“For most of human history the opportunities most artists had to show their work was very local and very limited,” said Saatchi Art CEO Sean Moriarty.
Los Angeles-based Saatchi Art, an online marketplace for art, is trying to change that. With several hundred thousand original art pieces listed in their inventory, the website is bringing art to the masses- and a mass market to artists.
“Artists for the first time have an audience to support their work,” said Moriarty. “Prior to the rise of online art sales, what you had was very local fragmented galleries.”
And for artists that couldn’t establish relationships with influential galleries because their work was not known, appreciated or of high enough quality that meant little to no sales.
“We have artists from over 100 countries selling to buyers in 88 countries,” said Moriarty. “It’s not often you find a $65 billion consumer market where the vast majority of activity is offline.”
Traditionally, arts sales are best known for famous, headline grabbing blue-chip buys, the sort of multi-million dollar sales that are the focus of auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Tiered below blue-chip sales are several layers of art galleries curating collections for local buyers and collectors. These galleries function as a gatekeeper into the traditional art world, and are an important first step for any artist.
“A gallerist plays a huge role convincing someone to buy something,” said Sarah Awad, an up-and-coming painter recently critically reviewed in the Los Angeles Times, and represented by a gallery. “Their goal is to build your career and sell your art.”
They also advertise, promote, cover shipping costs and installation, and perhaps most importantly connect artists with prominent collectors. For that, galleries traditionally take a 50 percent cut of art sales.
Because Saatchi Art displays hundreds of thousands of original pieces it is not able to give artist the same one-on-one attention, but its online reach should give artist a broader chance to connect with potential buyers, a chance artist would not have access to locally. For that service, Saatchi Art only takes a 30 percent cut of sales.
Awad also said there is an element of critical acceptance that is important to making it in the art world. Having your art reviewed by an art critic or curated in a show influences art discovery and price. Furthermore, “we talk about the dialogue created by the artists,” said Awad. This community of artists, collectors and tastemakers that makes up art culture may be difficult to take online. It has not stopped Saatchi Art from trying.
In an effort to duplicate the experience and culture of a gallery, “every piece of art is view by our curators,” said Moriarty. These curators not only categorize the online gallery’s several hundred thousand art pieces but also look out for “art that is particularly notable or worth featuring.” Noteworthy artists are shown within the company’s “Saatchi Art Magazine” as part of an “One to Watch” series. Giving the art displayed on the site an element of critical review.
Also, in a Pinterest-like style, anyone from professional curators to art fans can gather images of art into “Collections” for shared viewing and commenting. This in someway democratizes the gallery experience.
Nonetheless, Saatchi Art is well aware of the traditional way of doing things and the value it brings, so it is focusing on the lower end of the market and on undiscovered artists.
And for the artist it features, Saatchi Art is looking to give them the world, with a renewed effort to deepen international sales. “We are very strong in the supply side,” said Moriarty. Focusing on international markets, “is very much about the demand side.”
In Berlin, Hong Kong and the Middle East “we already see some real pull,” said Moriarty. To fulfill these international ambitions the company will be doubling in size from about 23 employees today.
Ultimately, Saatchi Art believes, “if you are an art lover it is much easier to see art from all around the world,” with an online gallery. Meanwhile, average people can now confidently buy art in the privacy of their own homes, said Moriarty. Because, “it shouldn’t be hard to enjoy art.”
