Do Australian art and culture interest you? Do you want to build your art collection? Australian Aboriginal art is a form of art that has dramatically impacted the world. This art form has attracted tremendous international attention in recent years and has experienced exceptional growth. It offers an excellent opportunity for financially rewarding investments. It is one of the trendiest areas of the contemporary art scene, which is increasingly becoming an attractive option for investors.
However, like all investment decisions, successful investment in aboriginal art demands that the investor is well informed has access to good advice and takes a suitable long-term view. The bonus of investing in this popular Australian art rather than a property of shares is that the investor can enjoy the artwork’s aesthetic beauty while remaining assured that the investment will produce an excellent financial return. Before diving deeper into studying this popular art form, here is a brief history. Continue reading!
The brief history Aboriginal art
Undeniably, art is an integral part of aboriginal life. Aborigines used different art forms and symbols to depict their history and cultural stories. Aborigine artists use signs like dots and circles, curved and straight lines, which have different meanings. Circles represent campsites, straight lines between circles depict the routes travelled by aborigines between camps, a small ‘u’ represents people sitting, and wavy lines represent water or rain. Dot paintings were developed to ensure that the white man could not interpret their private and sacred knowledge.
Ceremonial aspects of aborigine life inspire much of their art. Today’s aboriginal artists, popularly known as the Western Desert painters, have altered their tribal art forms to adapt to the western world and have started using Western materials and techniques. Art by Aboriginal people includes sand art, charcoal drawings, feathers, stencils, thread-cross strings on poles and carvings. However, today’s indigenous artists work with modern materials such as canvas and acrylics to create beautiful visual effects of their survival over thousands and in challenging conditions.
Investing in Australian aboriginal art
Australian art has proved to be a solid investment over time. Works by well-known artists have increased in value remarkably over the past years, with individual pieces fetching prices as high as $550,000 at international auctions. If you are a prudent investor, having good relations with specialist galleries can derive great pleasure from collecting the art of the world’s oldest living indigenous culture. They can also be assured that the artists in question have been treated fairly and ethically and that their investment is secure.
One of the first considerations when investing in aboriginal art is a Certificate of Authenticity. Certificates are issued by the community where the artist lives and paints or by the gallery from which the artwork is purchased. Though certificates of authenticity may vary from community to community or gallery to gallery, some most crucial details that are provided in certificates are the artist’s name, community and language group, the title, store and size of the work.
Before investing in any artwork, you, as an investor, should research the artist. Take a close look at the works done by the artist and determine whether the work under consideration is from a well-regarded period or series. Determine whether the artist is represented in reputable galleries in Australia. Also, determine how prolific the artist is and whether there is strong demand for the artist in the secondary market (auction).
Hope, you have got all the information needed before investing in this traditional art form. Keep the above things in mind and invest wisely.
