A pair of plates costs £150. 2 cushions for £65 each. Limited edition rug priced at £1,900. Limited edition prints are priced from £625 to £7,650. Additionally, one original painting produced in 2016 is known to have an undisclosed “application price” of six figures. This combination of original art and newly created homewares is born out of Gagosian’s partnership with the legacy of the late British abstract painter Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017). Does this also suggest the shape of the art market in the future?
Howard Hodgkin Home Line will take over what Gagosian has described as a “takeover” of the giant dealer’s boutique shop specializing in artist-related retail in London’s Burlington Arcade from September 3 to 28. I made my debut with what I called. After the gallery began selling its products online in the early 2000s, it opened its first Gagosian store on New York’s Madison Avenue in 2009 and a London store in 2022. Mini outlets of famous luxury brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Chanel and La Perla are nearby. the latter.
Ian Taplin, a professor of sociology at Wake Forest University in North Carolina and author of the 2019 book The Evolution of Luxury, says, “The lines between luxury sales and art are becoming increasingly blurred.” “There is,” he says.
“Big luxury brands know that art resonates with their customers. They’ve made a lot of money with art, but they haven’t done as well with luxury goods,” Taplin added. The contrasting fate of Damien Hirst’s retail chain Other Criteria, which ended a lucrative 12-year collaboration with Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama with independent stores in London, Devon and New York, each closing in the 2010s. Let’s compare it with
merging lane
But with sales of expensive contemporary works in decline, is it time to fundamentally rethink the relationship between the art market and luxury goods? Indeed, some of the industry’s leading companies think so.
The line between luxury goods sales and art is becoming increasingly blurred
Ian Taplin, Professor of Sociology
Mega-gallery David Zwirner will partner with emerging and mid-market dealers to offer original artwork exclusively, three years after launching platform in 2021, an ongoing digital sales channel So we’ve moved to adding more affordable limited editions. Some items are designed by artists, such as a silver pendant by Josh Smith ($375) and a jigsaw puzzle by Dana Schutz ($200).
Rival mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth opened the five-star luxury hotel Fife Arms in Scotland in 2019 and acquired London’s legendary Groucho Club in 2022. Mirroring the efforts of retailers such as Gagosian and Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth’s online shop offers an “exclusive collection.” A selection of artist-inspired gifts, including a £240 Philip Guston plate.
For decades, international auction houses have recognized that selling high-end collectibles such as handbags, watches and jewelry is an effective gateway to acquiring new customers. But here too, the relationship between luxury goods and core business is evolving, particularly at Sotheby’s.
Luxury goods accounted for 30% of Sotheby’s $7.9 billion in auction and private sale revenue in 2023, compared to 20% of Christie’s (which does not disclose private sale figures) $5 billion in auction sales. %. Sotheby’s currently sells luxury classic cars and luxury real estate, and became co-owner of RM Auctions and Concierge Auctions in 2015 and 2021, respectively. (As we speak to the press, Christie’s announced it has agreed to acquire U.S.-based rare car auction house Gooding & Company.) Sotheby’s also operates a physical showroom. . In July, Sotheby’s opened Maison in Hong Kong, a 24,000-square-foot space with seven themed “salons” that “reimagine the philosophy of art and luxury,” according to Sotheby’s.
“The total addressable market is huge,” said Josh Pooran, global head of luxury at Sotheby’s, referring to the world’s ever-growing population of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. This year’s UBS Global Wealth Report estimates that by 2023 there will be 58 million millionaires and 2,664 billionaires.
asymmetric spending
Sotheby’s and other art companies need to address the huge disparity between what consumers spend on luxury goods and what they spend on art. Global sales of personal luxury goods increased nearly 29% from $301 billion in 2019 to $387 billion in 2023, according to management consulting firm Bain. The 2024 Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report estimates that art sales fell 4% over the same five-year period, from $67.7 billion to $65 billion.
Given the huge “addressable market” of more than 58 million individuals with liquid assets of $1 million or more, why are so few people spending money on art?
“Art is expensive, there’s a ton of it, and there’s no brand recognition outside of the big stars who are prohibitively expensive,” Taplin says. He says that for the most part, the art world is “intimidating” and that art is “less culturally relevant to the new wealthy than it used to be.” He added: “They’re buying things to have a luxury experience, not Andy Warhol to impress their friends.”
“As generations change, so do tastes and markets,” says Pooran. “That’s what speaks to the audience that’s coming. It needs to be relevant. It needs to be welcoming.”
The growing disconnect between wealth and art is evident in the multimillion-dollar properties offered by Sotheby’s residential real estate business, Concierge Auctions. There are many luxurious bedrooms, bathrooms, and drawing rooms, but little art of importance.
So instead of illustrating the artwork in your catalog on a blank wall with a model staring into space, why not hang it in your luxury home to make the art more accessible? If only 1% or 2% of the world’s 58 million wealthy people were to buy a few five- or six-figure paintings a year, wouldn’t that help change the values of the art industry? Should purchasing art become more like the retail shopping experience that first intrigued us, with artist-designed “gateway” products at more affordable prices?
Within an hour of the Gagosian Shop’s new homewares and art initiative being unveiled to the public, two cushions from the Hodgkin Home range sold for £130 in front of this reporter’s eyes. As supermarket chain Tesco says in its advertising, “Every little bit helps.”
