Penguin fatigue

Well I mean if you look at artists like faile , micalef, adam neate one can see an artists market can pretty much crash and never return

Harland hasn’t evolved adequately ( which can be said of some of the artists mentioned ) but more so has has some terrible management

All good art is stolen and recreated, that hasn’t stopped Warhol or koons, banksy or Picasso

I personally can only see further drops never to return

I don’t want to be right but anyone saying the opposite is likely to have skin in the game

Art is a funny thing. Buyers want innovation, something new, but they also want repetition. They want artists to do the thing, the thing they're best known for, but also don't be stagnant and samey, but also don't do the new stuff, we like the old stuff, play the classics, but my god, you still doing that stuff?

Harland Miller had a good thing going there until everyone and their dog started making their own Penguin covers. He was slowly (and expensively) putting out work, quality over quantity, and then others with less self-restraint decided to vomit every idea they've ever had onto a Penguin book cover, and for less money.

There was a period there where I couldn't open a magazine in a waiting room without seeing a London apartment interior with some gigantic sloppy Penguin book cover on the wall, or several walls, somewhere.

He'll always be the original, the guy, but the interior stylists and the high street pumped out so much of this twee, humorous Penguin stuff, it's now got that "Keep Calm and Carry On" energy from a few years ago.

I think joke-based art can be a bit like joke-based tattoos. It seems a good idea at the time.

A few times now, I've seen folk say that Harland is just ripping off the Connor McQueen Brothers. 

That's kinda sad, but probably also tells you a little about the different markets. Harland is aiming for a smaller market with more money. Below that, James McQueen, the Conmen Brothers and lord knows who else, are aiming their high street stuff, scatter gun-style, at the Turkey Teef and tiny dog crowd.

Miller has been around for 30+ years so pretty sure he’ll bounce back. As far as getting back to previous highs that may never happen especially in real terms, but I’d wager he’ll return to growth. HM has blue chip representation with years of solo shows, he’s held in major collections around the world including many institutions. Comparing him to the Connor Brothers or James McQueen doesn’t make sense, his target is a completely different market to those guys. It always amazes me how short sited people are in terms of the market, when things are flying everyone thinks it will keep growing, when the market is down no one thinks it will recover.

If that's the case then pretty much 95% of artists are in the same boat. 

It's tricky to gauge until were out the slump. Theres a fair few in the current Christies online sale which might help give you an idea.