Artprice by Artmarket publishes its 2023 Contemporary Art Market Report

Artprice by Artmarket is releasing its 2023 Contemporary Art Market Report in time for London’s Frieze art fair and Paris+ by Art Basel in the French capital. The market has grown 2,200% since 2000, new records are constantly falling, and art remains a haven in times of crisis.

In its 27th Annual Report, Artprice by Artmarket presents and examines a global Contemporary and Ultra-Contemporary, making the art market more dynamic than ever.

According to Thierry Ehrmann, Artprice founder and CEO of its parent company Artmarket, the Contemporary art market has changed beyond recognition in 20 years. With auction turnover increasing by 2,200%, many more contemporary artists participating (from 5,400 artists to nearly 38,000 today), and a growing volume of works exchanged (from 12,000 lots offered to 123,000), the change has been structural. It has also been geographical with 64 countries participating in the market versus 39 two decades ago. The contemporary art market has accelerated with the Internet and the fluidification of remote transactions, and it now represents the most dynamic and profitable segment of the entire Art Market in the 21st Century.

Contemporary Art (artists born after 1945): Key Figures 2022/23

• A global turnover of $2.3 billion over 12 months. (July 2022 – June 2023)
• The fourth-best performance in the history of the Contemporary art market.
• The segment’s auction turnover has increased 22-fold since 2000/01. ($103 million)
• Contemporary Art represented 16% of the total Fine Art and NFT auction market. ($14.1 billion)
• The segment saw yet another increase in transactions to a new record of 123,450 lots sold over 12 months. (2%)
• The volume of transactions has grown 10-fold since 2000/01, when only 12,500 Contemporary lots were sold.
• Transactions above the million-dollar threshold fell by 22%. (290 vs 372 in 2021/22)
• The segment’s unsold rate remained stable at 34%. (vs. 33% the previous year)
• The top price paid for a Contemporary work was $67.1 million. (Jean-Michel Basquiat)
• The average auction price for a Contemporary art lot reached $18,600.

Soft Power of the Contemporary Art Market 2022/23

• The USA was the world leader in this segment with an auction turnover of $857 million over 12 months. The American market posted $1 billion in 21/22.
• China was in second place with $744 million despite a 5% contraction ($785 million in 21/22).
• The UK was third with $376 million.
• France was fourth with $46 million.
• Japan was fifth with $40 million.

Soft Power of the Contemporary Art Auction Houses 2022/23

• Christie’s was the leading global auction operator in the segment with a turnover total of $650 million. (hammering 31% of the segment’s global total)
• Sotheby’s was second with $595 million (28%) and Phillips was third with $260 million. (12%)
• China Guardian was the leading Chinese auction house with a turnover total of $82 million. (4%)
• Ketterer was the leading European auction house with a turnover total of $11 million. (0.5%)

Structure of the Contemporary Art Market

• 11 Contemporary works exceeded $10 million. (compared to 20 in 21/22)
• 290 results above the $1 million threshold. (vs. 372 in 21/22)
• 54% of Contemporary lots sold for less than $1,000. (i.e. 66,600 works)
• 30,532 Contemporary artists had at least one auction result in 22/23.
• 10 artists accounted for 27% of the global auction turnover from Contemporary art.

Structure of the Contemporary Art Market by Type

1. Paintings accounted for 74% of the global auction turnover from Contemporary art.
2. Sculptures accounted for 10% and drawings accounted for 9%.
3. Prints (4%) generated double the turnover hammered for photographs (2%).

Top 10 Contemporary artists by auction turnover (1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023) ©Artprice.com

Ultra-Contemporary Art (artists under 40): Key figures for H1 2023

• The Ultra-contemporary segment generated $127 million in H1 2023.
• Global turnover is down 38% vs. H1 2022 ($206 million).
• The third-best semester in the Ultra-contemporary art segment since 2000.
• In 23 years, the segment’s turnover has grown 8.5 times. (from $14.9 million in H1 2000)
• Ultra-contemporary art represented 12% of the total Contemporary art auction market.
• Ultra-contemporary art represented 2% of global Fine Art and NFT auction turnover.
• A total of 4,520 Ultra-contemporary artworks sold during H1 2023.
• The segment’s unsold rate was 34% (the same as that for the Contemporary segment as a whole).

Structure of the Ultra-contemporary Art Market in H1 2023

• The average price of an Ultra-contemporary work reached $28,100.
• Paintings represent 80% of the Ultra-contemporary segment’s auction turnover.
• NFTs constituted the 2nd largest medium in this segment: $14 million (11%).
• Drawings accounted for 5.8% and sculptures for 1.5%.
• The USA was the leading hub for the exchange of Ultra-contemporary artworks: $41 million. (32%)
• Hong Kong hammered 31% of the segment's auction turnover and mainland China hammered 7%.
• With a total of $26 million, the UK generated 20% of global Ultra-contemporary art auction turnover.

Diversity of the Ultra-contemporary art market in H1 2023

• 2,646 artists under 40 had at least one auction result in H1 2023.
• 5 women were in the Top 10 Ultra-contemporary artists by turnover.
• A new record was created for Matthew Wong (1984-2019) at $6.6 million.

NFTs by Ultra-contemporary artists in H1 2023

• Ultra-contemporary NFTs generated $14.2 million. (vs. $5.3 million in H1 2022)
• NFTs represented 11% of the Ultra-contemporary art market.
• The best-selling NFT 2022/23 was Dimitry Cherniak’s (b. 1988): Ringers #879 (The Goose) (2021) which fetched $6.2 million at Sotheby’s, New York on 15 June 2023.

Top 10 artists under 40 by auction turnover (1 January 2023 – 30 June 2023) ©Artprice.com

Art, a safe haven in major crises

In conclusion, in contrast to the rest of the economy which is impacted by the current geopolitical and financial context at the moment, the art market is pursuing its growth with robust health, with regular new auction records being hammered for works from all artistic periods and in a wide range of countries during recent sales sessions. Moreover, there have been no cancellations of classic and/or prestige catalogued sales for 2023 or 2024, these sales being very much the bellwethers of the entire art market.

Major auction houses and investors know very well that art is a haven and a good investment, as shown by the Artprice100© index, which has outperformed traditional stock market indices. The current period of uncertainty in the stock market is also bringing new funds and investments in the art market.

During past crises, Artprice has already observed that the art market was less impacted than financial markets and the economy. This was true during the Nasdaq crash in 2000, after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the Afghan war in 2001, the Iraq war in 2003, the subprime and CDS crisis in 2007, the negative interest rates that started in 2011, and the Covid crisis in 2019. The current period of major geopolitical unrest and the fear of a recession has not gotten the better of the Art Market.

Methodology

This Report takes into account all public auctions of Fine Art works, i.e. paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, prints, videos, installations, tapestries, and NFTs, excluding antiques, anonymous cultural goods and furniture. It covers the global auction results recorded by Artprice for artworks by artists born after 1945 (Contemporary Art) between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. It focuses on the results for artworks by artists under the age of 40 (Ultra-contemporary artists) between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2023. All prices indicated in this Report refer to public auction results including buyers’ fees. All uses of the “$” symbol refer to the US dollar.

About Artmarket

Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, Thierry Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department are controlled by Groupe Serveur, created in 1987.

Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures, its Artprice department is, the world leader in the accumulation, management and exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than 817,000 artists.

Artmarket and its Artprice department accumulate data permanently from 7200 Auction Houses and produce key Art Market information for the main press and media agencies (7,200 publications).

References:

1. Artprice’s Report on the 2023 Contemporary Art Market is available free of charge in both French and English and can be accessed here.
2. Artprice by Artmarket’s Global Art Market Report, “The Art Market in 2022” published in March 2023 can be accessed here.

Photo Courtesy – ArtPrice

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