The art market is in full adjustment. Despite some spectacular sales, the profits of auction houses fell in 2024. While we observe a global craze for contemporary art, prestigious works sell less.
The high end has particularly declined in 2024, with a few exceptions. At the end of November, a banana hung on a wall with a piece of silver tape was sold at auction for 6.2 million dollars (5.5 million francs).
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The day before, at Christie’s, “The Empire of Lights”, a painting by the surrealist painter René Magritte, was sold for 121 million dollars (107 million francs). This is the only sale to have exceeded the 100 million francs mark at Christie’s in 2024, compared to six in 2022.
The auction house also announces a turnover down 6% for 2024. Sotheby’s also anticipates a drop in its profits.
Between craze and decline
However, with more than a million auctions worldwide last year, the contemporary art market is experiencing global enthusiasm, despite a decline in very large auctions. However, these represent almost 50% of turnover.
“As soon as the very big auctions drop or there is no remarkable collection put on the market, that causes turnover to drop,” explains Frédéric Elkaïm, gallery owner in Carouge and art consultant. “But that does not prevent the phenomenon of selling and buying contemporary art, particularly by younger generations, from deepening and increasing in the long term.”
Young buyers from Asia or the Middle East are indeed breathing new life into the market. At Christie’s, 30% of collectors are under 40 years old. They are the ones who keep the market going with perhaps less prominent works, but with more reasonable prices.
The role of the Geneva Free Port
The surge in the stock market following the election of Donald Trump in November has also given a boost to the art market and according to Frédéric Elkaïm, the trend should continue. The gallery owner expects a stabilization over the coming year, then an increase in the years that follow. “In the long term, the contemporary art market is doing very well,” he assures.
Switzerland, for its part, maintains its place as a crossroads of the art market, in particular thanks to the Free Port of Geneva. “It’s truly one of the pivots of the art market,” says Thierry Ehrmann, the founder of Artprice, a company listing the art market on the Internet.
These storage warehouses have lost none of their attractiveness. Their surface area of more than 100,000 m² makes it possible to accommodate a large number of works of art, which can remain there for up to several years. “In the profession, for 30 years, we have always said that the Free Port of Geneva is the largest museum in the world, because there is an enormous accumulation of works,” explains Thierry Ehrmann. “No merchant worthy of the name is present at the Port.”
>> Listen to the interview with Thierry Ehrmann in La Matinale:
However, this long-term storage also allows the owners of the works not to pay customs duties or taxes on the stored products. The Geneva Free Port has often been criticized for its opacity on this subject. In the past, the company’s warehouses have also been used to traffic certain works.
>> Read also: Geneva reacts to French criticism against the opacity of free ports et An independent company will control the antiquities of the Geneva Free Ports
“Many people criticized him, more out of jealousy than reality,” regrets Thierry Ehrmann. “But it greatly strengthens the global art market.”
Radio subject: Virginie Langerock
Web adaptation: Emilie Délétroz
