The practice of Art Flipping, carried out by small groups of speculative collectors, becomes a real nightmare for the art market, whose protagonists witness the swelling of the prices of an artist, often emerging, to have immediate gains.

The phenomenon of flipping, which finds fertile ground in private sales and auctions, is brought to the limits of speculative investment to maximize the profits of a sale that takes place in the shortest possible time.

In this way the art flipping ignores the rules, albeit poorly defined, of the art market, creating considerable damage to the artist, the gallery owner and the passionate collector.

Among the first damages for the artist, not adequately supported by institutional validations such as exhibitions, museums, auction passes and publications, the creation of a speculative bubble caused by the dizzying increase in the economic value of the work and, consequently, its quotes, thus risking the risk of compromising one’s career.

Art Flipping thus becomes a phenomenon that puts the entire art market at risk, so much so that gallery owners create and share an art flippers blacklist among the art players.

Among these, it would seem that the name of Stefan Simchowitz, a collector described by the New York Times as “The patron Satan of the World of Art”, is open-minded enough to avoid too many scruples to bypass the work of the galleries to become gatekeepers of young artists unprepared by implementing pinball strategies as experienced also tells the expert Georgina Adam in her latest book “Dark Side of the Boom”. 

But in the network of art flipping also the careers of the most established artists end, who have to deal with this thankless phenomenon. Among these Banksy, the most famous street artist in the world who, on the occasion of the opening of his latest online gallery “The Gross Domestic Product”, decided to release the Certificates of Authenticity after two years from the purchase, to prevent the works are placed on the market even before they are received.

Several major art dealers have recently highlighted that the number of people who instantly resell works of art has never been higher, which makes a lot of sense: the art market is the ideal environment to launch a product. It is much easier, having the necessary liquidity, to buy art and get a quick profit between the purchase and resale price.

So a phenomenon that represents a danger for the entire art system and its professionals, a game that operators just don’t like.

And you, did you know art flipping?