TAKI 183 goes to auction

Posted: February 2nd, 2010 | Author: RJ | Category: Auctions, Featured Posts | Tags: taki 183 | 9 Comments »

I hate to do this, but every once in a while, I have to be a bit negative on Vandalog. The above painting is by graffiti legend Taki 183. It is an original painting and measures 140x140cm. How much do you think that is worth? And keep in mind that on Taki’s own website, you can buy screenprints that include a large spraypainted “Taki 183″ tag for $250.

That painting is in an upcoming graffiti art auction at Pierre Bergé & Associés. The estimate is €35-50,000. That is absurd, laughable even. I’ll admit that unlike Taki 183′s screenprints (one of which I own and love by the way), this painting is actually aesthetically pleasing, but that doesn’t excuse this outrageous estimate. Even though that’s just an estimated price, it’s also a suggestion and gives potential buyers a general idea of what somebody else thinks the piece is worth. The estimate is especially relevant since Taki 183′s original works have never been sold publicly before. If this painting ends up selling, well, kudos to Taki 183 and the auction house, and if they buyer would like to contact me, well I’ve got a few Mr. Brainwash pieces to sell (okay if Mr. Brainwash turns out to be Banksy or something, boy I am going to have egg on my face)… But I can’t see it selling for anywhere near that estimate.

Now, to end this post on a positive note, let me say that if you don’t have a Taki 183 screenprint, it’s definitely something worth checking out. That prints are pretty affordable, and they are undoubtedly pieces of graffiti history.

elisa

I hope I didn’t just read that you guys own MBWS!
http://www.vandalog.com RJ

Don’t worry, I was just kidding.
http://Website Viktor O

We will see if the piece sells within the estimated range, above or at all but in the end the market drives the price and given the rarity of the piece I would not be surprised it would sell for that much. When you see how much the Damien Hirst crap goes for (with ample supply), I think this is almost reasonable.

The other interesting thing to note with respect to the sale itself is that French auction houses continue to organize auctions that are “curated”. In other words they go directly to the artists to get their pieces into the catalogue. This is really harmful for the market as a whole because many of the artists included in the auction are totally unknown and their pieces will most likely go unsold. If this happens with the same artist several times, it could essentially kill his/her career. I understand the artists want an outlet for their work but they should really try to get shows in galleries or even sell their art on the internet rather than go the auction house route until they have achieved a modicum of recognition.
http://www.vandalog.com RJ

I would argue that there is ample supply of Taki 183′s work. Not of Taki 183′s paintings in this style specifically (the only other one I’ve ever seen was in the Le Tag exhibition), but you can buy what is essentially a Taki 183 tag for 1% of the cost of this painting because it is considered a screenprint. Yes, this painting is nicer looking, but there are plenty of other artists doing similar things just as well for less money. The only buyers that I think might be justified in getting this piece for such a high price would be museums who are trying to preserve Taki’s work, and normally museums get a nice discount when they buy paintings from artists.

That’s a great point about curated auctions. To put it bluntly, a gallery can do a much better job of hiding when work doesn’t sell. I’m surprised that there aren’t more galleries in Paris putting on exhibition of graffiti, it seems like the auction houses practically have a monopoly in the graffiti market there.
http://Website Viktor O

What I meant is that the medium is fairly rare – which is driving the price. For example there is also very ample supply of Dali prints (you can get them for a few hundred euros), yet most originals will sell for a hefty price. I don’t think this specific Taki piece has any artistic value per se. It doesn’t really have any historical value either as it seems Gallizia got Taki to paint this for the auction. Interesting to see if it sells.

You make a good point about galleries hiding when a piece does not sell. However, I think this is less true in the internet age, especially because more and more galleries are putting pieces up for sale on their websites making it easy to figure out what sold and what did not. Interestingly you also see pieces showing up in various exhibits or auctions after failing to sell when first presented. The big problem is that the auctions are even more public. You can go on artprice and artnet and figure out pretty quickly that an artist has failed to sell several times thereby indicating that there is no market for that artist’s paintings. Collectors are quite unlikely to invest in illiquid assets. The other danger with auction houses is that some pieces may sell below the price level galleries are selling the pieces for thereby negatively impacting the gallery sales because collectors will just wait for pieces to go on auction to pick them up on the cheap (e.g.: last year Sharp pieces were going for 6000 euros in galleries; at auctions in Paris his pieces either failed to sell or sold in the 3000 euro range).

With respect to the Paris scene there are a few galleries that are active: Magda Danisz Gallery, Addict, Galerie Lefeuvre, Helenbeck Gallery, Galerie Brugier Rigail, Galerie Ann Vignial, Galerie Bailly Contemporain, Galreie du Jour (Agnes b)
http://www.vandalog.com RJ

Ah well it looks like I’m wrong about galleries in Paris, probably because I tend to focus on street and and from what I’ve seen, the Parisian market loves graffiti. I’d only heard of Agnes B and Helenbeck.
http://www.hideoutgallery.com Adam (Hideout Gallery)

For those interested NYT has a old school / new school graff culture article in today’s paper:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/nyregion/05graffiti.html?th&emc=th
http://Website Viktor O

Stumbled on this interesting website which is basically a database for street art auctions. It’s only in French for now and I have not paid to get access but seems interesting (and overpriced)

http://www.rankingart.com/accueil.html
http://Website Viktor O

It’s crazy but the Taki piece went for 50k euros…

Other results are still pending except for the Jonone piece that went for 13k euros (which is what similar pieces sell for in galleries)