TEFAF Maastricht has come and gone, and not yielding much more than a ripple, apparently, in the world’s art market. Mind you, all this occurred with a too close for comfort backdrop consisting of the terrorist activity in Brussels- a transit point for many attendees. A profound tragedy, its terrible effects doubtless also impacting all manner of business, certainly including the art and antiques trade.
Concomitant with Maastricht, though, is the release that’s become now an annual tradition, the art market report prepared by Dr. Clare McAndrew. About the only thing of its kind detailing trends in the international trade in art and antiques, I have always been a skeptic of the report as its commission by the body that governs Maastricht seemed, in its questions and format, skewed toward a confirmation of the necessity of art fairs- particularly Maastricht- and their overall success for those who participate in them. Well, I suppose everyone has a living to make, and Dr. McAndrew, as the saying goes, must dance with the one who brought her.
Still, the difficulties that everyone in the trade has faced over the last year, and indeed is still facing and will face for the foreseeable future, and the reasons for them are no surprise, and indeed borne out by the art market report. China’s present economic travails have had a devastating effect on the global trade, with an enormous contraction of sales to the formerly burgeoning Chinese market. The knock-on effect of the slowing Chinese economy, though, has wrought an overall impact on the global economy, now teetering on, if not already entered into, recession.
All this has moved everything, including contemporary art, very much off the boil. More than any other industry, the art and antiques trade depends on the perception of wealth. Are the wealthy now unable to afford what is for all intents and purposes the luxury goods, the subset of which is the entirety of the stock in trade of all galleries, auction houses and private dealers? Well, frankly, no. But then, I have never, ever seen anyone who has traded with us encash an investment to make a purchase- everything is dependent on ready cash. Moreover, that ready cash is kept at the ready when the punter is feeling flush. While one may debate the extent of the global economic slowdown, we can all agree that it is suffering a case of the jitters. Under that circumstance, the ready cash our buyers are willing to part with feels, unfortunately, more comfortable for the time being remaining in the buyers’ wallets than it does invested in what it is we have to sell.
Addendum: Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s worldwide head of contemporary art, announced her departure after 25 years with the auction house as part of the company’s ongoing staff reductions in an effort to shore up its bottom line. Read more at Bloomberg Business.