"ART IS AN EXCHANGE GOODS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT", - LARRY GAGOSYAN, ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ART DEALERS ON THE PLANET APPROVES. ANNUALLY FROM NEW YORK TO BEIJING, THE ART MARKET IS FIRED BY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW WORKS: THEY OR “BURN”, OR BECOME BEST SELLERS. FOR SUCCESS OR FIASCO MAY BE WHO WHO KNOWS THE RULES OF THE GAME OF THE INDUSTRY OR POSSESSES AN EXCLUSIVE SENSE OF A COLLECTOR. AND IF THE SECOND ITEM IS A NATURAL TALENT, THIS IS THE FIRST LONG AND DIFFICULT, BUT IT CAN BE LEARNED ABOUT.
Craving for the beautiful
The ability to buy and sell paintings is based on a love of art. All collectors, and there are more than 10 million of them on the planet, are, as a rule, spiritualized people and in love with their work. It is they who “incite” interest in new artists or, conversely, are able to extinguish the passion of someone whose style and technique they do not approve of. "Your own taste when choosing works of art for purchase is the most important factor if you want a work of art to please the eye. Any investment includes such an important factor as personal knowledge of the market, personal taste and a sense of spiritual closeness. Preferences are always driving power upon purchase! " - says Halya Khayyat, head of sales at Christie's auction house.
Before you buy something, you need to "get the eye", say collectors and market experts. That is why serious buyers constantly keep in their area of attention a lot of different factors that can influence the formation of a new trend and price of a particular work of art. Business on the art is very similar to trading on the stock exchange, where there are “blue chips”, and world-famous artists who are always in price, and dark horses, putting on which you can either win a big one or burn out.
The volume of the contemporary art market is estimated at US $ 16.1 billion (data from the Artnet portal for 2014). Since the beginning of the new millennium, he has grown 5 (!) Times, and the so-called post-war and modern artists have come to the first place at auction value.
Last year, Andy Warhol (total sales of US $ 653 million), Pablo Picasso (US $ 449 million) and Francis Bacon (US $ 306 million) were recognized as the best-selling authors. The centers of cultural life are still London and New York, and the Middle East is still promising. However, sometimes collectors from the Gulf countries really "blow up" the market. So, in February 2012, the Qatari Sheikh Al Mayassa Al Thani bought the players in the cards (1895) from the Greek billionaire Georg Embirikos Paul Cezanne for a breathtaking US $ 250 million, breaking almost all the known auction records almost 2 times.
Subsequently, the Qatar royal family also expanded its collection with 11 masterpieces by Mark Rothko (US $ 310 million), Andy Warhol's "Men in Her Life" (US $ 63.4 million) and many others. "More and more countries are entering the art market, and this gives it a basis for growth. London and New York retain their traditional leadership, Paris is trying to catch them. Among the new players, for example, Brazil and China," said the art expert and curator Galleries Alif Art Irina Burmistrova. Art is on a par with objects of "passionate" investment - vintage cars, collectible coins, brands and wines (according to the luxury index The Knight Frank). At the same time, the risk of investing in objects of art is higher than that of precious metals, and lower than that of real estate. However, the purchase of art does not imply a quick enrichment, and the market itself is difficult to yield to the basic laws of "supply and demand".
“If the artist’s work was sold for US $ 10 million, this does not guarantee a similar price for the work of the same artist created in the same period,” Irina Burmistrova emphasizes. “At the same time, paintings on the market have their own life cycle: to sell the work with profit, you need to wait 15-20 years after the purchase - they must forget about it. "
Among the aggravating factors in the purchase of works of art are high transaction costs, commission to auction houses, insurance and storage costs of works in the warehouse. And most importantly - the lack of guarantee that the picture bought in a few years will soar in price. However, if you are overwhelmed by real passion and do not pursue instant profit, then the risk in this case is a noble cause.
Complex mechanisms
The art market has two models of circulation - primary and secondary. The first includes works that were first put on the market, the second - objects of resale. Numerous museums, galleries, foundations and auction houses act as intermediaries between the seller and the buyer. So, world museums store and exhibit about 10 million pieces of art, while about 100 thousand of them enter the market annually.
The number of works of art circulating on the market ranges from 70 to 150 million works. The uniqueness of the art market and its difference from the rest is that most of the works never leave it. The prices of paintings in many respects push up three factors: death, divorce and debt (3D: death, divorce, debts). So, in the case of the death of the artist, the cost of his work can take off dozens of times in a matter of days, and there are many such examples in the history of world art.
It is provenance, or the origin of a work of art, that is the key factor in evaluating a work. Provenance confirms the authenticity of works of art in art and antique markets and in auction catalogs. And, sadly, the more tragic the fate of the artist and his work, the higher may be the initial price of his work at the auction - thus taking into account the emotional value of the work, its train and its history.
The best option for investing is post-war art, experts say. On the one hand, the works of this period have a high potential for increasing value, and on the other hand, these artists have already established themselves, so the risk that the masterpieces will depreciate is extremely low.
How to start investing in art? “First of all, do not be afraid to go to galleries and art fairs - you are unlikely to be forced to get something by force. Another great opportunity to see the whole spectrum of art is pre-auction views,” says Irina Burmistrova. “At the same time, buying lots on an auction for beginners is very dangerous, because there is a high risk of making purchases, which you can regret later. There are also very high risks when buying online - you will not be able to objectively evaluate the work. "
The art market is a whole world that lives according to its own laws, allowing only a select few into the narrow circle of connoisseurs. If you decide to make money on high art, first learn how to be an attentive spectator and listener, and when you enter the game in a big way, thoroughly study its rules.
