The art market went on a roller-coaster ride in 2016.
The year saw highs including auction records for artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Claude Monet -- and lows such as a drop in auction sales in London and New York. There were many tense moments in between, too.
Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s were entangled in a money-laundering investigation surrounding Malaysian businessman Jho Low. A Pablo Picasso sculpture ignited a bitter fight between powerful members of the royal family of Qatar and U.S. billionaire Leon Black. There was also unprecedented staff turnover in the auction world, which culminated this month when Christie’s tapped an ex-Sotheby’s executive as its new chief executive officer.
What does it all mean for 2017? Here are seven trends to watch next year.
The Very Young
Moments after the opening of Art Basel Miami Beach last month, collectors rushed to a distant corner of the fair where first-time exhibitor Clearing gallery offered works by two hot millennials: Harold Ancart (born in 1980) and Korakrit Arunanondchai (born in 1986).
The booth sold out within a couple of hours, with all works going to public and private institutions, according to Olivier Babin, the founder of the gallery. Ancart’s bonfire paintings sold for $30,000 and $45,000. Two weeks earlier, an Ancart triptych fetched $751,000 at auction, six times the high estimate.
“It just goes to show you that there is always going to be this foaming, heaving activity around some young art,” said Todd Levin, director of Levin Art Group in New York. But beware: not all works by young artists hold their value over time.
For read more about upcoming young artists, see this story
The Very Old
The Cuban-born artist Carmen Herrera was 101 years old when her geometric abstract paintings and sculptures got their big recognition with a solo Whitney museum exhibition in New York earlier this year. It was quickly followed by an auction record of $970,000 for a 1965 canvas last month. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, 87, was a hit with collectors this year and the value of her works is expected to remain strong ahead her exhibition in February at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington.