Invest in contemporary art

10,000 euro invested in a “Marylin” by Andy Warhol in 2000 would have turned into about 100,000 euro in 2020.

Why buy art? Why invest a part of your assets in modern and contemporary art?

The modern and contemporary art market is not afraid of crises and remains solid even during world epidemics!
Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Marc Chagall and many others, not only maintain a very high level of liquidity even in the most difficult times of the world economy, but consolidate and grow in value over time regardless of any political and economic episode.
New market places are becoming ever more flourishing and more and more active. Think of China (Hong Kong in primis), the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Japan … until a few years ago they barely existed in the global art market and today represent large percentages of its total value!
To get an idea of ​​the figures that the art market moves every day, we cannot fail to mention the sculpture by Jeff Koons, a steel rabbit titled “RABBIT”, sold in May 2019 for about 90 million dollars, or the canvas “Untitled” by Jean Michel Basquiat sold in May 2017 for about 100 million dollars, without neglecting the millionaire allotments for the Italian artists Mario Schifano (two works reached one million euro in April 2019) and Mimmo Rotella (almost 1.5 million euro in February 2016).

And the phenomenon still appears to be rapidly expanding, with many new collectors entering the “art system” on a daily basis, increasing and consolidating it.

Just think that to these enormous figures, we must add the thousands of sales of works of art that took place through galleries and professionals around the world and the sales between individuals!

What is the growth of the assets if you had invested in Andy Warhol? From 2000 to 2020 even more than 1000%.

A screen print by Andy Warhol – Marylin – from the 1960s, out of 250 copies (image above) in 2000 was bought for about 20,000 euro or less; today that same Marylin is sold for about 160,000 euro.

A screen printing – Beethoven – from the 1980s, out of 60 copies (image above) in 2000 was bought for around 10,000 euro; today that same work is sold for about 60,000 euro.

A silkscreen print – Liz – from 1964 (image above) in 2000 was bought for around 5,000 euro; today that same work is sold for up to about 60,000 euro.

All Andy Warhol‘s works have achieved CONSTANT and incessant growth over the years, and the trend is still growing.

What is the growth of the assets if you had invested in Kaws?
American artist Brian Donnelly has achieved amazing market performance in just a few years, with auction sales of up to 11.5 million euro.
The so-called “art toys”, increasingly coveted by enthusiasts and collectors, are achieving particular success, at very low figures.

This Kaws screen printing, out of 50 copies, in 2012 was paid around 1500 euro. Today, after eight years, Kaws‘ same serigraphs can be bought for more than 10.000 euro. An increase of around 700% in 8 years.

These Kaws serigraphs, out of 100 copies, in 2017/2018 were paid around 3000/3500 euro each. Today, after about 2 years, Kaws‘ same serigraphs can be bought for more than 10,000 euro each. An increase of about 350% in 2 years.

Even a few months after being purchased from official stores or from the artist’s own website, Kaws “art toys” are sold for more than double!

Who to invest in today?

Investing in modern and contemporary art allows you to diversify your assets, allowing you to acquire movable assets that maintain, at the same time, both a high cultural value and a high economic value. Unlike many other investments, moreover, works of art allow you to also satisfy the sight, to enjoy firsthand your investment and to be able to furnish a property with style and taste (this aspect should not be underestimated) . Finally, for private sales not exercised as part of a business activity, any capital gains, to date, are not subject to taxation (in Italy)!

But who to invest in?

Exactly as with many other investments, it is always necessary to assess the investor’s risk appetite. High risks correspond to high gains or high losses, to low risks correspond more moderate gains and, consequently, also more balanced losses. We can divide the investment in modern and contemporary art into two types:

High risk: This category can include very young artists, emerging and / or not yet valued by the market who, in any case, already have a good exhibition curriculum and important collaborations with art galleries. Staying in the field of pop and street art we can mention artists such as Prefab77, Jisbar, Marta Zawadzka, Christophe Catelain, Cope2, Emilio Tadini, Mark Kostabi and many others.

The investment in these artists can undergo sudden changes in value. An international museum that announces the acquisition of a work by an emerging artist can generate sudden price spikes just as, conversely, the termination of a collaboration with an important art gallery can generate a sharp depreciation.

Low risk: This category can include historicized artists, exhibited in the most important museums around the world and whose writings on the history of modern and contemporary art can also be read. These are well-known artists such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Mario Schifano, Mimmo Rotella, Franco Angeli, Steve McCurry, Elliott Erwitt, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Tano Festa, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Tom Wesselmann, Obey, Swoon, Banksy etc….

These artists are now well known and appreciated by the public of collectors and art lovers. Prices are stable over time and it is possible to appreciate increasing variations due to the growing number of people who would like to buy their works and the increasing scarcity of the latter.

The advice is to ALWAYS choose according to your tastes and based on the seriousness and reliability of the artist and gallery owner with whom he collaborates.

The more solid and historicized artists have a greater propensity to maintain value over time, the lesser-known artists will have more volatile prices.

TIPS FOR SHOPPING

Whether you choose an emerging artist or prefer to invest in great historicized masters, it is always useful to keep in mind the purchasing tips:

Buy only what is CERTIFIED. The certifications for “unique pieces” works of art can be of two types: the photo authentication certificate (issued by the living artist) or the archival certificate (issued either by the living artist or by an Archive and differs from photo authentication in that in addition to the declaration of authenticity there is also an insertion code in the official archive of that particular artist). For graphics, it is always advisable to purchase ONLY what is published in the official catalogs that collect the artist’s graphic works. For example, for Andy Warhol‘s graphic works the world reference is the general catalog “Frayda Feldman, Jörg Schellmann, Claudia Defendi, Andy Warhol Prints. A catalog raisonné 1962-1987 “;

Purchase only what has a CERTAIN provenance, verifying it in person when possible, in such a way as to acquire only works of art free from any encumbrance;

Be very careful and hesitant in case of “unmissable business”, because very often they hide scams or careless purchases. It often happens that you will find ads for the sale of works of art at very discounted prices, works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol for a few euro. The question to ask in these cases is: who sells a work worth thousands of euro for a few hundred euro?! … the answer could be “A fool”, but most of the time it will be “A scammer”.

Check certifications. Once the certifications of the works of art have been obtained, it is always good to check them either with the artist himself or at the official archives or at trusted galleries.

ALWAYS demanding certifications and confirmation of the provenance of every single work of art, regardless of the price, is a healthy habit to be able to enjoy, in serenity, your investment in modern and contemporary art.

For all the images represented in the article, the source is Artprice.

Each reader must be held responsible for the risks of their investments and for the use they make of the information contained in these pages. The proposed advice has the only informative and advertising purposes. They are not, therefore, an offer or an invitation to make investments.