The art market is the system in which artworks circulate and where their prices, legitimacy, and cultural value are formed. In the provided context, it is discussed mainly through the friction between traditional art institutions and newer practices such as digital art, generative media, and NFT-based works. Commercial galleries and museums are described as often lagging behind the reception of technologically advanced works, while taxonomy and classification remain fluid. As a result, works that depend on new media can be difficult to place within established market categories.
Kevin Abosch’s practice is presented as a critical example of how the art market produces value. In works such as Potato #345, a potato is photographed with the same lighting, black background, and technical precision used for portraits of powerful figures and celebrities. Once the artist’s signature is attached, the ordinary root vegetable is transformed into a symbol associated with extreme monetary value. The work is not simply an expensive photograph; it functions as a self-referential device that exposes the aura, status, and myth of value created by market culture. The reactions it provokes—questions of whether it is real or fake, and whether it counts as art—are themselves part of the work’s critical operation. In this sense, the art market is not only a place of exchange, but also a site where meaning, authenticity, classification, and value are negotiated.