Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Will Art Continue to Be a Reserve Currency in 2016, Gilles Dyan Is Banking On It

January 21, 2016 by Marion Maneker

As markets continue to roil with fears over falling asset prices and pervasive global weakness, the question emerges of where the wealthy will store the excess cash they have generated in the last year or two.

Most financial instruments have clouds around them. Since art is denominated in dollars and there are persistent fears that the dollar will continue to appreciate, there’s a good chance 2016 will see more buyers from emerging markets convert their cash into art.

That’s pretty much the message of Gilles Dyan who operates a global network of galleries:

The Opera Gallery, with 11 gallery branches worldwide, enjoyed a 7 percent growth in overall global art sales thanks to the growing number of private collectors from emerging economies. The Opera Gallery has operations in major cities, including New York, London, Paris, Geneva, Monaco, Dubai, Singapore and Seoul, and a new one is due to open in Aspen, Colorado, next month.

“Before, the market was essentially centered in the U.S. and Japan. Now people are buying art from everywhere — from China, India, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and many other emerging countries,” Dyan said.

When the economy slows down, the rich turn to art to diversify their investments beyond stocks and bonds, Dyan explained.

“With art, when you choose the right painting and pay the right price, it is the best investment. If you compare 50 years of stock markets, gold and commodities with art, art always brings better returns than other investments,” Dyan said.

“The year 2015 was a very good year. I am also confident with 2016. Even if the economy is not so good in China, Russia and in the Middle East. Now many people know that art is a very safe investment.”

Dyan also revealed expansion plans for his gallery. He is preparing to open a new gallery in Doha at the end of next year and another in Taipei in two years.

‘Art is a safe investment’ (Korean Herald)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Bonhams & Butterfield Asian Works of Art BonanzaBonhams & Butterfield Asian Works of Art Bonanza
  • Saffronart Spring Sale = $3.1mSaffronart Spring Sale = $3.1m
  • Swann African-American SaleSwann African-American Sale
  • The Art Newspaper Reveals Christie’s New Weapon: Guarantee PartnersThe Art Newspaper Reveals Christie’s New Weapon: Guarantee Partners
  • Hopper's Warhol Prints Pop at Christie'sHopper's Warhol Prints Pop at Christie's
  • Larry SultanLarry Sultan

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • $10 M. Picasso Portrait Unseen for Decades to Sell at Bonhams
  • David Bowie Talks About Art (with Julian Schnabel)
  • Sotheby's Pulls in a $9m David Hockney for November
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Vienna Secession Painting, Long Thought to Be Lost, Sets a Record at Auction
  • Lost Lempicka Discovered at Sotheby's
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor