• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

The Art Reality Distortion Field

The gulf between how the art world operates and how the art press says it operates has never been wider. While journalists cry wolf and fixate on the treatment of artworks as mere financial assets, they are likely missing the point, and the opportunity. As it turns out, it may be a great time to buy.

Yves Klein
Now, with the auction catalogs out, the vast apparatus of art advisors, collectors, and dealers are combing through the day and evening sales for works they believe are must-have additions to a collection. If you have the means, now is a good time to start buying—there’s a lot of good work available at fairs and auctions, often at reasonable prices or prices I think buyers will find quite reasonable in the years to come. Photo: Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
Marion Maneker
November 4, 2025

Join Puck to listen to this article

The art world, like any industry, likes to complain about its own media coverage. In recent weeks, traveling to art fairs and speaking to various market participants, I’ve been getting an earful about articles in a variety of publications. Sometimes the irked reader will forward me the piece via text or WhatsApp. Other times, they’ll pull a story up on their phone and shove it across a dimly lit table in frustration, exasperation, or even vindication.