A leading art trade investigation agency has just released its yearly report on the art trade, a statement based exclusively on collective sales at auctions around the world.
Strengthening the market
It has been at least 20 years now since works by contemporary artists in Africa have found their place in the buying rites of collectors. This is one of the most exciting times in the field of contemporary African art. It is a new era for African art, which has never been popular before. One of the most tangible proofs of this is the rise in costs following the public sale of works from the Jean Pigozzi collection. This special sale, which included some 60 artists from 16 African countries, was presented by Sotheby's. This gives the opportunity to place African contemporary art at the top of the list. A consequence that demonstrates the increasing interest in this once forgotten art.
Trends and prospects for 2019
Furthermore, it seems that in this art form, the situation was changed 2 years ago. This was at the time of the inauguration of an institute for contemporary African and modern art by Sotheby's. In particular, the company has maintained some 60 or more auction records for African artists, with the help of several meetings. Even so, it would be inappropriate to show this admiration as an absolute trend. The market strength of contemporary African art is now beyond expectations. Also, these achievements seem to be the result of the choice positioning recently given to Africans in the latest contemporary art exhibitions. But also, the preparation of conferences and fairs dedicated to African production in the four corners of the world, and Africa is part of it.
Collectors love African art
Based on the observations made in Paris and London, the specialists agree on one thing. When it comes to African art, collectors are willing to pay a lot of money. Moreover, it seems that the next Eldorado for African art would be the United States, as American collectors would be in full agitation towards African art. However, the next place where African art is expected to explode is in the US. As many decades ago, works by African artists seemed to have no interest, but nowadays it is booming. Both for the works at Sotheby's, and for the costs on the trade. This means that the costs have almost doubled.