Wednesday, October 5, 2011

This is an art market that’s definitely gotten its swagger back


 Do the high prices fetched at auction always indicate artistic merit? Aren't they often the result of a fraught bidding war between two super-rich collectors? Doesn't the $25 million stumped up for Jeff Koons' giant balloon model say more about the power of hype than the merit of the work itself? What's more, the market itself can easily be rigged. When Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull was purportedly sold for £50 million in 2007, rumour had it that Hirst himself was part of the consortium that bought it in order to drum up publicity and raise the market value of his other work.


So does the art market tell us only about fads and fashion and the egos of multimillionaires? Or should we overlook the hype and remember that in the long run the market rights itself and reflects the consensus on what great art really is? If there were just two names to remember from the 20th Century Art market, they would be Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol who were among the 10 most sought-after and most expensive artists for the seventh year running. In 2007, an unprecedented year for Contemporary Art prices, Warhol’s total even overtook Picasso’s by $100m ($420m for Warhol vs. $319m for Picasso).Since then, the cubist has recovered his first place on the podium, although Warhol is still only $50m behind Picasso. However,in 2010, Warhol was in fact relegated to third position in the annual revenue ranking by the Chinese artist Qi Baishi.The 21st Century Art market has changed. Its extension eastwards has allowed China to impose its artists in an incredibly short timeframe. Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi are now all members of the closed circle of the most expensive and most profitable artists in the world, and their names are worth remembering.

There are more wealthy buyers for modern and contemporary art where the supply is more regular and the investment potential appears to be more attractive.The mood of Art Market is considerably brighter than it was two years ago. Global economic concerns remain, for sure, but recent months have seen spectacular sales not only in modern and contemporary art but also in fields as diverse as Chinese ceramics, antiquities, photographs and Old Masters. This is an art market that’s definitely gotten its swagger back.The emergence of wealthy collectors from Asia, the Middle East and South America in recent years has deepened the pool of buyers, especially for top-end masterpieces, and many of them remained in the market during the recession. Americans, who had largely stopped spending, started to return last year and are now back in full force.
 
The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

1 comment:

Aanya said...

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