The art market at the end of 2021 - contemporary art strong

We are now at the end of the second year of Corona pandemic and it is time to take a look at the developments in the international art market 2021.

After a year of global concerns, the market has registered with a bang - especially for contemporary artists . The consequences of the Covid 19 epidemic are clearly visible in the statistics, but to the surprise of many, they were not negative.

Let's take digitization as the most obvious example. In the long months in which galleries and auction houses worldwide had to close their doors, this process was driven at full speed. The popularity of hybrid strategies in galleries shows that they have fully arrived in the digital and globally networked world. To the delight of many dealers and art collectors who now benefit from easier access to works of art.

The far more remarkable news lies in the dramatic growth of the market for contemporary art .

Unimaginable growth 2021

In the middle of the major international trade fair season, between Art Basel, Frieze and FIAC , Artprice published its market report 2021 . And although it is only the first half of the year, the results are already remarkably positive. After a very sad year 2020, contemporary art seems to have regained its attraction and now even exceeds any other artistic creative period.

The sales in this segment have increased by fabulous 177% compared to 2020. This corresponds to 102,000 auctioned works for a total of $ 2.7 billion in the period from late 2020 to June 2021.

Contemporary art asked like never before

Collectors and artists are increasingly focusing on contemporary art. This area now accounts for almost a quarter of the overall market: 23% to be precise in 2020/2021.

If we now compare these numbers with the beginning of the millennium, then we see a breathtaking growth. In just twenty years, prices have increased by 400%.

For comparison: the value of post -war works has grown only about half as much in the same period. Artprice attributes this phenomenon to a constantly growing supply, cheaper prices and above all a growing demand for collectors around the world. Since digitization eliminates geographical barriers and emerging countries gain in importance, buyers become younger and more numerous.

They fuel the demand for contemporary art, which will most likely continue to rise.

According to current numbers, 3 contemporary artists are now among the greatest names of art history among the top 10 artists who achieved the highest auction prices in 2021:

The most sought -after artists in 2021

Almost 102,000 contemporary works have changed hands worldwide, an increase in transactions by + 34 % compared to the 2018/19 result (before pandemic). This market thrust is partly due to the enormous popularity of some fewer artists.

Together, KAWS (real name: Brian Donnelly), Takashi Murakami , and Banksy nearly 5,000 annual lots and 4.7% of contemporary art transactions. They reflect the most popular art of our time: street art and manga . Their success has been further amplified by the arrival of new online buyers. These three artists share a common thread: they cover all price ranges and are extremely prolific in multiple areas.

Each of these artists sells more than 1,500 works a year without counting their own sales networks or those of their galleries: Kaws, Murakami and Banksy form the podium of the most requested artists, measured by the number of auctions.

The popularity of NFTS and Crypto Art

There is another factor that has contributed significantly to the rapid increase in contemporary art in a post-covid world: the market launch of NFTS .

These digital works are not unanimously valued by art lovers, but they have already conquered the hearts of some high -ranking collectors. Sales prices for crypto art have almost overturned in the course of 2021. In fact, 9 NFT works for prices over the million dollar brand were auctioned this year.

The first in the story was "Everydays: 5000 Days" by the artist Beeple , which in March with Christie's for $ 69.3 million changed owners (see article: An introduction to the world of NFT art ).

The authenticity and traceability of NFTS (non-fungible tokens) are guaranteed by blockchain technology. Mr. Sundaresan, creator of one of the leading NFT investment funds ( MetaPurse ), has set itself the goal of building up the world's largest collection of NFT art. Already three months before the sale of The First 5000 Days, his company MetaPurse had already invested more than $ 2 million in digital works by Beeple.

The new NFT money blessing sparked great enthusiasm among the auction houses. According to Christie’s, 22 million people, almost 60 % under 40 years old, have registered with the auction of The First 5000 Days . Among them, some investors, with well-equipped crypto portfolios, screwed the use upwards.

It was eager to use new buyer communities with a focus on digital art and liquidity in the crypto room, the auction houses have done everything to include NFT works in their prestigious spring sales.

According to the non -fungible estimates, the sales of NFT works of art in the first five months of 2021 achieved a total of USD 2.5 billion (source: Artprice ).