Abstract

A specialized art market capable of promoting socio-cultural and economic mechanisms demonstrates how its support in favor of Italian contemporary art has contributed to the growth of contemporary Italian artistic heritage, a resource that needs an institutional imagery capable of enhancing it within the current global scenario. If the historical analysis of the art market in Italy reveals its aesthetic role, radical choices are needed in order to spread contemporary art as a common good. In the last thirty years, the analysis of international auctions dedicated to Italian art held annually in London reveals the effects of a strategy aimed at enhancing Italian artists by increasing their quotations on the global art market. The case of Eyes Wide Open, the first major auction dedicated to Arte Povera which enshrines the recognition of such avant-garde is emblematic of the role played by the market not only in economic terms, but also socio-cultural and historical enhancements with direct repercussions in relation to the Italian artistic contemporary heritage.