Home Magazine The paper breaks the wall of the art market

It has become clear that in the past few decades, drawing has been establishing itself as an art form with its own right. Is not longer suffers from its long-held status of being a lesser form consigned to the margins, and is now being recognised on its own merit. 

Inside Kooness you can get close to different works on paper and drawings, start with your personal research! 

According to the experts, the drawing market accounts for the 24% of the world art market. Is a growing environment thanks to the incorporation of new Chinese collectors, great lovers of the work on paper and a vast range of price. 

Just an example... a work of the Chinese master Qi Bai Shi of 1946 was sold for 65.5 million dollars.

This new age for the paper as allowed this medium to broaden its reach, to expand beyond the page – sometimes escaping it completely, sometimes delightfully returning to it – to borrow or even assimilate tools and processes from other fields as a means of (re)exploring the notions of drawing, movement, marks, expression, projection, writing, etc... and, lastly, to question its very definition.

BUT LET’S START WITH MORE DETAILS…

Inside the worldwide distribution, this kind of market is approximate about: 72% in China (including Hong Kong); 13% in the United States; 7% in the United Kingdom; 3% in France.

From the point of view of Monica Álvarez-Careaga (Founder of Drawing Room Madrid - Lisbon):  

The interest of drawing has different causes if we talk about the work of contemporary artists or old and modern masters. In the case of living artists, it is due to the abundance of creations related to drawing, which are attracting younger buyers, who feel identified with these works. Instead, in the case of masters, the scarcity of paintings from big names has unleashed a new recognition for their drawings. A drawing of Raffaello dated 1520 reached a price of 48 million dollars, one of Picasso of  the 1936, 12.5 million dollars. A work by Van Gogh from 1888 has been sold for 8.4 million dollars. The drawings of Goya can be quoted between 600,000 and 2,250,000 dollars

Find more information about the first calling of Drawing Room Lisboa that will take place from Wednesday 10 to Sunday 14 October 2018 in the magnificent space of the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, located in the center of the Portuguese capital, next to Avenida da Liberdade.

To address this market in Europe was born an interesting network of fairs dedicated to drawing and works on paper. The first one was Drawing Now Paris, which has attracted around the fair a great moment for the drawing in the French capital, also with the celebration at the same time of the "Salon du Dessin" and the fair "Ddessin".

 

Paco POMET Ceremonia, 2015 Courtesy/ My name's Lolita, Madrid 

 

Likewise in February 2016 was born "Drawing Room" Madrid, with great growth in subsequent editions. Because of the success in October, the sister fair "Drawing Room Lisboa" will be held. Among this two important fair, we can't dismiss other fairs as "Art on paper", in Brussels, "Position Papers" in Berlin and "Wopart" in Lugano. Lastly "Artissima" Art fair in Turin with the new area "Disegni".

This growing presence of drawings and works on paper at international art fairs is reflected also in the last auction. Indeed, to lead this new trend the most important auction houses as Sotheby's or Christie's, in order to meet the new requirements of the collectors, are paying more attention into the "Contemporary Ink Art Sales", with very relevant sales of Chinese and Western artists like Hans Hartung. 

If you are interested in the sales of Chinese Works don't miss the article about the Asia Week New York 2018.  

 

Stay Tuned on Kooness magazine for more exciting news from the art world.