FINANCE CURATE WITH CAUTION That stunning piece of art you want to get your hands on can either be a great investment, or a risky one. Discover why an art advisor is not only essential for novice collectors, but also those looking to grow their portfolio By Nicola Monteath 14 EQUITY
FINANCE Above: Salma Shaheem from The Fine Art Group. Right: The "Untitled" Basquiat painting that sold for $110.5 million You either love a Basquiat or you don’t. It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But there are some who understand the value of art as an investment, and adding a contemporary piece from the late Jean- Michel Basquiat to your collection, makes for a great longterm investment. However, investing in art doesn’t mean you pass up on pieces of interest. In fact, it’s vital to buy a piece you love, one with a great history, that you connect with and speaks volume. After all, it will most likely be hung in your home or office. Take for instance the Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who purchased the Basquiat ‘Untitled’ impressionist, contemporary piece for $110.5 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York earlier this year. Maezawa’s affection for the artist’s collection resulted in a recordbreaking sale, the most expensive piece ever bought, that was previously purchased by a couple (who left it to their two daughters) for a mere $19,000 in the Eighties. The piece appreciated by $109,981,000 in just 33 years, yielding a high return that could never be anticipated. This isn’t the only piece in Maezawa’s collection however, he previously bought another painting by Basquiat for $57.3 million. Other works in his collection include the likes of Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool and Richard Prince. Evidently, Maezawa has a penchant for contemporary art, but if we had to follow in his footsteps, where would we begin and how does one go about securing, or investing in, a piece that appreciates overtime? That’s where art advisors are brought into the equation. “There’s been a huge shift in appetite for art. We’re seeing great, exponential growth in the post warrant contemporary art genre in particular,” says Salma Shaheem, head of Middle Eastern Markets of The Fine Art Group (an art investment advisory house). “Over the last 10-15 years or so, art has been made accessible to everyone. Ten years ago, it probably wouldn’t make the headlines of the New York Times and no one would talk about it. Now, every time there’s a record-breaking auction, all the media outlets talk about it. So, people are constantly bombarded by this art news which I think is great,” says Sylvain Gaillard, who transitioned from private banker to an art advisor and Director of the Opera Gallery, to immerse himself and grow his adoration for art and curation. The sudden inflation can be attributed to the increase in wealth, people looking to build a collection for investment purposes and the fundamental law kind of mix, of supply and demand. “You have a lot more people who want to buy art. And the good pieces are either taken care of, spoken for, or in a private collection or museums. So, when a good piece comes out on the market, you have many who want to acquire it and that drives the price and demand up,” he goes on to say. The UAE, as Shaheem states, is an emerging market with a strong foundation for the future of arts. As an advisor, her job entails visiting museums, galleries, keeping an eye out for art that has just come up on the market, and helping clients pick the right piece for their specifically curated collection. There are several ways in which art advisory works. “I meet a client that knows they want to start collecting art and might have an affinity towards it but they don’t know where to begin. That's one scenario, the other is a person who began collecting a few years ago, or inherited art, and now has over 40 pieces and doesn’t know what to do with it. We come in and help with disposing of that and reinvesting whatever money we can gain into better pieces,” she tells us. But with art comes a price tag that can be considered quite a risky investment. That’s where Shaheem stresses on the 15 EQUITY
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