THE contemporary

The contemporary art market
Thierry Ehrmann
Sculptor, Visual artist,
Artprice.com and
Server Group founder & CEO
Contemporary art will always be the enfant terrible
of the Art Market… constantly accused of speculation,
inconsistency, lack of meaning and God
knows what other sins.
Why so much animosity? Reality is so simple.
For nearly a century we have measured the level
of market speculation by looking at the unsold rates
at public sales. Unfortunately for the market’s
critics, Artprice has calculated the current global
unsold rate at 37%, corresponding to a high level of
market selectiveness, i.e. an environment in which
only irreproachable works find buyers.
In a speculative environment, the unsold rate
drops because demand is so strong almost anything
sells. This is definitely not the case today.
However, from a historical perspective, with the
help of Artprice, one particularly remarkable fact
concerning Contemporary art stands out: it is now
the primary locomotive of the entire Art Market, a
position previously occupied by Modern art.
Aside from this observation, the sociological relationship
between Contemporary artists and the
market has clearly changed, both on the production
and the demand side, resulting in a much more mature
market.
The clichéd notion of the ‘wretched’ artist living
in poverty seems completely outdated and
the old saying “only a dead artist is a good artist”
is now itself a relic of the past. This ninth
report (2014/2015) digs deep into the heart of
these fascinating historical developments.
Another observation worth celebrating is that
Contemporary artists are again playing the role so
well defined by the philosopher Giorgio Agamben:
“A Contemporary artist is someone who accepts to
look directly into the obscure beam of his era.”
In the modern world’s standardised and globalised
village, the Contemporary artist adds that extra
depth of soul and breadth of consciousness that
we are all constantly seeking.
thierry Ehrmann
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