Art moves. 2021 has shaken the market, which has scored one of its best exercises in decades with seven million dollars that have skyrocketed the income statements of the large auction houses. The two largest, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, record record numbers, and the outlook for 2022 is more than positive.
The gallery owner Raquel Ponce justifies it with that “in this 2020-2021 there are more millionaires” and, therefore, “greater capital”. María García Yelo, representative of Christie’s Spain, assures that the company has experienced “an exponential increase in the number of buyer clients”. In fact, 35% are new to Christie’s.
Gallery owners and auction houses agree: new buyers have appeared, younger generations, and because of the pandemic people with greater purchasing power they have spent less, triggering purchases of artistic works.
Thus, the two great houses have set records. Sotheby’s earned 6.450 million euros, the highest figure in its history, while Christie’s had its best result in the last five years.
However, not everything is media auctions or stratospheric amounts. As José Robles, a gallery owner from Ponce-Robles explains, “There is good art for all prices.”
Even so, Spain needs to export the talent of its creators and that obstacles such as the patronage law and the cultural VAT are resolved. “When you travel outside and you see the proportion of Spanish galleries with French, Asian … we are left saying ‘if we cannot reach this market’ “, said Raquel Ponce.
A market that is currently dominated by the United States and Asia. However, 2022 promises to be fruitful. According to José Robles, “the market is going to grow exponentially in the next 10-20 years”.
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
