Art mogul Larry Gagosian granted a lengthy interview to The Wall Street Journal's Kelly Crow, discussing the ups and downs of the global art market and his newest gallery in northern Paris.
Crow asked Gagosian about how the Euro crisis was affecting contemporary art sales in Europe, and he was upbeat, even about his gallery in Athens.
He said:
It's almost become a badge of honor that we have a gallery in Greece. We keep the price points in Athens lower—under $1 million—and we maintain relationships with collectors there who want to sell things. It's our smallest gallery, but I'm going to keep it.
Gagosian was also optimistic about contemporary art sales in emerging markets like Hong Kong, where he's looking for a larger space, and Rio de Janeiro, where his gallery hit a "home run" at a recent art fair.
There's just one emerging market he won't touch: India.
Why?
Gagosian explained:
We have some Indian collectors who buy from us in London, but we're not really selling to collectors in India. Maybe we're not approaching it the right way, or maybe we don't have the relationships. Usually when the business is there and the appetite for collecting is there, it trickles up. It's not happening yet. India remains focused on its local art, and its museums aren't showing international art often enough.
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