The past year has seen the art world finally shake off the last effects of the Covid pandemic with galleries and institutions now able to operate in the physical world again. However, it has not been sheltered from the global and political uncertainty which have dominated the global news in the last months.
This year has been as controversial and polarising for art as it has been for the rest of the world. Below, we present you a few of the issues and trends which have made the headlines in the past months and which we will most definitely hear about again next year.
The rise of AI-generated art
Artificial Intelligence has been on everyone’s lips this year as it’s started to infiltrate our daily lives more and more through the use of technologies such as ChatGPT or autonomous vehicles.
In the last few months, social media have seen a surge of trends to create images and videos using AI-based apps, now available to everyone with a smartphone. This has sparked an outrage among illustrators and artists from all backgrounds – from Hollywood writers and actors to online content creators. Questions about authorship and creativity arose, especially in the context of AI users not only using the technology to enhance their work but also entrusting it with the artistic process from start to finish, often allowing the computer to create new quality by merging existing artworks available online.
In April, artist Boris Eldagsen won the World Photography Organization’s Sony World Photography Award for a piece titled The Electrician, a work which appeared to be an old-looking photograph, only to later be revealed to be an AI-generated image. The artist commented: “I submitted my picture to three different competitions, to hack the system and see how far I could get. All three times I was among the finalists, and now I won… Ironically, I have applied several times in the past with ‘real’ photographs and never once got shortlisted. I am surprised that it was so easy when I submitted an AI-generated image”.
In the future, we will certainly hear about more similar incidents as it is already becoming increasingly difficult to find an adequate place for AI-created art in the art world as we know it.
Climate activism
The environmental protests which started in 2022 have continued into 2023 with activists from organisations such as Just Stop Oil disrupting the work of museums by staging highly publicised happenings at various art institutions. Over the last year, climate activists occupied galleries, splashed paint on world-famous paintings and glued themselves to museum walls.
Thankfully, no artwork has been damaged in the process as the activists knowingly targeted protection glass and frames rather than the art itself, aiming to gain more audience and spark interest in the issues of climate change. However, each of the incidents caused a division in the art world with many raising concerns over the safety of the artworks while others cheered the young activists on.
Museums around the world have been forced to increase security and seek additional measures to discourage similar incidents. Two protestors who smeared paint on the case of Degas’ Little Dancer in the National Gallery of Art in Washington were charged with conspiracy and damaging the exhibit.
As climate change remains one of the most important issues of our time, we can only expect to see more headlines relating to similar events as environmental activists grow more desperate to convey their message.
Cause for restitution
Since 1832, around half of the sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens have been displayed at the British Museum in London after having been brought back to the UK by British diplomat Lord Elgin. When asked a question about it by the BBC in December, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out that the current arrangement was akin to cutting the Mona Lisa in half and showing one half in Paris with the other in London. In reaction to this statement, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled a long-planned meeting with Mr Mitsotakis.
Repatriation of artefacts has long been a controversial subject in the art world and there have increasingly been calls for items to be returned to their countries of origin from large museums in capitals of former colonial powers. The status of such objects and the right of the British Museum to hold them will continue to be contested and challenged as countries make more assertive demands for restitution.
Museums have a proud history of sharing items for international display and professionals who care for such artefacts daily would surely appreciate being able to communicate and reach understandings without politicians above them compensating for poor opinion poll ratings with headline-grabbing gestures but it seems that the issue of restitution will remain unresolved for the foreseeable future.
Blockbuster exhibition
The Vermeer exhibition at Rijksmuseum which ran from February to June, has been one of the most successful art events of the last decade with almost 650,000 visitors attending the event. The exhibition was the most complete collation of Vermeer’s work ever achieved with 82% of the artist’s pieces on display including his most famous piece, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
Demand to see the unprecedented collection of the Dutch painter’s work was certainly reflected in ticket sales. The exhibition was completely sold out within days and multiples of 10-15 times face value were being quoted for tickets in the second-hand market.
This incredible popularity indicates that gallery visitors are starting to return in the sort of numbers seen before the pandemic, although representing attendance still below the likes of the 1.7 million who attended the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination exhibition in 2018 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In 2023, however, galleries worldwide have seen a recovery in visitor numbers since the pandemic, with museum and gallery attendance showing a strong return to normality.
All quiet in the art market
Global financial uncertainty and inflation have taken a toll on the art market as reflected by the big auction results. As reported by Artsy, the top 100 lots at auction this year totalled $2.4 billion, compared to $4.1 billion in 2022 with many results falling below their low estimates. The lack of spectacular record-breaking sales has also been evident, however, these results are not considered a reason to worry by art experts, many of whom see 2023 as a return to normality and the stabilisation of the market after the last few years of volatile changes.
As expected, the very top end of the market was dominated by the usual big names with the most expensive artwork sold at auction being Femme á la montre by Picasso which achieved a whopping sum of $139.4m, followed by Klimt’s Dame mit Fächer ($106.8m) and Claude Monet’s Le Bassin Aux Nymphéas ($74m). Only three of the top 20 works sold at auction were by living artists – Jasper Johns, Gerhard Richter and Ed Ruscha – and just three of the top 50 sales were by female artists – Louise Bourgeois, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Joan Mitchell, proving just how stagnant the big spender market is.
Despite the lifting of Covid restrictions, a big part of the art market retains its presence in virtual reality with many new galleries emerging online and using social media to attract younger buyers. These new audiences seem to be more interested in ultra-contemporary artists (born after 1975) such as Yuan Fang or Alia Ahmad with Artsy reporting a sharp growth in inquiries regarding their works.
War on war
The last quarter of 2023 has seen Israel and Palestine enter a new chapter of the decades-long conflict with the war drawing the attention of the world and leading to many prominent figures declaring support for one of the sides.
Several artists and dealers published statements on social media with one of them sending a ripple across the art world when a letter signed by 8,000 artists and art professionals was published by Artforum demanding a ceasefire and calling for Palestinian liberation. The publication was met with an objection by another group of artists and editors who signed a counter letter to distance themselves from the views of the first one. Subsequently, David Velasco, the editor responsible for publishing the initial letter, was fired by Artforum which only deepened the polarisation with many artists calling to boycott the magazine.
As the conflict in Gaza becomes bloodier every day, we can only expect to see more artists voice their opinions whether through their work or published statements and calls to action.
