by Medeia Cohan-Petrolino Head Curator for the University of the Arts London where she runs the University's unique Emerging Artist Programme. Through this innovative scheme, Medeia programmes and curates an eclectic variety of exhibitions in the University's Arts Gallery, manages the University's 600 plus piece collection, advises some of the UK's top collectors through the Artist and Collectors Exchange and runs the University's annual best of the degree show exhibition, Future Map.

During the degree show season, I spend a huge amount of time lecturing about preparing for degree shows, doing one to one pricing advice sessions and generally trying to educate young artists about what to expect next. I’ve realized however that no one is providing young collectors or even more established collectors with an insight into what to expect from emerging artists, what to look out for and why it is the way it is. This week I will explore the secrets of pricing emerging artwork.

Without a doubt the question I get asked most by artists at the beginning of their careers is how to price their work. I assume that for a young collector the number one inquiry would be similar, i.e. ‘Why does this piece cost this much?’ or ‘How does an artist determine their price?’ I will attempt to answer this question as best I can, but there is no universal answer. Artists use many different methods to establish their sale price. It’s very tricky business and many elements have to be considered. The first and most important aspect of pricing is to consider the material costs for the piece - for a painting that would be the canvas and the paint. Obviously for a digital work, sculpture or installation the costs can increase dramatically depending on the materials. If an artist is making an editioned work, (meaning multiple works) then the cost of materials can be spread across each work in the edition.

Many websites and tutors advise that artists give themselves an hourly rate and that they keep track of their time, much like that of a lawyer, but I disagree, as at the early stage of an artist’s career work will take them longer to make and the hourly wage can quickly get out of hand. While I’m not sure about this pricing system, I do believe that an artist’s time and ability to make something does have an important value and must be compensated. I advise that a graduating artist realistically consider what they want for the work, what they would pay for it and what it’s worth to them. I recommend that they research other artists making work in a similar vein to their own, at a similar stage of their career and see what the average price is. In the end, it's all down to what feels right to the artist once they have considered all of the complicated components.

The reason pricing is so tricky is that once an artist has priced their work- it’s priced. And pricing means something. It attaches a value to an otherwise valueless object, giving it a predetermined worth. Once a piece of work is sold that price confirms its market value.

It is to be expected that an artist work will go up in price and value over the duration of their career with each milestone reached (sell out shows, awards, public commissions, etc.) however, if the rise in price happens too quickly, artists can put themselves in jeopardy of pricing out. This means that they have gone up in price too rapidly. It’s important to raise prices gradually in small increments if an artist wishes to keep their patrons buying over the years.

Generally as a rule, experienced collectors don’t often pay over £1,200 for BA work and cap at around £2,000 for MA pieces, dependant on the size, complexity and materials used. There are always exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, this is a good guide price point.

When buying from artists at degree shows or beyond, it’s always a good idea to find out what they’ve achieved thus far. Knowing if they’ve participated in solo and/or group shows are included in private or public collections and what their plans for the future are, will allow you to determine if you’re comfortable with their price and value. When you purchase an art work it’s always nice to feel like the artist has achieved enough to warrant their cost.

Having said all this, I must note, that I strongly believe that if you really love something, than it’s worth every penny no matter what the price is.

by Aoife van Linden Tol Through her original exploration of fine art Aoife van Linden Tol creates work that takes various contextual forms in an artistic practice that spans sculpture, installation site specific art, performance, photography and drawing. With a background in Art and Design at from Central St Martins she a London based artist with an ardent eye for curation as the founder of TANK a south London project space and gallery. She has exhibited internationally and worked on various commissioned shows.

Looking through Baltes impressive catalogue of work, I can see that each of her disciplines has a unique style and has developed independently. For example, her photos have an abstract quality and a love of the banal that opposes the loose gestural and vibrant brushwork of her paintings. Interested in the suburban bourgeois aspect of the houses from her hometown, her series Hamachers Nachbarn (Hamachers Neighbours) epitomised this difference. She reinvents the town with delicious expansions of wall, rendered in glowing, dripping blocks of colour. These contrast in the extreme with her photographs of almost identical locations in grey, white, beige, brown and neat greens of ultra suburbia. Yet the composition is the same, as is the reduction to rigid lines, weight, solidity and emptiness. These buildings are most definitely “the other”, reflecting Baltes' own lack of identity towards the landscape of her upbringing.

Harmachers Nachbarn, 1995

Torerro, 2009

In 2009 Baltes started to pair up some of her photos with small paintings. The combinations of figurative painting with an urban scape photo worked well, giving a context to the characters without having to set them inside it. Like ghosts or illusions that could materialise at anytime. These works mark an important step in shedding the separatist attitude to different mediums she said she had experienced in Germany.

Untitled, 2010

Right now Baltes is going through an intense period of experimentation where she is continuing to weave the many strands of her practice into one. Intuitively Baltes always retains the essence of her previous works while embarking on new ideas. With Untitled, 2010 you can see how the unusual perspectives and hard lines now share the composition with this gentle unfinished figure.

The potential for energy is important for Baltes and, like Fontana, she has started to break out from the surface of painting by cutting and extending the paintings onto the gallery walls and floors, turning them into site specific installations. Baltes states that THERE YOU ARE! (2010) marked a turning point in her recent work, where looking is not only passive but the response to an instruction. It implies that a destination has been reached in the painting. Perhaps this is why Baltes only felt the work was complete once she had spontaneously drawn the finger. “I want the viewer to catch my idea of beauty – hidden in simplicity – in a small gesture, in bright colour, through capturing the essence of an easy idea.” Baltes not only achieves this each step of the way, she makes it look easy by combining simplicity with a sense of humour. Her work is a pleasure to explore and to talk about. Being able to tell collectors and visitors about an artist's practice in depth really opens them up to connecting with the work. It is also key to enabling an honest appraisal of a purchase, from buying something you like on a whim to making a serious investment or becoming a patron..

THERE YOU ARE!, 2010

Maximum investment potential lies in artists like Baltes, who have proved their mastery in many levels and are now reaching an event horizon in terms of value and recognition. If you are interested in collecting emerging artists my advice is to ask questions and find out as much as you can. One of the surprising things is that old works can be just as important as new works.

Finding out what and why is very exciting.

One of the exciting things about being a curator is getting to know the artist's practice. There is much to discover behind the unique language of each artist. Understanding how they think, observing their personality, their history and experience of life, their beliefs, their training, and how all these things translate into artworks, consciously or not. Artists such as Bridget Riley find their style or medium of working and finely explore every nuance; others constantly change and reinvent their practice. Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque invented cubism together, yet the nature of their approach subsequently led them on different paths. Braque fully submerged himself in exploring cubist painting whereas Piscasso constantly swapped disciplines and reworked his style.

Bridget Riley, Catarct 3, 1967

Photograph of Lucio Fontana by Ugo Mulas

Sometimes a specific work can signal important changes in an artist's thinking. Lucio Fontana, cutting the canvas for the first time, presented new consequences in art theory. He not only broke past the 2D surface of the canvas, but also introduced the realisation of a force acting upon the canvas in the consciousness of the viewer. When looking for artists to exhibit (or works to buy) it is important to look at the development throughout their career and not just their latest work. As Medeia Cohan points out, in Navigating Degree Shows / Part II, studio visits are a great way to gain access to more work, as well as giving you a broad view of their back catalogue. Remember, development is not necessarily about age or training, it is about each artist's personal journey. The most important thing is that you connect with and love the work, regardless of any other factors..

I was introduced to German painter Cornelia Baltes' work last November by a colleague. I was struck by the dynamics, well balanced composition, bold colour combinations and very free, expressive yet skilful brushwork. Having done so since she was a child, painting is her predominant discipline, yet her formal training is in Communication Design (Graphic Design) incorporating illustration, collage, photography and digital manipulation. I visited her studio recently and was so impressed with her work, her thinking and her character that I offered her her first solo exhibition in London this coming October. Baltes is a great example of an emerging artist whose work reveals a fascinating progression of which I would like to share a few highlights.

Next week we look at Cornelia Baltes work as a contemporary example of exploring an artist's practice and spotting changes in their work.

by Medeia Cohan-Petrolino Head Curator for the University of the Arts London where she runs the University's unique Emerging Artist Programme. Through this innovative scheme, Medeia programmes and curates an eclectic variety of exhibitions in the University's Arts Gallery, manages the University's 600 plus piece collection, advises some of the UK's top collectors through the Artist and Collectors Exchange and runs the University's annual best of the degree show exhibition, Future Map.

If you’re even considering buying work at the shows make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons. Buying work at such an early stage of an artist’s career means taking a risk; not a terribly expensive one, but a risk nonetheless. One cannot accurately estimate the value of a work at this stage in an artist career, nor can one predict the artists’ future success or potential to increase worth. Buying at degree shows is about supporting emerging artists in their practice and about loving a work. Buying work: - Buying at degree can be a big decision so take your time and don’t get caught up in the race to discover the next hot thing frenzy.

No matter which show you go to this degree show season you are guaranteed to see something that will excite and inspire you. With thousands of works by emerging artists and designers on display throughout London the future of art in Britain is yours for the picking.

Wimbledon BA Fine Art and Sculpture shows are always very strong, but this year I am looking forward to the Camberwell BA Fine Art and Applied Arts shows with great anticipation. Additionally the RA show never disappoints as fewer students means larger more realized exhibitions.

BA shows begin in May and continue until late June at colleges all across the city. MA shows pick up again at the end of August and continue into the early autumn. Check your local art college’s website for exact information or use this link for full college listings: http://www.arts.ac.uk/degree-shows.htm

Every summer degree show season descends upon London with a fervor rivaling Frieze Art Fair and confirming the city’s status as the global epicenter of emerging talent. With upward of 12,000 graduates anxiously unveiling their work to the likes of academics, collectors, galleries and the public, there is no better time to fall in love with art than now.

With everything from fashion and design to fine and applied arts on display it can be completely overwhelming to navigate through the multiple sites and varied opening times. It’s unreasonable to try to get to everything so start by deciding where you interest lie. For the average arts enthusiasts the fine art shows are always a winner and offer a wide selection of work from painting, photography and sculpture to video, installation and performance.

How to prepare yourself: - Before setting out to a degree show be sure check the college’s website and confirmed opening times and location as often shows are not campus or move year to year. - With as many as a hundred students on each course the shows can get hectic. Expect to be on your feet for a long time so dress appropriately and pack light. - Whether your seriously looking to buy something or are just in it for the experience, bring a pad and pen as there will inevitably be something you want to remember, whether an artists name, contact info or pricing.

What to expect: - Remember this is a student show, usually in a college building. The artists are often nervous and the presentation spaces are not white cubes. Readjust your expectations and enjoy the opportunity to see experimentation and innovation at its earliest stage. - Be prepared to spend a minimum of an hour or two at most shows. There is a lot of work to see and feeling rushed won’t help you to enjoy the experience. - Work your way around the shows at a pace that works for you. There’s no need to hang around work you don’t like. - Often students and staff will be on hand and are happy to answer any questions you might have. Don’t be intimidated. This is a great opportunity to find out about the work from the horses mouth. - Consider what your saying about a work and whom you’re saying it in front of as students are often present at their shows.

If you’re even considering buying work at the shows make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons.

This blog will continue next week; discussing buying work at Degree Shows >>

by Natalie Baker Natalie Baker is a London-based editor and writer. She graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Fine Art and now is working at the agence de pensée, White Box Black Box, whose first project is a series of Knowledge Capsules, both printed and digital, conceived for specific individuals or institutions. She recently finished working as Research Assistant to Hans Ulrich Obrist, curator of the Serpentine Gallery but continues to work on specific curatorial and editorial projects.

When information is in constant flux, navigating through it can sometimes mean getting lost. The shape of knowledge has to be reconfigured. The ancient Greeks developed a system of shaping memory, in order to store and navigate knowledge. Mnemonic techniques were employed that concretely imprinted data onto the mind, that could later be visualised and retrieved. This technique formed the basis for an artificial memory that was purposefully shaped, moulded and organised according to the interests and value system of each individual. Usually, an architectural space would have been imagined with a large number of rooms and objects. Information would then be imprinted onto these rooms, and objects, which would essentially become visual catalysts, prompting select sets of data. The shape of memory could never be fixed as knowledge is never fixed. The stored content would be consistently edited, updated and re-organised.

Giulio Camillo, a leading thinker of the 16th Century proposed a utopian vision for a knowledge system with his Theatre of Memory, which transformed the art of memory into a practical means for construction. Various accounts describe the structure as a building, which would allow one or two individuals at a time within its interior. The insides were inscribed with a variety of images, figures, and ornaments. It was full of little boxes arranged in various orders and grades. Camillo hoped that upon entering the theatre, the spectator would be able to discourse on any subject no less fluently than Cicero, as he stands on a stage looking out towards the auditorium where the images are placed among seven pillars or grades. The theatre would give the spectator access to all that they had hoped to store in their mind, negating the need to inscribe and organise information within the mind. Information no longer had to be edited or curated; within the Theatre of Memory spectators would have access to all that they would ever need to know.

Today, Camillo’s universal knowledge system has somewhat been realised albeit randomly and immaterially, with the Internet. We are no longer required to store and shape information; it now exists distinct from us. The digitised system of the Internet is both random and ubiquitous. Without a process of classification and without a contained unit to organise information within, there is a danger of drifting away and getting lost. In order to construct meaning today, it is necessary to build a predetermined route, a narrative. This route or narrative takes the form of a chain. These chains of narrative are skeletons, around which knowledge can be organised in a proliferation of forms; images, interviews, sound, text, video, games. The chain forms the basis from which we relate to and extract knowledge from a random, invisible system.

by Aoife van Linden Tol Through her original exploration of fine art Aoife van Linden Tol creates work that takes various contextual forms in an artistic practice that spans sculpture, installation site specific art, performance, photography and drawing. With a background in Art and Design at from Central St Martins she a London based artist with an ardent eye for curation as the founder of TANK a south London project space and gallery. She has exhibited internationally and worked on various commissioned shows.

I have been collecting books this week in preparation for our next exhibition at Tank. Books in Limbo will be made entirely of books from the Renegade Books reject book skip. While rolling around in the skip, throwing books into the van, loading and unloading it was hard to stay focused on the task at hand. Actually it was impossible not to be drawn in by the interesting titles, graphics of the covers and texture of the old objects. The Use and Abuse of Statistics by W. J. Reichmann caught my eye in particular. Published in 1961 it analyses and explains the reality of statistical claims or presentation in the public realm, especially in advertising. I was delighted to see this book as it is still relevant today and something I am very interested in. Whilst studying my A-levels I used to go to the library (in the days before everyone had internet) and pour over the Annual National Statistic Reports, comparing, checking and putting all kinds of things into perspective.

There is something so finite about representing an idea in numbers. It becomes somehow more factual. Yet our skill at influencing the way information is understood, means the figures can be nothing more than a tool for illusion. The persuasive power of statistics is well understood as the Disraeli quote on the back cover of the book states 'there are three sorts of lie: lies, damned lies, and statistics' I am, perhaps, a bit of a nerd at heart but I find the study and manipulation of all that data fascinating and beautiful and have always wanted to use statistics in my art.

My most recent work Economic Oracle was I suppose my first endeavour in this respect. It was made at the opening night of the exhibition, Carry on Capital at Vincent van scoff Gallery in Bethnal Green. It was the 6th of May, election day and with the economy at the top of the campaign agenda, chose to trace a graph of the Gross Domestic Product, from 1990 to the present day, across the front page of the Financial Times with fuse cord (like that on fireworks). Eighty pins carefully held cord in place, at quarter yearly intervals. Later on when I lit the fuse and as it burned its way up and down a tiny bomb of gunpowder exploded at the start point of the current recession, signaling the collapse of the economy. The fuse was left to scorch its way past the first quarter of 2010, to as yet un-experienced territory on the graph. Unsupported by pins at this point randomly writhed and wriggled, predicting an uncertain future. A comment on the helplessness we feel after being ripped off by the banking system.

One of my favorite pieces in the show is by Gideon Cube-Sherman. He placed a bet with William Hill at 10a.m. 16th Jan 1995 that he would win the Tuner Prize in the next five years. He then produced 100 limited edition prints of the original betting slip, each priced @ £200 thus, when the edition is sold, Gideon would have acquired the sum of £10,000 which is what he would have won from William Hill had he won his bet! This could perhaps be read as a criticism about the expectations of success and failure as an artist. In the invite to participate the curator Vincent Van Scoff stated “I guess the basic premise to a 'Carry On' exhibition is that modern art/life/capitalism/culture is a joke” It may not be the a-gag-a-minute kind of its name sake but certainly a view held by many that the current system needs to change.

Statistics in art are often used in a political context for exactly that purpose. Feminist heroines The Guerrilla Girls have been using statistical information about the art world itself since the late 1985. Their fantastically bold posters highlight the stark realities of sexism and racism in the NY galleries and museums. Unwanted advertising for bad practices with the aim of shaming them into change.

by Aoife van Linden Tol Through her original exploration of fine art Aoife van Linden Tol creates work that takes various contextual forms in an artistic practice that spans sculpture, installation site specific art, performance, photography and drawing. With a background in Art and Design at from Central St Martins she a London based artist with an ardent eye for curation as the founder of TANK a south London project space and gallery. She has exhibited internationally and worked on various commissioned shows.

With everything from ordering groceries to virtual worlds of “experience” such as Second Life at our fingertips, the use of the internet has transformed our processes of research, interaction and selection. The internet not only offers an inexhaustible resource for discovering and buying art from the comfort of our own home through hundreds of on line galleries and thousands of artists sites and artworks, but has dramatically expanded the platform and interface for artistic and curatorial practice, exemplified by artists such as Brooklyn based Eva and Franco Mattes of 0100101110101101.org whose integral use of interactive sites such as You Tube and Second Life mean that their art is not just seen on the net but is alive on it.
Yet what does all this mean for buying art to take home with you or curating a good exhibition in a bricks and mortar gallery space?

Often the first point of visual contact I have with an artists work is via their website, blog or email and with a fairly high turnaround, of one show per month I have found pre selecting artists in this way wonderfully useful and time saving. Although I was a bit cautious at first, feeling too distanced or desensitised to the physical work but by surprise it has led to some very successful shows.

Mathilda Holmquist (click on image for larger high res image)

Interference, a duel show with Mathilda Holmqvist and Aliceson Carter is a fantastic example. I got very excited about Holmqvist's paintings after viewing her portfolio via email and was totally intrigued by Carter's video work featured on her website. I knew, pretty much, straight away that I wanted to show both artists work and that they would provide the perfect contrast and complement to each other. Filled with excitement I immediately contacted the each of them to meet up, see more, talk more and gently introduce the idea for the show at Tank.

Paintings for instance can differ enormously to the photographic impression. Mark Rothko's blocks of colour are fairly non eventful in print yet overwhelmingly and surprisingly powerful in person. I found a similar experience with Maria Marstrand's work at the Artica opening back in September. The printed image did not prepare me for the sheer size, texture, energy and presence her paintings convey.

Mark Rothko (click on image for larger high res image)

Of course abstract qualities are difficult to convey and really come down to the age old discussions of interpretation of art through the photographic medium, which became the dominant form of visual representation since its introduction to the world in the 1839. Susan Sontag, William M Ivins and many other critics, historians and writers have explored the phenomena of photography as a substitute for experience. Art critic Thomas Lawson stated that “The camera, in all its manifestations is our god, dispensing what we mistakenly take to be truth” Yet much of what humans understand about the world, outside of personal experience, has always relied on the dispersion of knowledge through various forms representation, be it painting, drawing photography, literature or even oral language. In essence all forms of communication come with their own set of benefits and limitations, an awareness of which allows for their effective use..

Mathilda Holmquist (click on image for larger high res image)

The photographic image gives you that all important first taste of the work. With good quality pictures you can understand the subject matter, style, colour, composition, spacial dynamics and an impression of the textures. Graffiti, stencilling, illustration, digital drawings and photography generally translate well on the internet especially if you are already familiar with their physical qualities Texture, brush work, pencil weight, scale, quality of line, fine hues, craftsmanship, material quality and presentation quality (frames and joinery) are all difficult to observe from one photo. I look carefully at what information is actually revealed in the picture and any details that I cant see, I check up on with simple questions to the artist or agent or by requesting more detailed images.

Knowing who trust in terms of understanding my particular taste, style, likes and dislikes has also been invaluable to my selection process. I know that there are particular friends, agents, associates, websites and galleries that have impeccable standards and similar interests. All this helps to insure the original will meet or exceed expectations, meaning I can go with my instincts and concentrate on the curatorial aspect of selecting work.