Art or Asset? The Inigo Philbrick Scandal and What Artists Are Never Told

Not just a con. A system. The art market at its ugliest: silent deals, financial games, and artists left in the dark. No one taught us this in art school. Honestly? They should have.

A Netflix-Worthy Scandal: Inigo Philbrick, the Art Market, and What No One Tells Artists

So I watched the Netflix doc about Inigo Philbrick.

Fun fact: I had no idea this happened.

It’s not really about him, though. It’s about the infrastructure. The lawyers.

The analysts. The collectors who casually “co-own” a Basquiat like it’s a hedge fund.

Inigo Philbrick Scam on Netflix

And the fact that some paintings, allegedly, are sold twice. Or never really sold at all. Just promised. Pitched. Fractionalized.

A $10 million painting. Valued at $20 million. Split among four investors. Sold to a fifth. Stored in a tax-free airport bunker. Never seen. Never shown. Never meant to be.

Sounds like a parody of the art market?

It’s not. It’s the playbook at the top.

What’s unbelievable isn’t just the deal — it’s that no one warns you. Not in art school. Not from gallerists. Not in magazines. No whisper of what actually happens behind the velvet curtain.

Because art, whether you like it or not, is a business. And almost no one teaches artists how to survive that part.

Not how the money moves. Not what can happen. Not what does happen.
Just vibes.

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Why Do Artists Learn Everything But the Game?

But no one tells you your work might be treated like a stock.
It can be bought, flipped, and resold without your consent or benefit.

You’re trained to build a practice.
No one warns you that your art might end up in someone’s investment portfolio.
Used as leverage. Not as legacy.

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Art as Money. And Artists as Afterthoughts.

In most high-stakes sales, the artist is irrelevant.
Your work becomes collateral. Something to trade, insure, or store.

You don’t get a percentage. You don’t get a heads-up.
You don’t even know it changed hands.

The buyer doesn’t care about your process or intent.
They care if your name is trending. If the painting has upside.
If it adds weight to their collection, or liquidity to their portfolio.

And when it doesn’t?
It disappears. Into storage. Untouched. Forgotten.
Not because it failed, but because it served its financial purpose.

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This Is Not a Conspiracy. This Is the System.

Yes, parts of it are unsettling. Some practices are outright exploitative. But what’s more alarming is how normal it has all become. Art is treated like currency, like leverage, like power, while many artists are just thrilled to sell a piece for €900.

And if their name starts gaining traction, that same work might quietly resurface on the secondary market, flipped for triple the price. They won’t see a cent. Might not even know it happened. Sometimes it’s a collector. Sometimes it’s a gallery, probably the same one that took fifty percent on the first sale. Somehow, they end up earning more from the work than the artist does.

What the art world needs now is fewer gatekeepers and more systems built with artists in mind, not just investors.

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Let’s Be Clear: Not All Art Markets Are Like This.

But The Ones With Money Often Are.

We’re not here to name names.
We’re not here to burn bridges.

But we are here to raise eyebrows.
To ask why the same handful of collectors control the majority of press-worthy sales.
To question why no one in your MFA told you how art can be used like a bond.

To wonder why you, the artist, are always the last to know.

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What Artists Can Actually Do With This Knowledge

( No fake optimism. Just facts.)

Let’s be clear: You’re not going to outmaneuver Inigo Philbrick's clients by posting more reels. You’re not suddenly flipping blue-chip art on a runway in Basel. And you don’t need to.

But understanding this system, the one Netflix just made watch-worthy changes how you move.You start to see it differently.

That gallery handshake you once dreamed of? Most deals are made long before you walk in the door. It’s not about you. It’s about money. And the moment you understand that, you stop waiting for permission, and start building your own leverage.

You begin to notice how art is treated like capital, except when it’s yours. When you sell a work, it’s gone. But when someone else sells it, it becomes an asset. That’s not on you. But it helps to reframe how you value your work, how you talk about it, and how you protect it.

You start recognizing the gatekeeping for what it is, a kind of expensive camouflage. That painting in storage? That collector’s promise? That quiet museum interest? Sometimes they’re not about your legacy at all. Sometimes they’re just part of someone else’s investment plan.

So you shift your focus. You build visibility that lasts. Not quick hits. Not hype. But memory. Strategy. A clear voice and a strong archive. That’s the kind of equity no one else can flip.

And maybe most importantly: You remember that you’re not the problem. The system is flawed. You’re not behind. You’re just not for sale.

This isn’t a guide to playing the game.
It’s a reminder that you don’t have to.

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Today’s survival tip: Make art. Read contracts. Repeat.

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NEXT: Sleeping Universities — Why Art Education Is Failing
You graduate. You’re “emerging.”
But are you really prepared?
We talk contracts, client talks, gallery power games —
and why artists need to stop being polite and start being prepared.
No Handshakes! We are talking about written Contracts!
This is not a drill.
This is your life.q

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