Street art sales are popular online
Street art auctions, broadcast live on the Internet, appeal to neophytes and seasoned collectors alike, who don't hesitate to bid up to several tens of thousands of euros, without having first seen the coveted work. without having first seen the coveted work.
By Diane Zorzi, in partnership with Interencheres
Street art was born in the streets, but has now spread to galleries and auction houses, and is now taking over the web. In recent years, more and more street artists have taken advantage of social networks to disseminate and promote their work, and auction houses are enriching their catalogs in this way. "Instagram allows us to keep abreast of Street Art news and also to capture artists. We're always keen to introduce the public to new creators, and it's often through this social network that we contact them to include their works in our upcoming sales", explains Katy Criton, contemporary art expert with Carole Jézéquel's Rennes-based auction house. If street artists are also present on the Internet, it's also because they speak to a generation born with these new means of communication. This is an audience that auctioneers, redoubling their inventiveness, have succeeded in converting to auctions thanks to sales broadcast live on the Internet.
Follow the show live
Last March, Carole Jézéquel organized a sale dedicated to Street Art, featuring some one hundred works by national and international artists, including pieces by the movement's most emblematic figures, such as Jonone and Obey. For the occasion, the Rennes-based auctioneer chose to take over the coffee-shop of one of the city's most emblematic venues: the Mabilay. "We chose this building, built by architect Louis Arretche in 1973, because it saw the birth of Minitel. It was a way of reminding us that urban artists were among the first to use social networks to disseminate their work," she explains. As well as welcoming spectators in the auction room, the sale was simultaneously played out live on the Internet. This was a way for the auctioneer to continue the show indoors, while at the same time broadening her audience, with Internet users following the auction from behind their screens. "In particular, this live broadcast enables us to capture the Urban Art enthusiasts, who are often in their thirties or forties, and familiar with online purchases. It's a good way of attracting a new audience to these Urban Art sales, whose works often sell at very accessible prices", explains Katy Criton.
Works to suit all budgets
While it's easier to appreciate the aesthetic quality of a multiple on a screen, online purchases are no barrier to the acquisition of a one-off canvas or sculpture. At the March 12 sale, their choices ranged from a silkscreen by Obey and a lithograph by C215, which sold for 80 and
500 euros, as well as a resin sculpture by Imbue and an aerosol painting by LELE, which sold for 120 and 470 euros. "Katy Criton explains: "Even if they haven't seen the work in real life, Internet users can get to grips with all the details, thanks to the photographs we provide when they contact us before the sale. Nor is budget a criterion in the buying selection of Internet users, who don't hesitate to push the bidding up to several thousand euros, to afford the coveted work. A case in point is a painting by Brest artist WEN2, which fetched up to 3,300 euros on the live auction in March. "In live sales, all types of work sell, from pieces costing 100 euros to several tens of thousands of euros. Live art is no longer reserved for neophytes but for seasoned collectors. And this is all the more true since the confinement has converted even more bidders to this mode of acquisition". In October, building on this success, the Rennes-based auction house will offer a new Street Art sale, broadcast live from the sales hall. "In Brittany, we are the only auction house to organize sales dedicated to this artistic movement. Yet the urban scene is very active in this region. It was therefore particularly important for us to promote these artists through our sales, which, thanks to live broadcasts, reach local, national and international audiences alike", explains Katy Criton.
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