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Allow us to let you in on a secret. When we started planning the Fall 2021 edition of the Artnet Intelligence Report about a year ago, we wondered if we should include an article on NFTs. “Who knows if NFTs will still be relevant in a few months?” said one of our team members. “The subject evolves and changes so quickly,” replied another.
One issue and nine months later, NFTs continue to dominate the art market conversation, to the delight of some and the dismay of others. Auction houses generated over $200 million from the sale of these digital assets last year.
Beyond astronomical prices, however, we look at the concepts behind the NFT obsession in the world: how flipping is part of the culture, how ownership doesn’t require physical possession, and how new audiences are guests in the bosom. These principles may have a more fundamental impact on the art business – for better or worse – than any amount of money generated from NFT sales.
That’s why, in this issue, we look at how the art market has become a planet of apes – and not just those who own Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, but those who want to disrupt the industry by changing the way we think. the possession. Companies like Masterworks, Particle, and Yieldstreet are using new technologies to make collecting artwork and NFTs accessible to audiences who previously couldn’t afford it. And they do this by dividing these assets into tiny pieces.
So what happens when a Banksy becomes an NFT collectively owned by thousands of people? And how would the art market change if this became commonplace?
We spoke with condo company founders, their customers, and other stakeholders to find out. In this issue, we look at what happens when the art market tries to become more like the stock market. We’ll also examine whether DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) can actually be useful for art trading and, of course, offer our data-driven and insightful breakdown of market performance in 2021.
If you’ve ever wondered who would buy a hundredth of a Picasso or suddenly wanted to sell a fraction of your own, this issue is for you.
– Andrew Goldstein and Julia Halperin
– TABLE OF CONTENTS –
– Marketplace
• How the auction market had its best year ever
• What fintech entrepreneur Alan Lau is buying (and why)
• The 10 best lots of 2021 across all major categories – explained
– First, GameStop. Then… Banksy?
by Katia Kazakina
Retail investors are buying fractional Picassos, Banksys and branded NFTs in hopes of a major gain. Are they being played?
– Meet the art investors (fractional)
by Annie Armstrong
We met three professionals – a property manager, a podcaster and a corporate lawyer – who bet on small cultural properties.
– 5 businesses that are all on fractional ownership
by Eileen Kinsella
Do you want to own a work of art without paying insurance… or to be able to contemplate it? These five companies are at the forefront of fractional art ownership.
– Do DAOs really make sense for the art market?
by Amy Beaver
In a market as elitist, opaque and illogical as the fine arts, could DAOs – and the vision of collective ownership they represent – tip the balance of power?
– Dive into data
by Julia Halperin
• Have online art sales already peaked?
• Which Asian country has the fastest growing art market?
• Who are today’s most bankable artists?
– The triumph of ultra-contemporary art
by Artnet News and Morgan Stanley
Auctions of works by young artists have soared 305% since 2019. Here’s how the desire for novelty is transforming the market.
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– MAIN FINDINGS –
© Artnet Price Database and Artnet Analytics 2021.
- A big $16.6 billion total was spent on fine art at auction in 2021 – the highest total we have ever recorded.
- North America regained its place as the world’s leading fine arts market, with $6.4 billion in artwork auctions for Asia’s $5.4 billion.
- Online sales continued to grow even as in-person events resumed. the three large housesas well as Bonhams’ own auction platform and Artnet, together generated a record $1.5 billion online, up 35% year over year.
- Korea is on the rise. The country, which will host the first edition of Frieze Seoul this fall, has seen its art auctions reach an all-time high of $255.5 million last yearmore than double its 2020 total.
- Ultra-contemporary art— our term for works by artists born after 1974 — is by far the fastest growing segment of the art market. Sales in category achieved $742.2 million in 2021, up 305% from 2019.
- What is the price range most lucrative for auction houses? The biggest part of the cake remains that made up of beautiful works of art exchanged between $1 million and $10 million each.
- Sotheby’s beat his rival Christie’s of total fine art auctions in 2021. The premieres generated $4.8 billion; the last, $4.3 billion.
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