Almighty painter

Chapter 624 Share
"Come on, do these people really care about art? When someone spends $200 million to buy a g piece of paper made of linen, palm, vehicle and pigment, is the first thing that comes to their mind really the significance of this painting for the development of human art aesthetics? This money can buy two tons of gold. Well, I admit that some real super-rich people buy paintings just like they buy yachts, they buy what they like."

Salma shook her head. "But for most people, the vast majority of the rich, when the purchase price of a painting accounts for 10%, 30% of his total assets, or even all the cash flow available for investment, it becomes a gambling game."

“When art becomes so expensive, whether or not one likes it has become a very insignificant factor among all the factors that influence investment decisions. Buying art is like buying real estate. People regard it as a symbol of status and consider the location, popularity, and return on investment.”

“Do art critics really care about the artistic value of this work? No, they care more about their own right to speak and to always be the leader of the art market, rather than any painter or gallery.”

“So the paradox is created. The moment an artist reaches a certain milestone, collectors start to worry. ‘Is he worth too much? Is the market no longer healthy?’ ‘A painting costs $20 million, and the artist is still alive. Supply and demand are unstable.’ ‘Why don’t I just look for cheaper alternatives? Buy 20 top-tier paintings for $1 million, or invest in 2,000 new artists?’”

In terms of probability.

It is much easier for a $2000 million work of art to appreciate to $4000 million or even $ million than for a $ million work of art to appreciate to $ million.

A million dollars is the art transaction range where more buyers can compete.

This price range.

More hot money.

The market turnover rate will also be faster.

However, it is difficult to quickly cash in collections worth tens of millions of dollars. Both buyers and sellers often need to spend half a year or even several years waiting for the right opportunity, and the auction alone takes a long time to prepare.

For super artworks of this magnitude, even if one does not wait for large-scale auctions and instead goes through private negotiations with auction houses, one may be able to find a buyer quickly, but the agency fee will still start from millions of dollars.

If you cast a wide net and invest in two thousand new art stars, any one of them could become the top star of the next generation.

Among the two thousand small fish fry of good quality caught in the net, there are only one or two that can jump over the Dragon Gate and turn into dragons with the wind.

All the costs paid will be returned.

"And this is also the moment when art critics start to worry. They worry that he is too successful, so successful that he doesn't need ordinary people to understand him, and he doesn't even need a group of writers to buzz around and comment on him. So they will start to look down on him in various ways. When this time comes——"

The woman spread out her palms.

"In order to find investment confidence, the worried collectors turned their eyes to the critics, and then they saw a group of worried art critics. When they added two together, everyone's confidence was crushed in an instant, and the market collapsed. This is a very simple basic logic."

As if her voice had triggered their inner thoughts, Jane Arnold and Kazunari Sakai remained silent.

Salma didn't look like she was going to give them enough time to think.

"There are only two ways to reverse this situation. One is to use absolute power to integrate the entire art market and obtain supreme authority to price artworks by monopolizing the aesthetic evaluation standards of the traditional art market. From then on, no one can say no to the price he sets. This is what all gallery owners are pursuing. So far, no one has been able to do it." She continued.

"Sir Brown has gone further than anybody else on this path."

"We can say that he succeeded at one point. For 3 minutes and 40 seconds, Chairman Brown stood in the center of the stage. He must have felt that he had become the real Pope of the art world. Until Miss Elena shattered him. That European Art Annual Conference created the shortest-lived and most sudden-death art dynasty in history. Um—"

The woman hesitated for a moment. "It's not accurate to say that he died suddenly. The whole framework has actually been set up. Poor President Brown was just slapped several times at the celebration ceremony for becoming the queen of the sorority. He lost face. Fortunately, he handled it smoothly enough. Maybe he can stabilize the basic situation. But no matter what, even if he can make a comeback, it will take a long time to prepare."

"Another way is to jump out of this framework and stop playing games in this small pond whose bottom can be seen at a glance. We jump out of this framework, just like a shark returning to the real ocean."

"Jane Arnold, Professor Sakai."

"A few rich people and art critics can decide the life and death of a painter. You don't like this feeling, do you?"

Salma takes off her shoes.

She was barefoot, lying between the legs of the huge doll sculpture.

The woman turned around and sat between the knees of the pink alien-like doll, looking down at the two of them.

"In 2022, the total transaction volume of the global traditional painting market will be in the tens of billions of dollars. The global toy market is worth $4000 billion, and the cash flow in the toy market alone is dozens of times that of the auction market, while the transaction volume of the clothing industry is $1.36 trillion, which is equivalent to Spain's annual GDP. Compared with the money earned from selling clothes, the money earned from selling paintings is just a small drop in the ocean."

As the middle-aged woman spoke, she folded the auction leaflet that Uncle Sakai had not taken into a paper airplane and threw it into the wind.

“Forget about Damien Hirst and the small drops of traditional art. Broaden your horizons. In fact, artists who have sold a work for more than $100 million have already appeared. After KAWS created the XX-eyed doll look, fashion brands around the world rushed to collaborate with him. It is no longer confined to art exhibitions and auctions, nor is it a single work of art. Instead, it can be perfectly embedded in any scene in life. Ornaments, school bags, ornaments, toys, shoes, and even cartoons of The Simpsons.”

"At school, if a classmate tells others that his favorite is the fresco of Madonna on the dome of Florence Cathedral, everyone will think he is pretentious. But if he hangs a Kaws doll on his schoolbag, then his classmates will think he is very trendy and cool."

“The highest level of art sells culture. It can transform the art market, which is dominated by collectors from top to bottom, into a popular culture that is popular from bottom to top.”

Salma said calmly.

For the first time in history, young people have replaced the wealthy and become the main consumer group for artists.

“As a result, the entire logic chain of the industry has changed all of a sudden. You no longer need to pay attention to the concerns of collectors or the nagging of critics. Over the years, there have been too many scholars who have criticized KAWS’s works as worthless, but this has not prevented him from achieving unprecedented success in the commercial field.”

A smile of admiration appeared on the woman's lips.

"In fact, if someone can embed his work into the trendy culture of society, then collectors will wave their money and line up behind him. This doll has not only sold thousands of co-branded products, but is also invincible in the field of high-end art. You can see doll sculptures and large murals related to it in countless cities such as Las Vegas, Macau, Madrid, New York, and London. The one in front of you is the largest one among them."

"A work co-branded with the KAWS doll and the cartoon The Simpsons was sold in Hong Kong for HK$1.6 million a few years ago. I have some friends in an auction company, and I heard that the auction buyer who bought the painting through a telephone auction had a long-term employer, Justin Bieber."

"Can you imagine someone like Justin Bieber being interested in a Turner watercolor? He is completely different from the traditional collectors. The average rock singer and Hollywood star only likes to buy Tyrannosaurus skulls or Ferrari classic cars. He can bring a whole new group of investors, big customers like Bieber."

The woman patted the large sculpture beneath her.

"The most expensive work by Leonardo da Vinci was sold for less than $500 million, but what I'm sitting on now is worth $1 billion. This is the magic of Kaws dolls. Today it's a Kaws doll, and tomorrow it could be a Jane Arnold doll or a Sakai Kazunari doll, isn't it?"

The sunshine in London is a brilliant golden color.

With a faint mist in the sky, theaters and shops stretch out on both sides next to the Baroque clock tower building.

Corresponding to the huge doll under the businesswoman is the Uniqlo clothing store in London Garden.

A large poster of "UNIQLO xKAWS" is hung above its window.

The Uniqlo Group is collaborating with KAWS to launch their new summer and autumn fashion season. The huge doll next to it is the work of this fashion promotion campaign.

Kazunari Sakai bit into his burger and glanced at the store opposite.

Mrs. Sakai is a fashion designer who has had contact and cooperation with Japanese clothing giants such as Uniqlo.

Kazunari Sakai knew that the rent for any of the large brand stores in London's West End or Oxford Street would cost tens of millions of pounds a year.

The rent alone is enough to cover the entire London department of the Ma Shi Gallery for a year.

Salma was right about one thing.

It is hard to say whether traditional art is outdated.

But these mass consumer goods industries are indeed much richer than the traditional art industry.

I don’t know if I was persuaded by the woman, but I fantasized that one day, among the posters of handsome and beautiful models outside of those clothing stores, my round figure, which was as tall as three others, would appear.

I still give a thumbs up to this big burger with plenty of sauce in my hand.

"Yo~xi."

Kazunari Sakai shook his big belly and gave a thumbs up, as if he was a fat translator in an anti-Japanese drama.

"What about you? Are you ready to say Fuck you to Sir Brown, the Elena family, and everyone who wants to control you? Mr. Jane Arnold."

The woman set her eyes on the master illustrator.

She had gone to such great lengths today, mainly to convince him.

"It's a strong combination. I can't think of any reason why we can't succeed." She said temptingly.

"Since you are willing to come, in principle, I also agree with the vision you mentioned—"

Jane Arnold spoke slowly.

Salma's face just broke into a smile when he continued, "But I have some opinions on the company's share ratio."

Share?

Salma frowned. Even though this was the first time the three of them had a face-to-face exchange of opinions without assistants and agents.

Although the plan she mentioned was put into practice from business conception to final implementation, it was inevitable that various teams would have to negotiate and coordinate with each other.

But the general direction of the cooperation is set at the beginning when the offer is made.

They will build a new fashion brand company.

She will hold a 40% stake and be responsible for a series of tasks including clothing sales, toy manufacturing, and commercial marketing.

Jane Arnold Studio and Kazunari Sakai's studio are equivalent to investing in the company with personal IP, each owning 30% of the company's shares, and enjoying higher dividend rights when launching exclusive series of personal limited art products.

30%, 30%, 40%.

This was the tone of the entire negotiation.

This was her idea. She was the one who arranged this game, so of course she had to take the leading role in it.

Without this profit sharing ratio, there is no need to talk about it.

Say.

After observing these years, Salma understands the minds of these great artists too well. When they hold exhibitions, the slogans they write are more extraordinary than each other.

In fact, these people are secretly competing with each other.

Who is more famous? Who has a higher professional status? These are all things that are being calculated in the mind of every great painter.

Few people can truly treat money as dirt, most people just pretend not to care.

At their level, they may not care much about small amounts of money.

A work can be sold for 500,000 more or 500,000 less.

That's it.

But if two painters with similar subjects met at the same auction, and one sold for $100 million and the other sold for $101 million, you might smile on the surface but start to feel guilty inside.

Jane Arnold is a top figure in the illustration world.

Kazunari Sakai is a neoclassical oil painter who has been very popular in Japan in recent years.

The two people are in different fields, so it is difficult to compare who is better.

If we have to rank them according to their status, then after all, Jane Arnold's fans are here.

He has become the first in a certain field. He is the KAWS or Damien Hirst of the illustration world.

However, Kazunari Sakai is not the most influential person in the field of serious art.

In terms of weight... maybe.

In terms of worth, it’s definitely not.

Not to mention serious art categories, even in the field of classical oil painting alone, Kazunari Sakai would definitely not be ranked as the top one, and could barely be ranked in the top ten.

Jane Arnold is more important to the entire project.

However, the account cannot be calculated in this way.

When it comes to Kazunari Sakai's level, no one is willing to be someone else's younger brother. When the cumulative value of his works exceeds 100 million US dollars, which great artist would not be full of determination in his heart and strive for the throne of the world's number one?
Don't even mention whether you're willing to be Jane Arnold's younger brother.

Even if Hearst was invited over, if he was asked whether he was willing to be inferior to him, he might not be willing to do so deep down.

At worst, I won’t make this money.

The Ma Shi Gallery has been chasing Kazunari Sakai for such a long time, but its biggest bargaining chip has never been the Ma Shi Gallery's publicity resources, nor the signing fee of tens of millions of US dollars.

Financial resources and publicity resources are not Maison's advantages today.

It can come up with tens of millions of dollars, and as long as Kazunari Sakai negotiates seriously, he can either continue to renew the contract with his old employer, Ota Art Gallery, or switch to an industry leader like Gagosian.

In fact, we can negotiate a similar amount. Maybe the signing fee will be a little less, but their marketing capabilities are stronger.

The Marais Gallery was able to send Kazunari Sakai to the Louvre Abu Dhabi for a solo exhibition.

Gagosian can send Kazunari Sakai to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a solo exhibition, to the National Gallery in the UK for a solo exhibition, or even to the real Louvre for a solo art exhibition.

Rich people have it.

There are more resources.

Both parties in the negotiation are aware that there are no truly top-tier artists working at Maison today. This is both a reflection of the Maison Gallery’s desolation and helplessness. From another perspective, it is also the gallery’s biggest advantage in attracting heavyweight artists to join.

As long as Yayoi Kusama is alive, Ota Art Gallery will not be able to give Kazunari Sakai the best treatment and all the resources.

This is especially true of Gagosian.

Gagosian is not short of money, but apart from money, if Kazunari Sakai goes there, he will inevitably be involved in the allocation and competition for various publicity resources.

A rotten boat still has three pounds of nails.

The Hermès Gallery is now in a precarious situation and leaking everywhere, but it is really not a rotten ship.

If you count the number of galleries that have the ability to promote and distribute global art resources, you can’t even find them on your hands.

No matter how bad the Marais Gallery is, it is only one-tenth of this.

It is also among the top ten in the world.

The old foundation of the once glorious super gallery is still there. As long as Kazunari Sakai is willing to move in with his luggage, he can comfortably be the boss there. Even if his resources are inferior, he can make the entire gallery revolve around him like satellites to a star.

He weighed about 200 pounds, and he could bounce and roll around in there as he pleased. Maybe Mars III would roll with him.

Artists attach great importance to whether they can be the boss.

This is also why after Tang Ning made so much money from the Hong Kong spring auction, she did not buy a yacht or a plane, or go to a resort to live a life of luxury.

Rather, he would rather sell everything he has, borrow money from everywhere, and open a gallery of his own.

Salma is not going to give up her position as the boss to anyone.

Therefore, the water must be balanced from the beginning, allowing the two people to compete with each other and also restrain each other.

If Jane Arnold asked for 1%, what would Kazunari Sakai think? Would he feel that he was ignored and not valued?
The company hasn't even opened yet, so just wait for internal strife.

the strange thing is.

Salma noticed that after Jane Arnold opened his mouth and questioned the profit sharing, Kazunari Sakai just stood there calmly without any additional expression.

Are you just waiting and watching, or did you know this would happen?

"Isn't it possible that the two of them want to kick me out?"

This thought crossed Salma's mind.

She thought about it several times, but finally said firmly: "No, the profit share was agreed upon at the beginning. Mr. Jane Arnold, we all know that 15% is an extremely fair price in the industry. This is almost twice the share of Kanye West and Adidas. Kanye can only get 5% from the co-branded Yeezy, and Michael Jordan can only get % from Nike's AJ brand."

"To be honest, if it was Adidas that came to me today, I would accept a 15% share, but we all know that your business company is not a multi-billion dollar giant like Adidas." Jane Arnold stared into Salma's eyes: "There is a difference between being a founder and being a co-branded. For the founder of a fledgling brand, he should get a more fair price."

"Besides..." He said slowly, "I'm not the only one in my illustration studio."

(End of this chapter)