Georgia Gerson is an art historian and art market scholar who recently submitted her PhD in the History of Art department at the University of York. Her research is an interdisciplinary art-historical and sociological study that reconsiders the way value is constructed in the contemporary art market. In order to investigate this in a new, unique way, it takes as its case study the recent intervention into the market of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). One of听the key questions of this research is whether the art market is functioning in the same way with this new category of goods. Prior to her PhD, from 2015-2019 she worked at a leading international commercial contemporary art gallery, gaining a rare insider鈥檚 working knowledge of the art market by creating and promoting exhibitions, attending international art fairs and working alongside leading artists and institutions worldwide. As such, her research combines her interest in contemporary art, her academic training in art history and professional experience in the art market. Alongside her PhD, Georgia works as a Freelance Marketing and Communications Manager for a number of publicly-funded, female-led dance companies that challenge the structures and听 hierarchical archetypes currently in place in the contemporary dance sector.
Teaching
MA in Art and Business
- Autumn and Spring Terms 2026-2027:听Histories of the Art Market & Understanding the Art Market
- Autumn and Spring Terms 2026-2027: MAAB Elective: Working with Artists
Education:
(2022-2026, pending) Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art, University of York. Thesis: The Hall of Mirrors: NFTs in the Art Market. Supervised by Prof Michael White and Dr Marta Herrero.
(2014-2015) Master of Arts in History of Art with Merit, University of East Anglia. Dissertation: 鈥淎rt in the Present Tense鈥: A Critical Analysis of Art Historical Legacies and the Conditions of Contemporaneity. Supervised by Dr Simon Dell.
(2011-2014) Batchelor of Arts in History of Art and Literature (First Class Hons.), University of East Anglia. Dissertation: Montage and Mosaic: August Sander, Alfred D枚blin and the tensions of modernisation in Weimar Germany. Supervised by Dr Simon Dell and Dr Petra Rau.
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Teaching Experience:
(Aug 2025-Jun 2026) Teaching Fellow, Courtauld Institute of Art: MA Art and Business & BA3 Module Material Worlds, Global Cultures of Collecting
(2022-2025) Various seminars for Newham Council’s Cultural Producers Programme including: Working with Galleries, Professionalising the Art Market, Marketing and Events for Visual Artists, Marketing in the Art World.听
(November 2023) AI & Artists Workshop for Trailmix Games.
(July 2023) AI and Visual Artists, Next Step York & YorWay Residential Academic Project.
(Jan-May 2023) Graduate Teaching Assistant on Transmissions and Connections, History of Art Department, University of York.
Grants & Awards:
(April 2024) Department conference award, History of Art Department, University of York. Awarded to support attendance at the Association for Art History Annual Conference, 2025.
(May 2024) University of York Humanities Research Centre Doctoral Fellowship. Awarded for intellectual achievement and potential, and the capacity to communicate high-quality research clearly and engagingly to a non-specialist audience.
(July 2014) 50% Scholarship for Master of Arts programme awarded for academic achievement from University of East Anglia.
Publications:
Editorship
(2023-2025)听Co-Editor in Chief,听Aspectus: A Journal of Visual Culture,听History of Art Department, University of York.
Peer Reviewed Articles
(2025) “Luhring Augustine.”听Grove Art Online. 8 Sep. 2025; “Lehmann Maupin.”听Grove Art Online.听8 Sep. 2025; “Wirth, Iwan.”听Grove Art Online.8 Sep. 2025; “Hauser & Wirth.”听Grove Art Online.8 Sep. 2025
(2023) Georgia Gerson, 鈥淪elling the Unsellable: Conceptual Art and Non-fungible-tokens (NFTs),鈥 Aspectus, no. 5 (Fall 2023): 1鈥14. DOI: 10.15124/yao-za12-x736
Books & Chapters
(2024): Marta Herrero and Georgia Gerson, 鈥淣FTs (non-fungible tokens) and the emergence of a new category in Sotheby鈥檚 and Christie鈥檚 global auction market,鈥 in Global Art Markets: history and current trends, ed. Iain Robertson, Derrick Chong and Lu铆s U. Afonso (Oxford: Routledge, 2024).
(2015) Frank Bowling: The Poured Paintings (London: Hales Gallery, 2015).
Reviews
(2022) 鈥淓xhibition Review: Hew Locke’s Procession,鈥 Aspectus, no. 4 (Fall 2022): 43鈥46. DOI: 10.15124/yao-tz1s-ed40.
(2013) 鈥淚nvisible Art: Conceptual Goldmine or A Case of the Emperor鈥檚 New Clothes?鈥 This is WAS, University of East Anglia World Art Studies Blog.
Research Support
(2017) Okwui Enwezor, Frank Bowling: Mappa Mundi (Munich: Prestel, 2017).
Conferences:
Conference Organization:
(April 2025) Co-convenor, Disruption and Progress: Reflecting on Digital Art Practice, full day session at the Association for Art History Annual Conference, University of York.
(April 2024) History of Art PhD Work in Progress Conference, Humanities Research Centre, University of York.
(May 2023) Personal Assistant to conference conveners, Art and the Markets: Examining the Intersections between Museums, Philanthropy, Commerce and the Law, organised by Dr Richard McClary and Dr Marta Herrero. Funded by The British Academy and University of York. The Guildhall, York.
Conference Papers:
(June 2026)听NFTs and the Art Market: Revolution or Continuity?,听Sotheby’s Institute of Art Annual Conference
(October 2024) Assessing the Importance of Live Events in a Digital Art Market, Tools for the Future – Researching Art Market Practices from Past to Present International Workshop #9, University of Glasgow.
(June 2023) The Hall of Mirrors: Selling NFTs in the London Art Market, The International Association for Art Market Studies conference, Universit茅 Libre de Bruxelles.
(March 2023) NFT as Fault: Value Creation in the Contemporary Art Market, PhD Conference, Humanities Research Centre, University of York.