Last week took place in London Frieze Art Fair

First characteristic of the modern masterpiece is a collusion between the public and the artist. "Must be that the table become masterpiece can serve as a vehicle for all that you want to find," said Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum. Today, the works which were the most successful are also those that allow those who watch them to find the issues of interest to them. This is why the recent art, one that evokes the influence of drugs on society - as in Damien Hirst-, the existence of a pervasive virtual reality - Murakami with his manga aesthetic - or more generally any anxieties of our time, creates the desire to purchase. But not to any conditions.

The situation of the contemporary art market is paradoxical. Nothing more uncertain than the current, since creation by definition the sieve of time is not yet separated the "good" of the "wrong". But at the same time, everyone wants to invest in works that despite their recent character give a sense of security, of relevance. This is what is called the "safe values." However, demand remains strong and it renews for the previously mentioned reasons even with new buyers. This is not a chance if the Fiac, Paris contemporary art fair, returns for his Edition 2010 a new force in the market. This event has always had a certain classical character. There are of course - especially in the tent of the Court Carrée du Louvre, as opposed to the nave of the Grand Palace, more conservative in its participation - considered expressions as avant-garde and which may appear confusing to the layman. But at the same time, Paris is still a commercial network and historical legitimacy in the art of pre-war. The capital becomes the Fiac time an international art trading platform, this year, attracting enthusiasts who specially came from around the world to visit 194 galleries from 24 countries.

Natalie Seroussi, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, part of those merchants who offer "classic" of the 20th century with, among others, the works of artists of the movement dada as Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948). His work belongs to the history of art. Yet his designs from the 1920s, as his collages, display dimensions comparable to those of less proven talents in contemporary art. "This is not a speculative market." "Fans who are interested in Kurt Schwitters are initiates," she notes.

High selectivity

Nathalie Obadia presents, she works of confirmed artists but contemporaries, such as the young Portuguese view Joana Vasconcelos (born 1971) or the American of eighty-seven years living in France Shirley Jaffe. According to the Gallery, the market is sawtooth and the demands of collectors are extremely strong. "Each its niche." There are those who seek artists whose talking much, other amounts talent, but they want all of the references, a good complete CV.

Last week took place in London Frieze Art Fair. Numerous transactions carried out, even if no one speaks more, as in the period 2005-2008, EUR million transaction. Artprice, the data bank on the art market, note 48 sales higher than EUR 1 million in 2009-2010 against 120 for the period 2007-2008. "Confidence continues", however view Matt Carey-Williams, the Director of the London Gallery Haunch of Venison, one of the major operators in the British capital. "The week of Frieze, we sold between 4,000 and $ 400,000 works." But our customers want to be sure to buy at the right price of the works of quality. "Result: he confesses that cuts often performed on a case by case and on average up to 20, even if the official rates are always the same.

Last week also stood in London sales of contemporary art at Sotheby's and Christie's, with results exceeding an average of 89 of the lots sold. These houses, aware of the psychological impact of the results that they make it public, are adjusting to the request, very selective as to works that are now under fire from the auction. An excellent technique to support the morale of the market.

Fiac 2010 slide slide show slideshow