It was his foolishness and his greed that made Midas wish that everything he touched turned into gold. Barely escaping death by dying of thirst and starvation, he even transformed his daughter into the precious metal. Ultimately, only a bath in the Paktklos river could save him.

Gold and art. At first glance, two completely different things. On closer inspection, however, interesting similarities become apparent. For many buyers and sellers, gold is an object of speculation: they do not buy gold because they need it to produce jewelry, for example, but with the intention or hope of making a profit on a later sale. In addition, some investors see a "safe haven" in buying gold, especially in times of crisis. ”Art and gold - both systems are based on speculation and the capitalist system of supply and demand.

A work of art has in fact (neglecting the material costs) no binding value, as long as there are no interested buyers for it. There is no trading platform for unsaleable works, no minimum price for unsold “paintings”. But what happens if an artwork can gain value and interest only when it's reason to exist is to become an object of speculation and an item to trade.

Is this the end of the artistic idea itself?

Is it the end of a century old paradigm?