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Why is Keith Haring so undervalued?
As the Broad Museum in Los Angeles opens its major retrospective on famed American painter and street artist, Keith Haring, a question continues to loom over the art market: why exactly is Haring’s art so undervalued compared to his two close friends and peers, Warhol and Basquiat?
In the 1980s, Haring emerged from the vibrant New York City art scene, bridging street art and pop art to mass appeal. He formed close friendships and creative alliances with fellow artists working in the city, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Notably, there are significant parallels between the careers of Basquiat and Haring. Both were street artists of the early 1980s whose work spilled outside of the galleries into subway stations and on buildings around the city. Both men, though in very different ways, represented marginalised communities seeking visibility and respect. Both created their best work in the first years of the 1980s and saw their work featured in Documenta 7 in the Fall of 1982. Both died young after brief-but-brilliant careers. Basquiat was 27; Haring was 31. Basquiat died of an overdose; Haring succumbed to AIDS.
When looking at today’s market for each of the three artists, one sees just how drastic the price difference is. Works by Basquiat have sold up to $110 million publicly and even more privately. Similarly, Warhol made headlines last year when a blue-version of his iconic Marilyn portrait sold for $195 million at auction. However, the top price ever paid publicly for a Haring work was back in 2021, for $5.9 million.
Arguably, Haring’s work is just as recognisable as the works of his two peers, so why is it that there is such a significant gap in price?
The source of the price differential might be revealed in the very title of the Broad show – Art is for Everybody. Haring’s emphasis on inclusive, accessible art might possibly have devalued some of his works to collectors looking for trophies, objects of exclusivity. That said, Banksy’s works have sold for $20 million or more. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect a Haring, especially a sizeable painting, to be valued closer to that figure; however, the Haring market has a long way to go before that happens.
Another theory lies in the themes depicted within Haring’s work. Often incorporating highly sexual and provocative imagery, and directly referencing the ongoing AIDS epidemic of the late 20th century, Haring was not afraid to confront his viewer with themes and messages that are not the easiest to digest. That being said, Basquiat’s oeuvre is brimming with themes and motifs surrounding similarly harsh topics, such as police brutality and racism, which has not affected his market demand and price.
With all that said, there certainly is movement in the price of Haring’s work. A seven-and-a-half foot tall DayGlo-orange-and-green work, sold last November at Christie’s, that made $5.8 million is an example of what a great work can do. The same painting was sold in 2006 for $553,600. Sixteen years with 10x growth is a strong outcome, and definitely reflects the potential growth his market may hold.
While Haring’s art may be considered undervalued thus far, his far-reaching influence on contemporary art and culture is undeniable, enough so to indicate of an eventual rise in his market, maybe even matching his peers. Whether this might be influenced by a new wave of institutional retrospectives, we will have to wait and see how the market plays out.
Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody is on at The Broad until October 8, 2023.
Unprecedented Times and Unprecedented Strategies: is Sotheby’s changing its business model?
This new decade started with an unprecedented use of the word “unprecedented”. A changing in our language is just one of the firsts notable phenomena since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Isolation, social distancing, and travelling restrictions are changing the way we experience this new world, to which all the industries worldwide need to adapt. As the evolution theory teaches us, indeed, only the organisms that are able to develop features according to a newborn environment are meant to survive. In this context, the burning question that surrounds specifically the art world is: how a champagne glasses, art fairs, and glamorous rendez-vous based industry can cope with social distancing and travel bans? The first immediate reaction among auction houses, art fairs, and galleries has been to try to move all the businesses as fast as possible in the digital world, fostering an innovation that was already in progress. In this new religion we can identify the following holy trinity: online viewing rooms, Zoom webinars and Instagram live sessions -such as the LVH Art Lives series, happening every week on Lawrence Van Hagen’s IG profile.
The untraveled roads are yet to be discovered, and it comes with a genuine surprise to see that Sotheby’s, one of the leading reality of the art world, decided to go for an unexpected path, the one of cooperation between the auction house and art galleries. Indeed, after an eventful year that turned Sotheby’s upside down, at the end of April the company has announced the inception of Sotheby’s Gallery Network, a new virtual marketplace dedicated to art galleries. That means that a prestigious crowd composed by Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, Lehmann Maupin, Jack Shainman Gallery, Luhring Augustine, Kasmin Gallery, Petzel Gallery, Sperone Westwater, and Van Doren Waxter can showcase a few artworks by paying the auction house a flat commission based on sales. All the pieces presented on the platform can be advertised on the galleries’ websites and social media pages as well, however, interested collectors must purchase the chosen works only through the Gallery Network. This is an incredible opportunity for both parties. On one hand, these galleries can take advantage of the power and the loyal network of one of the main industry players, increasing their chances to reach a sustainable level of sales even during these “unprecedented times”. Moreover, Sotheby’s celebrated name functions as a guarantee of the marketplace’s smooth management and likely success, due to their extensive experience in online sales. On the other hand, Sotheby’s gains both in return of image, as it is showing a strong sense of community by supporting galleries that in ordinary times would be considered as competitors, and it has the chance to spread the tentacles in a different sector within the art market. It is probably too soon to say whether this unexpected change in the auction house’s business will outlast the pandemic, nevertheless, it is still providing food for thought in imagining what a rethinking of the business model of centuries-old institutions could look like.
If you are particularly skeptical, you might think that this is just a clever move to eat more slices of the cake, riding the wave of a global crisis that is not giving many options to try to keep the “business as usual”. However, despite the precarious picture of Sotheby’s financial annual report of 2019 drafted by Deloitte’s, the online transition has been incredibly successful, bringing almost $26 million across 14 sales only in March. Under the direction of Ashkan Baghestani, the Contemporary Curated London auction broke all the records for an online sale, led by George Condo’s masterpiece of “artificial realism” Antipodal Reunion (2005) sold for $1.3 million, the highest price ever paid for a painting online. This result has been possible due to the strategic decision of making this piece the protagonist of the Curated sale instead of selling it as part of the Contemporary Evening Sale. According to the Director and Head of Sale for Contemporary Curated, Sotheby’s succeeded in guiding the change in the psychology of collectors, especially the older generation that is more accustomed to be in the auction room or to bid on the phone. Long conversations with clients and strong narratives made this shift possible, demonstrating how the physical auction room frenzy can be somehow replicated in the digital world as well.
Although the lockdown forced the art world to stop spinning, there couldn’t be a better time to acquire that long desired piece or to explore new perspectives for your collection, as now we all have the time to sit down and be soothed by our beloved artworks. Are these successful online sales and the will of cooperation within the art world the sign of a widely shared Dostoevskian hope that Beauty will save the world? We all sincerely hope so.
AUCTION HOUSES STEPPING UP THE DIGITAL GAME
The pandemic has pushed auction houses to reinvent themselves in a matter of weeks, forcing them to reimagine the dynamics of the art market in a new paradigm. The growing fear that the health crisis could kill off the market for the spring sales steered Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips to step up their game, thus upgrading their online sales strategy. This approach resulted in the first-ever hybrid online in-person live-streamed auctions, held in late June and July. Despite revenues suffered nearly a 50% decrease from 2019 spring sales, there were some unforeseen positive results on two segments: the high-end paintings and the younger artists. For instance, Nicolas Party’s Still Life was acquired for $1.02 million at the Christie’s Hong Kong section, above its $541,820 pre-sale high estimate. In this spirit, artists like Lucas Arruda and Amoako Boafo dominated the evening sale at Phillips, bringing in good results confirming the steady rise of this new generation of artists. At the top end of the market, the performance of works by Jean Michel Basquiat, George Condo, and Lee Krasner, among others, confirmed buyers are no longer skeptical of bidding online.
Let’s take a closer look on how the three main auction houses pivoted to online to handle this crisis:
Sotheby’s
Everything was perfectly orchestrated for the Sotheby’s live-streamed marquee auctions. Masterminded by cinematographer Joel Mishcon, and elegantly lead by auctioneer Oliver Barker, from a purpose-built studio with eight screens in the Sotheby’s Mayfair headquarters, the marathon sale left no room for technological mishaps. Buyers could bid by phone or online, and Barker took bids from Sotheby’s colleagues on the phone banks in New York, London, and Hong Kong. The high point of the evening sale was Francis Bacon’s Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus which was bought by a telephone buyer in New York for $84.6 million, marking the artist’s third-highest price ever at auction. Another highlight of the evening was late artist Matthew Wong’s painting The Realm of Appearances, acquired for $1.82 million, exceeding the $80,000 high estimate, thus making his best performance of the season.
Christie’s ONE auction
Christie’s live-stream ONE auction brought in $421million, setting seven artists’ records led by $46.24 million Roy Lichtenstein’s Nude with Joyous Painting. George Condo’s $6.85 million Force Fields and $ 4.6 million Baselitz’s Bent Drinker reflect how the masterworks in the high-end painting segment were the ones to catch the bidders’ attention for the most of the marquee auction. Carried away by ambition, Christie’s went for an experimental format: four auctioneers in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York who took turns to handle a section of the sale. As explained by Art Newspaper editor Anna Brady, ONE aimed ‘to illustrate the global and democratic nature of Christie’s operation.’ Despite their positive results and the innovative nature of the event, it turned out to be quite an exhausting evening, with several challenges encountered, such as having portions of the sale held in different currencies.
Phillips
In this new landscape, Phillips managed to perform a White-Glove Contemporary Evening Sale reaching $34.7 million at the hammer. Despite Phillip’s results didn’t come close to Sotheby’s and Christie’s figures, auctioneer Henry Highley, running the sale from London, managed to score some interesting results such as Claire Tabouret’s record breaking piece Les Déguisements acquired for $ 451, 000; Wong’s painting which was bought for $848, 000 by a phone bidder, and Amoako Boafo’s Joy in Purple sold for $668, 000, more than nine times its high estimate.
Overall, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips managed to roll out liable platforms to keep their businesses afloat. The digitalization of the auction arena has enabled auction houses to reduce costs and increase viewers, as Sotheby’s reported that the viewing audience for the digital auction was ‘five times the average for major evening sales.’ What used to be a live theatre, has now become a ‘streaming business’ assured Oliver Barker to Thomas Barrie. However, it is too soon to see if all the much-needed drama of the auction room that encourages bidding will survive the new four-hour, live-streamed, cybernetic sales.
The Art Market post-COVID-19: A review of the Art Basel x UBS Art Market 2020 Conversation
A recent webinar, hosted by Art Basel and UBS, invited Dr Clare McAndrews, founder of Art Economics, Noah Horowitz, Director Americas for Art Basel, and Paul Donovan, Global Wealth Management Chief Economist at UBS, in a conversation about the art market post-COVID-19, mediated by Melanie Gerlis, Art Market Columnist and Contributor at the Financial Times. The discussion focussed on what kind of damage and consequent recovery we might expect (emphasis on might—no one can be certain) post-crisis.
Made in Bed writer Vienna Kim, also felt it is crucial to convey information in a concentrated and clear manner. Consequently, in this ‘The Art Market post-COVID-19’ piece, research has been gathered, not only from the recent Art Basel x UBS webinar, but across several news sources and professional commentary, to inform readers on what the general current feeling is about what will happen to the art market after the fiasco subsides.
Dr Clare McAndrews began by stating that recovery may be tilted towards larger galleries, who had the capital to be prepared for crises such as this one. Indeed, a survey conducted by The Art Newspaper revealed that around a third (33.6%) of galleries don’t expect to survive the pandemic, and it is the middle-weight and smaller galleries that will suffer the most. This is a worrying statistic, as the art ecosystem relies on small to mid-weight galleries to discover and support new and emerging artists, and the top-down structure of the art market can only become further fortified and less democratic as smaller establishments sadly close their doors.
In a more positive light, however, Noah Horowitz remarked that this period is likely to see a lot of innovation and experimentation—perhaps even a restructuring of how the art market runs, though in what ways, precisely, are yet to be seen. Horowitz compared our current economic decline with the recession in the 1990s, in which several major alpha galleries (PACE, Hauser & Wirth) began operating, and art fairs began to boom. Horowitz also noted that taste may change. Just as the 90s saw a rise in the interest of contemporary art, such as the YBAs in the United Kingdom, our current pandemic might also see a shift in what the art market sees as favourable. As the art market turns de facto digital during this time, could it be tech art’s moment to shine?
Paul Donovan addressed the fact that much of the economic data we see at the moment are likely to be inaccurate, as these reports rely on people taking surveys, and Donovan humorously noted that no one is in the mood to take a survey these days. However, the UBS chief economist felt positively about the art market’s recovery, albeit McAndrews predicts we may see a ‘U’ rather than a ‘V’-shaped bounce back. Donavan cleverly provided an analogy: the art market during the crisis is like a light bulb. As operations have ceased, the light bulb is now switched off, but when we switch it back on again, will it even work? Donovan responded in the affirmative. He said that the wealth that art market consumers are saving at the moment is likely to be spent once doors to galleries and art fairs re-open, and people will have the extra income to start shopping for fun. Luxury goods, including art, fall into this spending-for-leisure category.
The conversation inevitably turned towards the digitisation of the art market. All contributors agreed that digital was here to stay. The art market has been notoriously slow to integrate to online means of buying, selling and sharing art works, but the current pandemic accelerated the move, with Frieze having recently concluded their very first online viewing rooms, and galleries and museums moving their collections online. Noah Horowitz was pleasantly surprised by the price transparency that the online experiences offer, and in the future, the art world is likely to see a more hybrid system of offline and online operations. Logistics and payment systems may move online, for example, but, as Horowitz commented, ‘the art market is a social beast.’ So it seems like opening parties and viewings are (happily) here to stay.
In a final note, Melanie Gerlis asked each of the speakers what was one lesson that could be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. I leave you with Paul Donovan’s message, which I believe is a note of optimism and hope for us all:
“Change. That’s scary for people. Remarkably, for a species that has thrived on change, people don’t actually like [it] very much. I’ve been in this job for three decades now, and I’ve been through various crises and so on, and the one common thread that comes through upheaval and change is we always always underestimate the ability of humanity to adapt to changing circumstances. So you know what? Yes, the future is going to be different, but the future is going to be okay.”
THE BOOMING SOUTH KOREAN ART SCENE
Last September, the art world gathered in the Korean capital for the much-awaited inaugural edition of Frieze Seoul. The fair proved to be an immense success, drawing some 70,000 visitors across four days. It also signalled a heightened global interest in the Korean art market.
But long before the recent international attention, a thriving ecosystem of public institutions, art schools and private museums such as Leeum, the Samsung Museum of Art, APMA (AmorePacific Museum of Art), Horim and Art Sonje Centre have nurtured the Korean art scene. Over the past five years, major international galleries such as Pace and Lehmann Maupin have opened spaces across Seoul. Most recently, White Cube joined the roster among Thaddeus Ropac, Peres Projects, Esther Schiffer, VFS and others. Ahead of this year’s Frieze, here is everything you need to know about the Korean art market and some of the most important artists shaping Korean visual culture today.
The South Korean art auction market is also experiencing its biggest boom in decades, as Dansaekhwa (dubbed the ‘Korean monochrome painting movement’ or simply ‘Korean Abstraction’) became the international face of contemporary Korean art. The heightened interest from euro-american collectors and institutions have also increased domestic demand. Everything started in 2006 when Lee Ufan, the pioneer of the movement exhibited at Pace Gallery in New York and Lisson Gallery in London. The success of the now 85-year-old artist catapulted other artists associated with the Dansaekhwa movement to international fame. Dansaekhwa shares many traits with modernism – with American Minimalism in particular – combined with meditative calligraphy and Confucian and Buddhist philosophy. Many artists associated with Dansaekhwa developed their distinctive style, but their work is united by a timeless visual language and a strong emphasis on materiality and production techniques.
Demand for these restrained and refined abstract works, mostly made in the 1970s, have been soaring. In the Christie’s Hong Kong auction, May 2023, Park Seobo’s Écriture No. 15-76 fetched almost $1 million, almost $300,000 over the high estimate and Lee Ufan’s Dialogue recorded $1.4 million, also more than $400,000 over the high estimate.
The interest in Korean art is not limited to the art market; The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York collaborated on an exhibition on Korean experimental art in the 1960s and 1970s. After Seoul, the travelling exhibition will be in New York from September to January 2024 and move to Hammer Museum in Los Angeles from February to May. LACMA’s recent exhibition surveying Korean Modernist art, a first of its kind, and other Korean contemporary artists such as Lee Ufan, Park Seobo and Do Ho Suh demand sustained curatorial interest across the world. Here are a few noteworthy Korean artists, Dansaekwha and beyond.
Dansaekhwa Masters
Lee Ufan (b.1936)
Lee Ufan is perhaps one of the most famous living Korean artists today. As one of the leaders of Mono-ha (School of Things), the painter, sculptor, writer and philosopher working across Japan and Korea is a central figure of Dansaekhwa. His works belong in some of the most prestigious art institutions around the world, and the artist founded a museum in Arles designed by Tadao Ando as an extension of his foundation based in New York.
Park Seo-bo (b. 1931)
Along with Lee Ufan, Park is widely acknowledged as the father of the Dansaekhwa movement. Drawing inspiration from Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist philosophy as well as the Korean tradition of calligraphy, his new works from the Écriture series were exhibited in Fondazione Querini Stampalia to coincide with the 2022 Venice Biennale.
Ha Chong-Hyun (b. 1935)
Like many Dansaekhwa artists, Ha Chong-hyun continues a labour-intensive, process-based body of work to redefine the materiality of canvas. In the 2022 Venice Biennale, Ha held a solo exhibition at Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa and his works are in some of the most prestigious collections around the world, such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Centre Pompidou and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Kim Tschang-Yeul (1929-2021)
Spanning the early 1970s to the present day, Kim Tschang-Yeul devoted his career to water droplets to confront the dichotomy between nature and contemporary culture. Large paintings of the water droplet series achieved $1.26 million in 2021 while many of his works are in notable public collections such as Centre Pompidou, Hirshhorn Museum, LACMA and the National Museum of Modern Art, Japan. La Goutte et le Trait, a solo exhibition dedicated to the water droplet series will be on display in Musée Cernuschi, Paris until 30 July 2023.
Lee Bae (b.1956)
On 8 June, a giant 21-foot charcoal sculpture was unveiled in the Rockefeller Centre Channel Gardens, New York. Lee Bae is the first Korean artist presenting in the iconic space. Charcoal has become synonymous with the artist as it becomes a metaphor for the cycle of life. Lee’s latest series of charcoal ink on canvas and paper crystallises random elemental gestures, recording his movement and time.
Beyond Dansaekhwa: Some of the Leading Artists Working Today
Do Ho Suh (b. 1962)
Best known for silk sculptures of his former homes in Korea, New York, Berlin and London reconstructed to scale, Do Ho Suh works across various media, creating drawings, film, and sculptural works that confront questions of home, physical space, displacement, memory, individuality, and collectivity. His popularity is shared across collectors and institutions alike across the world, from Art Basel to the Guggenheim. Tracing Time, Suh’s solo exhibition in the National Galleries of Scotland will open in February 2024.
Lee Bul (b. 1964)
Lee Bul is a leading contemporary sculpture and installation artist, recently the subject of a solo exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre (2018). Her work questions patriarchal authority and the marginalisation of women by revealing ideologies that permeate our cultural and political spheres. In 1999, Lee was awarded an honourable mention at the 48th Venice Biennale for her contribution to both the Korean Pavilion and the international exhibition curated by Harald Szeemann.
Pop Art and the Art Market
This year, the art world celebrated 100 years of Roy Lichtenstein. The same day as the Pop-pioneer’s birthday, the Whitney Museum in New York announced a major retrospective on the artist, which will debut in 2026.
This is just one of many retrospectives on the pioneers of American Pop that have been popping up around the globe; Keith Haring at the Broad in Los Angeles, Ed Ruscha at the MoMA in New York, and the upcoming Tom Wesselmann retrospective at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, to name just a few. This wave of Pop Art exhibitions is not limited to museums. The commercial gallery Acquavella currently has a Pop group show on view, while Gagosian dedicated two of its Manhattan galleries to the work of Roy Lichtenstein this autumn. Even the auction houses have been leaning into this excitement, with Sotheby’s organising a summer selling exhibition titled ‘All About Pop!’ Needless to say, Pop Art is having something of a renaissance, and it begs the question of how this buzz is going to play out in the market.
Pop Art reentered headlines last May with the record-breaking sale of Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (1964) for $195 million – the most expensive 20th century work of art to ever sell at auction. While a Warhol ‘Marilyn’ remains the most sought after work of the Warhol market, the diversity of his subject matter means that different series have resonated differently with successive generations of collectors, who might prefer the 1960s icons such as Elvis, the death-and-disaster paintings, or more political works depicting Mao, drag queens, or his “hammer and sickle” series. His photographs and works from the 1980s possibly have the most room to grow – a 1982 silkscreen “piss portrait” of Jean-Michel Basquiat fetched his second-highest price at auction in 2021, indicating that there could be a newfound appreciation for the later works on the horizon.
When it comes to Roy Lichtenstein, the market for work by him peaked in 2015, when Nurse (1964) fetched $95.4 million. Privately, works by the artist have sold for considerably more since. Five years ago, Agnes Gund sold Masterpiece (1962), one of Lichtenstein’s greatest masterpieces, for a whopping $165 million to Steve Cohen. Lichtenstein’s most prized works date from 1962 to 1964—specifically, the artist’s depictions of women in an aesthetic derived from advertising and comic books, though they very rarely come to market, with most already in museum collections. It will be interesting to see if a new auction record for the artist could be set in the leadup to the Whitney retrospective, if a strong enough work comes to market.
Another interesting aspect of this Pop renaissance is a new focus on the undervalued and lesser-known Pop pioneers. Elaine Sturtevant is one key example of this. While widely respected and mentored by the king of Pop Art himself, Andy Warhol, Sturtevant has yet to gather wider acclaim for her important contributions to the Pop movement. It also surfaces the question of a distinct lack of critical exploration and market momentum surrounding the female artists in Pop Art – Sturtevant’s male counterparts have taken most of the acclaim for their contributions to the movement. That being said, there is a lot of potential for growth when it comes to Sturtevant’s market, as evidenced by the May 2023 auction of her Study for Warhol Marilyn (1973) which blew past estimates.
Red-Chip Emerging Artists or Blue-Chip Masters? The current state of Art Collecting
In recent years the art market has taught us one thing: when demand for an artist outruns his or her supply, collectors have the opportunity to make huge amounts of money by “flipping” – the act of buying at a low price from the artist’s gallery and shortly after reselling high at auction. With numerous stories of speculators winning big bets on young artists by following this practice -or oftentimes more discreetly by selling privately through dealers and advisors- it is no surprise that the demand for these hot young artists is flying off the roofs, with waiting lists at galleries that often surpass the hundreds of collectors.
Only a few months ago in March, Sotheby’s London achieved astronomic figures in its Contemporary Art Evening Sale for works from artists such as Shara Hughes, Rachel Jones, Flora Yukhnovich or Hilary Pecis- with hammer prices doubling estimates in more than one case. And what do all these emerging artists have in common? They all tend to come from vulnerable communities, based on either gender, religion, skin colour or sexual inclinations. But also, of course, a great deal of talent and skill to paint figuratively and turn a thought provoking narrative into a compelling picture.
Look for instance at the work of Rachel Jones. This 31 year old rising star was selling big canvases for 25,000 GBP at an East London gallery only three years ago, one of which sold for half a million at auction in March. Same goes for Flora Yukhnovich, also 31, her large paintings were selling at a little-known gallery for about $40,000 each in 2018. In 2021, one of them was resold at a Sotheby’s auction for a record of $3.1 million. Another hangs in the London home of Britain’s ex finance minister, Rishi Sunak.
The heat of the market for these young sought-after artists attracts voracious demand from both the very serious art collectors and the “art flippers” from all over the world, giving rise to a race that has every art advisor and dealer on the look out of the “next big thing”, the next emerging artist to “invest in”. However, galleries are keen to avoid this: a frothy resale market can make it difficult for artists to sustain long-term careers.
Indeed, once the artist gets signed by a mega-gallery, the supply for their pieces becomes extremely restricted to a small group of committed collectors and art advisors who have established long and trustworthy relationships with the galleries. And, whilst the lucky first buyers should still be able to resell their works, galleries such as Thaddaeus Ropac or Victoria Miró will go as far as to asking the client to sign a non-resell agreement, hence preventing further speculation.
On the other side of the spectrum, the market for classics seems to be keeping healthy and blooming, proven, for instance, by the multimillion dollar sale of the Macklowe collection – a time capsule of Post-War art collecting in the second half of the 20th century. An Andy Warhol for $195million, a Rothko for $82.5 million and a Richter for $30.1 million are just a few examples of some incredible, unparalleled results achieved in 2022 by white male masters.
What does this tell us? That despite the reality that a paradigm shift in demand has occurred in favour for emerging artists; male masters like Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly or Willem de Kooning are still masters and represent an indisputably vital chapter in art history. Hence so, two paradigms can co-exist simultaneously and in tandem, complementing one another. An economically healthy, thought provoking and eye pleasing art collection is possible by mixing the two: the very established masters, with the very emerging talents, and everything in between.
Our advice is:
1- If you like an emerging artist, always try to buy primary and early on, be quick! either directly from the galleries or with the help of an art advisor (or try not to pay a dramatic premium in the secondary market years into the artists’ careers). It will be more fun and rewarding for you to see the artists develop their practice and grow in value if you acquired your piece at an early stage, and you will not be running the risk of losing a lot of money if the artist’s market drops (despite how much you like the piece!, it always hurts).
2- When acquiring contemporary & mid-career, have a close look at the artists CV and dig deep into which museums and other public collections own his or her work. Try to find out when and where will they be showing next and look at the long-run status of the artist based on both technique and narrative, then ask yourself: what movement is this artist part of? How does he or she fit into the story of art? Are they one “for the books”? i.e, will their work and career be worth a mention in art history classes?
3- When acquiring established, do your research (or have you art advisor do it for you). Find auction comparables from the same artist based on: year of creation, size and subject matter; then look at the artist’s general market and lastly at how the market for their artistic movement (I.e, Pictures Generation, Post-War German, Pop Art, etc, etc) is doing. Then figure out what type of piece you are looking for and start the hunt. There are some great opportunities at auction, but sadly you will always end up paying more than if you buy privately through a dealer or an art advisor. If your advisor is good, he or she will know where to find your dream piece, either privately or through an auction house.
Navigating the Art World in 2020: Galleries, Fair and Museums at your Screens
Since its arrival, Corona virus has affected all aspects of our lives and the art world is no exception. On the contrary, museums, galleries and other cultural institutions were the first locations to be closed by governments to prevent the spread of the disease.
The virtual approach seems the only fun remedy to bring the arts closer to the public in this Quarantine times. Hence, while many museums have adopted the format of digital viewing rooms, some commercial galleries are creating other virtual experiences that are allowing them to engage with their audiences, such as podcasts, live streaming videos and social media campaigns.
From LVH Art’s end, after sadly having to cancel three What’s Up shows -Hong Kong, Busan and New York-, the team is happy to inform that they are currently putting all of their efforts into building the first Virtual What’s Up show, which will be characterised by the heterogeneity of the rooms, taking inspiration from different geographies and architectural movements.
On the bright side of the discussion, museums in Asia have started reopening as a result of their victory against the pandemic. Shanghai’s Power Station of Art (PSA) reopened on March 13; the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in South Korea is set to reopen on March 23 and The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo is expected to open on March 31. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Meanwhile for those in Quarantine in Europe and in the USA, we have prepared for you this list of fairs, galleries and museums that you can access and browse from your screen.
Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms
The fair, which had been officially cancelled last month after the outbreak in China, has recently opened its Online Viewing Rooms. Preview to the fair opened on Wednesday 18, and from today until March 25 it is open to the general public. Currently, 235 galleries are taking part in the e-fair.
https://www.artbasel.com/viewing-rooms
MoMa, New York
The renowned Museum of Modern Art has employed Google Arts & Culture to reach its public; for now, they have decided to showcase works that belong to the museum’s permanent collection as well as a virtual tour of the recently opened Donald Judd retrospective.
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/moma-the-museum-of-modern-art
The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
The Stedelijk Museum has announced today on its social media channels that everyday at 4:00 pm they will be sharing a mini documentary from the museum collection. The first film of this promising series has featured the celebrated artist duo Studio Drift. #StayAtHomeStedelijk will also be hosting tomorrow (March 21) a tour of the Stedelijk collection with the museum director, Rein Wolfs. All on their IG profile.
https://www.instagram.com/stedelijkmuseum/
König Galerie
The gallery has started a program on their IG profile consisting of live videos with artists, curators and other professionals to offer insights and give virtual tours of their ongoing shows. On Monday this week, the gallery “went live” with the artist Jorinde Voigt who explained her current show The Real Extent and two days ago, Michael Elmgreen joined the live streaming to talk about specific artworks by Elmgreen & Dragset.
https://www.instagram.com/koeniggalerie/
PACE
Following the closure of their galleries, PACE has published digital versions of the current gallery exhibitions on their viewing room platform. The gallery hopes that this project will enable their audience to maintain an engagement with the arts regardless of these critical times.
X Museum, Beijing
X Museum launched its online project space “X Virtual Museum” on March 5th. X Virtual Museum is an interactive, game-like virtual space created by artist and architect Pete Jiadong Qiang. This gamified 3D experience encourages players to be more active to explore the museum and virtually find out more about the participating artists. The project comes after X Museum founder, collector Michael Xufu Huang announced this January the Museum opening with an ambitious triennial featuring 33 artists under the age of 40, aiming to capture China’s ‘Millennial Zeitgeist’. In light of the ongoing global health concerns, the date of the grand opening of X Museum and its inaugural triennial remains undecided, but this virtual experience is definitely promising enough and not one to miss!
Louvre Museum, Paris
Following its closure, the Louvre Museum has created a platform on its website where visitors can explore specific rooms of the museum, such as the Egyptian Antiquities and the Galerie d’Apollon.
https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Met is one of the leading museums who has made its collection accessible to the general public through Google Arts & Culture. The platform does not only present pieces from the Met’s permanent collection, but also digital experiences of its temporary shows.
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/the-metropolitan-museum-of-art
A LOOK INSIDE ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE NFT ART COLLECTIONS
Included in Apollo’s 40 under 40 in 2021, Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile has become one of the biggest names in the NFT art world. Considered one of the most influential collectors of NFTs alongside his architect and interior designer wife, Desiree Casoni, their collection boasts more than 500 NFTs, including household names such as Beeple, Pak, Refik Anadol and Andres Reisinger. Last December, I was fortunate to visit their wonderful home in Key Biscayne in Miami, where I discovered how this power couple has made an effort to find unique, innovative and tasteful ways to showcase their unparalleled NFT collection. More recently, we sat down together via Zoom to discuss their collecting habits, how to showcase digital art, and the future of NFTs.
From speaking with Pablo and Desiree, you get a sense of real synergy. His passion for NFTs comes from a professional background in maths, economics and crypto while hers is rooted in her creative career. Having grown up surrounded by art, she followed her mother’s footsteps to pursue architecture and design. The college sweethearts (“not many of those left!” Pablo jokes as he tells the story) had met during their studies at Columbia University in New York.
It was Pablo’s work in the blockchain space and his keen interest in the future of this technology that led him to the discovery of NFTs. “I was lucky enough to be drawn to the NFT ecosystem very early on. Back then it was literally made up of two buyers, me and somebody else.” It was then that the couple found common ground and realised they had real potential to create something special together. “We understood the implications of this technology in the long term, so we decided to get very active.” When it comes to collecting NFTs, Pablo and Desiree bring the best of their worlds into the mix.
“I was lucky enough to be drawn to the NFT ecosystem very early on. Back then it was literally made up of two buyers, me and somebody else.” – Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile
When I ask Pablo how he would define an NFT artwork, and whether it was safe to assume that when we discuss NFT art we are actually referring to digital art, his response is clear: for him what he collects is simply ‘art’. “Saying NFTs when referring to art is confusing and a mistake, in my opinion,” he explains. “Using the word ‘NFT’ is synonymous to the word ‘asset’. It is very important that we start differentiating between the array of asset classes that exist under the wide umbrella of NFT technology. In the world of NFTs there’s art, of course, but there’s also collectibles, there’s gaming, there’s land, financial applications, and the list goes on to things we have not even begun to imagine. I think that it is very important to distinguish what is actually art in all of this.”
“In the world of NFTs there’s art, of course, but there’s also collectibles, there’s gaming, there’s land, financial applications, and the list goes on to things we have not even begun to imagine. I think that it is very important to distinguish what is actually art in all of this.”– Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile.
Pablo believes there are some key differences between the ‘traditional’ art world and the NFT world. One of them lies in the interaction between the collector and artist. “Artists in this new movement are living artists, they are often young, and most of them are extraordinarily active with their communities and audience.” He believes that though a direct dialogue between artist and collector may exist with other art forms, it is not as common and as strong as the NFT space. Another difference is a lack of support system, such as gallery representation. For Pablo this is detrimental to both the artist and the potential collector. “In general, this means that, as a collector, you really need to do your due diligence to find the right artists and the right projects and you need to be blockchain technical. This is the unfortunate current state of the industry but it will evolve over time.”
From the start, Pablo and Desiree were able to foster strong relationships with the artists who were already active in the space. “The artists were really good at putting things on the blockchain, but lagging behind in everything else,” Pablo explains, referring to all the elements necessary to sustain a creative career. So the couple began offering free advice to support the artists they were passionate about. “We helped the artists with everything. From pricing, structuring, introductions to collectors, even PR and communications. Sometimes with personal things like accounting, fiscal recommendations, even some family matters! Many of these artists are now close friends. We travel together and they stay at home when they come to Miami.” He concludes that this closeness and trust derives from the fact that the couple never wanted to take a cent from the artists. They were always driven by a passion for the art and the space.
The result? “We were able to build what is now considered the most important collection of tokenised digital art in the world. We have an extensive collection including many of the top digital artists in the space, and in many cases, their most iconic works.”
Desiree describes their collection as an extension of their personalities. Pablo’s “structured, mathematical and strategic” mindset and her “passion for aesthetics and art and everything that is visual” come together clearly in the choice of artists. “You can see it very clearly in our collection because we love to work with artists who are very precise, very in tune with their craft, and who are not just making beautiful pieces for the sake of it but because there is an intent behind them.” Later in the conversation she adds, “the magnet that leads us to an artist usually is in how they are using the blockchain, how they are pushing boundaries with this new technology.”
“It is so exciting to see the new possibilities that are offered with VR, or by installing videos in a way that they become a source of illumination for a space. I am starting to incorporate these aspects into my interiors.” -Desirée Casoni.
Finding ways to showcase digital art is a source of great excitement for Desiree and she has been using her house as a place for experimentation. “It is so exciting to see the new possibilities that are offered with VR, or by installing videos in a way that they become a source of illumination for a space. I am starting to incorporate these aspects into my interiors. It is so fun because I am no longer dealing with art as a static piece on a wall; I am working with installations. For example, Andres Reisinger’s works are composed of a piece of furniture that goes with a digital landscape. To showcase them, I need to consider how to place the furniture alongside the digital to create a dialogue.” The hardware available today, however, is not yet fully compatible with this new art movement. “Especially with artworks that are connected in real-time to the blockchain,” she explains. “The screens or frames that exist today are unable to connect directly to the blockchain, so the artwork does not evolve as it is meant to and needs to be manually updated.”
When asked about their collecting habits, Pablo explains they “never purchase standalone work because there always needs to be some sort of long term engagement with the artist.” They consider themselves art patrons first and foremost and when they acquire an artwork their intention is to support the artist’s career. Thanks to the extensive groundwork they did at the beginning, discovering new artists and projects today happens quite organically for them. When I ask them for some names in the collection, Pablo lists the stars. Quayola, Beeple, Pak, Refik Anadol, Andres Reisinger. “Make no mistake,” he adds, “these artists did not just get ‘lucky’. They did not just appear out of nowhere. These artists come from decades of experience and the arrival of this technology simply allowed them to expand their practice and build strong communities. They are incredible artists, disciplined, thoughtful, and often very funny!”
“Make no mistake,” he adds, “these artists did not just get ‘lucky’. They did not just appear out of nowhere. These artists come from decades of experience and the arrival of this technology simply allowed them to expand their practice and build strong communities. They are incredible artists, disciplined, thoughtful, and often very funny!”– Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile.
Last December, Pablo launched Aorist, a next-generation cultural institution supporting artists creating at the edge of art and technology, with co-founders Ximena Caminos and Andrea Bonaceto, starting to tackle what he considers the three biggest problems in the space: poor user experience, a lack of curation, and the industry’s carbon footprint. “At Aorist, we are fully focused on the art. For us it is not about art as a commodity or a financial asset or a tool for speculation. Our vision is to realise incredible, digitally-native art experiences in the physical world.” He has built a strong team with key personalities from the contemporary art world to help him in this ambitious endeavour. “I always say that I should’ve listened to Pablo earlier!” Desiree tells me, with a laugh. “I spent a long time going against the current,” Pablo adds. Pablo’s passion and persistence are finally paying off.
Keith Haring’s Personal Art Collection to Be Auctioned for Charity
From the 24th September to the 1st October part of Keith Haring’s personal art collection will be auctioned online for charity at Sotheby’s. Largely considered one of the most successful graffiti artists of his time, What’s Up artist Keith Haring gained international recognition for his cartoonish universe of dancing figures and barking dogs. His short career began as a graffitist in New York’s subway system and developed through the ’80s with dozens of museum exhibitions, public art commissions and advertising deals. He was also known for his political activism, particularly around homophobia and the AIDS crisis.
The Keith Haring Foundation has been arranging the Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring sale with the auction house since last year, due to the insistence of legal advisors who were concerned about a potential failure of the foundation’s charitable purpose, as the collection includes artworks produced by artists other than its founder.The mission of the Keith Haring Foundation is not only to sustain and keep the legacy of Haring’s art alive, but also to support not-for-profit organisations that protect underprivileged children and that are involved in educating and preventing the spread of AIDS and HIV infection. This is the reason why all the proceeds of more than 140 artworks will benefiting New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in the West Village, more commonly known as The Center. According to the director of the foundation Gil Vazquez, “The Center embodies so much of what Keith was about: community, empowerment, and the support of our future, the youth”. Here in the second-floor men’s bathroom he executed Once Upon a Time, a large-scale mural in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
Keith Haring is worldwide known for his cartoon-style graffiti and he was part of the thriving underground art community that developed in New York in the late 70s and early 80s outside the traditional gallery and museum system. Indeed, Keith Haring dedicated much of his efforts to public works, which he used as a form of political and queer activism. Between 1982 and 1989 he created more than 50 public artworks, and most of them were located in charities, orphanages, hospitals and children’s day care centres. During that time, the artist also started to organise and to participate in exhibitions held at Club 57, a nightclub located in a church basement that was the nerve centre of the East Village’s avant-garde scene.
In this context he became friends with fellow artists such as Bruno Schmidt, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and John Sex, whose works will be auctioned alongside the ones by members from the street art movement like John Matos, Lady Pink and Lee Quiñones and other luminaries like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, who was Haring’s close friend and mentor. One of the most prominent pieces to be auctioned is a $250,000 Warhol print portraying Haring and his lover Juan Dubose. Keith Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 and the following year he established the Keith Haring Foundation. During the last year of his brief although intense career he focused his imagery on speaking about his own illness to raise awareness about AIDS, which at the time was considered as a stigma and generated a significant wave of homophobia.
Dear Keith: Works from the Personal Collection of Keith Haring is expected to raise nearly $1 million and it commemorates the 30th anniversary of the artist’s passing in 1990 due to complications of the virus at the age of 31. The artworks on sale are part of a collection that not only has a historical importance as representative of a peculiar period, but, as stated by Harrison Tenzer, Head of Sotheby’s online contemporary art sales:
“the collection is remarkably autobiographical, just as any great collector’s estate is a window into their individual perspective. Keith Haring collected through relationships to those he was stylistically, morally and intellectually aligned with”.
Moreover, on a market perspective, the auctioneer believes that buyers are increasingly more comfortable with explicitly queer works, and there are many LGBT collectors who consider their art collections as an embodiment of their values, and therefore want to actively support their own community. The collection will be on view by appointment at Sotheby’s New York galleries from 26 – 30 September.