The Future of Art & Image – NFTs, blockchain and new currencies

THE FUTURE OF ART & IMAGE

When working with artists or selecting artwork, what does Christie’s look for? We focus on artists who have both strong international and regional market appeal, most with respected gallery representation. Our appetite is becoming much more selective for Middle Eastern art after over 15 years of sales and maturing collectors’ tastes. The market is acclimating to a transition to online and hybrid sales, where there is much higher international accessibility interacting with our auction catalogues and writing content pieces. Many times, these highly sought-after works are addressing a very specific local subject but that can also be perfectly applied to the global community. We look for fresh talent across the board and like to support emerging artists as well as therefore guiding established collectors keen to diversify their collections. Can you expand on how the art space has changed and what do you see people buying into currently? The art space has been enriched by the addition of NFTs. On 11 March 2021, Christie’s sold the first NFT ever for $69 million. An incredible sum, but the 22 million visitors who joined the final hour of this online sale was as exciting as the final price. It really showed us that there was a very large audience that was passionate about art that we had previously not communicated with. Seventy-five per cent of buyers in this category are new to Christie’s, with an average age of 42. Compared with our day-to-day business, NFTs are still a very small sector accounting for $150 million for 100 works last year, representing 8 per cent of the annual turnover of the 21st Century department. The NFT market is empowering, influential and expanding. They can bring new voices to the market, validated not by traditional institutions like museums and galleries but by independent peers in the NFT community. For the artists, they now can access a global market, retain ownership rights and benefit from resale royalties directly. Are clients currently paying for art and images in new currencies? This request is rare. Although we offer the ability to pay in crypto, this is still a minority payment at Christie’s. Are you currently selling any NFTs and what strategy does Christie’s have in embracing the popularity of these? We offer NFTs alongside our 21st Century auction or as stand-alone sales depending what we are offering. Sales of the more than 100 NFTs sold by Christie’s in 2021 totalled nearly $150 million; the historic online sale of Beeple’s ‘Everydays’ achieved $69 million last March; Larva Labs’ Cryptopunks ($17 million) and digital artwork by Fewocious ($2.16 million) attracted new and younger collectors. Christie’s first NFT sale in London took place in October and in November Beeple’s ‘Human One’ hybrid NFT sculpture achieved $28.9 million.

Other NFT highlights include partnerships with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Gucci and collectibles giants Superplastic. The first-ever NFT sale in Asia, hosted by Christie’s in its No Time Like the Present online auction, achieved a total of HK$122 million ($15.6 million). Christie’s held the first-ever live auction with bidding conducted entirely in Ether during Post-War to Present sale in October in New York. The first-ever on-chain NFT auction curated by Christie’s and hosted on OpenSea achieved $3.5 million in Decem-

NFTs, blockchain and new currencies – we spoke to ber. We are waiting for the first 2022 announcement from our NFT Department with eager anticipation.

Suzy Sikorski, modern What has been the largest challenge at Christie’s to date and how and contemporary Middle did you overcome it? From a corporate perspective it must have been

Eastern art associate March 2020, when the world went into lockdown and the business specialist at Christie’s model had to re-adjust to a new reality. Thankfully, we had already Dubai, to find out what we been running online auctions for a decade and could reschedule 140 should be investing physical auctions to take place online. The other piece of the puzzle in and to discuss the rise was to get our clients transacting online, not all were set-up to do of the new digital art space so but as technology was the only communication and purchase link between family and businesses, this was quickly established. Our expertise was still available to our clients, as each lot sold online receives the same research as a live sale lot and the specialists where available for Zoom calls and seminars. Today, we have an equal balance of nearly 50 per cent live and online sales. Have you had any mentors along the way and if so, what has been the best advice they have imparted to you? I interned at Christie’s in PostWar & Contemporary Art in fall 2013, working in the team for Amy Cappellazzo, who was then the former Chairman of PWC. She encouraged me to follow my gut, take the risk and come to the Middle East to pursue what I was passionate about. At the time I was following the Art Dubai, Abu Dhabi Art, and successful Christie’s Dubai sales. This internship was an incredible formative experience preparing for their November sale at a time when the Francis Bacon triptych of Lucian Freud sold for $142.4 million, and we recorded the largest ever evening sale total then at $691 million. That following fall 2014 I jumped on a plane to Sharjah and never really left the UAE after that moment, later to receive a Fulbright Scholarship there after graduation. What effect do you see social media having on driving the interest of artists or artworks and images? Social media has gained considerable leverage in influencing buying trends or interactive ways to learn art education. There’s been an incredible influx of new digital collectives that were formed during this time that are cultivating a younger audience eager to learn more about the art scene. What should we be investing in and how can anyone approach staring their own collection? To find out as much as you can about an artist you like. Speak to specialists at the galleries and auction houses to gather additional information but when you buy your first work of art let yourself be guided by your gut and choose something you love. This is The Future Issue – what does future of the artspace look like to you? A hybrid between the physical and digital. We are entering an era that is becoming hyper global and interactive. One click can bring us into a studio across the world, or into another metaverse. Not only is there more content, but also a healthy supply of incredible in-depth coverage of artists and art scenes from primary sources themselves – the artists, gallerists, scholars and curators, and the collectors who are voicing their stories and also as importantly, their critical concerns about the market and scene. I foresee compelling shows that focus on interdisciplinary material – across geography and generations and combining the physical and digital worlds will allow us a more interactive way to engage with the art itself.