art4dealers

Many of us will know the feeling: we want to sell something, maybe use one of these lovely online auction services, and hope for a certain price. We can either put the item out there on a fixed price or we start low and hope for many bidders.

But what do if there is interest but not as much as we hoped for? Someone who has ever tried to bid for something knows that you can easily be carried away if someone else wants the same thing and you start bidding higher and higher… but what if you’re on the other side? What if you’re the seller and this effect just doesn’t seem to hit in on the bidders? Ever considered a ghost bidder? Someone who’s bidding on your behalf for your own item just to trigger other bidders off and push the price a bit higher… or maybe a lot higher.

Damian Hirst

Well, that’s what Damian Hirst is doing. Most of us would consider this as legitimate… wouldn’t we? At any cost? I don’t think so!!!!

Sotheby’s auction in September 2008 has brought the art market to a new level, and not necessarily a good one. It’s been the first time ever that an artist has sold his works directly through an auction house and Hirst has delivered his 223 latest works in person. The auction took place over two days and was expected to reach a proud 65 million pounds altogether… far from it!!! The first day alone saw a result of more than 70 million pounds.

Different things have different values for different people and the art market has always been regulated by supply and demand. But since when have artist been megalomaniac!? Emperors or statesmen… yes, for sure; but artists? Damian Hirst’s ego is certainly getting too big for his own shoes.

It’s no longer a question of “art or not art” or if one likes Hirst’s works but a question of who owns a Hirst or two or more. Why else would anyone spend that much money on a formaldehyde shark!? Sotheby appraised the shark for about 5 million and was certainly pleased to see a bid of 9.5 million pounds.

“The Golden Calf” was sold for a mind blowing 10.3 million pounds and “Fragments of Paradise” even tripled its estimate with a selling price of 5.2 million pounds.

Hirst is everything but an artist in my opinion. An art company maybe, with more than 200 people working for him and “producing” his art works. But I have to give him some credit: one thing is for sure… he is a clever business man.