NFT Cryptos, manga, and street: produce record year for contemporary art

NFT Cryptos, manga, and street: produce record year for contemporary art

 

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Over the past 21 years, the contemporary art market has grown by 2700%. In 2020-2021 alone, by 117%, thanks above all to the NFT phenomenon. Numbers that bring - in the year 2021 - the share of contemporary art in the market to 23% (twenty years ago it stood at 3%)

 

Saturday 11 December is the Contemporary Day, an important event promoted by AMACI - Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums, which for seventeen years has involved museums, foundations, public and private institutions, galleries, studios, and artist spaces to tell the story of the vitality of contemporary art in our country.

 

For the occasion, let's try to take stock together on what the state of the (contemporary) art market is in 2021. Compared to the year Covid, there are many innovations illustrated by the Contemporary Art Market Report 2021 drawn up by Art price, the database world leader in information on the fine art auction market, presented on 5 October, which analyzes the period between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021.

 

Premise

Over the past 21 years, the contemporary art market - which includes artists born after 1945 and which attracts over 120 million collectors, professionals, and art lovers - has registered a volume increase of 2,700% and in the last year it has skyrocketed increased by 117% thanks above all to the shock given by NFT (Non-Fungible Token), so much so that today it represents 23% of the entire market (first half of 2021), compared to 3% in 2000-2001.

 

2020-2021, the record year of contemporary art

 

NFT News: The first important data to consider therefore concerns the turnover generated worldwide: the contraction of -34% suffered between 2019 and 2020 due to the pandemic was mitigated by the subsequent organization of online sales, which counterbalanced the closure of galleries and retail houses auction. The recovery - which took place from the second half of 2020 to the first half of 2021 - was so significant that the contemporary art market recorded the best year in the history of auctions both in terms of turnover, which more than doubled and in terms of transaction density (5,000 new artist records were produced).

If we consider the negative impact that the health crisis has caused, it is incredible to see that over 100,000 works- the result of the work of almost 35,000 artists - have passed to new owners in the auctions of the 2020-2021 period for a total value of 2.7 billion dollars. This result reflects the strong dynamism of contemporary art, which continues to attract new buyers and position itself among the most interesting and profitable segments in the global art market.

The paintings are confirmed as the type of work preferred by collectors both in terms of value, equivalent to approximately two billion dollars (73% of the total turnover of Contemporary ), and in terms of lots sold (42%). They are precisely the paintings to have recorded the best result in terms of sales, with 82% of these purchased above $ 1 million. Drawings and sculptures only reach this figure for a respective 6%, while a new, fourth medium makes its way towards seven-zero transactions: as many as 9 NFTs (i.e. unique and non-modifiable digital artwork, registered and protected by technology blockchain) have reached figures over a million dollars, three times more than photographs (data updated as of June 30, 2021), representing today 5% of the market.

The Asian market and the rise of Hong Kong

As far as the geographical distribution of sales is concerned, the Asian market has definitively become the main world centre for the exchange of contemporary works not only by local artists but also by a growing number of Western artists. The "Greater China" conglomerate - made up of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong - contributed approximately $ 1 billion, representing 40% of the traffic. In particular, extraordinary were the results achieved in the Hong Kong auctions, whose unsold rate is the lowest in the world: only 10% of lots find no buyers, compared to 30% of the global average. Nearly 130 pieces sold for over $ 1 million, six times more than in the US, and in the first six months of 2021, the former British colony alone generated $ 962 million compared to $ 1.2 million in the UK.

 

It is, therefore, as evident as Hong Konghas become attractive and fundamental for the three main majors of the gavel: Phillips generated a quarter of its turnover here, Christie's 33%, and Sotheby's even 38%. Successes that have arisen from the commitment that the three auction houses have shown in recent years in diversifying the Asian collections, offering more and more names of well-known Western artists in the departments open on-site and online sales. This strategy paid off especially during live auctions of 2020, which allowed collectors from all over the world to compete without physical barriers and with great speed.

In particular, Phillips recorded the best result in terms of attendance: thanks, in fact, to the historic collaboration with the Chinese fashion house Poly International Beijing (fourth auction house on the planet), the auction sale which took place in June 2021 saw the participation of over 800 online bidders - the highest ever recorded - and set new records for 17 artists. In addition, around 86% of the lots offered during this summer event were chosen by Asian customers.

The western market between New York, London, and Paris

Immediately behind Asia is the United States, which - despite having been bypassed in its ten-year dominant position - generated 889 million dollars (accounting for 32% of global turnover), the best result in the history of contemporary art sales in America. The work that has reached the highest price is In This Case (1983) by Jean-Michel Basquiat, sold at Christie's New York for 93 million dollars (think that in 2002 it was worth "only" $ 1 million), in line with what happened in Hong Kong, where the black Picasso set a new record with Warrior (1982), sold for 41.6 million dollars by the same mason. The American market is also the liveliest in terms of traffic density, with more than 20,000 lots sold in just 12 months. Finally, a bronze medal for the United Kingdom, which accounts for 16% of the overall contemporary market!

 

If New York and London are confirmed as the beating heart of the West, Paris and the French provinces, although not able to attract as many collectors, demonstrate certain vitality. France can count on a turnover of almost 60 million dollars (+ 44% in 2020), equivalent to 4% of the entire contemporary art market (against 2.3% the previous year). With about 10 thousand works sold, it is established as the third most important territory by volume, even if it should be noted that 82% of these do not reach five thousand dollars.

 

Although works of contemporary art have been sold in as many as 770 auction houses located in 59 different countries, 2/3 of the global market is governed by Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips. In this context, Christie's is the top seller of contemporary art in the period considered by the report: its turnover - which accounts for 32% - revolves mainly around London (17%), Asian cities (33%), and especially New York (48%), from which more than half of the pieces sold the pass. The same is evident for Sotheby's (26%) and Phillips (10%).

The "top artists" of 2021

Globally, the most quoted artist is Jean-Michel Basquiat (162 lots sold for a total of $ 385.8 million), followed by Banksy (1,540 lots for $ 181.3 million) and the Japanese Yoshimoto Nara (569 lots for a total of $ 146.8 million). The American George Condo (154 lots for 72.1 million dollars) and Beeple (just 2 lots for 69.5 million dollars) close the "top 5", ranking respectively in fourth and fifth place in terms of proceeds obtained from auctions. The latter alone accounts for 3% of the total turnover of the contemporary segment.

 

Contemporary art market year

If we look instead at the records achieved in the auction for each work, finds itself again at the top of the Basquiat rankings thanks to the aforementioned In This Case. The African American artist, who died very young in 1988, has seen the demand for his works grow exponentially over the years, so much so that in 2021, five of the ten best results bear his signature, representing 14% of the global auction turnover.

 

A new entry this year is undoubtedly the digital artist Mike Winkelmann (Wisconsin, 1981), aka Beeple. Completely unknown to the traditional market until a few months ago, today Beeple is one of the three most sought after and quoted living artists together with David Hockney and Jeff Koons. The second-best result of 2021 is due to his jpeg file Everyday: The First 5000 Days, the first Non-Fungible Token to be offered in a traditional auction. The starting price at which Christie's proposed the NFT was just $ 100, an estimate that in a short time it grew to reach the astronomical figure of $ 69.3 million.

 

Another name to keep an eye on in the coming months is the Chinese Chen Danqing, who conquers the third step of the podium reaching a new record in the June 2021 auction by Poly International Beijing, with almost 25.2 million dollars offered for one of his oil painting entitled Shepherds.

 

On the other hand, if we take into account the “most popular” artists, it is the street artist KAWS (15th in the ranking) who takes the lead. Among the most sought after by international collectors with a turnover of 31.5 million dollars generated by approximately 1,680 lots. Takashi Murakami is positioned with 1,591 lots at auction (21 °), which has now become a real "production machine" with his company, Kaikai Kiki Co. The most popular works concern his prints which, thanks to low and diversified prices, are accessible to the pockets of large public and heterogeneous.

 

Finally, the aforementioned Banksy also continues his unstoppable climb to fame, which went from billing three million dollars in 2016 to generating 123 million dollars in the first half of 2021 with an increase of 640 jobs sold compared to the previous year. Alone, the anonymous English artist represents 7% of the total revenues of the world market, also counting two works sold at prices above 10 million dollars.

Conclusions

The photograph was taken by Art price on June 30 this year therefore shows us a thriving, dynamic, and constantly growing contemporary art market, supported primarily by the advent of crypto art and NFT, and with its control centre in Asia and in particular in Hong Kong, which for the first time overtakes the United States, putting the myth of American centrality in crisis. And again, from the rankings of the best-selling artists, there is a decisive appreciation for the provocative and colourful street art and for the art close to the aesthetics of manga and cartoons that goes well with the tastes of crypto collectors.

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