Ranking contemporary art galleries: a sociological attempt from french case

Resumo

Contemporary art galleries remain little known partly because the very definition of contemporary art makes it difficult to delimit their population. In order to bring more light on contemporary art galleries in France, we decided not only to try and define their population, but also to rank them. For this and in order to objectivize the various positions, we gathered information on all art galleries concerning: (i) such factors as their locations, participation to art fairs and recognition by public institutions, but (ii) also considering their rosters. The analysis
shows a general link between the two. It also unveils a strong hierarchy between contemporary art galleries in France with a very significant presence of galleries of foreign origin in the first ranks, as a direct consequence of the high degree of internationalization of the art market.