Picasso exchanged sketches for everything from meals to accommodation at New York’s Chelsea Hotel, and artists have always been familiar with the ancient practice of bartering. The question is, how much would you give for a piece of art? 30 hours of French tuition? A week in a Scottish Castle? At Art Barter both these things have been previously bartered in exchange for a piece by Tracey Emin and an artwork by Jason Dodge. Other exchanges have included three months of psychotherapy, website design, a gallop on a white horse, precious jewellery and expense paid holidays to exotic locations.
Inspired by the exchange of skills between friends and businesses on sites such as Freecycle, the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert where all is swapped and nothing is sold, and the RCA’s secret postcard auction where all artists were anonymous and thus treated equally, Art Barter launched in Berlin last June and in London last year in November. Featured artists have included Gary Hume, Mat Collishaw, Gavin Turk and Johnnie Shand Kydd.
From tomorrow, Art Barter will be locating itself in New York for four days. Viewers are invited to put in offers for anonymously numbered works: the artists are left to choose which offer they would like to exchange their work for. With the list of artists including Mick Rock, Poppy de Villeneuve and Terence Koh, you could swap yourself a fabulous piece of art.
Text by Lucia Davies
Art Barter NYC takes place at NP Contemporary Art Center, New York from 9 – 12 December.
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