Mixed Signals II
New Bond Street, London
By Robert Brett Goodwin

Street Art appears to have caught the zeitgeist, but is it primed to break records in 2008? Bonham’s is planning an auction in February dedicated to the work of Banksy, Faile, Swoon, Paul Insect, and other artists of the urban school. As the market has been fluctuating wildly over the last six months, the house is taking a considerable risk. How can a West End auction house expect to succeed in reconciling the backstreet, anti-market, gritty-graffiti aesthetic of street art with their own ritzy environs? Mixed results at Sotheby’s 12 December Contemporary Art auction have proven that auction houses will have to tread lightly if they want “street art” to succeed in the tertiary market.

In addition to the current crop of hot street art stars, Bonham’s has hedged their bet by including such recognizable names as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring in the February auction. That should lend some legitimacy to the proceedings, as Basquiat has been fetching prices above the $10 mm mark recently . But in February all of the attention will be on the more recent art, some of which fell flat on 12 December. Bonham’s would do well to take in a few lessons from that auction.

The first two lots, both by the Brooklyn artist collective Faile, were predicted to sell between £10,000 and £15,000. Each sold above the estimate. Lot one went for £25,700 and lot two considerably higher at £41,300. The pieces were comparable but for one difference: their size. Lot one was a measly 65.7 by 65.7cm, while lot two measured 121.2 by 129.5cm. Perhaps the house was not surprised; as Tobias Meyer, head of Contemporary Art for Sotheby’s said in a New Yorker article earlier this year, “I think that the spectacular painting which already sells itself on the printed page is what you will see being most successful in this market.” Other pieces that sold considerably higher than their estimate shared a similar higher-than-street aesthetic. Suicide Bomber (2007) by Adam Neate, which featured a heavy coat of gold leaf, was estimated at £10,000 to £15,000 and sold for £78,500. Street art doesn’t naturally lend itself to the elevated aesthetics that art buyers are used to, but if it is going to sell high at auction, it had better look good on the wall.

The French artist Invader’s piece LDN-67 (2006), which draws on sources from the videogame Space Invaders to the Rubik’s cube, didn’t translate into auction success. It didn’t sell at a recent exhibition at the Lazarides Gallery either. Some of this art has been reaching auction before its first birthday, and it is simply too young for the auction block. Why buy at auction if you can control the terms over the purchase of a nearly identical piece on the private market (or, conceivably, rip one off the side of a building)?

Bonham’s is likely to see more success in February. Sales of Street Art have been strong in the private market (partially due to the success of well-known artists like Banksy at auction earlier in 2007), and the positive cycle is likely to continue. The healthy art market is attracting new investors, who are likely to be drawn to street art because of its relatively low cost of entry. Those new investors will have few contacts in the private market, and they will be looking for a place to get started. It is this kind of buyer who is likely to find the prospect of an urban art auction very attractive. If the work is priced reasonably, Bonham’s have the opportunity to nurture an exciting new market segment to fruition. Let’s hope they keep their hubris in check.

Robert Brett Goodwin

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