01/010/2023
Hello,
I don’t know where this month went, but it has flown. I am unsure exactly what I have been doing, but I am sure it is something. As a consultant, a large part of my job is art sales, which has got me thinking about the current state of the art market and trying to grasp its current climate and trends.
Over the last month, my morning routine has consisted of an endless scroll of art news articles discussing the trends occurring in the art world. It should be noted that there are many different sectors within the art world. To simply discuss it, it can be divided into the commercial and fine art worlds, and I have my foot in both worlds. The commercial art world via my gallery and the fine art world through the world of academia. It is not to say that one is better than the other; they are different and serve different societal functions.
One of the major issues is the cost-of-living crisis. Obviously, you don’t have to be in the art world to determine that the crisis may affect the consumer market, especially in my commercial art industry. It is hard to justify buying art, a luxury good when one can barely afford rent and food. This is the main issue of the commercial art market. Sales have increased for the fine art market, but they come across another issue. The lack of one unified style within the Global Contemporary period. When I say the Global Contemporary, I refer to the art made now, its designated name (for now).[1] People have begun to divide the period, but a universally agreed-upon movement has yet to exist. At the same time, artworks by artists like Damien Hirst, Banksy and Jeff Koons are always steadily marketable. It is harder to figure out who and now out of the unknown artists to buy. Or at least I feel this way, and maybe I am projecting.
I always advise people to buy what they like and what brings them joy. There is so much out there, and many of us cannot tell what is a good investment and what is not, so don’t bother with that; art purchasing should not primarily be for investment. Purchasing art for your home is a deeply personal thing. Its sole function in the domestic setting is to make your home feel like a home and to arouse the feeling you want when you purchase it.
Love Me.
[1] The art periods over the last 170 or so years are, the Modern Period (ca.1850s-1950s), the Postmodern Period (1960s-1990) and the Global Contemporary (1990s - Now). These are my dates and how I like to think of it, dates are subjective.