Why we need to purchase contemporary art?
Contemporary art on the world market today is more expensive than the impressionists, modernists, cubists and avant-garde artists. But collecting a good collection of artists, for example, from the early 20th century is not easy, since most of the truly valuable works are in museums. There are quite a few interesting works on the contemporary art market, but it is much more difficult to understand what is first-class and what is not.
Buying today the works of a young contemporary artist, you cannot be sure that in 10 years your purchase will be valued in millions. But those who bought the first works of Picasso or Kandinsky also did not have such guarantees – they did not think about it at all. All the major collections that have gone down in history were not intended to be resold. They were made up of enthusiastic people, for themselves and their family, by personal choice and trusting personal taste.
Investing in art is an artificially created phenomenon. It began to be seen as an investment in the late 1980s: young investment bankers from Wall Street began to actively invest in the work of contemporary artists, and banks began to create assets from art objects and even provide art advice. How successful this investment is can be judged by the example of Lehman Brothers, an investment bank that sold its collection at Christie’s in London in 2010 for £ 1,641,613 and was able to pay off creditors.
Certainly, serious investment in art is an area that attracts wealthy people to a greater extent. But no one is stopping you from starting, even without a lot of capital. In this sense, Ukrainian contemporary art is very attractive – on the one hand, it is an emerging market, the prices of which have not yet reached either the world or even the European level, on the other, it is a real Klondike for those who value uniqueness and quality. For example, finding a good modern handmade sculpture in Europe is much more difficult – Western artists rarely use manual labor, being able to send sketches to factories and cast into finished forms.
How much contemporary art cost in Ukraine?
In the domestic art market, despite its youth, the same laws apply as in the world. When determining the price of a work of art, it is not the costs of its creation (paints and canvas) that are estimated. The price of a painting is the name of the artist, the era it represents, the uniqueness of the work. It largely depends on how popular the artist is, in demand, promoted and recognized.
Pictures of young artists who are just starting their career can be purchased at a fairly low cost. You can buy a painting by a young artist in Kiev from $100 to $500; in the case of European galleries, the price will be much higher.
When an artist already has a name, a long track record, dozens of exhibitions and completed projects, and his works are in European museums and private collections, be prepared for amounts of 10 thousand dollars for work and more. That is why prices for artwork differ tenfold. In general, it is difficult to talk about pricing in the art sphere, because many factors affect the formation of the value of a painting – its originality, compliance with current trends, the popularity of the style in which the work was created.
Abstraction, pop art, interior painting have now become in demand not only because over the years we have become accustomed to classical art and it has to some extent ceased to excite us. The lifestyle and style of modern interior has changed: furniture of European designers, the popularity of lofts, minimalism, the use of new materials in decoration – concrete, plastic, brass, raw stone – all this requires completely different art objects than the usual landscapes and still lifes. At the same time, the classic interior, be it neoclassic or even Empire style, greatly benefits from the appearance of modern art objects in it. Becomes more fashionable and modern. Designers loves to play on this contrast when renovating European hotels – in the luxurious halls of old mansions with velvet sofas, you can often find modern paintings and unusual provocative sculptures.
Look into the future
Investing in young art is not only an investment, but also an opportunity to remain in history as a “collector who guessed it”. In addition, this is a certain social merit to the future: even if you cannot get fabulously rich by making a collection, you will still remain the person thanks to whom the culture of his country existed and developed. It is no coincidence that large entrepreneurs, owners of global corporations, politicians, financiers always support art projects, sponsor festivals or open art centers. The higher the social status, the more a cultural component is necessary for it.
Experts are sure: then more younger the art, then more relevant and expensive it is on the market. But ultimately, it’s important to just make the right choice. To invest, you need to communicate with those who work in the field of art, follow various events, festivals of contemporary art, biennials. Talk to gallery owners, art-didders and curators, with the employees of auction houses. With their help, you will understand what is currently in the price and get professional advice. It is worth listening to the opinion of experts, but the main thing is to go to exhibitions, visit galleries (almost all of them now have online platforms), and buy what you personally like.
Art is an investment that, other things being equal, brings aesthetic and emotional pleasure.
* photo: Art Gallery of Hamilton
