Perceptions can often deceive us. That is why it is so important that, in times of confusion, where the art market has been affected by a pandemic, wars and macro-economic turbulence, we have the most accurate information possible to analyze what is really happening. And this information, to this day, is only provided by the report that the economist Clare McAndrew publishes annually for Art Basel and UBS. Fresh out of the oven, the one for 2022 provides us with valuable data that corroborate what we have been reporting in this column these months: the first of all is that the global art market, since it emerged from the 2008 crisis, has stagnated, oscillating year after year between 57,000 and 68,000 million dollars.
In the details of how art and antiques sales behaved last year, McAndrew states that they have grown by 3% compared to 2021, going from 65,900 to 67,800 million. For some analysts this growth is poor and indicates that this market is cooling off. For others, myself included, it shows how it has recovered and stabilized in line with pre-pandemic numbers. Evidence, in my opinion, both its resilience and its robustness. What there is agreement on is that there is increasing polarization between a base market and the highest segment. The figures are clear: in 2022 small galleries, with billings below $250,000, decreased their sales by 3%, while those that sell works of more than 10 million, increased them by a significant 19%.
If we look at the behavior by artistic periods, we perceive that the post-war and contemporary market is growing more every day, while if we analyze it by country we see how the United States grows by 2% and continues to clearly lead this industry: it boasts 45% of global sales, especially concentrated in New York City. The United Kingdom, which had succumbed to Asian attacks in recent years and was suffering from the effects of Brexit, rose 1% and returned to second place with an 18% share; while China, which has long suffered from the pandemic, fell 3% and stayed at 17%. As data, Spain continued to hold 1% of this entire market.
