Chasing the 1%, an illusion?
Remarkably, despite all the economic doom and gloom, the prices of art appear to just keep rising. This year, a Francis Bacon painting sold for $84.6m at Sotheby’s, in a new format online sale, showing that people out there are still willing to buy big.
Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (1981). Image courtesy of Sotheby’s
It’s a good sign for the market in many ways, showing there is still confidence in buying and selling art. But these headline grabbing sales present a skewed image - aligning art purely with money, markets and economic outlooks. What about the the everyday collector, who just wants something brilliant for their walls that speaks to their identity?
The answer is to separate the two. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the big bucks, but the reality is these present a separate, elitist world far removed from the pleasure of buying art for yourself. Too often is a gallery asked, what do you think this will be worth in a few years’ time? This is the wrong way to look at art. Buy at a level where you feel confident and buy artists that mean something to you on an emotional level.
Rosalind Lawless, Outline #1, Portrait, 2019
Hannah Lim, Family Portrait, 2019
A big name and a fancy price is in many ways an illusion and trying to chase the buying habits of the 1% will lead nowhere. Lockdown living has necessitated a new way of looking at life, and perhaps this is a time to rethink how we look at art and reclaim it from an endless, exhausting search for the most exclusive and most expensive.
Emerging artists offer an opportunity to collect something really personal. Look at an artist like Rosalind Lawless; for the price of a signed poster by say Jeff Koons, you have the opportunity to get a beautiful unique painting and truly engage in the story and journey of the artist.
Buying work from emerging artists, is buying into their journey, their future as well as their story - is what we call modern day padronism.
How much more exciting to find an artist you love and watch them grow and develop through their career. A sculpture by up and coming Hannah Lim will breathe life into your home like no-one on the prescribed art fair circuit. Sure, it would be great if their prices grow at the same time, but let’s try and take this mind-set off the table and think of your eyes and heart instead.