Art Market Review 2021

Even before the online publication of the detailed report by UBS & Art Basel, which covers most of the aspects of the global art market, we can see that 2021 was a successful and positive year.
Despite the swaying back and forth from one confinement to another, from harsh restrictions to some promising openings, and again back to lockdowns, the art market stood rather firmly. Certainly, from the beginning of the pandemic, the period was challenging, yet the major actors showed a strong resilience and, most of all, a proficient adaptation to the uncertain times.

Apart from that, Asia is getting stronger in the art market scene. New fortunes paralleled with the new generation of collectors create quite a rivalry to the US market. For 2020–21, Asia represents 40% of Contemporary Art sales compared to 38% in the US, leaving England in the third position with only 16%. France remains a small market at 2.2%, yet it is considerable when compared with other European countries and the rest of the world. Everything is relative, right?

However, there is a new entity that flamboyantly appeared on the art market in 2021 — non-fungible tokens (NFT). The NFT are hard to relate to anything ever seen before, yet they made a cover probably for every magazine in the world. These crypted files on the blockchain have been extremely hyped and get astronomical results of millions of dollars without using a traditional path on the market. Certainly, it deserves a separate discussion, yet it must be mentioned in the overview of the year.

Going back to the positive outcome of the year, let's look at some key findings:

Just the three leading auction houses — Sotheby's, Christie's, and Philipps — had new records of total sales, coming in altogether at $12.6 billion, bypassing 2020 by 70% and even the last peak in 2018 by 2.3%. Sotheby's on its own reached the highest record of sales ever in its history with $7.3 billion. It is important to also mention some of the striking and beautiful collections presented at the public sales, such as the collection of Harry and Linda Macklowe, which reached a total of $676 million at Sotheby's, or of Edwin Cox, which totaled $332 million at Christie's.

If Impressionism and Modern Art present a continuous strong position—especially if we refer to the gods of the A-lympus like Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Rene Magritte, Amedeo Modigliani, Picasso, and others—there are always strong results. In 2021, Caillebotte's Jeune homme à sa fenêtre (1876) went for $53 million, and it will enrich Getty Museum's collection in Los Angeles. Picasso's Femme assise près d'une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) (1932) went for $103.4 million amongst other classics.

But the foremost driver of the market is Contemporary Art. The important criteria of its value are rarity, historical importance, quality — which is common for any type of art — and hype. The most leading artist is Jean-Michel Basquiat, who is at the leading position of the most expensive contemporary artists in years. His total amount of sales on the market is $303.5 million. Easy.

However, the living artists are changing, and the competition is strong. This year saw remarkable results when Peter Doig's large-scale painting Swamped (1990) sold for $39 million. Another living striking artist is Banksy, who is first and foremost considered a street artist, and his new record for Love in the Bin that tripled its high estimate at $25.3 million. The most unexpected result was for Beeple's work with the first NFT ever offered at the auction. Everydays: The first 5000 Days (2021) went for an astonishing $69 million, considering its initial estimate of merely $100.

Certainly, one may say that the era is changing. However, it brings rather a positive conjuncture than a disparity within the market. For example, during the Macklowe sale, an impressive work, Nose by Alberto Giacometti, was sold for $78.4 million to a young Chinese entrepreneur and collector, Justin Sun. It is a perfect demonstration of how the new generation and new fortune from the new crypto world turns to fine Modern Art.

Another league of contemporary artists also made its mark last year by breaking through their own markets. We can mention Amy Sherald's work The Bathers (2015), estimated at $150,000, that was sold at $4,265,000; or another million-dollar result for Flora Yukhnovich with Pretty Little Thing (2019) — a very fresh work — that went for $1,179,500 while the highest estimate was only at $80,000 (both at Phillip's). Some other artists like Joy Labinjo or Emily Mae Smith also considerably raised their positions on the market. Today, the increased demand is met more often with, "Sorry, nothing is available." Young stars shine bright.

With these rising stars, we see that finally (and firmly) the market trends are changing. Women artists are becoming more and more visible and important. The same can be said about African artists, who are literally booming within the art scene and its market. There is no longer preference for abstract, figurative, or conceptual. Everything is in demand, as long as it is of great quality. The stories behind the works are important, as well as the artist's personal voice and personal vision. And, of course, gods stay gods — no matter what.

In 2021, the art market was more diverse than ever. Density is high. It brings more and more new collectors but also new venues. Collaboration and the idea of fusion are the keys for upcoming projects. There is no more black or white but, instead, the rich gradual palette of co-existing different colors and hues.

The high prices, great artists, new names… One may think that perhaps the art market is still good, still expending. Certainly! It was not easy, but it has definitely been exciting. It gives quite a solid ground to kick in 2022. The trends are set; the program is confirmed. We just hope that fewer lockdowns occur. But even if — we have the gears. So fasten your seat belts and stay tuned for the upcoming events !

2 March 2022 | Art Market