The contemporary Art market report 2019 (Artprice).

The contemporary Art market report 2019 (Artprice).

GENERAL SYNOPSIS

Driven by growing demand, the total volume of auction turnover generated by the Contemporary Art auction segment worldwide has doubled over the past decade with the recent figures showing strong sales right across the segment’s price spectrum. 

Key figures

The figures for the 12-month period reveal a mature and dynamic market giving increasing support to living artists while generating its own “classics” with prices at the art market’s highest levels.

Global turnover ($1.89 billion) has doubled in 10 years

          The United States and Asia account for 66%of the global market

          Record number of Contemporary artworks sold (71,400)

         2 1,996 Contemporary artists sold vs. 10,243 ten years ago

         Nearly 20,000 new artists records

            A stunning new record for a living artist: 

            Jeff  Koons reaches $91 million

Sotheby’s leads global sales of Contemporary art with turnover of ($623 million)

 Only four female artists in the segment’s top 100 auction results.

         Half of the works sold for less than $1,000

          Only 3% of the works sold fetched over$100,000

         284 new 7-digit results

          The segment’s global average unsold rate remained stable at 39%

           The price index of Contemporary Art progressed 22%

Driven by a new phase of growth in 2018/19, the Contemporary Art market generated $1.89 bil-lion, its third best performance in auction history after totals of more than $2 billion in 2013/14 and 2014/15. One of the most remarkable develop-ments this past year was the record number of lots sold: 71,400, an average of 195 works per day. This total has risen by 131% in the past ten years and by 480% since 2000.

And… as market demand for Contemporary Art has expanded – both numerically and geogra-phically – so its share of the total art market has risen… with its price index posting a 22% increase over the 12-month period in question.

A growing share of the total  market

A rt by living artists becoming  more expensive

The most commercial techniques

Video art, photography, installations and other

multimedia works are not very popular among collectors

who are still showing a distinct preference

for painting, sculpture and drawing. These three

essential media in the Contemporary Art Market

together account for 74% of the lots sold and above

all, 94% of the segment’s global turnover.