With the overall global art market experiencing a decline while also making record-breaking sales one after another over the past year, some may be confused about what's really going on in the art market. Is now the best time to purchase or invest art work? Are the prices of Chinese art works being inflated? Looking to answer these questions and more, the Global Art Market Annual Report for 2015 was jointly released by leading art market research institutions Artprice and Artron on March 1.
Back on top
Compared to the shrinking Chinese art market, which saw a 27 percent decline last year, the Western art market stayed at nearly the same level as 2014 with total sales reaching around $11.2 billion, according to the report. Overall, the global art market suffered an 11 percent drop year-on-year.
Thanks to several pieces of art that sold for sky-high prices, and mostly in New York, the U.S. returned to the top of the art market with a 38 percent share. China on the other hand, dropped to No.2 with a 30 percent share, followed by the UK.
Emerging markets were also a highlight of the report. Asian countries such as South Korea, India and the Philippines all experienced rapid growth.
Although only 160 art works broke the $10 million threshold, each time works such as these set new records, the media would be abuzz with the news.
Three of Pablo Picasso's works edged into the world's top 10 most expensive art works last year. His The Women of Algiers (Version o) was auctioned for $179 million in May at Christie's in New York, the highest price ever for a work of art sold at auction. Following closely was Amedeo Modigliani's Reclining Nude, which was also auctioned at Christie's in New York to Chinese collector Liu Yiqian.
A majority of these record-breaking works were auctioned through Christie's, especially its branch in New York, which greatly contributed to the U.S. regaining its top position. Compared to Christie's march forward in 2015, its traditional rival Sotheby's suffered setbacks as senior executives left one after another, according to Artprice and Artron's report. Sotheby's suffered an $11 million loss according to its 4th quarter fiscal report.
Hong Kong battlefield
A traditional art center in Asia, Hong Kong proved last year that its strategic importance was on the rise as an increasing number of Western auction houses looking to grab a share of the Asian market and Chinese companies trying to develop new markets besides the mainland headed to the city.
More Western art works are expected to be introduced to Chinese collectors via Hong Kong this year. Last year, before its auction in New York, Christie's previewed two important works by Modigliani in Hong Kong, including Reclining Nude, which Liu later purchased for $170 million.
The breaking news that shook art circles this week also underlines auction companies' ambitions in Hong Kong.
Although Bonhams entered Hong Kong back in 2007, the auction company has not been able to establish as strong a foundation as Christie's or Sotheby's. On Tuesday, seven local employees were fired along with Magnus Renfrew, the company's Asian region vice president and chief art director for Asia. What was seen as mismanagement of this important market that led to a decline in sales over three consecutive quarters were the main factors behind the personnel changes.
Two leading Chinese mainland auction houses, China Guardian and Poly Auction International, have both established footholds in Hong Kong.
With its strong collection of traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy works, Guardian has attracted the attention of Southeastern Asian collectors. While the Poly Auction has started to rival Christie's and Sotheby's when it comes to contemporary art, according to the report.
Chinese artists drop from top
Contemporary and post-war art dominated in 2015. However, no works by Chinese artists made it onto the list of the top 10 highest-selling works. Instead, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Monet and other male Western artists born between 1840 and 1928 took the top spots with their works, in some cases even having more than one work appear on the list. Classical art also disappeared completely from the list.
Works from Chinese artists Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi ranked at 12 and 13 respectively in 2015. These artists once topped the list, reaching their prime time in 2011 by earning a total of $500 million at auctions.
However, with the Chinese art market undergoing a shift, their position are being challenged by Western artists.
The highest-selling Chinese work was Pan Tianshou's Eagle Stones and Mountain Flowers, which was sold by China Guardian for $45 million. Looking at the numbers, the gap between China's highest-selling paintings and the world's most expensive art work is apparent. However, as a major force in the global art market, Chinese artists, especially in the realm of traditional Chinese painting, and Chinese collectors are still gaining ground.
