Abstract: Since the sensational auction sale of Beeple’s Everydays for USD 69 M, the acronym NFT has been on everyone’s lips. One year after, digital artworks attached to these non-fungible tokens are being highly sought after, but also vehemently criticized. New sales platforms and communities have suddenly emerged and question the traditional art market. The frenetic pace of transactions in this field has led to the involvement of robots not only using artificial intelligence to produce art, but also to act as art advisors. Established art market leaders, often characterized by their technological backwardness, are now confronted to this overwhelming phenomenon. Are conventional expertise and mechanisms in crisis? Is it another Tulipomania? If many questions are still open, this presentation aims to give a few insights about this thought-provoking trend. 

Nicolas Galley founded in 2011 and is the director of the Executive Master in Art Market Studies (University of Zurich). He holds a PhD in art history (University of Fribourg, Prof. Victor Stoichita, summa cum laude). He received several grants to pursue his research at the Getty Research Institute and Columbia University (New York, Prof. David Freedberg). After working a few years as an academic assistant, he has been active in the private banking industry. His current research focuses on the history and recent developments of the art market. He is also an independent consultant and expert in this field.