The Price of Everything

Directed by Nathaniel Kahn

Art and commerce alternately collide and cozy up in the latest from Nathaniel Kahn (My Architect), which examines the enigmatic mechanics of an art market where the swirling vagaries of popularity elude nonprofessionals. We meet Stefan Edlis, a highly quotable, Vienna-born art collector and Holocaust survivor; the rising superstar, Nigerian-American artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby; and whip-smart art maven Amy Cappellazzo, whom we see prepping a major collection for auction. The absurdly successful Jeff Koons employs a buzzing factory of assistants who convert his notions into art products, while op art pioneer Larry Poons tasted the other side of the boom, falling out of favor when, after astronomical success in the early '70s, he pursued less commercial directions.