Mixed Signals I
New Bond Street, London
By George O'Dell

Is the recent growth in street art movements reminiscent of the 1980’s fad and crash of the Graffiti fine art movement? In the auction houses and among the galleries the opinion and hope is that the interest is stronger than ever and this genre is here to stay.

On December 12, 2007 Sotheby’s Bond Street held a contemporary day sale that included works by Banksy, who has become a staple in contemporary auctions, along with works by other street and urban artists. The fact that one artist has grown exponentially in the auction houses is not a clear indicator that other artists with less popularity will do the same. The Brooklyn based group Faile had work at auction for the second time. One of the two works up for auction one, Unititled, 2007, was produced for the New York City show, “Nothing Lasts Forever”, this past June. Although the work sold, it seemed early for a work to enter the auction house, having come from the original show only 6 months prior.

Also up for auction was work by the French street artist Invader. The piece, LDN-67, 2006, is a mosaic, like most of Invaders work. This piece was from a fall 2007 solo show at the Lazarides Gallery and failed to sell at auction. This may indicate that buyers are more interested in the aesthetics of Street Art than the concepts behind them. Works by the artist Paul Insect, who is also shown by Lazarides Gallery, showed at auction for the first time and sold with mixed results. One work barely crossed the low end of the estimate, while the other managed to far surpass its high estimate. Unicorn, which sold high, was big, colorful, and aesthetically interesting. The piece that sold low, Bullion, 2007, a gold plated brass bar with a bite out of it, was like the Space Invader piece, conceptually more difficult. A non-stencil Banksy, Custordized Oil #3, 2006, estimated between £150,000.00 - £200,000.00, failed to sell.

These mixed results hint that Street Art may not be as solid in the art market as initially thought. The arrival of new urban artists to the auction house seems to be a big push to keep the genre buzzing in the tertiary market and with collectors who pay. Although, sending works from shows to auction in less than a year hints to an uneasiness amongst buyers who may be more interested in speculation than collecting. Bonham’s Auction House has announced the creation of the first ever “Urban Arts Sale” in February of 2008. The auction will include work from Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring along with works by Banksy, Faile, Paul Insect, Space Invader, Swoon, and D-Face. The attempt seems to attach today’s urban artists with those from the 1980’s boom that Basquiat and Haring were a part of.

Should the results of the Bonhams auction turn out mixed like the Sotheby’s results, this will show that the majority of the fan base for this work is still at the gallery level and below. For now a slow steady approach to developing this market and waiting for the money to present itself seems to be the smarter move. To do otherwise will repeat the boom-bust pattern that happened in the 1980’s.

George O'Dell

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