In 2022 the value of the art market exceeded its 2019 parameters

The art market, a sector that guarantees relative security for investments, demonstrated a remarkable capacity for recovery during 2021. Last March, this newspaper, based on The Art Market study, by Art Basel and UBS, stated that During the previous year, the purchase and sale of pieces of art recovered 30% after the slump of 2020 and global transactions for pieces of art totaled some 65 billion dollars, a figure higher than that registered in the pre-pandemic 2019.

2022 began with favorable expectations for art dealers and collectors. Although it has been a more challenging year than anticipated due to political and economic instability, particularly the still strict lockdown in some of the most important markets, as well as the war in Ukraine and inflation, the market has shown strength, this is confirmed by the 2022 Global Collecting Survey recently presented by Art Basel and UBS, applied to more than 2,700 collectors from the main art markets, in what is the largest study of its kind to date.

The work shows that the main auction houses, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips, demonstrated a recovery in their transactions, going from 5.8 billion dollars in the first half of 2021 to 7.1 billion in the same period of 2022, a higher figure. to the 2019 report (5.7 million dollars).

Online auctions went from occupying 70% of art market movements during 2020 to representing 48% of total transactions in 2022. Likewise, practically all art fairs returned to face-to-face this year.

While in 2020 only 205 fairs were registered, of which 75 were strictly online, in 2021 the number of fairs rose to 284 with 31 online. Finally, this year the viability of 338 face-to-face fairs and only one virtual one is reported.

collectors habits

Among the just over 2,700 collectors surveyed in the main markets, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, China, Japan and Brazil, 43% own collections with fewer than 50 pieces, while 26% have collections of more than 100 pieces.

The French collections are the most extensive in the world, with an average of 69 works in their holdings, followed by Brazilians (62), Italians (60), Americans (56), Germans (47) and Hong Kong (44). However, it is the Chinese collectors who collect the most works by foreign artists, whose pieces account for 57% of their total collections, while the collectors most attached to local production are the Brazilians, with 58% of the pieces in their collection. possession.

Does the market prefer living or deceased artists? The survey emphasizes this frivolous acquisition preference, especially when taking into account that a deceased artist can mean a less risky investment. However, within the markets surveyed, it stands out that 56% of Italian collectors and 58% in Hong Kong prefer living artists, while 54% of Brazilian collectors opt for works by late artists.

Collections by genre

Another fact to highlight at a global level is that, without exception of age, level of wealth or gender of the collector, the gender disparity persists in the market around the pieces collected according to the gender of their creator. 58% of the pieces that make up the collections in the world are authored by men, against 42% of works signed by women.

Although there is a progressive increase in the integration of pieces by female artists in world collections, going from 33% in 2018 to 42% in 2022, there is still work to be done.

The countries where women’s work has gained the most ground are the United Kingdom and France, both with 47% of the female presence in collections, while in Italy there is only an average of 33% of women’s works in private collections.

What format do you prefer?

The study reports that paintings dominate the market with 23%, followed by sculptures and works on paper, with 12% respectively. It is noteworthy that digital art climbed to 15% of the market and 9% corresponds to the NFT’s market.

According to the nonfungible.com portal, the value of the art market linked to NFTs jumped from $4.6 million in 2019 to $11.1 billion in 2022, mainly due to the boom of previous years.

“The market cooled off in 2022 as the Ethereum price fell by around 75% through last June and trading volume slowed down as well. This helped calm the frenzy around NFTs and art, as well as reduced the number of speculative traders. Despite the fall in values, in the first half of 2022, this market reached 610 million dollars, ”says the study.

ricardo.quiroga@eleconomista.mx