Gallery brand impact on artist name recognition: Evidence from Russia

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of the gallery brand on artist name recognition in the contemporary art market in Russia. The authors first discuss theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of branding in the art market, as well as private gallery brand formation, and offer a brief description of the art market structure, specifying the features of branding in this sphere. Then they present and discuss the empirical data obtained by means of semi-structured expert interviews and online survey conducted in 2024. The main findings from expert interviews show that gallery brand formation is an important part of artist promotion and art industry development. The used questionnaire consists of both questions based on the relevant literature, and questions elaborated by authors based on the insights gained from interviews. The analysis of survey results leads to the conclusion that gallery brand has a positive effect on artist recognition, and setting a higher price for his works; the main functions of a contemporary art gallery include promoting the artist, selling works of art, and developing contemporary art.