Millennials spend millions buying Simpson art in Hong Kong auction
Millennials enter the art scene and spend millions on their favourite artist’s work based on pop culture favourites, The Simpsons.
An Astro Boy figure, sneakers and a Simpsons inspired work of art were some of the items that were purchased by a new breed of art collectors.
As millennials come of age and start exploring and spending in the art world, demand for particular artists and subject matter will reflect this.
“Their tastes are very different from their parents, and Sotheby’s is tapping into that.” says said Edie Hu, art advisory specialist at Citi Private Bank in Hong Kong.
The Simpsons
Fin24 reports that $28 million (R400m at current exchange rates) worth of art was sold at the Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong.
The highlight of the auction was a piece by Brooklyn street artist KAWS which sold for $14.8m including fees. The painting depicted the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album but populated with Simpsons characters.
Another Simpsons art piece bought by a young buyer went for $2.6m. The work called “UNTITLED (
KAWS is a popular artist and a previous piece of his sold for a then-record US$3.5 million. Max Dolgicer, a New York collector who’s been buying the artist’s work for seven years said he wasn’t surprised by the demand but rather the final number.
“It’s a very fast-moving market.”
Max Dolgicer
Rather art than avocado toast
According to this article by Mark Lives, the hallmark of the younger millennials is that they prefer a cool product, instead of a cool experience and would rather spend their money on buying high perceived value items.
Is the super-rich equivalent of artisan coffee now skateboarding shoes designed by sought after artists? Are cans of spraypaint previously owned by fashion designers the new avo on toast? Those shoes fetched $16 000 by the way.