About Creative Industries – Art Markets
The art market is another area of interest that we will address in this new article in the series Creative Industries – that ‘place’ where buyers and sellers intersect for the purpose of artworks, in particular, which is the focus of this article.
The economic mode in which the art market operates is one that examines more than supply and demand, it relies on marketing forecasts and all sorts of strategies – it is a market that is not at all transparent, with sales not being accessible and public most of the time.
In terms of the Romanian art market in 2020, the top 10 transactions by auction results in an average of €116,250, a substantial increase from previous years, according to Artmark Auction House, an increase obviously due to the explosion of online in the new context and massive purchases via digital platforms.
The most important players on the Romanian art market, at auction house level are: Alis, Goldart, Artmark and Lavacow, plus local houses such as Quadro in Cluj and Pal in Miercurea Ciuc. Quadro (Cluj) was founded in 2008 and deals in artists and Hungarian artists from Transylvania. Among the main sales of 2016 were ,,Cluj – view from Someș”, Antal Andor Fulop (13,000 euros), ,,Church of Matthias Corvinus”, Antal Andor Fulop (3,900 euro), ,,Lights on a house in Bimmer”, Oszkar Nagy (3,500 euro). But in recent years, the gallery has focused on a gallery activity, promoting local artists, either at the photographic exhibitions or hosting the works of young visual artists.
In terms of the structure of the art market, it can be estimated (according to Artmark) that approx. 65% of the current Romanian art market circulates through public auction, versus approx. 35% through galleries, dealers and art fairs. Galleries cover an estimated 25% of the art market, most of them focus precisely on promoting contemporary art, another growing market.
In terms of sales, the top selling contemporary painting was the work “Christ” by Adrian Ghenie, for 125 thousand euros in the Artmark Autumn Auction 2016 (the artist’s record in the market Romanian art market, but not that in the international market, which is 70 times higher).
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