The United States and the UK lead the dance in the West
For 70 years the United States has always been one step ahead of other countries in discovering and promoting new artistic talent.
United States
We will not dwell here on the robustness of the American art network, nor on the influence of its key museums and the role of its most powerful galleries and auction houses (Christie’s, Phillips and Sotheby’s, etc.). The fact remains, the heart of the global Art Market beats in New York where the high concentration of major players in this sector has a strong influence on international sales. This dynamic is already well documented. New York has long been the world’s leading marketplace for Contemporary art, and much of its energy is now focused on Ultra-Contemporary art (U-C art).
Indeed, while the United States generates a third of the world’s total Fine Art auction turnover (2021), it also posts the same turnover share for the U-C segment, from just 15% of the global number of U-C lots sold! That is because the prices hammered there are generally among the highest in the world.
Who are the artists at the core of this Ultra-Contemporary American art market? Part of the answer lies in three names: Matthew Wong, Maria Berrio and Avery Singer, whose best results are in 7-digits and whose cumulative results in H1 2022 represent more than half of the country’s U-C auction turnover (54%) .
- Matthew WONG (1984-2019): both rare and highly sought-after, Wong’s work generated the highest H1 2022 turnover in the U-C field at $21.3 million from just twelve lots sold. No less than 80% of this total was hammered in New York.
- María BERRÍO (1982): A resident of New York by adoption, Berrío set her auction record at $1.5 million this year at Sotheby’s in New York, where 71% of her half-year turnover has been hammered.
- Avery SINGER (1987): her works have already entered a dozen of America’s most important museums (including the MoMA and the Met) and her auction record currently stands at $5.2 million since a New York sale last May at Sotheby’s. Her half-year total came 62% from the United States but also 34% from Hong Kong.
Artists under 40: turnover geography for Fine Art and NFT auctions (H1 2022)
→ The performance of the Ultra-Contemporary Art Market is essentially based on activity in the United States, UK, and China including Hong Kong. The three countries accounted for $173 million of the $204 million generated by under-40 art during H1 2022, i.e. 85%.
Artists under 40: Top 20 turnover totals (Fine Art and art NFTs ) in H1 2022
| Geographical breakdown of turnover | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Turnover | New York | London | Beijing | Hong Kong | Tokyo | Paris | Others | ||
| 1 | Matthew WONG (1984-2019) | $21,326,103 | 80 % | 4 % | 0 % | 16 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 2 | Ayako ROKKAKU (b. 1982) | $18,619,531 | 3 % | 6 % | 0 % | 29 % | 15 % | 1 % | 47 % | |
| 3 | Flora YUKHNOVICH (b. 1990) | $12,531,091 | 5 % | 95 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 4 | Aboudia Abdoulaye DIARRASSOUBA (b. 1983) | $9,177,854 | 12 % | 35 % | 0 % | 28 % | 0 % | 20 % | 5 % | |
| 5 | Avery SINGER (b. 1987) | $9,170,591 | 62 % | 4 % | 0 % | 34 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 6 | Amoako BOAFO (b. 1984) | $8,263,929 | 30 % | 38 % | 0 % | 15 % | 0 % | 0 % | 17 % | |
| 7 | María BERRÍO (b. 1982) | $7,556,876 | 71 % | 13 % | 0 % | 16 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 8 | Anna WEYANT (b. 1995) | $6,455,421 | 61 % | 21 % | 0 % | 19 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 9 | Christina QUARLES (b. 1985) | $5,598,272 | 81 % | 19 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 10 | Loie HOLLOWELL (b. 1983) | $5,519,154 | 26 % | 0 % | 0 % | 55 % | 0 % | 0 % | 20 % | |
| 11 | Jadé FADOJUTIMI (b. 1993) | $4,579,676 | 11 % | 89 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 12 | MR DOODLE (b. 1994) | $4,446,143 | 0 % | 4 % | 0 % | 58 % | 13 % | 0 % | 25 % | |
| 13 | Salman TOOR (b. 1983) | $4,283,054 | 44 % | 41 % | 0 % | 15 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 14 | Ewa JUSZKIEWICZ (b. 1984) | $3,969,027 | 39 % | 7 % | 0 % | 39 % | 0 % | 0 % | 14 % | |
| 15 | Jordy KERWICK (b. 1982) | $3,800,879 | 32 % | 24 % | 0 % | 26 % | 0 % | 0 % | 17 % | |
| 16 | Issy WOOD (b. 1993) | $3,488,391 | 47 % | 38 % | 0 % | 15 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 17 | Robert NAVA (b. 1985) | $3,248,640 | 5 % | 47 % | 0 % | 46 % | 0 % | 0 % | 1 % | |
| 18 | Ismail ISSHAQ (b. 1989) | $3,185,436 | 20 % | 72 % | 0 % | 9 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 19 | Lucy BULL (b. 1990) | $2,713,677 | 33 % | 13 % | 0 % | 53 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| 20 | Rachel JONES (b. 1991) | $2,516,003 | 0 % | 100 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | |
| © artprice.com | ||||||||||
→ As soon as a certain level of demand sets in, the major auction houses circulate the works by the young stars of Ultra-Contemporary art in the three most receptive market places, New York, London and Hong Kong. It is rare for a young artist in high demand to remain confined to a single marketplace: a counter-example is the case of Rachel Jones, whose works have all sold in London, but the artist has only just appeared at auction, so her market is likely to expand soon.
United Kingdom
The British cultural scene has always played a pioneering role in hosting eclectic exhibitions that allow visitors to discover artistic scenes from all over the world and an auction market reflecting this open-mindedness and diversity. Nearly 600 works by young artists were sold there during the first half of the year, for a total amount of $52 million, a quarter of the global turnover in the U-C segment.
The UK’s withdrawal from the EU is bound to have an adverse impact on the overall performance of the British art market as works imported from the EU are now subject to a 5% import tax (since 1 January 2021). However, after contracting in 2021, the UK’s Fine Art auction turnover total expanded by 26% in H1 2022. Above all, the Ultra-Contemporary Art Market seems absolutely unaffected by Brexit and, on the contrary, posted an impressive growth of +141% between H1 2021 and H1 2022.
This extraordinary vitality is largely based on young Britons whose careers and ratings are proving to be just as flamboyant as those of newly consecrated American artists. Three Britons made a substantial contribution to the UK’s Ultra-Contemporary auction turnover, and like their American peers, all posted 7-digit results:
- Flora YUKHNOVICH (1990): the third most successful under-40 artist after Matthiew Wong and Ayako Rokkaku, she owes 95% of her H1 2022 turnover total to the British market, i.e. more than $11.9 million.
- Jadé FADOJUTIMI (1993): graduated from the Royal College of Art in London in 2017, and is since represented by the Gagosian gallery (which will exhibit her work at Frieze London in October 2022). In H1 2022, the bulk of her auction turnover (89%) was hammered in London (nearly $4.6 million).
- Rachel JONES (1991): after an acclaimed exhibition at Thaddaeus Ropac London, the young Briton owes her auction total to the British market which generated $2.5 million from three works sold.
Other key signatures from the U-C art scene were equally in demand and as successful in London venues as in New York, including Issy Wood (b. 1993), Amoako Boafo (b. 1984) and Salman Toor (b. 1983).
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