Urban Art Association

maybe. the art market is slow and fast. at this point most everything by Blu will sell above initial retail/primary prices (if you look across the broader art world, you will recognize this is rare). some works, like the drawings and Rennes UVs, sell at healthy multiples above the initial retail (which is even more rare, and might be read as a sign of sparks).


you are confused. Blu sold original drawings and prints into the art market. in fact, he made significant bank on the small drawings (e.g., some of the small drawings, which might have taken 1-2 hours to make, yielded Blu over 1000eu each (after gallery split)).

Blu's subsequent decision to opt out of the art market does not somehow invalidate his prior sales. a buyer who later regrets a purchase cannot demand their money back from an artist (and if you have been collecting for some time, you, like me, will have work you have purchased in the past that you would happily sell back to the artist at costs, but no luck there). similarly, an artist who subsequently regrets a sale cannot later cancel the sale (and Blu has not tried this - e.g., he could seek to repurchase works he previously released into the market but has not).

the work now functions as art commodity. Blu's opting out of the market has limited the development of his market (with no galleries pushing the work and/or handling resale; with less opportunities for trend-setting collectors to acquire the work). the art market likes dead artists, in part, because there is a built in limit to supply and they can evaluate what is the best work/ensure that no better work is coming up to undercut the value of what they have, and this allows them to corner the valuable areas. Blu's opting out creates similar conditions - which could be the perfect storm - while Blu continues to build his brand (as his recent mural book establishes, he continues to produce his best murals and stands out from the all the noise in global street art world as innovator).

"fall[ing] in line" with an artist's "ethos" is not a standard the art market ever follows. Banksy must hate most of the commentary on this message board. emerging contemporary artists (like Tauba Auerbach and Njideka Akunyili Crosby) and established artists (like Gerhard Richter) have also complained about their contemporary art market (once it is established and going strong -- no one is complaining when they are selling work in the beginning). most artists cannot support themselves with their art and would aspire to be in the position where they have to deal with problems that arise from having an active secondary market with increasing values.

we have a global art community because people buy art (supporting a broad range of artists in their making of art). part of the incentive for folks buying art (and keeping up with the art market on boards like this) is that the art may increase in value over time (and turn a profit, or show their art collecting prowess, or be a great museum donation with tax benefits). that incentive leads to the creation of a lot more art. in addition, as the value of work increases, the protection of the work (for future generations) also increases (people protect art when it is valuable over longer time periods and are less protective of work they do not see as valuable).

Blu is art historical and will be recognized as such (unlike most of the artists on this message board - who are not expanding the scope of what art can be but instead fitting into the framework built by the leaders of street art). at some point his market will catch up to this (which could happen in the next year, or by 2025, or 2030 ... time will tell).

I'm looking for Rennes!

thank you for posting this update.

from the web/video, the show seems underwhelming. is the Blu work for sale? (and that the reason why there is so little work for a show supposedly focused on Blu)?

someday a museum will stage a proper retrospective (with many drawings, plus prints, videos, photos of murals - onsite installations if they can get Blu to participate). it will take significant effort to find the drawings (i doubt Blu or anyone else kept track of sales, and subsequent resales make tracking nearly impossible), but will be a rewarding exhibit for the curator, institution, and the public. imagine the sketches next to large photos of the murals, for example. imagine a room playing Muto and another playing Big Bang Big Boom (and somewhere another monitor playing the stop-motion mural in progress videos). a historical mural map (or timeline) with dates, locations, thumbnails.  

Might be absurd, might as well try : I want to trade my Parra 'Friday' for Blu HQ

I have a Blu Demos for sale I purchased this directly from Studio Cromie in 08 and have that email which I will provide with the print. The print is in the first 50 of the run and in great condition. Not too many of these around these days so I am not sure exactly what is the going price. While I do a bit more research on latest I am open to offers. I am cross-posting this in a few places and will put on eBay early next week if I dont get interest.

Love this one. How much do they go for?

Price?

It has some stunning lots in the sale. Wonder how Banksy will do in here after all the goings on lately 

Those hand finished Rennes are hideous.

I am looking to sell on my Blu CMYK print, not sure of the current going rate but if anyone has an idea, your advice would be appreciated.

Wow. A Canadian seller. That Blu Demos is a grail. GLWTS

Blu's Rennes UV sold for 7800€ ($8689) (url), which is a good result (these were 750€ retail in 2012 = 10x in 7 years), but less than the last one ($10,750).