ON A HIGH

After the promising first six months, investors and art aficionados are hoping that the rest of FY2023 too would prove golden

- Jyotsna Sharma

THE MARKET for art had been among those that had defied the despondency that a disease had wrought on the world and the downturn that followed. A report by Art Basel and UBS indicates that the art market is on a high the world over. The year 2021 saw the global art market clock $65.1 billion (aggregated sales of art and antiques), a 29 per cent increase since 2020.

The US maintained its lead, with a 43 per cent share of the global art market, followed by China with a 20 per cent share. The UK came in third, with a 17 per cent share of the global art bazar. The 2022 numbers are positive too. Artprice data suggests that in the first half of 2022 global Fine Art auction revenue reached $7.49 billion, an increase of 8.8 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.

India is no exception. The home art market has shown consistent growth, with FY2022 recording a turnover of $137 million and FY2023 taking off to a good start.

What numbers say

The Indian art market is showing signs of a steady growth. Reports say that the first six months of FY2023 have been extraordinarily good. According to Indian Art Investor's Indian Art Market Report, the first half of the FY2023 saw an increase in the number of works sold and also of course, turnover. The period saw a turnover of $75.8 million and a 19 per cent increase in the number of works sold.

The Indian art market also witnessed a 75 per cent increase in the overall average in the price of artworks, compared to the first half of FY2022. Online sales contributed to 81.6 per cent of works sold. The report goes on to explain how the auction market is in fact a seller's market. The auction market shows an upward movement when highly anticipated works by the Modernists, PreModernists and Contemporary artists show up.