This Week in the Art Market – Friday 12th January 2024
Art Market News, Editorial
Young Asian Art Collectors Are On The Rise
According to a report by Art Basel, median expenditure on art in Asia by both millennials and Gen Zers has increased sharply from 2022 to 2023, indicating a growing interest in the market by young buyers. Moreover, top auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christies’ have also observed a recent surge in activity by young Asian collectors. Mainland China currently stands as the top contributing region for millennials in this regard, followed closely by Hong Kong and Singapore. This development has also led to art platforms building up their online presences to appeal to younger buyers.
Art Dubai Releases First Details
Widely seen as the premiere art event in the Middle East and Global South, Art Dubai 2024 is slated to take place from March 1-3, and will feature an expanded lineup of collaborations and new commissions. Its flagship event, Global Art Forum, promises to examine the complex relationship between “extreme weather and extreme change”, and will involve perspectives from not only artists but distinguished researchers, architects and curators. As Dubai strives to achieve its goal as a global cultural destination, art fairs such as Art Dubai will only get more expansive, ambitious and dynamic.
See more: https://en.vogue.me/culture/art-dubai-2024-first-details-17th-edition-revealed/
Alicia Keys Brings Art Collection to Brooklyn Museum
Pop culture royalty Alicia Keys and her husband Kasseem Dean (aka Swizz Beatz) have loaned more than 100 significant works from their extensive art collection to take center stage in the Brooklyn Museum’s upcoming show: “Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys”. While the exhibition undeniably draws on the star power of the iconic couple, the duo are also seasoned collectors of African-American works; Dean in particular has been collecting since the 1990s and is now a proud owner of thousands of works, even being recruited into the Brooklyn Museum’s board in 2019. Though the museum has recently come under fire for building exhibitions around celebrities such as David Bowie, Spike Lee and Paul McCartney, the museum’s director has defended her vision, emphasizing the cultural impact of such celebrities and their groundbreaking work.
See more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/arts/design/alicia-keys-swizz-beatzs-art-brooklyn-museum.html
Art Fraud Cited As Biggest Risk to Top Collections
In a recently published wealth report, 87% of top art collectors have cited fraud and provenance concerns as the greatest risk to their collections. This comes amidst several high profile cases of art fraud, including a series of 25 Basquiat paintings from the Orlando Museum of Art that were found to be forgeries. To combat this, art collectors are strongly advised to purchase art from reputable and established parties, obtain provenance documentation and bring in professional third parties like forensic conservators to ascertain the work’s authenticity.
New Auction House Makes Waves In American Art Market
Though the American art auction scene has long since been dominated by the big three (Sotheby’s, Christies’ and Phillips’), the current power balance may soon shift with the entrance of brand new auction house Freeman’s | Hindman, a product of a landmark merger between Chicago-based auction house Hindman and Philadelphia’s Freeman’s. Between the two companies, there are six salerooms and 18 offices scattered across the country, which outstrips the domestic presence of most other established auction houses. The company has also announced its intentions to consolidate its various platforms and set up a new salesroom in New York later this month.
See more: https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/freemans-hindman-merger-1234692344/
Art Thief Apprehended After Rooftop Chase
An alarm breaks the early morning silence at the American Fine Art gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. The culprit, Harpeet Singh, escapes from the premises with approximately $250,000 worth of art in hand, including precious paintings by Andy Warhol, Picasso and Keith Haring. Thankfully, the would-be thief is soon caught after a daring rooftop chase across nearby buildings, with most of the works quickly recovered, in spite of Singh’s attempts to hide them during his attempted getaway. As Singh awaits trial, investigators are currently ascertaining whether or not the theft was part of a bigger operation that involved potential buyers for the stolen works.
Ke Dong is a seasoned art writer and current double major in English Literature and Art History at NTU. Having worked with esteemed art institutions in Singapore, Ke Dong now regularly contributes his keen research skills, adept writing abilities and passion for art to the Art Works discourse.
