Inside the Craze for KAWS KAWS’S Total Auction Sales (US$)
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Spring 2019 Intelligence Report A Buyer’s Guide to the Venice Biennale How Does Art Inside Perform in a the Craze Recession? Which Artists Will Go Blue- for KAWS Chip in 2019? Table of Contents At a time when the US President is under investigation, the prospect of Brexit looms over the UK, and China is in 4 The Art Market by 46 What to Expect the midst of a bruising economic slowdown, the art mar- the Numbers in the Art Market ket may not be the most important matter on your mind. • Total auction sales around the globe When You’re But here’s the thing about the art market: It is a reflection • Why you’re paying more for art Expecting a of the larger economy—and the world around us. Every • Expert predictions for 2019 geopolitical event, cultural shift, and election has a Recession By Tim Schneider ripple effect that jostles our little sector. Three lessons we learned from Editors’ Letter The second artnet Intelligence Report drills down into the 2008 market crash—and the fact that art is never divorced from commerce, poli- 6 The Best-Seller what it tells us about the future tics, or economics, much as we might like to think other- Lists wise. In this issue, we explore the effects of China’s eco- nomic quake on the art market and uncover the powerful The top 10 lots of 2018 in every forces behind the craze for street artist-turned-global major category phenomenon KAWS. We also offer advice about how to 52 Ahh … a most wisely handle your art collection during a recession and present a handy guide to the rising stars participat- Refreshing ing in this year’s Venice Biennale. Data Dive 20 Does the Future of By Julia Halperin Above all, this report explores how data—compiled here the Art Market in close and creative partnership with the indispensable We pull together exclusive artnet Price Database team—can offer valuable insight Look Like ... KAWS? data about the market’s 2018 By Eileen Kinsella to help us better understand the past, prepare for the performance, gathered from the future, and maybe even have some fun along the way. artnet Price Database, and speak How a New Jersey-born graffiti to experts about what it all means artist subverted almost every art- Andrew Goldstein and Julia Halperin market norm to become a global phenomenon 61 Who Are Today’s Most Bankable 28 A Buyer’s Guide Artists? to the Venice See the 10 best-selling artists in Biennale each genre last year By Melanie Gerlis Andrew Goldstein Julia Halperin Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor What you need to know when artnet News artnet News shopping for the show’s most @AndrwGoldstein @juliahalperin desirable artists 2 3 Intelligence Report BY THE NUMBERS The sum spent The growth rate of the value THE NUMBER on fine art, design, of fine art worldwide in 2018. Is OF WOMEN and decorative art that good news? Not really, says ON THE LIST OF 100 TOP- at auction in 2018— $5.95 Benjamin Mandel, a global strategist SELLING ARTISTS IN 2018 less than one percent at JP Morgan Asset Management. 5 BILLION more than in 2017. It’s still less than the growth rate of BILLION the global GDP. “The sales growth 1. $19.3 The total amount of in the art market underperformed money spent overall economic activity,” he says. on postwar and 4.1% “It was a soft year.” contemporary art YAYOI KUSAMA at auction worldwide, The total amount a 15 percent increase of money spent at from 2017. (Just 2. auction on fine art remember, it’s all “Although the value and design alone in relative: carmaker 2018, up 4.1 percent Tesla generated $7.23 of the sales has held BILLION from 2017. billion in revenue in relatively constant, the $14.7 the final quarter of JOAN MITCHELL 2018 alone.) number of lots sold has decreased dramatically. 3. That’s showing you “Because auctions are driven by supply, when there’s a contraction in major estates come up, the market.” GEORGIA O’KEEFFE it makes for more robust Jeff Rabin, Cofounder, Artvest 4. 7.5% years. Estates were a major player last year.” Suzanne Gyorgy, Citi Private Bank’s CECILY BROWN global head of art advisory and finance 5. $$$ $59KThe average price of a work of fine art sold at auction in 2018—up from $43,000 in 2013, a rate LOUISE BOURGEOIS of growth that far outpaced inflation. “ So many women artists who are considered masters and essential to the story of contemporary art The share of all fine-art PEGGY & DAVID The consecutive years ROCKEFELLER don’t show up in the evening sales. auction revenue last that the total number I think, and hope, that will change.” year generated by just BARNEY of works of art sold at two estate sales. EBSWORTH auction has dropped. Wendy Cromwell, art advisor 4 The Best- 1 Ultra-Contemporary 2 Contemporary 3 Impressionist & Modern 4 Postwar $eller 5 European Old Masters 6 Photographs Lists6 Ultra-Contemporary Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Mimetic Gestures (2010) Because Crosby makes only about six to eight works each year, competition for her dazzling collages is fierce. As a result, the vast majority of collectors “can’t access Crosby, period—it’s not a matter of at what price,” says the art ad- visor Todd Levin. “If a collector wants to pur- chase a Crosby and not donate it to a museum, the only option is the secondary market.” ARTIST LIFE TITLE DATE SALE PRICE Adrian b. 1977 Boogeyman 2010 $ 6,358,144 1 Ghenie Njideka b. 1983 Bush Babies 2017 $ 3,375,000 2 Akunyili Crosby Ren b. 1976 Nine Dragons and Sea 2018 $ 2,760,145 3 Zhong Jonas b. 1977 Maritime Hotel Pot with Aloe 2014 $ 2,292,500 4 Wood Jonas b. 1977 Rosy's Masks 2008 $ 2,061,219 5 Wood Jonas b. 1977 Black Still Life with Yellow 2013 $ 2,055,000 6 Wood Orchid Njideka b. 1983 Mimetic Gestures 2010 $ 1,932,500 7 Akunyili Crosby Hao Liang, The Hunter and the Transformations Hao b. 1983 Shell 2010 –11 $ 1,854,856 of Hell (2011) 8 Liang The young artist, whose modest aim is no less Njideka b. 1983 Untitled 2010 $ 1,392,500 than the total reinvention of traditional Chi- 9 Akunyili Crosby nese ink-wash painting, broke the $1 million mark at auction twice in 2018. Last summer, Hao b. 1983 The Hunter and the 2011 $ 1,362,457 his debut exhibition at Gagosian in New York 10 Liang Transformations of Hell sold out before it even opened. 8 9 The Best-Seller Lists Christopher Wool, Contemporary Untitled (1990) It’s worth noting that two other big-ticket paintings by Wool—both abstract composi- tions—failed to find buyers the same evening this one sold. All told, the artist had an uneven year, with five of 22 paintings going unsold at auction. Word paintings like this one remain the most sought-after part of his oeuvre. ARTIST LIFE TITLE DATE SALE PRICE Jean-Michel 1960–88 Flexible 1984 $ 45,315,000 1 Basquiat Works by Basquiat from 1982 and 1983 are by far Jean-Michel 1960–88 Flesh and Spirit 1982–83 $ 30,711,000 the most desirable—and 2 Basquiat sure enough, all of these top performers date to Jean-Michel 1960–88 Untitled (Pollo Frito) 1982 $ 25,701,500 those years. 3 Basquiat Jeff b. 1955 Play-Doh 1994–2014 $ 22,812,500 4 Koons Kerry James b. 1955 Past Times 1997 $ 21,114,500 5 Marshall Jean-Michel 1960–88 Discography Two 1983 $ 20,900,000 6 Basquiat Peter b. 1959 The Architect’s Home 1991 $ 19,967,222 Jean-Michel Basquiat, 7 Doig in the Ravine Flexible (1984) Jean-Michel 1960–88 Untitled 1982 $ 19,433,453 When a high-quality and fresh-to-market Bas- 8 Basquiat quiat hits the auction block, you can all but guarantee a bidding war. This work was the Jean-Michel 1960–88 Multiflavors 1982 $ 16,726,257 largest—and most expensive—painting ever 9 Basquiat sold by the artist’s estate. No wonder it nearly doubled its estimate. Christopher b. 1955 Untitled 1990 $ 15,218,750 10 Wool 10 11 The Best-Seller Lists Impressionist & Modern Edward Hopper, Chop Suey (1929) Auctions aren’t always what they seem. Each of these works was This was the most expensive paint- guaranteed to sell—essentially, ing from the lucrative estate of trav- they were presold ahead of the el magnate Barney Ebsworth. But auction. The top two, worth more the sale made waves for more than than $272 million combined, were just its price tag: Ebsworth had sold on a single bid each to their promised the painting to the Seattle guarantors. Art Museum in 2007 but ended up leaving it to his family, who sold it. ARTIST LIFE TITLE DATE SALE PRICE Amedeo 1884–1920 Nu couché (sur le côté 1917 $ 157,159,000 1 Modigliani gauche) Pablo 1881–1973 Fillette à la corbeille fleurie 1905 $ 115,000,000 2 Picasso Edward 1882–1967 Chop Suey 1929 $ 91,875,000 3 Hopper Kazimir 1879–1935 Suprematist Composition 1916 $ 85,812,500 4 Malevich Henri Matisse, Odalisque couchée aux Claude 1840–1926 Nymphéas en fleur 1914–17 $ 84,687,500 magnolias (1923) 5 Monet This painting, from the celebrated Henri 1869–1954 Odalisque couchée aux 1923 $ 80,750,000 Rockefeller estate, set a new record 6 Matisse magnolias for the artist. And it isn’t even from his most coveted period.