The Groove 217 - When the Thrill Fades: The Problem with Overexposure in Art
Welcome to the 217th issue of The Groove.
I am Maria Brito, an art advisor, curator, and author based in New York City.
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WHEN THE THRILL FADES: THE PROBLEM WITH OVEREXPOSURE IN ART
When I opened my art advisory company in 2009, Instagram didn’t exist, and gallery websites were minimal at best. Back then, I could visit all the Chelsea galleries in one afternoon and tackle the Lower East Side on another. It’s a feat that’s unthinkable today, with more than 350 great-to-decent galleries now spread across Manhattan, also including the Upper East Side and Tribeca.
Fifteen years ago, auction houses would mail an enormous catalogue with hundreds of glossy pages filled with their lots for the season. Sending PDFs with offerings from each of the exhibitions in galleries was unheard of. You’d have to go in person and negotiate with the gallerist face to face or post-visit on the phone. There were no waitlists and no art fairs happening every other week. But now it all travels digitally by text, WhatsApp and email. Adding to all that, the art ecosystem is now a worldwide phenomenon, and any given day I may receive emails with offerings from galleries located in Hong Kong, São Paulo, Helsinki and Mumbai - just to name a few.
I love technology and appreciate how the internet has expanded the art world, making it more accessible and efficient for everyone. However, this expansion has brought unintended consequences: an overexposure of images, a vast sea of increasingly similar artworks, and the meteoric rise of some artists in their 20s and 30s, often accompanied by equally astronomical prices. Many of these artists face immense pressure from the relentless demands of the market and their dealers, leaving little room for creative evolution. Some become complacent, while others simply don’t have the time or space to fully develop their practices.
The Paradox of Instant Access and The Neuroscience of Art Fatigue
Bob Thompson, The Family, 1961, oil on canvas. Thompson is one of the many underrecognized artist whose death at 28 in 1966 cut a brilliant career short. Long considered a “painter’s painter”, far from being overexposed, his work represents a tremendous opportunity for any collector interested in adding something great from a true original. His work sells for a fraction of what 30-to-40 year old artists do.
The art world once thrived on mystery and discovery. Collectors eagerly awaited gallery openings, poured over exhibition catalogues, and traveled miles for the chance to see a piece that sparked their curiosity. Today, we can encounter thousands of artworks with a quick scroll through social media or an inbox full of PDF offerings. While this access has democratized the art world, it has also brought a troubling consequence: overexposure.
What was once rare and exciting now feels familiar, and familiarity breeds boredom. The artists who electrified us five or ten years ago may no longer intrigue us because we’ve seen their works too often, in too many places. Social media amplifies this fatigue, showing us the same images and styles over and over. The result? A loss of excitement, surprise, and emotional connection.
Our brains are wired to seek novelty. When we encounter something new, the reward centers of our brain light up, releasing dopamine, a chemical that makes us feel pleasure and excitement. The first time you see an artist’s work, your brain rewards you for the discovery. But over time, repeated exposure diminishes that response. The more familiar something becomes, the less exciting it feels.
This phenomenon, known as “hedonic adaptation,” explains why the art we once loved can start to feel predictable or even mundane. We love something when we see it for the first time, but as we are exposed to it repeatedly, we become numb and don’t respond to it. Our brains and our senses move on, so to speak. In the age of social media and instant access, this process happens faster than ever. Instead of experiencing art as a moment of discovery, we experience it as a constant stream of sameness.
Algorithm Repetition
Social media platforms are designed to prioritize engagement, and their algorithms work tirelessly to serve us content they predict we’ll like. In the art world, this often means that the most popular works - those that receive the highest likes, shares, and comments - get amplified and shown to more users. As a result, certain artists and styles dominate our feeds, often to the exclusion of others.
This dynamic creates a feedback loop: visibility drives popularity, and popularity drives further visibility. While this can be a boon for a handful of artists who manage to “go viral,” it comes at a cost. The constant exposure to the same works or visual styles can leave collectors and viewers feeling fatigued. The novelty that initially drew us to an artist or movement is eroded as the same imagery appears again and again in slightly different contexts.
Moreover, this amplification skews perceptions of the art world. It gives the impression that only a select few artists or trends are worth our attention, sidelining diversity and innovation. Smaller, emerging voices that don’t fit the algorithm’s metrics are often drowned out, making it harder for collectors to discover truly unique or unconventional work. The result is an art world that feels increasingly homogenized, with the same works and names endlessly circulating.
Trend Proliferation
Once a particular style or concept gains traction, be it bold abstractions, or loose brushstroke figurative work, it’s quickly adopted by countless artists hoping to ride the wave of popularity. While this proliferation can expand a movement’s reach, it also creates a vast number of copycats in the market.
For collectors, this presents a challenge: with so many artists producing work that aligns with the same aesthetic or theme, it becomes harder to discern originality from imitation.
What begins as a unique expression often becomes a formula, repeated to the point where it loses its impact. When collectors are inundated with dozens of works that look and feel similar, the emotional and intellectual engagement that makes art meaningful starts to diminish.
A Not So Easy Solution
The conundrum lies in the explosive growth of the art market over the past 15 years. Hundreds of new galleries and thousands of artists have emerged to meet the demands of this expansion, creating an ecosystem that heavily relies on digital channels for visibility and operations. Galleries and artists alike depend on these platforms, all in the relentless pursuit of new clients.
Adding to this dynamic, most artists are on Instagram, and so are the collectors. Even those who avoid social media can easily access the same imagery through gallery websites, auction house platforms, or a simple Google search. Art that was once elusive and intimate is now instantly available to anyone with an internet connection.
Meanwhile, prices continue to climb, and hype around specific artists reaches fever pitch. The initial dopamine rush collectors feel when encountering “the next big thing” fades faster than ever in this age of constant exposure. As a result, collectors often move on quickly, whether due to boredom, the artist’s skyrocketing prices, or the overwhelming exposure to their work. This cycle of discovery, oversaturation, and abandonment now defines much of the contemporary art market for young artists.
Perhaps the real solution lies not in fixing the system, but in recalibrating our expectations and behaviors. There may not be a perfect way to reclaim the magic of discovery in an excessive, hyperconnected world, but there are ways to engage more thoughtfully.
For example, I am recommending my clients to prioritize depth over novelty and instead of chasing the latest trends, I am asking them to focus on deepening their engagement with a smaller group of artists who have had careers longer than a few months.
Another thing many of my clients have responded to is an invitation to look back in history and seek out overlooked artists or hidden gems from under-recognized or long-gone creators as a way to balance the old and the new. Sometimes, these works cost far less than today’s contemporary darlings. Having worked with both markets for years, I can confidently say there are often better deals in the secondary market of historical art than in contemporary works, especially those whose prices were overinflated from the start. Let’s be honest, paying six or seven figures for a canvas because it had a viral moment doesn’t always age well.
Maybe the most productive approach is simply to acknowledge that this tension exists. The art world is both exhilarating and exhausting, filled with moments of discovery and inevitable fatigue. The popularization and accessibility that drive today’s market is here to stay, but so is the enduring allure of truly great art. While we may tire of trends, true masterpieces - whether from Picasso or an emerging artist - retain their ability to captivate us, even in a sea of images.
The challenge for advisors, collectors, artists, and galleries is learning to navigate this tension. The art world isn’t going to become less overwhelming, less competitive, or less digital. But by thinking critically about what we value and why, we might still find moments of magic amidst the noise.
These suggestions may feel idealistic in a world driven by speed and convenience. Art is now as much a commodity as it is a source of aesthetic or emotional connection, and the market isn’t going to slow down for anyone.
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