Artmark launches the index of the Romanian art market

The evolution of the Romanian art market over the course of the last 15 years is now included in a catalog. Titled "The Index of the Romanian market", it includes all the sales of art objects (which took place using options) between 1995 and 2010. The catalog includes over 1,000 Romanian artists, both those who are part of Romania"s heritage as well as contemporary ones.

The launch of the index was made at the headquarters of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, in the presence of its managing director, Valentin Ionescu. He said that "art represents an alternative financial market and at the same time a way for artists to secure funding" and through this partnership, the BSE and Artmark (the auction house which launched the catalog) are expanding their base of potential clients.

Manuela Plăpcianu, the CEO of auction house Artmark, says that the "investment in art represents a natural step towards diversifying one"s portfolio". She emphasized that art can be considered a long term investment, given the average annual return of 11% it had over the last ten years. Mrs. Plăpcianu said that the maximum prices at which art objects are selling are rising from one year to the next.

Thus, the most expensive painting sold in Romania in 2009 was "Aişe" by Camil Ressu for 160,000 Euros, whereas in 2010 the most expensive was "Young peasant girl resting" by Nicolae Grigorescu, for 270,000 Euros. In her opinion, over the past five years, art was the most profitable investment, a total gain of 154%. By comparison, between 2005 and now, the real estate sector increased 63%, the BET stock market index increased 60%, and the EURRON exchange rate increased 19%.

• The road to a mature market

Just like when it comes to the stock market or banking sector, the art trade in Romania is still a young market. Events such as the launch of the catalog which tracks the evolution of prices, of the "Art Consacrat" index (ed. note: which tracks the evolution of the trading of the artworks of 100 established artists) and the launch by Certinvest of a fund which invests in art, represent major steps towards the maturation of the market.

Eugen Voicu, the president of Certinvest says that the launch of the "Index of the Romanian Art market" contributes to the maturation of the market, and it serves as a "benchmark". Art historian Ruxandra Garofeanu considers that the art market will develop, given time, but people need to have patience: "This catalog is relevant to the history of art precisely because it illustrates the changes in the trend and in the perception of the public".

Pavel Şuşară, the president of the Romanian Body of Experts and Appraisers says that "the index is a fundamental construction of the market".

According to Radu Boroianu, the president of the Association of Art Dealers in Romania, in countries with mature art markets, dealers and artists have relationships, which help increase the value of the artworks. He feels that there is a lot of work to be done to keep the index updated and relevant, because there are a lot of fakes in the market, works which are erroneously attributed to famous authors, as well as works with famous authors but which are unattributed. In his opinion, the development of the art market depends on how successful the National Bank of Romania will be in making art objects bankable, meaning that banks will consider them fit for use as collateral, and for insurance companies to insure them. More to the point, art objects should be considered by financial institutions as having value.

Dan Pascariu, the president of the Board of Directors of Unicredit-Ţiriac Bank, discussed the appearance of buyers who purchase art objects for investment purposes, instead of viewing them as collectible. "Fundamentally, the art market is no different than any other market, it"s just that it involves more elements such as fashion and subjectivity. Now, through the creation of this index, we have an important benchmark for the evolution of the market. People will have something to compare against"

• What the art market looks like

According to Artmark, at the end of last year, the global art market amounted to 43 billion Euros, up 52% compared to 2009. Also, the proceeds from sales performed through auction houses amounted to more than 6.5 billion Euros, of which the Romanian market accounted for just 8.3 million Euros. The main buyers of art objects come from the US and Popular Republic of China, as the two countries account for 30%, and 33% respectively of the total amount paid for art purchases.