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Latest Art Market Internet Startups – artmarketblog.com

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:34:40 +0000

Latest Art Market Internet Startups – artmarketblog.com

Here is a list of the best new art market internet startups:

my-artmap

http://www.myartmap.de

my-artmap is a social network and the social network for art & the art market. Members are persons or institutions who deal professionally with art and the art market (auction house, commercials, galeries, museums, exhibitions) and private persons who are interested in art. They all have through my-artmap the chance to talk about art, to show and to share art, as well as to inform themselves about current exhibitions, appointments etc. The network my-artmap claims to establish the worldwide leading social network for art & the art market. Currently my-artmap is available in 7 different languages and provides an unique network which will be expanded by more languages and functionalities.

Artolo

http://www.artolo.com

The visual art world reinvented, rebooted and made accessible to all.

An online platform that allows you to discover and purchase work ANYWHERE, be it your local cafe, an artist studio near your holiday destination or in the basement of a well-established gallery.

A place where ANYBODY can resell work from a piece by a friend to a Monet discovered in the attic.

And a place where EVERY artist will have all the tools they need to present their work, connect with the right audience and manage the process of a sale. The art world will never be the same.

ArtBinder

http://www.artbinder.com

ArtBinder’s mission is to offer galleries a brilliant way to display a curated selection of their works.

ArtBinder provides galleries with an elegant iPad solution with intuitive tools to streamline the sales and presentation experience.

Ocula

http://www.ocula.com

Ocula presents leading contemporary galleries in Australia and New Zealand in one place.
On Ocula you can browse the latest exhibitions, explore a gallery stockroom, and discover
works by artists they represent.

Ocula online art auctions offer exciting opportunities to buy art in a new way. Prospective bidders
can access comparable sales data, artist’s profiles and provenance all at the click of a mouse.
High-resolution images  reveal details, a zoom tool gets you up close and many artworks offered
can be viewed prior to and during an auction at  our gallery in Auckland. Or you can use our virtual
gallery which offers 3D viewing of the works.

Artfinder

http://www.artfinder.com

At Artfinder.com you can explore our huge gallery of works (from over 400 museum and gallery collections), build your own art profile, collect the art you love, and share it with your friends.

The more Artfinder learns about the works you like, the better it can recommend similar art for you to discover, and connect you with other Artfinder users who share your tastes.

Collectrium

http://www.collectrium.com

Founded by Boris Pevzner in 2009, Collectrium is a New York-based company providing innovative technology for organizing, discovering, sharing, and promoting art on the web and mobile devices, including the revolutionary ArtCapture and virtual wall tools. Over time, the Collectrium team—which has extensive expertise in the fields of technology, finance, and the fine and decorative arts—will offer collectors and galleries integrated services for art storage, appraisals, financing and other needs.

Artnetbook

http://www.artnetbook.com

Artnetbook is a web-based art management solution, art management web tool to manage, market and sell your arts online. Manage your arts on the web from anywhere in the world!

Artnetmarket will allow art people, artists, art galleries, to freelty join online artnetbook.com art community and add profiles for free.

The idea of ArtMap lays in the systematic interactive map with thorough art directory. Visitors will be able to find and search for the different part of art world services provided by different institutions.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Top 5 Art Market Internet Startups – artmarketblog.com

Art Market Blog Press Update – artmarketblog.com

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:06:02 +0000

Art Market Blog Press Update – artmarketblog.com

The latest press coverage featuring Nicholas Forrest and the Art Market Blog:

Reconsidering the L.A. vs. New York Art Market Rivalry by Nicholas Forrest

http://www.fabrikmagazine.com/content/reconsidering-the-la-vs-new-york-art-market-rivalry/

5 Reasons the Chinese Art Boom May Not Buoy the Global Art Market After All

http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/38578/5-reasons-the-chinese-art-boom-may-not-buoy-the-global-art-market-after-all/?page=2

The ‘bubble’ and the ‘wobble’

http://www.artnewsnviews.com/view-article.php?article=the-bubble-and-the-wobble-&iid=23&articleid=609

After Gold: Eight Things Ron Paul Should Convince His Supporters to Buy Next

http://www.tnr.com/slideshow/95320/after-gold-eight-things-ron-paul-should-convince-his-supporters-buy-next?7

ArtMarketBlog | Top 10 PurePhoto Images

http://blog.purephoto.com/?p=3861

Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:10:59 +0000

Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

My last two posts, parts one and two of ‘Contemporary Art Market Karma at Phillips de Pury’, provided an insight into the way auction house Phillips de Pury approach the contemporary art market niche that they have chosen to pursue. With this post, the last of this series, I am going to focus on what I believe will be the reason that Phillips de Pury will see continued success into the future.

As the market for contemporary art continues to be buoyed by the introduction of new sub-markets that are defined primarily by geography and culture, dealers and auction houses operating within the contemporary art market are discovering new ways of profiting from the market for contemporary art. What makes the ever increasing range of possible sources of profit within the contemporary art market so significant for a business like Phillips de Pury is that the demise of one source of profit can easily and quickly be replaced with another source of profit. With so many sub-markets of the contemporary art market operating at the one time it is likely that there will always be a profitable sub-market within which an auction house like Phillips de Pury can operate. Take, for example, the first ever BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) auctions held by Phillips in 2010 and repeated in 2011. Although each of these sub-markets is profitable in its own right, by combining all four into one sale Phillips have found a safer and more profitable way of approaching each of these sub-markets.

Although the BRIC auctions held by Phillips de Pury are so enticing because they combine the strengths of four major art market forces, Phillips have also found that they can shift the focus onto one particular sub-market should the others not do as well as planned. Speaking about the 2011 BRIC sale, Henry Allsopp, the Worldwide Director of Curated Sales and Exhibitions for Phillips, said: “With this auction we aim to show the new strength and depth of the Contemporary Art Market in Brazil, and the continuing upward trends of the Chinese, Indian and Russian markets.” Allsopp’s comment cleverly focuses on the Brazilian art market which was likely to be the most successful sub-market of the auction. Sure enough, Phillips de Pury & Co. found buyers for eight out of the 10 Brazilian works offered in the evening session of their 2011 BRIC sale. Although they only sold 53% by lot, Phillips were able to cleverly direct attention away from the poor overall results and towards the success of individual sub-markets. Allsopp’s post-sale comment was “China and Brazil continue to demonstrate strength with solid prices and world records and will continue to be markets where Phillips de Pury & Company consolidates its presence.”

Curated auctions are another way that Phillips are trying to expand the number of different avenues of profitability. Having pioneered the concept of “curated” auctions, Phillips de Pury are once again seeking to profit from the concept with ‘The World of Muriel Brandolini’, an interiors auction celebrating the life and work of decorator Muriel Brandolini which will take place in New York on the 21st of October 2011. The Brandolini auction will allow Phillips to once again profit from the profile of a highly regarded cultural icon and create a whole lot of hype surrounding the auction with the introduction of a number of associated events. According to Phillips: “A blaze of color on the fall calendar, Brandolini’s sale will include works from her wide-ranging collection of decorative arts, contemporary design and fine art, as well as examples of her own signature line of furniture”.

AS CHINA TAKES LEAD IN INTERNATIONAL ART WORLD, SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART FOLLOWS STEADILY BEHIND

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:36:18 +0000

AS CHINA TAKES LEAD IN INTERNATIONAL ART WORLD, SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART FOLLOWS STEADILY BEHIND

Pakistani, Indonesian, and Vietnamese contemporary art burgeon in
United States

New York, NY (May 12, 2011)— As China just surpassed the U.S. in
terms of fine-art auction revenue according to Artprice (March 2011),
the recent surge of South and Southeast Asian art at auction,
galleries, and museums is proving to the Western world that it’s not
just China that can play with the big boys.

“Sure, China is hot, but that’s just the peak of the iceberg,”
states Lorenz Rudolf, former director of Art Basel and cofounder of
Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair. “This is not just about a group of
Chinese painters. It’s about a growing market going on in this
continent.”

While nearly every major New York gallery has signed on a Chinese
artist, and prices for contemporary Chinese works have increased by
over 2000% since 2004, art enthusiasts are looking for contemporary
art that is fresh with intrinsic and appreciating value. Collectors,
dealers, galleries, and museums are turning to South and Southeast
Asian art not only for original perspective, but also for investment
purposes.

Founder of AiBo Fine Asian Art, one of the first galleries in the U.S.
to focus exclusively on contemporary Vietnamese art, Glenn Aber, says
of the recent Southeast Asian art boom, “I invested in the
Vietnamese art scene about six years ago because it was in its nascent
stages and still relatively unknown in the West. I recognized the
value.” Mr. Aber is planning to open a gallery in Tribeca and works
with artists directly from Hanoi. “Now, Southeast Asian art is
exploding in the U.S. Take Dang Xuan Hoa, an original member of the
Gang of Five*. Dang garnered $85,700 at a Sotheby’s auction in
April. It’s really an exciting time.”

Sotheby’s hosted a Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art auction in
March featuring contemporary Pakistani artists (e.g. Mohammad Ali
Talpur, Ali Kazim, and Faiza Butt), Indian artists (e.g. Ravinder
Reddy), among others. The auction brought in $9.2 million.

Other areas in Southeast Asia, like Vietnam, are boding well for
contemporary artists. Vietnamese artist, Dinh Q. Lê recently had a
solo show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Dinh An-My Lê,
Pham Luan, and Nguyen Xuan Tien and other artists also have found
their art in museums, galleries and auction houses, getting reviews
from publications such as ArtForum, LA Times, andThe Village Voice. Le
Thanh Son, an artist from Hanoi, has had his art prices rapidly
increase in value and is collected by such luminaries as Bill Clinton,
Prince Andrew, and Bill Gates.

As South and Southeast Asian art continues to steadily grow in the
West, investors and art collectors are seeing the potential value of
the art in those countries and are looking south, specifically to
Vietnam, to see what’s next.

*Gang of Five- the first contemporary group to gain international
recognition outside Vietnam in the late 90’s

###

Quinn Barker
Publicist, Spun
001 (206) 306-4770
www.spunpr.com

Without publicity a terrible thing happens… Nothing.
- P.T. Barnum

Six Super Art Investment Tips – artmarketblog.com

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:34:54 +0000

Six Super Art Investment Tips – artmarketblog.com

1. Know what to expect

In recent times fine art has gained popularity as a hedge against the volatile fluctuations that have plagued the more mainstream financial markets such as the stock market. The fact that fine art is a tangible object and can be traded for money in any currency also appeals to investors who have large amounts of money in intangible products and markets that use virtual or electronic market places. As well as the financial benefits associated with the purchase of art as an investment, there is also the enjoyment you will get from purchasing and owning a piece of fantastic fine art, which is why it is important to purchase something that you actually like.

If you are expecting to score large and fast profits from investing in fine art then fine art is not the investment for you. If, however, you are looking for a long term investment in a tangible object that can be enjoyable, educational AND potentially profitable if approached in the right way, fine art is definitely something you should consider investing in. Before you whip out the credit card there are some things you need to know about the art market and art investment. First of all, the nature of the art market means that art investment needs to be approached as a long term investment that will usually require a minimum holding period of seven to ten years – but be prepared to sell sooner if market conditions are favourable. Secondly, the cost of selling fine art tends to be quite high so one needs to factor in those costs when deciding whether to sell or not. Thirdly, it is extremely important to remember that fine art should be approached as a way of diversifying an investment portfolio and should form part of a balanced portfolio.

2. Buy the best you can afford

When it comes to deciding what to buy it is important to remember that when purchasing art as an investment you should always purchase the best that you can afford. This means that it is better to purchase a really excellent drawing or limited edition print than to purchase a mediocre painting. At the end of the day, a top quality original work on paper or limited edition print will always be more desirable than a mediocre painting. It is also extremely important to purchase something that you would actually be happy to live with should the value of the work of art you have purchased fail to increase in value or, in a worst case scenario, go down in value. If have purchased something you like and it does go down in value, at least you can still enjoy the work of art.

There is really no minimum amount of money that one needs to spend to invest in art, however, the more money you spend, the more options you will have, and the more likely the work/s you are buying will increase in value. Limited edition prints or photographs by emerging artists can be purchased for as little as a few hundred pounds, but stand much less chance of increasing in value than a ten thousand pound drawing by a well known artist. Essentially, the more you spend, the less risky the investment, and the greater the chance of receiving a higher return. The more well known blue chip artists who have plenty of art historical and curatorial backing are going to be a much safer investment, but will also be require a considerably higher outlay to begin with. Less well known emerging artists who are at the beginning of their career require a much smaller initial investment, but are also a much more risky investment as they do not have a proven track record. To be honest, anyone can “invest” in art as long as they have extremely low expectations, but to stand a chance of actually seeing a proper worthwhile return on your investment I would suggest a minimum figure of ten thousand pounds. The reason I suggest ten thousand pounds is that ten thousand pounds will buy a good quality photograph, drawing or limited edition print by a desirable artist.

3. Get involved

The best way to find out where, when and what to buy is to get to know people who are involved in the fine art world. Go to gallery openings, visit museums, attend auctions and art fairs, befriend curators and engage with artists. Not only will you get advice from these art market insiders, you are also likely to get opportunities to purchase works from sources that would normally not be available to the average art buyer. Getting to know collectors and the artists they support can open the door to an artist’s studio where you may be able to purchase a work of art directly from the artist for less than you would pay in a gallery or at auction; befriending a curator or gallerist might get you access to works that are not usually made available to the general public; getting to know an auction house representative is a good way of finding out what the current trends are and which artists are worth investing in. There is no doubt that the most successful art investors are those who are able to use the knowledge and expertise of other people to make informed, rational and justifiable decisions.

4. Think outside the box

If you have a limited income that would not allow a ten thousand pound investment then you may have to look outside the box to find something worth purchasing. Artists often experiment with a range of different mediums even though they may be particularly well known for one medium in particular. By thinking outside the box and looking at alternative mediums that an artist may have worked in, one can find some interesting and highly desirable works of art by well known artists for relatively small sums of money. For instance, did you know that Picasso produced quite a number of limited edition ceramic objects that can be purchased for as little as a few hundred pounds? Picasso ceramic works are particularly desirable and present a rather interesting alternative for those who have a more limited budget.

5. Buy from a reputable source

Auction houses, galleries and art fairs are the best sources of investment quality fine art. Although it may be tempting to just jump on ebay, the high number of fake and fraudulent works of art sold online make going to a reputable dealer who will guarantee the authenticity of what you are buying well worth the extra effort. That is not to say that I would never recommend purchasing works of art online. If you are going to purchase online you need to make sure that you are purchasing from a reliable source that has an excellent reputation and will provide a written guarantee of authenticity. Regardless of whether you are purchasing from a dealer or online, it is well worth getting the opinion of a few experts before deciding what to purchase and where to purchase from.

6. Build a collection

Once you have purchased your first piece of fine art it is likely that you will be bitten by the bug and want to buy more. By building a collection based around a particular theme, movement, artist or medium, you can develop a certain level of expertise and knowledge that will help make future purchases much easier. Developing a collection is an enjoyable and rewarding process that also encourages a certain amount of discipline and connoisseurship that will help you make more rational and justifiable decisions – decisions that are more likely to result in the purchase of works that will increase in value.

An Art Market Bubble Chinese Style Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 06:03:33 +0000

An Art Market Bubble Chinese Style Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

There can be no doubt that the global art market is currently experiencing a period of increased confidence and positive sentiment that is being defined and driven by an influx of wealthy Chinese buyers who are not only having a significant influence on the western art market, but are also propelling the Chinese art market to new heights at an alarmingly rapid rate. But, then you probably already new this unless you have been living on another planet for the last twelve months. Because any competent journalist could combine the results of recent art auctions with the rise of the Chinese art market to the top of the global art market charts and come to the conclusion that there is a Chinese art market boom, there have been plenty of reports along such lines.

The problem as I see it is that a majority of mainstream journalists report what they see and take what they see at face value. This means that a lot of what is written about the art market is pure reportage of current events that does not take into account past events or what is happening “behind the scenes”. As such, many of the conclusions that are reached regarding the progress of the art market are seriously flawed, which is why I write this blog and why lots of journalists come to me for my opinion before reporting on art market events. Please note that I am not suggesting that journalists are not doing their job properly, or are somehow at fault, because their job is to report on current events – and that is what they are doing. Since a majority of journalists are not art market experts one cannot expect them to have the sort of specialist knowledge or experience that is required to make accurate predictions about the art market.

One of the biggest mistake most people make when it comes to analysing the art market is failing to recognise and acknowledge the difference between a short term bubble and a sustainable long-term trend. To be able to distinguish between the two is no easy task and requires an in depth knowledge of the history of the art market and the mechanics of the art market as well as a good understanding of what outside factors influence the art market. However, with adequate knowledge and research it is possible to make accurate predictions as I have proven in the past. When it comes to the Chinese art market there are many factors that indicate a short term art market bubble as opposed to a long-term sustainable trend. In a previous post titled ‘Is the Chinese Art Market Doomed?’ I looked at some of the reasons I believe that the Chinese art market boom is not sustainable. With this series of posts I would like to continue this topic and offer some more insights into the current progression of the art market with a focus on China.

With one of the world’s fastest growing economies and a burgeoning middle class it is no surprise that the Chinese are madly spending huge amounts of money on antiques and fine art – prime symbols of wealth for the status obsessed Chinese. It is also no surprise that the emergence of Chinese buyers as a dominant force at auctions of both Western and Chinese antiques and fine art has sparked a plethora of reports and predictions that China is on the way to becoming the centre of the global art market. This would be an interesting and perhaps even positive development for the global art market if it weren’t for that fact that serious cracks are already beginning to appear in what one could be forgiven for thinking is an Eastern based art market renaissance.

What concerns me most about the Chinese art market is the fact that the Chinese are not only showing a keen interest in the work of modern master “trophy” artists, just as the Japanese did, but unlike the Japanese are also showing a keen interest in the work of their own young contemporary artists. The first reason that this is concerning is the obvious issue of inflated pricing that arises when uneducated and indiscriminate buying of “trophy” works takes place – especially when the reasons for purchases are related to status, vanity and games of one-upmanship. The second reason that this is concerning is that China does not have the sort of private gallery infrastructure in place that is needed to support young contemporary artists and nurture their careers over the long term. Without the private gallery step in the process of natural progression, young artists end up being thrust into the limelight ill-prepared and without having been through that crucial process of critical review that the private gallery system is a major part of. It is that private gallery system that would usually separate the true stars from the posers and direct the marketplace towards the true stars. Artist’s whose work is taken directly from the art school to the auction house are essentially being thrust into a position of authority and responsibility without the proper credentials. This is fine while the going is good but as soon as the money runs out and these artists are asked to prove their worth the whole foundation that their career has been built on comes tumbling down.

As I have mentioned many times before, the long term value of an artist’s work depends on the level of support and patronage that they receive from the cultural and private gallery sectors. It is pretty much inevitable that the super-heated Chinese art market will begin to cool at some point in the near future which means that buyers will have to begin to justify their purchases and the amount of money they are spending on fine art. If an artist has not been through the traditional route of progression, and does not have the support of a strong private gallery sector, it is unlikely that they would be able to survive the justification process.

To be continued………….

Top 2010 Art Market Trends Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

admin — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:23:50 +0000

Top 2010 Art Market Trends Pt. 3 – artmarketblog.com

Although 2010 saw a plethora of cities all over the world emerge as centres of cultural and artistic production, one of the most interesting locations of art market growth during 2010 was none other than the city of Los Angeles. The opening of a new building at the LACMA, the naming of Jeffrey Deitch as the new head of the LA MOCA, the sale of the LA based Dennis Hopper estate and other major events that took place during 2010 have taken the LA art scene to new heights – a climb that some say will soon elevate the LA art scene above the NY art scene.

If you have read my last couple of posts on the art market trends of 2010 you will know that one of the strongest trends that I identified from 2010 was a focus on work that was clearly influenced by the concepts and characteristics of arte povera. One of the most significant auction sales of arte povera style work in 2010 was the sale of the Dennis Hopper estate which, as I mentioned above, was an LA based estate. Ïnterestingly, we already we have a connection between the arte povera trend and the LA art scene. To explain the connection between the LA art scene and the arte povera trend further I need to take a slight detour and take a look at the different ways that dealers can approach the sale of fine art.

When a dealer decides to open a new gallery or take on a new market, there are several options that they have when it comes to deciding how they are going to approach that market. The options are:

A. Discovering and promoting emerging young talent

B. Selling the work of well established and highly recognisable artists

C. Reviving and promoting the work of artists from the past who were either overlooked or just not considered worthy at the time they were most active.

The market for emerging talent in LA is obviously flourishing, as is the market for the work of famous LA artists such as Hockney and Ruscha, which leaves option C as the option with the most potential for dealers. Art critic Mat Gleason recently wrote a piece for the Huffington Post titled ‘The Ten Most UNDERRATED Los Angeles Art World Stars’ ( see article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mat-gleason/the-ten-most-underrated-l_b_684359.html ). What made me particularly excited to find this article was the fact that three of the artists were artists that produced work that fits in perfectly with the arte povera trend; the second connection between the LA art scene and the arte povera trend. The current progression of this trend suggests that these three artists – George Herms, Lynn Foulkes and Michael C. McMillen – will begin to get the recognition they deserve as dealers continue to look for “new” artistic talent to promote in the form of overlooked artists from the past.

One of the reasons that LA is such an important location for the arte povera trend is the strong connection that LA has with artistic movements and cultural trends that relate strongly to the concepts and characteristics of arte povera. An influential beatnik trend that emerged in LA during the 50’s and 60’s was partially responsible for one of the most significant arte povera related (even though it appears to have predated arte povera) art trends to emerge in LA – the California Assemblage movement. According to the Laguna Art Museum website:

“Historically speaking, California Assemblage art was most prominent in the 1950s and 60s. The California Assemblage movement was born out of the Beat Generation of artists and poets, and George Herms was an active participant. Herms, whose work dates back to the early 1950s, is seen as one of the last living luminaries of the California Assemblage movement. Herms’ reclamation and reverence for the found object, along with his appreciation and use of entropy as an active and constant force operating on it, are the tools he uses to transform the detritus of our society into his artworks.”

The connections that I have made over the last few posts between arte povera, assemblage, collage, Latin American art and the LA art scene show that art market trends are more than just random coincidences. This particular trend has become so influential because of the strengthening and emergence of several markets around the world that have a strong connections with cultural and artistic traditions that can linked to the concepts and influences that resulted in the emergence of the arte povera movement and associated styles.

image:

Llyn Foulkes
Dali and Me, 2006
Mixed media
33 x 26 in. (83.8 x 66 cm)
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

The 2010 Art Market Review – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 08:31:45 +0000

The 2010 Art Market Review – artmarkeblog.com

2010 has been one of the most confusing, unpredictable and unexplainable years for me as an art market analyst. So many of the trends, events and fads that emerged during 2010 did not appear to be caused by the sort of conditions, have the same effects, or follow the same path of logic that one would expect they would given the way things have panned out in past years. This leaves me with no doubt that the art market is evolving at such a rapid pace that there is little point trying to justify or explain the events of today using logic that is based on the progression and events of previous years. In fact, more of the art market events that took place during 2010 appeared to defy logic than ever before. I do, however, strongly believe that one of the reasons that it has become even more difficult to determine what is going on with the art market is that the art market (auction houses in particular) has become adept at making the situation appear much better than it really is. Whether it be by skewing figures or manipulating the way results are perceived – galleries, fairs and auction houses have become the plastic surgeons of the art world.

What has also made 2010 such a hard year to analyse was the contraction, and slow regeneration, of the market for the work of trendy emerging artists and recent works by top contemporary artists – both of which are usually the most global, visible and publicised sectors of the market. As the market moves towards the work of artists with a proven track record, collectors and investors have shifted their focus from the usually dominant and globally relevant contemporary art market to the work of artists from a wide of variety of styles, mediums and movements that cannot appear to have very little in common. This has resulted in a situation where there is not one dominant global trend that art market analysts such as myself can focus on, but a number of smaller and disjointed trends that make reading the market particularly difficult.

A few months ago I wrote a series of posts on what I believed was a move towards a more sentimental art market, which appears to be exactly the direction that the market has headed. General disillusionment with the contemporary art market has sent many collectors and investors take a more sentimental approach to fine art that is characterised by a focus on the safety of more established artists and the familiarity of artists that they can relate to. When art collectors or investors seek safety and familiarity they are most likely to gravitate towards works by artists from the era and culture that they have the greatest connection to. This would explain the large number of seemingly unrelated trends that emerged during 2010 many of which involved previously unfashionable styles and movements that are distinctly associated with a particular era or culture.

There is no doubt that the art market has recovered far quicker than many people thought possible. Again, the unexpectedly rapid recovery has thrown a spanner in the works when it comes to analysing the art market and trying to make sense of what is going on. Some journalists and analysts have gone as far as to admit that they cannot explain how a market that seemed to be at breaking point could make such a rapid recovery. To give you an idea of how quickly the art market has recovered, in March of this year (2010) Walter Robinson, editor of Artnet Magazine, said that “Art Market Watch has been on something of a hiatus during the last few months. What with the recession, reporting on auction results just isn’t as compelling as it was during the boom years”. Six weeks later a painting by Picasso become the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction when it fetched a staggering $106.5 million. A week after that an Andy Warhol self portrait sold at Sotheby’s for $32.6 million (more than twice the estimate) setting a new record for a Warhol self portrait at auction. Compelling enough?

When it comes to rationalising art market events there is much to be gained from knowing who has money to spend and how much they have to spend. The top end of the market is fuelled by super wealthy collectors whose level of wealth would not have been affected enough by the financial crisis to deter them from buying art. Therefore at the high end of the art market things have been pretty solid as is evident from the number of record auction prices set in 2010. The lower end of the market is fuelled by collectors who focus on edgy and trendy contemporary art by emerging and newly established artists, and who will usually have a high level of interest in the cultural and artistic side of fine art. Collectors at the lower end of the market are a very determined group who are always going to be around even if they appear a little less active at times. Things at the lower end have improved but have done so at a less than rapid pace which makes it difficult to judge where this sector of the market is heading. Without a doubt the sector of the art market that has suffered for the longest period of time due to the effects of the global financial crisis and the art market downturn is the middle market. The middle market includes lesser works by big name artists, and the more expensive (less justifiable) works by the trendy contemporary artists, which makes the middle market a sort of currently un-necessary compromise for the super rich, and a stretch too far for the modestly well off. Middle market works are, however, perfect for the financial advisor and hedge fund manager types who are more interested in art as a status symbol than the quality or art historical importance of the works they are buying. With the pay packets of hedge fund managers and financial advisors taking a massive hit due to the financial crisis, there is little interest in the middle market works. The super rich are still rich enough to not have to compromise and settle for middle market works and the modestly well off continue to fuel the lower end of the market.
My next post will be the top ten art market 2010 so stay tuned……..

Art Market Blog in the News – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:37:53 +0000

Art Market Blog in the News – artmarketblog.com

Hi Art Market Blog readers, I thought you might be interested in seeming some of the press that the Art Market Blog has received over the last few weeks. Enjoy !!

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-bay-area-sculptor-gains-recognition-combining-classical-art-/2009/03/25/4081341.htm

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article5981759.ece

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com,
writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for
Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

The Art Market is Not Immune – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:36:23 +0000

The Art Market is Not Immune – artmarketblog.com

There are lots of things that bother me about the way that art investment and the art market are portrayed. One of the things that bothers me quite a bit is the frequency of which the art market is referred to as being immune to economic or financial turmoil. To say that the art market is immune to the economy or financial turmoil is not entirely untrue depending on how you interpret the statement or the situation in which the statement is made, however, it is definitely not the whole truth and is often a misleading statement. The art market is a very unique market that reacts to certain events and factors in a way that does not correlate with the way most other investment markets would react. Because of this, the potential for people to incorrectly identify or mistake certain market movements, events or characteristics as evidence that the art market is totally immune to these events is quite high. This is not to say that there are not situations where the art market does display immunity but it is not usually to anywhere near the extent that is many people believe. There also seems to be many people who presume that because one particular artist, artwork, movement or regional art market appears immune to an economic downturn or financial crisis that the whole art market is immune.

As much as I want to advocate art as an investment and the art market I don’t see how misrepresenting the art market and art investment can be a positive move which is why I want to set the record straight. It is virtually impossible for the whole art market to be immune to a financial crisis such as the one we are experiencing at the moment because the crisis is having an effect on so many people and so many of the other investment markets that it is going to have to filter through to the art market at some point. The art market is often referred to as an isolated market which basically means that it has limited connections with other investment markets or, in technical jargon, it has a low correlation with other assets. As a result, the art market is said to not feel the effects of negative movements in other markets to the same extent as markets that have a much stronger connection with the market experiencing the negative movements. Once again, it is virtually impossible for the global art market to not be effected by the fluctuations experienced by other markets as there is always going to be some sort of a connection. The art market does, however, often have a less severe reaction to the movements of other markets and can even have a totally opposite reaction or not react at all. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the art market has a low correlation with other assets because a low correlation does not mean that that there is no connection between the art market and other markets just that the relationship is not as strong as relationships between other asset classes.

Although the global art market is often incorrectly referred to as being immune to economic and financial turmoil there are certain circumstances under which the art market can exhibit characteristics that would suggest that it is immune to negative economic and financial market movements. There are also situations where the art market could genuinely be referred to as being immune. Because the art market is relatively illiquid compared to other asset classes there is usually not enough time for the art market to react to short term fluctuations in markets such as the highly liquid stock market where trading can take a matter of seconds. The art market can also take much longer to react to more severe and wide ranging financial and economic downturns such as the one we are experiencing at the moment which can trick people into thinking that it won’t react at all.

It is also important to recognise the fact that the art markets of different countries often have a low correlation with each other which means that even though the art market of one country may have been affected by a certain economic or financial event that the art market of another country may exhibit a very minor reaction or may not react at all. For example, at the moment the art market in Dubai and neighbouring areas appears to be have been affected very little by the current financial crisis where plenty of money appears to still be available for the purchase of art. It is also possible for particular movements or types of art to react differently than other movements or types of art. Contemporary art has benefited the most from the recent art market boom and as such has also been the most affected by the current financial crisis. Because speculation is far less common when it comes to the market for old master paintings and the value of old master paintings is much more verifiable and justifiable the market tends to be far more stable and less volatile. Although the market for old masters is not immune to market downturns they are often used as a hedge because they react far less to economic downturns than other sectors of the art market and other asset classes. Once again certain painters or certain artists whose work falls under the category of “old master” may exhibit characteristics that suggest that they are immune to economic downturns but a few examples cannot be used as a representation of the whole market for old master paintings.

In summary, suggesting that the global art market is immune to financial crises and economic turmoil is generally incorrect and misleading. There are certain circumstances and situations where a particular country’s art market or a certain sector of the art market could be considered to be exhibiting immunity to certain investment market related events. Just don’t be fooled into believing that an investment in art is a total and infallible hedge against an economic downturn.

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