Purchasing Creativity: A Study Of Exploration And Emotion Behind Collectors' Chosen Works
Keywords:
Artistic inventiveness, aesthetic exploration, emotional resonance, artist-collector relationships, creative strategies, co-creationAbstract
This study explores creative strategies in producing artworks that suit collectors' preferences without compromising artistic integrity. The focus of this study is to identify cognitive, emotional, and relational mechanisms, as well as to analyze the influence of artist-collector relationships on the development of artistic strategies. Using a qualitative approach with comparative idiographic case studies, data was obtained through in-depth interviews with artists and collectors. Findings show that artistic creativity manifests itself in three strategies: color palette evolution, theme transformation, and responsiveness to contemporary contexts, which maintain artistic consistency with minimal compromise. This mechanism focuses on emotional adjustment, where artworks are created from the artist's authentic joy, resulting in strong resonance with collectors. Long-term relationships are facilitated through studio visits and curatorial dialogues. This research contributes to the theory of artistic creativity and provides practical insights for young artists and galleries that are responsive to the market.
References
Ahmed, S. K. (2024). The pillars of trustworthiness in qualitative research. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 9(2), 1–45. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1428245
Art Basel & UBS. (2024). The Art Basel and UBS survey of global collecting in 2024. https://theartmarket.artbasel.com/download/The-Art-Basel-and-UBS-Survey-of-Global-Collecting-in-2024.pdf
Arun Kakar. (2024, April 24). Art Market Trends 2025.
Arun Kakar. (2025). Art Market Trends 2025. Art Market. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-art-market-trends-2025
Bank of America. (2025). Art market update: A turn toward untapped markets.
Beda, B. (2025). Art acquisition 101: How to build a meaningful collection. https://store.bartoszbeda.com/art-acquisition-101-how-to-build-art-collection/
Berthinier-Poncet, A. (2025). The art of innovation: How arts-based initiatives can foster organizational creativity. Technovation, 139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2025.103695
Botella, M., Zenasni, F., & Lubart, T. (2016). Perceiving the creative process: Analysis of the dynamic relationships between creative strategies and divergent thinking. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 10(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000040
Brown, S. (2024). On the connection between creativity and aesthetics: An evolutionary perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1377485
Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8), 652–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206
De Simone, F. (2025). Editorial: Psychology and art: Exploring new ways of interaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542235
Grau Pérez, G. (2025). Cultural and creative networks as enabling contexts for artistic research. European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/ejcmp.2024.13061
Greenhalgh, T. (2025). Case studies: a guide for researchers, educators, and implementers. BMJ Medicine, 4(1), e001623. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjmed-2025-001623
Katya Kazakina. (2025, March 19). Millennials and Gen Zers Are Coming Into Great Fortunes. What Art Do They Want to Buy? Artnet.
Li, Y., & Li, J. (2022). The Influence of Design Aesthetics on Consumers’ Purchase Intention Toward Cultural and Creative Products: Evidence From the Palace Museum in China. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.939403
Lim, W. M. (2025). What Is Qualitative Research? An Overview and Guidelines. Australasian Marketing Journal, 33(2), 199–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/14413582241264619
Lynette Ubel. (2018). Collector & Artist Relationships: Ways to Build and Improve Them. Ubel Arts.
Maddox Gallery. (2025, April 11). Global Art Market Reports Reveal 5 Critical Trends Reshaping the Art Market for 2025 | UBS, Artnet & Artprice. Maddox Gallery.
Mammen, J., Tyo, M., & Seshadri, S. (2025). Perspective Mapping: Tutorial for Collecting Quantifiable Qualitative Interview Data. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e72622–e72622. https://doi.org/10.2196/72622
Messer, U., Lüthy, L., & Stockinger, C. (2024). Co-creating art with generative artificial intelligence: Evaluative effects of human-AI collaboration. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2024.100161
Mumford, M. D., & McIntosh, T. (2017). Creative thinking processes: The past and the future. Journal of Creative Behavior, 51(4), 317–322. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.197
Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A Step-by-Step Process of Thematic Analysis to Develop a Conceptual Model in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789
Sorokowski, P., Kowal, M., & Szmajke, A. (2024). Who benefits more from art, the artist or the collector? Testing the collector hypothesis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000631
Strang, K. (2025). Art therapy and neuroplasticity: Stimulating structural and functional brain changes. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1542235
Studies, C. (2025). Creativity: An individual or collective phenomenon? A historical-psychological perspective. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2025.1343849
Swanzy-Impraim, E., Grushka, K., & Donnelly, D. (2025). Creativity as a concept and mapping creative process models: Synthesizing the Swanzy-Impraim phased creative process model for expressive visual artists in education contexts. Creativity Studies, 18(1), 87–113. https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2025.19333
Timeless Investments. (2024). 5 Things You Should Know About the Art Market in 2024. Timeless Investments.
Townsend, C., & Shu, S. B. (2010). When and how aesthetics influences financial decisions. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(4), 452–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.013
Vuichard, A., Ruch, W., & Harzer, C. (2023). Creative process and multivariate factors through a multivariate lens: The theory and measurement of artistic creativity. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1091385
Xu, Z., Wang, Y., & Qian, Y. (2025). The design and application of in-depth interviews in primary care research. Chinese General Practice Journal, 2(2), 100062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgpj.2025.100062
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (ICHSS)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.












