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🎨 When art meets audacity, this is what happens: Justin Sun, a Sino-American entrepreneur and founder of Tron (crypto), purchased a work of art for nearly $6 million… a banana duct-taped to a wall!!!! 🍌

🎨➡️🍽 And what did he do? He ate it, in front of fascinated journalists and influencers during the auction in Hong Kong!

✨ Titled “Comedian”, this work by Maurizio Cattelan – produced in three versions since its debut at Art Basel in Miami in 2019 – challenges the value of art (and apparently bananas too).

For Justin Sun, it’s an iconic piece of conceptual art. He even declared: “It’s way better than any other banana.” 🤯

So, what should we think of this? 🤔

• A banana with a stratospheric $6M price tag?
• A brilliant world-wide Public Relation stunt for ridiculous money?
• A provocative stroke of genius?
• A symbol questioning the value of things?
• A reminder of life’s fleeting nature?
• Or just a big scam?

No matter what, this artwork fulfilled its mission: it got people talking, sparked debate, and challenged perceptions.

This banana isn’t just a banana. It’s a mirror reflecting our values, our beliefs, and the quirks of the contemporary art market. So, is it genius or nonsense? Probably both. 🍌

And you? What’s your take on the most expensive banana in history?

#ConceptualArt #MaurizioCattelan #BananaArt 🍌

👨🎨 My name is Patrick DENNY, art gallery owner and art collector. I demystify this fascinating universe for you and help you make the right choices!

If you enjoyed this article, please like, ask questions, and tell me in the comments which topics you would like me to address! ✨

A new twist in Street-Art on Monday 18 March 2024!

Banksy has confirmed on his Instagram account that he is the author of the green drips sprayed on the wall of a building near Finsbury Park (London).

This time it’s an optical illusion, and you have to step back and choose the right axis to understand that the green paint is intended to replace the non-existent foliage of the tree in the foreground of the image.

Once again, to avoid having his works stolen or auctioned off, Banksy has interwoven the work into its environment, making it inseparable from it.

And as usual, the visual impact is powerful, giving us food for thought about how little space is given to nature in our cities. The representation of the young girl sends a message to the new generation, who have the power and the duty to save our planet!

The posture of the “most famous of the anonymous” is ambiguous. While he may appear to be a committed creative protestor, he is paradoxically at the pinnacle of the speculative art market he claims to denounce.

Banksy is first and foremost a graffiti artist, and expresses his art in the street, usually using stencils. Banksy conveys simple codes, reduced to very few colors. The location is predetermined and deliberate. Anyone can understand the meaning and appreciate it.

But talent alone does not guarantee notoriety! And fame is nothing without visibility!

Banksy understands this very well, and is perfectly familiar with the media and the mechanical, predictable way they work. In less than 24 hours, the photo of his latest work posted on Instagram has already racked up over 1.5 million “likes”. He is a master of viral marketing, and his successful campaigns are paradoxically a denunciation of the media buzz to which he is subjected. By taking on the codes and mechanics of “classic” marketing, Banksy delights in hijacking them to make his point, and has become a major player in the media sphere.

Using classic and effective techniques such as :

1. The secrecy surrounding his identity

“Invisibility is a superpower”, Banksy once said.

He adds, in his book Guerre et Spray (2005): “No one ever listened to me, until no one knew who I was”.

Anonymity plays a central role in Banksy’s approach; the Briton knows how to play with the grey areas surrounding his identity, and multiplies false leads. From famous people (Robert del Naja, Jamie Hewlett, etc.) to a collective of activist artists, the rumours surrounding Banksy continue to spread… and contribute to the global buzz.

So is he an individual in his own right? Or a collective? It doesn’t really matter, as long as he continues to thrill us!

2. Scandal, as in this work in which British politicians become chimpanzees

“Devolved Parliament” is an oil on canvas created in 2009 by Banksy, replacing British politicians debating in the House of Commons with chimpanzees. In 2019, the artwork became Banksy’s most expensive to date, selling for around €12 million at Sotheby’s in London.

The work measures 2.5m × 4.2m. It was entitled “Question Time” when it was first shown at the 2009 Banksy exhibition at the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. It was sold to a private collector in 2011. A reworked and renamed version of the painting was exhibited in Bristol in March 2019, with changes to details such as a banana and some lamps. Banksy commented, “Laugh now, but one day no one will be in charge”.

The depiction of chimpanzees echoes Banksy’s 2002 work “Laugh Now”, an almost 2 metre long stencil work showing a row of monkeys wearing aprons with the inscription “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge”.

As always with Banksy, the answers are less important than the questions.

One thing’s for sure: with each new intervention, he moves the whole planet, and single-handedly helps to promote urban art, which in less than 10 years has gone from “vandal” to “saleable” status.

The End

Art collectors have long played a key role in the evolution of art and aesthetic tastes, playing a crucial role in the art market. Their influence also extends to future market trends. However, contemporary art collectors are clearly different from their predecessors, their profiles evolving in response to the advent of digital art. The rise of digital art has also given rise to new types of collector.

In this article, we will attempt to take a closer look at the identity of these new collectors.

A new wave of collectors is emerging, occupying an increasingly significant position in the art market: young art collectors, also known as Generation Z, covering an age range up to 25. They have a keen interest in developing art collections.

As the driving force behind the art market, Generation Z is redefining trends in art collecting. These young collectors are at the forefront of a major digital transformation, propelling the online art market to impressive figures, estimated at €16 billion by 2030.

Thanks to technology and social networks, Generation Z see art as an extension of their personal identity. Spread across the United States, Europe and, above all, Asia, these affluent young collectors are becoming key players for international auction houses.

In the first half of 2023, wealthy millennials in Asia spent an average of €55,000 on works of art, closely followed by Generation Z, who invested €52,000.

According to the forecasts of the 2023 Art Basel & UBS survey, this young generation is destined to accumulate considerable wealth, up to 65,000 billion euros by 2030.

Younger art buyers are more driven by investment objectives and are turning towards emerging artists, as well as socially engaged art, such as indigenous artists.

They are also more inclined to analyse the aspirations of particular artists rather than focusing on art history, as previous generations did. In 2023, millennials will favour sculptures, installations and photography.

Generation Z collectors have overtaken spending on digital art and prints. Younger buyers value emerging artists in their collections (64%), revealing a shift in priorities from the previous generation. It is worth noting that renowned artists are less popular with young collectors (11%) than with their older counterparts (23%).

Technology has also made it simpler, faster and more secure to acquire works of art online, encouraging younger buyers to make purchases, even at higher prices.

The evolving landscape of Generation Z collectors is a dynamic force shaping the future of the art market.