The year 2023 marks a return to the pre-Covid situation, marked by two years of strong growth and a historic increase in sales. In fact, 2023 will have been the year of the much-needed adjustment to a euphoric market.
To understand this lull, we need to look back 3 years: the global health crisis that marked 2020 forced auction houses to cancel the majority of their sales. This international ‘lull’ will nonetheless enable auction houses to bring together a wide selection of prestigious works, enabling them to achieve historic results in the Contemporary and Modern Art segments, with sales revenue reaching nearly 2.7 billion dollars in 2021 and 2022.
In 2022, the art market experienced a period of calm due to the onset of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the subsequent global economic crisis, but still achieved strong results, recording revenues of more than $2.5 billion on an international scale.
The year 2023 was thus marked by a global context impacted by war, inflation and rising interest rates, making it difficult to sell the masterpieces that usually exalt the art market. Nevertheless, collectors were not deterred by this difficult environment, as this year's total came close to 2.29 billion dollars, the fourth-best result ever for Contemporary Art.
What are the reasons for this spectacular result?
The indicators point to a phenomenal global result, but also to a readjustment in the market, with sales revenue down by more than 15% compared with 2020 and 2021. This can be explained by a change in the buying behaviour of collectors, who have not stopped acquiring works of art, simply giving precedence to caution over the usual excitement.
The increase in the number of lots offered at public sales is also noteworthy, with more than 123,000 works of contemporary art sold in 2023, a rise of 2% on the previous year and a new auction record.
The doors of the art market are opening wider and wider, propelling it to unprecedented heights in terms of transactions. A growing frenzy of new collectors and enthusiasts is being swept up in the acquisition of works of art, propelling this market to unprecedented heights, despite the difficult geopolitical and economic context.
The art market in 2023 will see record sales of works priced at under $5,000, with nearly 100,000 contemporary works sold, and more particularly works priced at under $500, also reflecting a particular craze for affordable works of art.
Focus on the artists who marked the art market in 2023
In the face of rising sales of works priced at under $5,000, the million-dollar transactions that usually mark the market form a microcosm in the art sector.
This slowdown is a direct consequence of the global economic and financial context and, above all, of collectors' desire to obtain the work of an artist listed at over a million dollars at any price.
Top 10 contemporary artists in 2023
1. Jean-Michel Basquiat The American artist has consistently topped the rankings for the past 13 years, with auction sales totalling more than $235.5 million, making him a pillar of the Contemporary Art market. His works are the most valuable on the market, with 6 sold for more than $10 million in 2023. These include El Gran Espectaculo, which fetched $67.1 million, 13 times more than the $5.1 million it fetched at its first auction in 2005, making Jean-Michel Basquiat the only artist capable of raising bids above $50 million.
2. Yoshitomo Nara
The Japanese artist moved up the rankings thanks to two record sales in excess of $10 million in 2023, placing him alongside the great names of contemporary art: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons and Christopher Wool. Since 2007, Nara has continued to break sales records, attesting to her meteoric rise in the world's artistic firmament.
3. BANKSY
The famous anonymous graffiti artist loses a place this year and achieves a total of 48.8 million dollars in sales in 2023 due to the decrease in supply and the current economic context compared to the successes of the years 2021 and 2022. Nevertheless, the number of transactions of Banksy works has increased by 55% compared to the previous year. This can be explained by an increase in sales of affordable works for this artist, who remains the most sought-after in the world.
4. Cecily Brown
The British painter, the only woman in the ranking, moved up brilliantly from 5th to 4th place, recording an honourable total sales result of over 47.7 million dollars. Buoyed by the exhibition devoted to her at the Metropolitan Museum (New York), Cecily Brown unleashed a bidding frenzy in 2023, demonstrating that women artists under the age of 40 have an important place on the international art scene.
5. Jeff Koons
The American artist moved up from 7th to 5th place, achieving a total result of 36 million dollars, and will see a major readjustment in the value of his works in 2023. Jeff Koons remains the world's best-performing artist behind Jean-Michel Basquiat.
6. Keith Haring
The famous American graffiti artist climbed from 25th to 6th place in the rankings, with sales of over 35 million dollars.
7. Christopher Wool
Losing a place with sales of $33.7 million against $50.2 million in 2022, Christopher Wool is also experiencing a readjustment in the value of his works.
8. Damien Hirst The celebrated British artist continues to make waves in 2023, moving up 3 places with auctions totalling almost $33 million. Famed for his controversial and iconic works, he maintained his dominant position with international exhibitions and impressive auctions. His distinctive style, blending provocation and fascination, continued to attract the attention of collectors and art lovers the world over. Damien Hirst's reputation and impact on the art market remain undeniable.
9. George Condo
In 2023, George Condo remained a major figure in the contemporary art world, with auction sales totalling over 32 million dollars. His singular style, blending the figurative and the abstract, continued to captivate art lovers and collectors alike. His exhibitions around the world, often accompanied by rave reviews, testified to his enduring influence. Condo was always exploring new artistic avenues, pushing the boundaries of artistic expression and maintaining his status as an innovative and compelling artist.
10. Mark Grotjahn Mark Grotjahn maintained his position of strength in the contemporary art world with total sales exceeding $30 million in 2023. His bold use of colour and geometry continued to fascinate and inspire viewers. Grotjahn's exhibitions, characterised by his famous ‘butterfly paintings’ and other abstract works, always attracted great attention. His relentless exploration of form and composition ensured him a pre-eminent place on the world art scene, where he continued to be celebrated for his originality and talent.
NFT: A New Dynamic in a Rebalanced Market
In 2023, the NFT (non-fungible token) market took a more modest position on the art market, two years after the record sale of Everydays: The First 5000 Days by BEEPLE for $69.3 million. Indeed, the years 2022 and 2023 were marked by a drastic fall in transactions linked to fluctuations in the price of crypto-currencies. Bitcoin fell by 63% and Ethereum by 82% from their all-time highs in November 2021. The appeal of the NFT market has therefore been considerably reduced. The situation has now stabilised, however, and auction houses are taking a very cautious approach to this new market for digital works, which in 2023 saw record sales for works by Dmitri CHERNIAK and Tyler HOBBS, two pioneers of generative art who respectively reached second and sixth place in the world ranking of Ultra-Contemporary Art (based on sales in the first half of 2023).
NFTs have established themselves in the art market thanks to the creation of new sales platforms, offering artists and collectors increasingly diversified options. At the same time, collectors are becoming increasingly adept at dealing with this emerging sector. Innovative projects in areas outside art, such as video games, music and even digital real estate, are also emerging, reflecting the continuing expansion and maturation of the NFT market, which has become an important pillar of the contemporary digital economy and culture.
Following the lifting of restrictions linked to the Covid health crisis, the contemporary art market enjoyed two years of spectacular growth, reaching unprecedented heights. In 2023, the global market evolved in a more temperate climate, especially in the high-end segment of works valued at several hundred thousand or even several million dollars. With less abundant supply in this segment, million-dollar transactions slowed by 22%. This translates into a -15% contraction in global contemporary art sales revenue, an expected adjustment following the post-pandemic effervescence.
However, the 2022/2023 financial year is characterised by a remarkable peak in activity, with a record flow of transactions in the history of auctions. International collectors acquired more than 123,000 contemporary works in twelve months, 100 times more than at the beginning of the millennium.
Jean-Michel BASQUIAT had the most resounding hammer blow of 2023 with a work sold for 67 million dollars. Multimillion-dollar sales have a significant impact on the global result, but they represent only a fraction of the market, reserved for an elite few. The real energy of the market lies in works priced at less than $5,000, which account for 80% of global transactions, or more than 99,000 lots this year.
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