Aboriginal art: a panorama to what Australia is giving to the art market

Australia has always been an attractive destination to visit. This is the place where you can find a twist of heritage in the midst of the action. The old civilization of the ancestors matters a lot to Australians. In fact, their respect to the aboriginal culture is reflected by a seat in their parliament.

What is this culture about and why do we discuss aboriginal art in this article?

Historically speaking, that culture refers to the first humans who inhabited the mainland and constituted, with the strait of Torres, the state of Oceania. Art, especially painting, is a key element in the aboriginal culture.

Today, aboriginal art is highly appreciated by art lovers and increasingly demanded in auction houses. However, this type of art is difficult to categorise. Some people label it as an ethnical art others as a contemporary art.

What may this conflict inflict on the Art Market in general? How can it influence artists? And how is it perceived by the international specter? These are the questions we’ll try to answer.

What is Aboriginal art?

In the first place, let’s start with a definition of aboriginal art. Aboriginal art considers every art piece that is handcrafted by an isolated society, politically and economically speaking.

Interestingly, shapes that we can find on actual paintings are exactly the same that we used to find on rocks back then in time. They symbolise the spiritual links to the natives and emphasize the meaning of the heritage.

Aboriginal art facing international art market

According to blog.artsper.com, in the last 16 years, the aboriginal art’s market has increased by more than 20%. It has become an interesting investment for all well-informed collectors. Since the peak in 2007, the market has decreased before it got stable in 2014. However, 2015 was a good year for the aboriginal art. It increased by 40% according to the AIAM 100, which explains the traders’ enthusiasm with regard to this market.

Since the 90’s, aboriginal art has gained more interest on the artistic scene (thanks to the “specialized sales” of Sobethy’s” in 1997).

Infographic summing up the key numbers of the Aboriginal Art Market

However the market ignores the contemporary aspect of this kind of art and classify its sales in the “ethnographic and ancient art” which separates it from other Australian contemporary artists, who are classified in the “Paintings, drawing and sculptures” section. This classification penalize aboriginal art which is present in the contemporary artistic scene, as proved in the art galleries.

On the contrary to the market that focuses only on the historical aspect of this art, galleries highlight the artists’ profiles. This conflict of definitions conducted the artists into a serious problem of copyright.  That is why it is really important to verify the painting’s source and its’ authenticity.

Aboriginal art seen by the rest of the world

This type of art has noticed a frenzy outside Australia’s boarders, especially in Europe. In particular in Paris, the “Quaie Branly” museum was created to highlight all native arts around the world, and sure thing, aboriginal art was very present. Its rooftop was painted by the well-known artist Lena Nyadbi, who is an aboriginal artist.