FROM DEALER TO SERVICE PROVIDER, Governance Implications of Risk-Free Cultural Endorsement

This working paper examines a structural shift in the contemporary art ecosystem: the transformation of senior dealers from risk-bearing cultural filters into providers of reputational services. Using a recent celebrity-driven painting debut as a case study, the paper analyzes how legitimacy is increasingly allocated prior to artistic risk, critical scrutiny, or demonstrated contribution. The analysis focuses on changes in institutional signaling, the use of therapeutic narrative as a substitute for curatorial argument, and the redistribution of evaluative risk from producers to audiences. It situates these developments within broader questions of cultural governance, trust, and the erosion of traditional gatekeeping mechanisms. This publication is intended for scholarly and informational purposes and contributes to ongoing discussions of cultural infrastructure, institutional authority, and reputational risk.