The closeness in time of ARCO Madrid –one of the main art fairs on the world calendar– is usually the ideal time to analyze the situation of the art market in Spain.
In order to answer this question, one fact is usually repeated in successive editions of the Art Market Report published annually by Art Basel and UBS since 2017: Spain represents 1% of the global art market.
The fee is low, yes. But the reality is that in 2023 only six countries will surpass it: the United States (45%), the United Kingdom (18%), China (17%), France (7%), Germany (2%) and Switzerland (2%). . In other words, Spain is the seventh world power (along with Japan and South Korea) and the fourth in the European Union in a market in which three countries share 80% of the pie.
The question is: can Spain maintain or even improve its current market share? What is hidden behind that seventh position?
Solidity of the gallery system
A first reason for optimism for Spain is the stability of its galleries. If the survey conducted in April 2020 by The Art Newspaper gallery owners from all over the world stated that 33.9% did not expect to overcome the pandemic, today we can certify that, in the Spanish case, practically all of the galleries participating in ARCO Madrid 2020 in the days before confinement are still alive: Of the 63 Spanish galleries in the general program of said edition – that is, the most important in the country – 92% currently continue their activity.
It is true that stability does not imply prosperity, but the incessant trickle of international galleries opening offices in Spain confirms the attractiveness of the market: these are the cases, in the last five years and among others, of the German carlier | builtthe Switzerland Hauser & Wirththe French Opera Gallery and the Portuguese Pedro Ceraall of them established on the international scene.
Works from some of the Spanish galleries participating in ARCO 2024.
ARCO
Growth of the contemporary artistic fabric
The landing of international galleries in Spain is part of a broader process that involves other types of agents. Taking Madrid as an example, the city’s artistic fabric has expanded in the last fifteen years with the appearance of collections linked to foundations and companies, beyond the already traditional ones of the country’s large companies, whose acquisitions of works represent a decisive boost to the market.
The list is long, but the arrivals to the capital and surrounding areas stand out for their activity. SOLO Collection (2014), the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation (2017), the Maria Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation (2019) o Collegium (2023), among many others.
The boost to the system operated by previous projects is also complemented by the appearance of other agents. This is the case in Madrid of an entire network of non-profit organizations such as the thirty that come together in the Platform for Independent Spaces of Contemporary Creation and who are dedicated to the visual arts from different approaches.
And, of course, we cannot forget Carabanchel. In the last decade The Madrid neighborhood has grown artistically with the establishment of collective studios of prestigious artists such as Porto Ship y BAD FAME studies. Also, of course, with a wave of contemporary gallery openings based on the pioneering impulse of the young Sabrina Amrani in 2019.
Latin America: destination Madrid
Finally, the entry of Latin American capital into Madrid in recent years is one of the main boosts to the art market in Spain. It is also a growing phenomenon, with investment that has grown by 99% between 2010 and 2022 according to data from the report. Global Latam 2022. The issue is particularly relevant in the Madrid region, which receives approximately three quarters of this capital, as explained in the recently published CEAPI report on Ibero-American multinationals.
It is precisely this type of data that has led to the already hackneyed comparison of Madrid with Miami, made by media such as The New York Timesas well as others specialized in art such as The Art Newspaper.
The reality is that the link between the Spanish art market and the Latin American continent is vital for its health. Capital, furthermore, arrives both in the form of collectors and galleries that, although they have their origins in Latin America, are already established in the country. Among these are Fernando Pradilla, Journey Four, Cerquone y Apartmentto name just some of the most relevant.
But it is precisely the ARCO Madrid fair that is the agent that most cares for its relations with Latin America. Not in vain, on all occasions in which the fair has organized a geographical section in recent years, it has dedicated it to the region, with more or less specificity: Colombia (2015), Argentina (2017), Peru (2019), Chile –which finally had to decline the invitation due to the situation of political tension in the country that year– (2021), Latin America (2023) and Caribbean (2024).
Mommy and her Altarby Juan Sánchez, 2021, a work that will be in the Caribbean section of ARCO 2024.
ARCO
Conclusions
The 1% that Spain represents in the global art market is nothing other than the sum of the efforts of all the agents and sectors mentioned. A network that meets every year in Madrid around the five contemporary art fairs that are held during Art Week and that continue to add editions in 2024: ARCO Madrid (43), Art Madrid (19), JustMad (15), Hybrid (8) y UVNT (8).
The future will depend both on the evolution of this system and on the arrival of new dynamic agents. In addition to the threats posed by emerging markets such as Japanese or the Koreantoday almost on par with Spanish.
Also, behind closed doors, certain structural weaknesses such as the poor education in the aesthetic taste of the new generations and their low purchasing power, the absence of a collecting tradition in the country or the certainly improvable conditions surrounding the purchase of art or support to their agents.
For now, in 2024, Spain continues to maintain a more than worthy seventh place in the world art market: not so bad.
2024-03-05 19:08:16
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