An article on Bloomberg.com reports that collector and billionaire Leon Black is in talks to purchase Artspace through Phaidon Press, the publishing company he bought in 2012. Artspace has been in the news recently for its lower-than-expected sales figures, especially compared to its early success in fundraising. Previous reports indicated that the online auction site Auctionata was a prime contender to acquire Artspace but the Bloomberg article suggests that a deal between Black’s Phaidon Press and Artspace could be signed by the end of the week.  (more…)

A Bloomberg article investigates the lack of transparency in online auctions. The impetus for the report is a recent Paddle8 online auction, which featured 20 works of money-themed art, including a piece by Andy Warhol. After the auction was over and  65 percent of the lots were left unsold, Paddle8 pulled the estimates and bids from the website, opening up the possibility to put the artworks into another auction with no record of their failure to sell. This opacity has become common as more websites and auction houses engage in online auctions, a possible indication that these progressive methods are less than successful. (more…)