To survive in the contemporary art industry, where small talk at vernissages has become a form of currency, a social media page replaces a resume, and artists increasingly follow the marketplace rather than their own creative aspirations, one must possess either a sense of humor or extreme cynicism. Focusing on the former, curator Andrea Bellini assembles a unique gallery of characters in his book: arrogant artists and anxious curators, idealistic critics and pragmatic investors, intellectuals and "pretenders," "high society" and naive simpletons. There's no malice or morality—only precise observation, good-natured irony, and a touch of melancholy. With the kind permission of the publisher, we're publishing a few excerpts in which you might recognize familiar faces, and sometimes even yourself. All "characters are fictitious," and "coincidences are purely coincidental."