Description
Everything is going great… really ?
With the Parisian salons’ fall art season rounding up on a note considered – as every year – completely satisfactory, with a suite of record-breaking sales at auction, with the American market exploding (+18% in the first semester !), with investment in artwork more attractive than ever thanks to nearly non-existent bank rates, what reasons could we have to worry ? Well… Just five artists (Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Kaws, Christopher Wool and George Condo) alone represent one quarter of the global market. According to Thierry Ehrmann, the president of Artprice “Though the demand for museum quality work is not diminishing, the offer isn’t able to follow the rhythm in the auction rooms anymore. The Art Market as it has developed since 1975 has visibly reached its structural limits”.
Maybe in the end, this is a piece of good news. What if we stopped thinking about art merely as an investment, but firstly and more importantly as a pleasure, and again began to take an interest in the artists and their work, before considering their status ? Just some food for thought… After all, what difference does it make if we are reflecting upon the life and work of the masters, Monet, Renoir, Cross, Chagall, Dufy, Boucher… or that of contemporary artists like Maurice Douard, Paul Day, Bénédicte Dussère, Emmanuel Gatti, Pierre & Gilles… they all share a passion for their art, whether it be painting, sculpture, printmaking. It’s up to us, as the public, to find pleasure in viewing their work, in museums, galleries, salons… A beautiful gift for the holidays and a wonderful way to start the new year.
Gabrielle Gauthier et Christian Charreyre
Editors in Chief
