As the art market shows signs of slowing, London is trying to attract a new generation of art buyers and introduce young emerging artists in the process.
According to Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2024, global art sales in 2023 will decrease by 4% from the previous year to $65 billion after two years of growth.
This has led industry experts such as Elio Danna, co-founder and CEO of the House of Fine Art (HOFA) gallery in London’s Mayfair district, to encourage young collectors and young artists. The focus has shifted to both.
“Five years ago… we were targeting buyers between the ages of 35 and 45, almost evenly split between men and women, but now we’re seeing more buyers between the ages of 25 and 35,” he told CNBC. He told “The Art of Gratitude.”
This rise in young collectors comes as artificial intelligence and how it can be used to create art remains a hot topic in the art world.
That’s definitely a focus for Danna. HOFA represents artist Sougwen Chung, who uses Chung, a robot designed to collaborate on his work. Chung, who uses the pronoun they, calls the machine a drawing operations unit (DOUG).
“Recently I have been working mainly on robotic performances and artifacts, which means converting digital in terms of data, behavioral data and spatial data into real tangible works that the audience can experience. “I do,” Chung told CNBC.
Chung, a former researcher at the MIT Media Lab, said they trained the robot on 20 years’ worth of data from their drawings. “It was really, really interesting because I got to see my own stylistic input and my own decisions being transferred and transformed into a mechanical system,” they said.
One of the works created by artist Sougwen Chung and the robot they designed known as DOUG.
CNBC
One of Chung’s works, “Spectral,” was sold for $35,000 by London auction house Phillips in October as part of a sale called “Space” in collaboration with HOFA.
At Phillips, we have seen an increase in young collectors purchasing works by living artists. For Henry Hiley, Head of European Private Sales, Space represents a “fascinating intersection of technology and art.”
“This is really the kind of thing that Philips… is recognizing the importance and significance of AI art in the broader art market,” Hiley told CNBC. “We want to offer something really fresh and new.”
“Generational change”
At Frieze London, London’s prestigious art fair that attracts wealthy collectors and celebrities, works by young artists were displayed in gallery booths near the entrance in a special “Focus” area.
“Sections like the ‘Focus’ section, which represents young artists, are thinking very much about this kind of generational change, and young collectors are also thinking about the kinds of artists they are interested in supporting,” Frieze London said. said Eva Langlett, director of . He told CNBC’s Tania Breyer during an event in October.
According to the Art Market 2024 report, finding new buyers is a top priority for dealers, with many stating that some clients are “aging” or that their collections have reached capacity. There is.
The report said the United States and Europe are “basically saturated” and lack next-generation collectors, especially in some areas. In 2023, the United States will become the world’s largest art market, and China will overtake the United Kingdom to become the second largest art market.
Some of the works exhibited at Art Fair Frieze London with artist Charlotte Eadie.
CNBC
At Frieze, an installation by multidisciplinary artist Charlotte Eadie was on display at the Gallery Ginny on Frederick’s booth as part of “Focus.” Her work consisted of a series of drawings and tapestries in wooden frames.
Eadie describes exhibiting at the fair as “a different level of exposure,” and said her work is based on “the interior space of the house, the image of domestic space, and how that is used as a means.” he told CNBC. Explore things that are more emotional or like the psychological structure of the body. ”
Curator Cedric Falk said the Focus section offered a unique opportunity for emerging artists. “Focus allows artists to push their practices forward, try new things, and share their experiments with the world,” he told CNBC.
Langlett said Frieze hopes to attract Gen Z and Millennial buyers through its Frieze Viewing Room website. “Younger generations are quite comfortable buying art online and are comfortable finding out what fairs have to offer online,” she says.
Art fairs aren’t the only ones trying to attract younger audiences. Contemporary art gallery Moco Museum has locations in Amsterdam and Barcelona, and opened a branch in London in August. Co-founder Kim Rockies Prince said the focus is on younger audiences. “They want to feel welcome, so I curate with them in mind,” she said.
“We always have great names on display. So you always see (Andy) Warhol, (Jean-Michel) Basquiat, (Jeff) Koons, and some up-and-coming artists. So, I think in one visit you can get something out of it, ‘It’s like diving into the world of art,’ said Rocky’s Prince.
