Stock market down 300, Giacometti up 100m: who would believe it? Kate Moss recently made headlines when she said nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. The societal focus on being slim, both male and female, has never been more acute. Then Walking Man I, a 6-foot tall lumpy but anorexic looking striding figure becomes the most expensive work of art ever sold at public auction. What kind of message does that send to our children? Seriously, it is hard proof art is a world acknowledged asset class, and besides, for the right material, a safe haven in continually rocky times. To top it off the work was sold on behalf of a bank; if financial institutions had more art we’d have less financial problems. The freefall that is real estate in Miami and Madrid plunges at unabated pace and the sentiment expecting a stock market correction is practically unanimous. But art soldiers on, albeit only the grandest, strongest, undisputed masterpieces. Now more than ever this variety of artwork will be so sought after it should be near impossible to attain anything of value for value. $100m is not what it used to be in this universe. When I began curating in the recession of the early 1990s there was no inkling of nine-figure art on the horizon. We have officially entered office-building territory. Like the Giacometti figure, you have to walk and don’t look back.
Kenny Schachter