After acquiring Artnet and taking it private and procuring a controlling stake in Artsy, Beowolff Capital CEO Andrew Wolff has set his sights on the digital future of the art market and the culture that surrounds it. On the occasion of his inclusion in the Observer’s “Art Power Index,” Wolff talked to the publication in an interview about his plans—over the short and long term—to consolidate access to data while aiming to “amplify” the knowledge of market-makers as well as the artists whose work makes up the industry’s core.
Asked what he sees as the most transformative shift in the art market, Wolff spoke about the move from “static forms of power to a more fluid model of networked authority” and said “our younger generations are skeptical of centralized gatekeepers; they want access, participation, transparency, consistency, objectivity.”
Young collectors, Wolff said, “want to be part of a permissionless network” that could be maintained by interconnected services. “We want to give collectors the power to participate in social networks in order to discover what art they like, what it means to them, how to value it and how to enjoy it with others. And we are providing our business partners with the software operating system that will enable their clients to do so in a safe and transparent ecosystem.”
Wolff spoke of learing about a Chinese artist from Artsy, looking up sales data and reading about him at Artnet, and acquiring a certain level of “comfort” and awareness in the process. But, he said, “In the near future, our technology will allow me to learn more about the background of the artist and the symbolism of the work, watch a video that explains his creation process, connect with other collectors who share similar tastes and sensibilities, and generate predictive insights as to the value of the work in the future.”
Part of that will be by way of A.I. “At Artsy and Artnet, we are building A.I.-native tools and services to create opportunities and solve problems for our partners and clients,” said Wolff, who added, “We embrace A.I. not to reduce the role of human expertise in the art market, but to amplify it. Not to steal the voices of artists, but to allow them to expand their reach.”
Asked to project out from the present, Wolff said, “Five years from now, I’d like collectors to move much more fluidly through discovery, valuation and transaction without noticing where one platform ends and the other begins. Whether that manifests as one unified ecosystem or several connected destinations matters less than the experience itself. For Beowolff, our north star is transparency, liquidity and empowerment across the full art journey, which will matter more and more as today’s young collectors continue to develop their tastes and aspirations.”
Of the wealth of information at his disposal, Wolff said, “Data is a privilege, and it must be governed with objectivity and accountability. As we develop A.I.-native tools, we are focused on using data to inform and empower, not to exploit or steal. Transparency must be balanced with protection.”
He continued: “Collector anonymity, artist ownership of imagery, gallery control of transactional data: these all must remain sacrosanct. The companies that thrive in the next phase of the art world—and frankly in all industries—will be those that combine innovation with trust.”
