In the last few decades, the world of contemporary art has become more globalized and visible than ever before. And yet this world has long been perceived as closed and obscure, provoking in the uninitiated a range of responses from reverence to bafflement and rage. Taking the reader on a cross-continental journey through a notional calendar year in the field of art, Matthew Israel lifts the veil on a world that emerges from his narrative as diverse, adventurous, nuanced and meaningful to all. From Los Angeles to Hong Kong via Paris and New York, the author travels among the world’s best-known artists, curators, critics, gallerists and institutions as they work towards some of the art world’s most defining international events.

A Year in the Art World relates the exploits of a curious insider, who ventures deep into the workings of the art industry to ask: what is it that people in the art world actually do? What drives an interest in working with art? How do artworks acquire value? And how has technology transformed the art world of today? Israel combines in-depth personal profiles with expert context to reveal both new and longstanding artworld realities. From biennials in summer to auctions in the fall, this fascinating narrative reveals how ‘the art world’ describes a realm that is both surprisingly vast and deeply interconnected.

《艺术世界的一年》讲述了一位好奇的内行人士的功勋，他大胆深入艺术界，提出了以下问题：艺术家们实际上是做什么的？是什么促使人们从事艺术？艺术品如何获得价值？科技如何改变了当今的艺术世界？Israel将深入的个人资料与专家背景相结合，展示了新的和长期存在的艺术世界现实。从夏季的双年展到秋季的拍卖会，这个引人入胜的故事揭示了“艺术世界”是如何描述一个广阔得惊人且相互联系很深的领域的。