sounds something that I'm tempted to be jealous of, since my generation (like you say) doesn't have that luxury. Natural selection is much harsher now a days, but if one manages to capture an upswing and get out on time, perhaps retirement can become possible since a very early age. I've learned to insist on the positives, and be weary of being too pessimistic; it's too easy to notice the negative aspects of the present.
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from June 30, 2026
If enough people have a vested interest in something, the value of something can be determined. Your Rothko example can be quite illustrative; in the sense that there is tangible evidence of the US Government (through the pentagon) being invested in the careers of various abstract expressionists including Rothko. Like any relational network, if there is sufficient leverage between players, then it stands to reason that emergence will likely take place – in this case the market of abstract expressionism. Art goes beyond stories, just as stocks do. It's ultimately the ones who get in early who end up benefiting the most. More than one person saying it's "worth" something, there has to be a complex network of interconnected interests.
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from June 30, 2026
Hi Mark, The pricing for near perfection is exactly what auction houses in art do with lots, by pricing in the guarantees from clients before the auction even starts. It's somewhat similar to the valuations of a company, where the evaluating party has an interest involved (JP Morgan, and the rest of the banks that helped SPACE X with the IPO). The parallel is interesting, because the macroeconomic impact, of as you said, something that may change society. In a lot of ways, the change is already tacit, only generating profits to tiny parts of society, whilst affecting the rest by proxy. The true effect though is not innovation, but a degenerate economy where investing is mostly understood as betting. More traditional indexes may wait, but surely SPACE X will find itself there soon. The question about TESLA remains though; it's a Stock that to this day is overvalued by all financial standards and still depends on speculation about its future projects and their potential profitabilities. I'm pretty new to this, but it seems everything is changing and the rules are constantly being re-written, not just in terms of regulation, but more importantly, in speed. If one learns to work with that quickness, there may have never been a time with more opportunities to generate wealth. What are the positives that you see?
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from June 30, 2026
Hi D.J., Your professor is so right. Art as an asset is notorious for being illiquid, especially on a rainy day. The interesting dynamic which makes owning art more tangible in terms of wealth, is that if a collection is positively valued (one which a bank or an auction house assigns to be worth millions), then people can take out loans with the collection as collateral. Even if an artwork is not liquid in itself, a collection of artworks can produce liquidity through leverage.
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from June 30, 2026
I disagree with you there R Quinn, there is something called "Provenance" in art. In a nutshell, it's the transaction history of the past sales of the artwork. There is definitely hype, sure, a similar type of hype that propels a stock with dubious financials to be overvalued.
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from June 30, 2026
Hi Mark, you're right that they have something to be checked against, and I agree that Art is a different asset class, though there needs to be more regulation around it so that it can be more comparable to gold. An interesting question remains though; given the financials of Space X, Tesla and other companies of the sort, why is the stock price so inflated? How come regulation was changed in order for new companies to be more quickly accepted into publicly traded markets?
Post: Mr Market visits Art Basel
Link to comment from June 30, 2026