Art Bankers Take Advantage of Falling Prices- artmarketblog.com

Art Bankers Take Advantage of Falling Prices- artmarketblog.com

The interest in structured art investment programs has continued to remain relatively high considering the recent concerns voiced by some regarding the state of the art market. Since the beginning of the year there have been several new art investment programs launched which suggests that the categorisation of art as an asset class has not been damaged by the recent market jitters. In fact, with plenty of bargains up for grabs there is probably no better time for art investment funds to be buying works.

The most significant of the new programs is the so called “Collection of Modern Art Fund” which is a product of the UK based Castlestone Management, a privately owned independent fund manager. According to the fund website (http://www.collectionofmodernart.co.uk) “Collection of Modern’s Art’s investment philosophy is focused on building a diversified portfolio of artists to provide medium to long-term appreciation based on thorough research and the proven strength of the market for these artists. The portfolio composition is a key component to ensuring the returns of the fund are in line with the market. With this achieved, the fund can act as a real asset, increasing in value with money supply and inflation and thus providing an inflation hedge. In the initial selection process, the manager aims to identify works of art for the portfolio that broadly represent the Art Market Research 100 index”

The second major art investment program to be launched is a collaboration between the China Merchants Bank and the China Contemporary Art Foundation. China Merchants Bank (CMB) have taken what is a slightly different approach to art banking by offering their clients the opportunity to put down a deposit on a work of art chosen a group of experts and take possession of the work of art for a period of twelve months. If after the twelve month period the client decides that they want to purchase the work of art they can do so or if they do not want to purchase it they can return it and receive a full refund. According to one of the bank’s representatives who was interviewed by the People’s Daily Online Newspaper, “Some banks hire art investment consultant and bring clients’ money to auction house. We are not doing that, because it easily slips out of control. We offer free transportation and as long as the artwork is well preserved, our clients will at least break-even”

Adding to the options for keen art fund investors is Phillip Hoffman’s The Fine Art Fund Group Ltd (http://www.thefineartfund.com/) who have indicated at the beginning of the year that they would be starting a new fund to take advantage of the fall in price of many works of art. Since the beginning of the year Hoffman has further indicated his intentions to raise $100 million dollars of the next year to purchase works from private and institutional collections that are up for sale. According to a report from the Financial Times, the group is currently looking at purchasing two major art collections one of which is owned by a Spanish bank and the other by a manufacturer. After postponing their plans for a dedicated Indian art fund creatively titled the Indian Fine Art Fund due to the current instability of the market for Indian art, it is good to see this new initiative from Hoffman.

**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.

Investing in Social Art Projects – artmarketblog.com

Investing in Social Art Projects – artmarketblog.com

Trust Art artist Jason Eppink

A new project called Trust Art (http://www.trustart.org) which is described as “A stock market for cultural renewal” has recently been launched by the founders of Fame Game (http://www.famegame.com). According to the Fame Game website “FAME GAME is a rapidly-growing website that maps and analyzes your social connections and media attention to help you promote meaningful ideas, people, and organizations in culture. FAME GAME creates public-facing “social network” profiles for the 150,000+ most visible players in the New York media based on their cultural footprint”. The Fame Game mission is to mission to figure out how these players work together in the real world, and bring that model online which can then be used to give emerging artists, business leaders and personalities information about the way people use their fame to get attention for the things that they care about. The driving force of Fame Game and also of Trust Art is the concept of Social Capital which is defined as the pattern and intensity of networks among people and the shared values which arise from those networks.

The Trust Art project is a sort of interactive art fund that gives people the opportunity to invest their money in one of ten social art projects by ten different artists. Shares in each of the projects are available for $1 each with a minimum investment of $1 and no maximum investment although I presume that the most money anyone would want to invest would be the total cost of the project. The money invested goes towards the completion of the project as outlined by the artist on the Trust Art website. Once the project is completed, the finished work is auctioned off and the proceeds are split 50/50 between the artist and the share holders. All investors are encouraged to promote the project that they have invested in so that more people invest money and so that the project receives media attention and becomes more popular. The idea behind the promotion side of the concept is that promoting the project and increasing it’s popularity will increase it’s value and the return to shareholders once the work is auctioned off.

The biggest problem that I can see with the whole Trust Art concept is the works of art themselves which are not exactly what one would consider to be investment grade works of art. Each of the ten proposed works are more what I would call conceptual installations that are the sort of works people go to see at museums or at public galleries and not the sort of works that people invest in. As an example, one of the artists, Facundo Newbery, will construct a self-sufficient home solely out of garbage and shipping containers collected from the streets of Brooklyn. Throughout the project and after its completion, Facundo will offer a transparent look into his techniques for recycling urban waste so that others may do the same. The object (auction artifact) that will be auctioned is listed as a handmade home in the tropics which doesn’t really seem like something that many people would be interested in purchasing. Other “auction artifacts” include a dance performance, a video installation, 5 photographic portraits, an antique fountain repurposed to flow with perfumed water and an original building facade reimagined by street artists. The other problem with the project is that the artists themselves aren’t really all that well known but I suppose the purpose of the site is to enlist the help of the investors to make the artists and their work well known.

Of all the projects the most viable, most tangible and most investment worthy is “The Documentary Starring Everyone in the World” by Jason Eppink. According to the Trust Art website “Jason will collect and assemble an extensive photographic database, the contents of which resemble the age and appearance of the world’s 6 billion people. The images are then assembled into a documentary that plays 9 images per frame and runs over the course of two and a half weeks in various global locations” The object that will be auctioned is a video installation representing 6.7 billion people. Several of Eppink’s past projects such as “Pixelator” and “Take a Seat” have been very successful and received plenty of press attention which is a good sign for potential investors. You can see more of Jason Eppink’s work at http://www.jasoneppink.com

For more information on the Trust Art project visit http://www.trustart.org

**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.

Osian’s Art Fund Emerges as High Yielding Asset Class in Global Meltdown – artmarketblog.com

Osian’s Art Fund Emerges as High Yielding Asset Class in Global Meltdown – artmarketblog.com

Osian’s, today presented the 5th Six Monthly Disclosure Report (10 July 2008 – 9 January 2009) on behalf of the privately placed closed-ended Osian’s Art Fund (OAF). The Report establishes that the Osian’s Art Fund is one of the few investments providing a positive rate of return, more than 10.59% CAGR (post taxes) over the last 30 months, holding its own with relative stability, during the worse financial meltdown in global history.

In the current scenario, while Gold has emerged as the highest yielding asset class providing over 12.47% CAGR, followed by Debt Fund at 10.98% CAGR, the Osian’s Art Fund is only marginally behind (refer Attachment 1). The credibility of well managed, high quality art as an asset, for serious institutional investments, has now clearly emerged.

Mr. Neville Tuli, Founder-Chairman, Osian’s, said, “Today, we are close to achieving our first integrated global platform whereby the dual responsibilities of building great knowledge bases hand in hand with creating systematic wealth can be united on sustainable, accountable and transparent platforms. It will always be work in progress but the proximity of the bridge-building exercise is now clear for most to see.”

The Osian’s Art Fund, set up under the Indian Trusts Act, launched its first privately placed scheme Contemporary-1 on 10 July 2006, raising a corpus of Rs. 102.4 Cr. The Fund, a close-ended scheme with a lock in period of 36 months was open to investors only by private placement and the minimum investment was Rs.10 lac and then in multiples of Rs.5 lac.

The Fund attracted 656 investors from all over India. The top 10 cities from which the highest Osian’s client response was received were Delhi NCR (31.4%) followed by Mumbai (27.1), Kolkata (10.2%), Bangalore (8.8%), Chennai (7.9%), Hyderabad (3.9%), Surat (2.2%), Baroda (1.7%), Pune (0.9%) & Ahmedabad (0.8%). In totality, the Osian’s client base extended to 39 towns & cities, showing the national scale reach and interest. Out of the total number of investors about 82.72% had ventured into the area of investment in art for the very first time, though they were aware of Osian’s as an Auction House and Archive. Also, out of the total number of investors, 82.75% are individuals, 10.07 % are corporates and 7.18% are firms.

The Fund (as on 9 Jan 2009) has invested in a number of artists with a very well diversified portfolio based on their historical significance. These include the Progressive Artists Group (PAG) (20.92%), a Focus on Abstraction (17.20%), Calcutta Group & Painters (16.74%), a Figurative Focus (non PAG) (15.22%), Contemporary Art (8.33%), a Figurative Focus (Bengal) (6.17%), Cholamandal Artists (4.05%), a Figurative Focus (Delhi) (2.96%), Sculpture (2.78%), National Art Treasures (1.54%), Baroda School (1.11%) and Others (2.97%) (refer Attachment 2) V.S. Gaitonde, M.F. Husain & Akbar Padamsee are the three leading artists with the largest allocation.

High quality Indian art is more and more being seen as a credible asset, with many advantages over other assets. The Auction Sales turnover has taken a great leap from INR 133 millions in 1999 to INR 5527 millions in 2008, having achieved a growth of 51.26% CAGR.

**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.

Art Market Correction Statistics – artmarketblog.com

Art Market Correction Statistics – artmarketblog.com

Copyright@Artprice.com

Since the beginning of September, the art market has contracted for the first time since 1990. Although it survived 9/11, the meltdown of the global financial system has been too much for the “pleasure investment” market. The figures speak for themselves

Compared with January of this year, the average prices of publicly sold art works during October contracted 14.5% . Retrospectively, the end of 2007 – beginning of 2008 now looks like the market’s peak.
According to our data, the prices commanded by artists in all segments of the market – from the speculative top-end of the market to the affordable segments (<10,000 euros) – are being punished by the current context. Indeed, the value depreciation of “speculative” works tends to drag down values in the safer segments. Our figures show an equally strong impact in the small provincial auction rooms and at the major prestigious auction houses: since the beginning of October, the crisis has had a significant impact.

And nor is the ultra top-end of the market, where masterpieces change hands for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, exempt from this overall trend. Driven by demand from the nouveau riche in Asia, Russia and the Middle-East, prices were buoyant up until June. However, we see a clear contraction since the end of August. The bought-in rate has more than doubled in one year, growing from 25% at the end of 2007 to 54% in October 2008. Paradoxically, the prices of works presented above the 100,000 euros line (and which were successfully sold) have remained stable compared with the levels recorded 12 months earlier. On this segment of the market, bearing in mind the time lapse between the moment when works are valued and the final closing of the sales catalogues and orchestration of the sale, price adjustments are slow or inadequate. As reserve prices have not been adjusted to take into account the new market reality, the first expression of a new supply/demand equilibrium during periods of crisis is an increase in the bought-in rate.

Whereas the top-end of the market (4.1% of transactions) has shown relative price inertia, on the more dynamic segment of works offered for less than 100,000 euros, reactions have been more spontaneous: price adjustments are already underway. In this segment, the price index calculated using the repeated sales method has dropped 18% compared with October 2007!

The impact of the crisis has already spread around the world. Globalisation appears to be equally efficient in both directions; prices have contracted in New York, Paris and London – i.e. at the heart of the market – and in the new art market growth zones around Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai. The very latest results recorded in these new markets are extremely disappointing. Take for example the $16.9m overall revenue figure generated by Christie’s Middle East from its 29-30 October sales in Dubai compared with the $ 32 – 43m expected. In Hong-Kong in October 2007, Sotheby’s posted a bought-in rate below 10%. This year, at the same sales, this ratio was nearly 29%.

**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.

Betting on the Art Market Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

Betting on the Art Market Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

The reason that I invest in art and am involved with the art market is because I find investing in art to be extremely enjoyable, exciting, fun and interesting which is presumable the reason that most people invest in art. With this in mind I would like to hear your thoughts on a company that has managed to come up with a way of investing in the art market that seems to have removed all the fun, excitement, enjoyment and interest. The company in question is Intrade which is an online marketplace for the exchange of predictions on uncertain future events often called “prediction markets” or “event markets” which are more commonly known as futures. Intrade have recently announced that they have create the world’s first publicly traded futures contracts written on the global fine art market. See here:
http://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/common/c_cd.jsp?conDetailID=648715&z=1224114676836

The art market indicator that you are making a prediction on when you purchase a contract is the Mei Moses All Art Index which was created by Jianping Mei and Michael Moses whose website (artasanasset.com) states that “We have developed such a database for art that now has approximately 12,000 repeat sale pairs to which approximately an additional 1000 pairs are added each year. We use a statistical methodology to create our index which is similar to that developed by Professors Case and Shiller for their residential real estate index published by Standard and Poor’s.” SInce the Mei Moses website doesn’t explain what a sale pair is I went to the website of Standard and Poor’s where the methodology of the sale pair as used in both the Case and Shiller real estate index and the Mei Moses index is explained as “Each sale price is considered a data point. When a specific home is resold, months or years later, the new sale price is matched to the home’s first sale price. These two data points are called a “sale pair.” The difference in the sale pair is measured and recorded. All the sales pairs in a region are then aggregated into one index. Sales pairs are
carefully screened for any data points that would distort the index.” Basically what this means is that Mei Moses index charts the difference between the original sale price of an artwork and the most recent sale price.

When you make a prediction with Intrade regarding the Mei Moses index you are predicting what the value of the index will be on the 6th of Jan 2009 at 12:00PM ET when the index is next updated. The Intrade website explains the transactions that take place in relation to the Mei Moses index as such:

“A contract will expire according to the value of the Mei Moses All Art Index as calculated by Beautiful Asset Advisors (BAA) and published simultaneously at http://www.artasanasset.com and Intrade on the 6th of Jan 2009 at 12:00PM ET. The Mei Moses All Art Index uses repeat sale pair method to measure the performance of the global fine art market. More info is available at http://www.artasanasset.com. These contracts will expire with a dollar value of $ (2008 value of Mei Moses All Art Index) / 10. For example, if the 2008 index value printed on Jan X at X pm ET is 280, each contract shall expire with value $28.00. Profit and loss will be calculated as the difference between the trade price and the expiry price. For example, if you bought contracts at a price of $30.00 and the expiry value is $31.00, your profit will be $1.00 per contract. If you sold contracts at a price of $30.00 and the expiry value is $29.00, your loss will be $1.00 per contract.” (intrade.com)

To be continued….

**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.

Danger of Careless Art Market Talk – artmarketblog.com

Danger of Careless Art Market Talk – artmarketblog.com

A Sotheby’s auction here in Australia on the 26th of August did not go as well as was anticipated with just less than half of the works selling and a final sales figure of AUD$5.77 million without buyers premium against an estimate of $9-$12 million. According to an article in the Australian newspaper, Georgina Pemberton, Sotheby’s head of paintings, described last night’s result as “a reflection of our economic climate and we are now going through a correction in the art market” After making this comment to the Australian newspaper, Georgina then went on to make the following comment regarding the auction to Bloomberg news “Some of the collectors are becoming more conservative, but overall the art market is still very strong”. Hmmm, seems like someone doesn’t know whether they are coming or going.

Other than the fact that these two statements contradict themselves, stating that the market is currently experiencing a correction that is seemingly based on this one sale is rather silly. A market correction is generally understood to mean a drop of between 10% and 20% in a financial market over a short period of time which would require a general market downward trend. Taking into consideration that there has been very little indication that the market is losing strength other than the Sotheby’s auction and that there are no figures relating to the definition of a market correction to back this statement up, to state that the market is experiencing a correction is very premature and at this point, incorrect.

Further evidence that the market is not in a correction came from an auction that took place the next evening by Bonhams and Goodman which experienced a far different result to Sothebys. According to the Bonhams and Goodman website “Record numbers had inspected the paintings at viewings in Sydney and Melbourne, with over 1500 people attending the auction venues, 30% up on the numbers for April. On auction night 250 people packed the Prahran saleroom to see Masterpieces of Australian Art from The Julian & Miriam Sterling Collection sell for $1,976,000 (including buyer’s premium), well over the lower estimate published in the catalogue. The sale of the Australian Fine Art catalogue contributed another $3 million to the result. ” Geoffrey Smith, Director & National Head of Art at Bonhams and Goodman went on to comment that “It was our most successful sale ever.” In total $4.9 million of art was sold against a lower estimate of $3.6 million although interestingly, only 49% of works sold which was the same percentage of works that sold at the Sotheby’s auction. What these results do show is that people are paying more money for the best works and that, although the sale rates may give the appearance of a correction, an proper analysis of the whole market points to more of a market transformation (ie. a change in buying trends and habits as opposed to a down-turn)

Another telling indication that the problem may be with Sotheby’s and not the market is the fact that only around 150 reportedly turned up at the Sotheby’s auction compared with 250 at the Bonhams and Goodman auction. With several more important art auction scheduled in Australia over the coming weeks it will be interesting to see what the results will be.

**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

Damien Hirst Screws Himself – artmarketblog.com

Damien Hirst Screws Himself – artmarketblog.com

On the 15th and 16th of September a total of 223 previously unsold works by Damien Hirst will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s. The collection consists mainly of different versions of Hirst’s most iconic concepts including versions of his spot paintings, spin paintings, butterfly paintings, medicine cabinets, formaldehyde works and photo realist paintings.

In continuation from my previous post on this auction I have conducted some further research on Damien Hirst and the market for his work which resulted in some rather interesting results. The online art auction result database Artprice.com lists a total of 1013 Damien Hirst works sold at auction since 1992, 169 of which were auctioned in 2007 which means that the Sotheby’s auction of 223 Damien Hirst works will account for more than a years worth of auction results. Comparatively, Jeff Koons, who is 10 years Damien’s senior, only has 524 auction recorded auction results since 1991.

The fact that Hirst has made the decision to sell at auction partly because the commission rates charged by an auction house are lower than those charged by most galleries suggests that his motivation is mostly, if not purely, financial. Although the demand for Hirst’s work is very high there are already plenty of works on the market due to the huge number of works that Hirst produces. This makes me wonder how many people will be buying from this auction purely because of the nature of the sale as opposed to the quality, price or attraction of the work on offer. I would say probably lots. If there are lots of people buying purely as a result of the nature of the sale then this could result in people buying works from this auction at inflated prices created by a false perception of scarcity and immediacy created by Sothebys when in fact there are already plenty of Hirst works available for sale elsewhere.

There are basically two different outcomes for this auction both of which I perceive as being potentially detrimental to Hirst’s career. Firstly, a successful sale where a majority of the works are sold for above estimate will result in a glut of Damien Hirst works being thrust onto the market which could well result in the demand and desirability Hirst’s work to drop due to the availability of works increasing dramatically. The effect that the sale of these works will have on the market for Hirst’s work depends on how many people are purchasing with the intention of on-selling within a short period of time. Scenario number two is that the sale goes terribly which would of course result in Hirst’s reputation and value dropping.

To be continued….

**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

Oz Artist Resale Royalty Boost – artmarketblog.com

Oz Artist Resale Royalty Boost – artmarketblog.com

For those who regular readers of my blog, you will be aware that I am an Australian and that I am a strong supporter of the implementation of an artist’s resale right in Australia. Just because the current Australian government made the decision to introduce a resale royalty scheme does not mean that the whole resale royalty saga is over. All that the Australian government has done is made the promise to implement a resale royalty, they have not said when it will be implemented or what model will be implemented. There are many different resale royalty model options that the government could choose to implement some of which are downright ridiculous and potentially ineffective.

On Friday an announcement was made that will be signal a major boost to the Australian art world with a press release being made public announcing that Joanna Cave, CEO of the UK’s primary copyright and collecting society for artists and visual creators DACS (Design and Artists Copyright Society), will be moving to Australian in January 2009. Joanna will be moving to Australia to take up the position of CEO of Australia’s copyright and collecting society for artists and visual creators and sister society of DACS, Viscopy. What makes this announcement so exciting is that Joanna Cave is probably the world’s most knowledgeable and experienced person on the resale right for visual artists having successfully implemented the resale right in the UK. Now that such an influential person will be coming to Australia there is a much better chance that the resale right model that is implemented will be the most effective and managable model. There is also now a much better chance that the resale right will be implemented smoothly, effectively and with the smallest amount of disruption due to the experience, knowledge and wisdom of Joanna cave.

See the press release from DACS below.

Design and Artists Copyright Society

News release

22 August 2008

CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP AT DACS

DACS’ Board of Directors today announced the resignation of Chief Executive Joanna Cave after eight years of dynamic leadership.

During that time, DACS (the Design and Artists Copyright Society) has changed in both size and profile, and now enjoys a strong reputation among artists whilst generating almost £9 million annually through its three rights management services.

Most recently, Joanna led the campaign for the Artist’s Resale Right in the UK – against fierce opposition in some quarters – which culminated in the government introducing legislation that delivers genuine benefit to artists without harming the market for art.

Since 2006, DACS has collected £6.3 million in resale royalties for over 1500 artists and DACS’ service is recognised as the best in the world.

DACS Chair Andrew Potter says: ‘Many thousands of artists, designers and photographers have every reason to be grateful to Joanna for her hard-won achievements on their behalf. She leaves DACS in great shape, doing a brilliant job on behalf of its members. I, the Board and everyone at DACS will miss her greatly, both professionally and personally. Everyone who works with Jo holds her in the highest regard.’

It is the success of the UK Resale Right campaign that has led Joanna to her next challenge, spearheading the campaign for the Artist’s Resale Right in Australia and New Zealand.

Michael Keighery, Chair of DACS’s equivalent organisation, VISCOPY, in Sydney, says: ‘Jo has been a tireless advocate for artists in the UK and on the international stage. Under her leadership Australian and New Zealand artists can look forward to VISCOPY championing their rights with great commitment and energy.’

Joanna says: ‘It’s a privilege to have been part of the DACS success story and leaving after eight happy years is going to be a wrench. But I am excited about the opportunity to work on behalf of artists in Australia and New Zealand. The Artist’s Resale Right is hugely important not least for indigenous artists, many of whom continue to be poorly rewarded for their work, despite its current popularity throughout the world’.

Joanna Cave will take up her new post in Australia in January 2009. DACS has commenced its search for her successor. Details of the vacancy will be available on http://www.dacs.org.uk.

For further information, please call Joanne Milmoe on 020 7336 8811.

**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

Indian Art Fair and Summit 08 – artmarketblog.com

Indian Art Fair and Summit 08 – artmarketblog.com

Today marks the start of the Indian Art Summit, India’s modern and contemporary art fair, which is taking place from the 22nd to the 24th of August. According to the Indian Art Summit website (http://www.indiaartsummit.com) the “India Art Summit™ 2008 has received an overwhelming response with over 90 applications from galleries and art businesses. The art fair will house 34 of the best exhibitiors of Indian art representing over 12 regions from India & overseas. The India Art Summit™ will therefore showcase the most diverse range of modern and contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, mix media, prints, drawings and video art by veterans and upcoming artists from across the country. The 3 days in August will see the largest congregation of art collectors, a new wave of investors and art lovers from different geographies.”

It is no secret that the market for contemporary Indian art is red hot but you may be surprised to learn that an Australian gallery was partly responsible for one of the first major international touring shows of contemporary Indian. The exhibition, titled “Edge of desire: recent art in India”, was a joint initiative of the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the Asia Society in New York that, according to the exhibition catalogue, captured “the breadth and depth of practice in India and demonstrated why Indian art today plays such a vital role in the current international art scene. The first stop for the traveling exhibition was the Art Gallery of Western Australia from the 25 Sept 2004 – 9 January 2005 after which the exhibition moved to the United States where it was shown at the Asia Society and Museum from March 1 – June 5, 2005 and then the Queens Museum of Art from February 27 – June 5, 2005.

The fact that Australian’s have shown such an interest in Indian art is not that surprising when you consider between similarities between Australia’s beloved Aboriginal art and Indian art. Both cultures, for instance, have extremely old and unique visual and pictoral traditions that are key components in the visual representation and expression of various components of their culture with a particular focus on spiritual and religious beliefs. Both cultures have also experienced, and continue to experience, a sort of identity crisis at the heart of which is a struggle to maintain and preserve their traditions in a rapidly developing and progressing world. This struggle between tradition and contemporary society is often played out on canvas with many Australian Aboriginal and Indian artists having adapted the traditional visual representation of their social values, spiritual beliefs and cultural practices to the modern mediums of video, photography and installation. Many of Australia’s indigenous artists also use art as an expression of the trials and tribulations that a relatively unchanged ancient culture have faced, and continue to face, in a rapidly changing environment – just as many contemporary Indian artists do.

As an art collector and investor whose latest purchase was a print by the fantastic Indian artist Manjunath Kamath, I can tell you now that I will be continuing to expand my collection of contemporary Indian for as long as contemporary Indian artists continue to produce such amazing work.

**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

Hirst Art Auction Reality Part 1 – artmarketblog.com

Hirst Art Auction Reality Part 1 – artmarketblog.com

The upcoming auction of new works by Damien Hirst to be conducted by Sotheby’s (see here) has generated a huge amount of hype that is sure to result in a packed saleroom and at least a few major results. According to the Sotheby’s website the auction, which has been given the rather romantic title “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”, is “a major auction of works by Damien Hirst, [that] will include an important series of new pieces which have been created over the past two years, including monumental formaldehyde sculptures; paintings which expand on the artist’s classic themes such as butterflies, cancer cells and pills; exquisite new cabinets and insightful preparatory drawings.”

Ok, now that all that is out of the way, it is time for a reality check. I have identified many potential problems with this auction, the first being the fact that versions of many of the works being offered at the auction have already been sold at auction. It is no secret that Hirst gets as much mileage from each “theme” as he can, producing multiple versions of many of his works such as the spin paintings and butterfly paintings, which presents a conundrum for those planning on purchasing a version of such a work from the auction. Because of the hype surrounding the sale of these works it is quite likely that high prices will be paid for the works being auctioned. The conundrum is, is it worth paying more for one of the works from this auction considering that it is quite likely that a very similar work will be available for sale at a lower price elsewhere? . As far as I can see the answer is no because once the hype is over the buyers are potentially going to be left with a work of art similar to other works on the market except for the fact that they paid more for theirs.  And personally, I don’t see the fact that these works were part of a “landmark” auction as being enough to justify a higher value. For those of you thinking that people won’t pay more for a work of art just because it is being sold at a landmark auction event or because they don’t want the other ten people bidding for the work to have it, think again

Savvy investors and collectors would be better off purchasing a version of the works being offered at the Sotheby’s auction from elsewhere before the auction takes place to take advantage of the increase in price that the auction is likely to generate for Hirst’s work. Be warned though, that any price increase as a result of the auction may only last for a short period of time so to take advantage of the price increase may require any works purchased to be sold relatively soon after purchase. To be continued…

image:

Beautiful Helios Hysteria Intense Painting
(with Extra Inner Beauty) (lot 227, Afternoon Sale)
household gloss on canvas
diameter: 45.7cm.
executed in 2008
estimate: £ 60,000-80,000
€ 76,000-102,000
US$ 119,000-158,000

**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

Affordable Investment Art 12 – artmarketblog.com

Affordable Investment Art August 19 – artmarketblog.com

In 2007 Britain’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) launched a new project called All Tomorrow’s Pictures in conjunction Sony Ericsson which involves a number of high profile artists using the state-of-the-art Cyber-shot TM mobile phone manufactured by Sony Ericsson to produce an image which has been made available to purchase as a limited edition print. The All Tomorrow’s Pictures project was launched as a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Institute of Contemporary Art which was first established in 1947 by a group of artists, poets and writers as a meeting point for exploration between artists and audiences. According to the ICA website: “since its establishment, it (the ICA) has been at the centre of many of the most significant artistic and cultural developments in the past 60 years. It has also introduced numerous artists, performers, writers and other cultural figures to a wider audience, both nationally and internationally.”

In total, 60 artists contributed images to the All Tomorrow’s Pictures 59 of whom were high profile artists invited by the ICA with the 50th artist selected from submissions by the public through an online competition. Each artist was invited to produce a single image or series of images inspired by the theme of ‘Tomorrow’ – using the Sony Ericsson K800i – a state-of-the-art Cyber-shot TM mobile phone. The ICA describes the project as a “pioneering venture [that] aims to highlight the creative potential of fusing art and technology and present a searing vision of the future as imagined through the eyes of some of our most influential and creative talent”. Highly desirable artists such as Idris Khan, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Sue Webster and Tim Noble, Tracey Emin and many others created works for the project each of which were produced in a limited edition of ten which range in price from 250 pounds to 350 pounds.

This unique project has resulted in some fantastic images, many of which have sold out, by a range of awesome artists that have been released as a very limited edition of affordable and good sized (A3) prints that can only be described as extremely good value for money. To see the full range of prints available go here:

http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=14604

image: Idris Khan, A Memory of Lampposts
A3 print on inkjet photo satin paper. Printed with long term pigmented inks.

**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

2008 Aboriginal Art Awards – artmarketblog.com

2008 Aboriginal Art Awards – artmarketblog.com

Well, today is my last day in the extremely beautiful Darwin which, as well as being the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, is the centre of the world renowned Australian Aboriginal art movement. Last night at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, the winners of the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award were announced during an outdoor celebration which took place in a spectacular location on the edge looking out onto the water which framed a brief but mesmerising Darwin sunset. The Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award is a really big deal for the Australian art market as well as for Australia’s Indigenous artists many of whom live in third world conditions. A first price of $40,000 is a lot of money in anyone’s books but for someone living in a remote desert community where many of the residents still live a very traditional lifestyle that involves periods of “going bush” (periods of living out in the bush as the Aboriginal did prior to the occupation of their country by white people). Winning a Telstra Art Award pretty much guarantees that the value of that artist’s work will be increase in value and desirability so every one who is anyone in the Australian art market has their radar tuned into the awards. If you are wondering how important the Australian Aboriginal Art movement is to the art world then consider that Australian Aboriginal culture can claim to be the oldest continuous living culture on the planet (more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_art

Although I had already spent three days wondering around the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair I was saving my money for the last day of the fair which was also the day after the announcement of the winners of the Aboriginal art awards. The reason that I was saving my money was that many of the artists whose work had been entered into the award was available at the fair meaning that the likelihood of me picking up a work by a winner of an award at the fair before the price of that artist’s works reflected the accolade. Sure enough, works by all of the artists who won one of the four awards on offer were available to be purchased from one of the art centres who were represented at the Darwin Art Fair. My recent interest in some of the amazing prints being produced by Aboriginal artists had me particularly excited about finding out who the winner of the works on paper section of the awards would be. To my delight, the winner was a world renowned Torres Strait islander artist by the name of Dennis Nona who also won the overall award last year. Having seen a Dennis Nona print available for sale at the Darwin Art Fair the previous day I knew that this was the work I would be spending my money on, if it was still available. Luckily for me the one and only Dennis Nona print for sale at the fair was still available when I arrived at the fair and was in my possession a short time later. Suffice to say I was extremely pleased with what is a beautiful work of art and a great investment.

According to the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory website, “The $4,000 Telstra Works on Paper, was awarded to Dennis Nona from Badu Island, Torres Strait, Queensland, for his etching on paper, Dugam. Winner of last year’s $40,000 Telstra Award for his 3.5m bronze crocodile Ubirikubiri, Dennis is widely acknowledged as an important Torres Strait Islander artist. His entry in this year’s award is named after the star that is visible in the early morning sky for about two weeks during August and September. Its presence tells the Torres Strait Islanders that it is the time to harvest the wild yams, kutai, gabau and saurr”. Dennis’s work is is held in most major Australian art institutions and in a number of important overseas collections including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Victoria and Albert Museum London, British Museum, London and Cambridge University Museum, UK.

To see more info on the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award check out these links:
http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/museums/exhibitions/natsiaa/25/index.html

http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/museums/exhibitions/natsiaa/25/gallery/htmlversion/index.htm

Image one: Winner of the 2008 Telstra Art Award, Makinti Napanangka

Image two: Dennis Nona – Dugam, Etching on paper

**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