First, the concept of painting and calligraphy broker
Calligraphy and painting are all part of artworks. At present, there is no legislation specifically for art brokers in China. According to the definition of broker in the Measures, we can give an art broker a simple definition: an art broker is a person who acts as an intermediary for both parties in the art market and collects commissions. A painting and calligraphy broker can be said to be a person who acts as an intermediary for both parties in the painting and calligraphy art market and collects commissions. He is not a direct operator, but earns commissions from the services of both parties. Of course, the "person" referred to in this article also includes natural persons, legal persons and economic organizations. Gallery, art dealer, legal person of art auction house and organizer of art fair can all be called art broker.
Excellent painting and calligraphy products need professional institutions behind brokers and artists to operate if they want to enter the painting and calligraphy market for circulation, preservation and appreciation. Most painters are absorbed in creation, and have no spare time and energy to run their own works, solo exhibitions and other social activities. Coupled with the professional limitations of painters and painters and their unfamiliarity with commercial activities, an artist with great potential may be buried, and some excellent works are beyond the reach of the majority of painting and calligraphy lovers, which makes the painting and calligraphy brokerage management institutions emerge as the times require. Professional painting and calligraphy brokerage management institutions usually have a long-term vision and can find artists with potential and growth. On the basis of mutual trust, all-round planning, operation and management of artists' creation, social activities and publicity packaging, and planned arrangement of their works for exhibition, publication in newspapers and periodicals, publication and invitation of experts' comments can make artists devote themselves to their creation, which not only stimulates their creative enthusiasm, creates a good creative space for them, but also gives collectors more opportunities to get in touch with the fine works of artists from all walks of life. It provides a broad investment atmosphere for collectors, improves the social and economic benefits of works, forms a win-win situation, and makes the whole calligraphy and painting market develop and deepen in a benign way.
In the art market, the art broker is the key link in the operation of the art market, which pushes the art to the market and the transfer of the ownership of the art. The art broker seems to be a kind of catalyst and relay, which enables the buyers and sellers of art to establish business contacts quickly and then complete the business transaction process, thus realizing the commercial value of the art goods promoted by the broker or the commercial value of the artists' works and art services they represent. Art brokers are also an important means to help artists succeed in business; Art brokers are also the bridge between art production and consumption. Under the media of art brokers, art producers can get closer to art consumers through their own works, so that art can find more suitable buyers, and then art consumers can buy satisfactory works of art, so that art producers and consumers can get closer. Art brokers can also play an active role in helping art investors overcome blindness and organically combine art investors with artists and their products. Therefore, all countries in the world attach great importance to the development of art brokers.
Second, the development status of China painting and calligraphy brokers
A country with a relatively sound art market mechanism has a very clear brokerage system. In the art market, the cooperation between artists and art brokers is also multifaceted. Brokerage system is the inevitable choice of art market regulation. The brokerage system of artistic works can enable companies to launch works with high gold content at lower prices, ensure the long-term standardized development of the art market, and attract people to participate in painting and calligraphy consumption. Excellent brokerage companies will check the quality and price of works, promote painters and works, and thus expand the market, but artists often can't grasp these. Since the reform and opening up, China's cultural industry has made remarkable progress, and the formation of the art market has led to the emergence of art brokers. Art brokers in China started late, and only in recent years have some well-known art auction companies emerged. For example: Beijing Guardian, Beijing Rongbao, Shanghai Jinghua and so on. Although the number of art brokers is increasing, the overall quality and brokerage ability of art brokers need to be further developed. At present, China's painting and calligraphy art circle not only lacks a complete and sound brokerage system, but also the existing brokers and brokerage companies lack successful operating experience, which leads to the burial of many talented painters and the embarrassing situation that some famous painters often fall into "self-introduction". It can be said that there is no shortage of excellent artists and high-quality and powerful collectors in China art market, but professional and standardized art brokers are very scarce.
In the vast number of paintings and calligraphy works, brokers are indispensable bridges and ties in the painting and calligraphy market. Excellent painters and painters should have good brokers to work for them, and powerful brokers are of course the favored partners of many famous painters and painters. At present, the broker system in China is not perfect. Except that some professional galleries adopt the standard artist agent system and strict broker system according to international practice, most galleries still adopt the "people-oriented" broker model. For example, spouses are brokers, children help parents sell artworks, students act as agents for teachers, or simply "draw a sword to help each other" like acquaintances and friends. "Brokers" and artists are embarrassed in face, which are incompatible with the operating mechanism and laws of the art market and are not conducive to improving the mechanism and operating norms of China's art market. The role of art brokers in the art market has not been fully exerted, and the market supervision of art brokers needs stricter laws and regulations.
Third, painting and calligraphy brokerage activities.
In the art market trading activities, which institutions are brokers or brokerage companies?
One is the auction house. Auction, also known as "bidding", refers to a way of buying and selling specific goods or property rights to the highest bidder in the form of open bidding through intermediary organizations. This intermediary organization is the auction house (company). Auction is a kind of most modern agency behavior, and it is also a kind of brokerage behavior. Although the auction house has not indicated to the outside world which specific owners it sells works of art on behalf of (because there are too many works of art, too many kinds, too many customers, and the relationship is too unstable), it is not the owner itself, but only provides services for buyers and sellers.
There are generally four auction methods, which are divided into English auction, dutch auction auction, auction combining English with dutch auction auction and auction without reserve price.
English auction is also called "price increase auction" or "low valuation auction". It means that in the process of auction, the auctioneer announces the starting price and the lowest increase of the auction target. Bidders from the starting price, from low to high for the corresponding price, finally, the highest bidder after three bids unanswered, hammering clinch a deal. But the transaction price shall not be lower than the reserve price. The reserve price is the lowest price that artists are willing to sell their works in the market. English auction is the most common form of art auction. The characteristic of this auction is that all bidders can know the current highest bid for the work.
Dutch auction is also called "auction with reduced price" or "auction with high valuation". Refers to the auction process, the auctioneer announced the decline of the bid and the auction target, and bid in turn, and the first bidder struck the beat to clinch a deal. But the transaction price shall not be lower than the reserve price. The advantage of this auction is that it is easy to clinch a deal.
A combination of English and Dutch auction methods. Refers to the auction process, after the auctioneer announces the starting price and the lowest increase, the bidders compete for the corresponding price, and the auctioneer raises the bidding price in turn, and the highest bidder wins. If no one bids, the auctioneer will reduce the bid and the decline in turn, and bid in turn, and the first bidder will win. But the transaction price shall not be lower than the reserve price.
Auction without reserve price. In the auction process, the client does not set the reserve price, and gives the pricing power to the bidder. After the auction begins, once someone bids and no second person increases the price, the auctioneer must drop the hammer to make a deal. If someone increases the price, he can keep increasing it until no one increases the price.
The general procedure of auction business can be divided into three stages: first, the preparation stage. The owner delivers the goods to the auction site, then entrusts the auction house to select and batch them, and then the auction house compiles the catalogue to attract buyers. Buyers who participate in the auction can go to the auction house to check the auction items within the specified time, understand the quality of the auction items, and then draw up their own bidding standards and make good preparations before the auction. Auction houses generally provide various written materials for publicity to expand their influence. The second is the formal auction stage. A formal auction is a bidding transaction at a specified time and place in the order specified in the auction catalogue. In the auction process, every bid of the buyer in the formal auction is equivalent to an offer, and when another bidder bids higher, the offer will be invalid. After the auctioneer indicated his acceptance by hammering on behalf of the seller, the transaction was concluded. The third is the transaction delivery stage. After the auction is completed, the buyer signs the transaction confirmation, and the auction house collects a certain percentage of commission from the client and the buyer respectively, and the commission generally does not exceed 5% of the transaction price. Because buyers can see the goods in advance before the auction, there are fewer claims afterwards. However, if the lot is defective, or if the auctioneer or the client cannot guarantee its authenticity, it must be declared in advance, otherwise the auctioneer shall bear the warranty responsibility.
At present, there are thousands of art auction companies all over the world, the most famous of which are Sotheby's in Britain founded by 1744 and Christie's in 1766. Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses auction about half of the world's artworks every year, including almost all world-famous artworks.
The second is art galleries and various art exhibitions. Art Expo is a combination of many galleries and a form of exhibition. Like art auction, it is sold collectively within a certain period of time, which is a bit like the sales of department stores. It is not the specific owner of the artwork, but rents a larger venue, sublets it to the owner or artist for display and trading, and collects a fixed field rent as income.
The difference between an art fair and a general commodity fair is that it is usually a permanent or temporary institution composed of a representative of a cultural and artistic institution and some large art commercial intermediaries, or sponsored by a large art brokerage company. Organizations that organize art fairs usually have a relatively fixed team, and the working style and efficiency of this team directly determine the level of art fairs they organize. Modern Expo organization includes many links, whether it is the determination and production of venue booths, communication and cooperation with exhibitors, or strategic cooperation with the media. , need rich operational experience and management methods.
Art Expo is an inevitable product of the high development of social economy, an important symbol of the maturity of the art market in a country or region, a regular art promotion and exhibition activity, and a public relations means for artists and art business enterprises to carry out advertising and communication. The Modern Art Fair was first held in Cologne, Germany on 1967. After that, other cities in the world followed suit and set off an upsurge of holding art fairs around the world. At present, the main art fairs in the world are: Cologne International Art Fair, Basel International Art Fair, Paris International Contemporary Art Fair, Madrid International Modern Art Fair and Chicago International Art Fair.
In the past two years, art fairs in China have developed rapidly. Shanghai Art Fair, Guangzhou International Art Fair, Beijing International Art Fair, China International Gallery Fair, Hangzhou West Lake Art Fair and Nanjing Painting and Calligraphy Art Fair are all in full swing. In the era of China's contemporary art fanaticism, these expositions naturally become one of the highest-level large-scale exhibitions in China. The diversity of the development of the art market and the diversity of market demand make it impossible for any art fair to dominate the world. In view of the present situation of China and even the international art market, each art fair can actually complete its own development by finding differences.
The third is the agency gallery. At present, there are three kinds of galleries: one only sells its own acquired works. The other is to implement a complete agency system, in which the artist himself signs a contract with the gallery and the two sides have a sharing agreement. Third, the two methods are used alternately. This form is the most. On the one hand, galleries buy out some artworks, become owners and then sell them. At the same time, we also represent the works of many artists to deal with the relationship between the two sides in a divided way. One or three ways involve the agency behavior of the gallery.
Gallery is a very prosperous art career in western countries, which started late in China. In China, since the end of the Qing Dynasty, there have been painting shops engaged in calligraphy, painting, antiques and antique business, but galleries that really trade artworks according to the market economy were formed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. China's art market has also developed with the development of commodity economy, and has not yet formed a relatively perfect system. China's art market is mainly concentrated in the cultural cities with relatively developed economy and culture and the southeast coastal areas, with Beijing and Shanghai as the center.
Overseas galleries (run by foreigners) have influenced the development of the whole China gallery industry. Red Gate Gallery is the earliest foreign gallery in Beijing. The earliest foreign gallery in Shanghai is Na Xiang Gallery. Foreign galleries have had an important influence on the art market in China. First of all, most of the works they represent are sold overseas to foreigners in China. As a result, the overseas market of China contemporary art can be cultivated. The cultivation of overseas customers by the gallery has promoted the local collection of contemporary art, thus cultivating a number of local collectors. Foreign-funded galleries generally know the practices of the international gallery industry, have certain business principles and good integrity, and the general management methods of international galleries have also been brought to China. All these contribute to the establishment of China's gallery system and gallery management system, as well as to the establishment of China's gallery credit system and the standardization of the art market.
Fourth, galleries and cultural relics shops are engaged in consignment. The owner (or artist) sends his works to the shop, and both parties agree on the settlement method and sign a consignment contract to abide by it. The contract will stipulate the transaction method; The first is that the two parties agree on a * * * recognized reserve price on the basis of signing the contract, that is, the settlement price, which will be sold by the store at any price, and the excess will be owned by the store. This kind of contract also has a time limit, such as half a year. When it expires, it is usually the owner (or artist) who takes back the work and the two sides will discuss it again. For example, the owner is willing to lower the reserve price and can renew the contract. The second is that the two parties agree on a share ratio between retail price and settlement, which will be divided according to the selling price after selling. Generally, shopkeepers get 30-40%, and shopkeepers get 70-60%. There are also new painters whose works are divided into two parts. Generally, this kind of works also has a sales period, and the unsold works are taken back by the owners, or both parties will adjust the price and renew the contract.
Four, the basic quality and conditions of painting and calligraphy brokers
Auctioneers, fairs, galleries and other brokers are organizations of art brokers, and their business activities are mainly the brokers of art and artists. The difference between a painting and calligraphy broker and other brokers is that he serves artists, collectors and their works of art. Calligraphy and painting brokers have professional qualities and requirements because they are engaged in the trading of special commodities and dealing with some special social groups.
To be an excellent calligraphy and painting agent, you must have the following qualities and conditions:
(a) have a considerable level of cultural accomplishment and artistic appreciation. Calligraphy and painting brokers should not only have a high cultural level, but also have a wide cultural knowledge structure, high cultural taste, strong cultural and artistic perception and a high level of artistic appreciation. As a painting and calligraphy agent, one must love art and have knowledge and experience in literature, philosophy, sociology, archaeology and other related fields. Knowledge includes art history, brush and ink techniques of Chinese painting (oil painting), introduction of major painters, characteristics of works of different styles and genres, etc. Experience refers to the analysis and appreciation experience of a large number of modern and ancient paintings, as well as the identification and falsification experience of a large number of fake and shoddy paintings and works of art. The acquisition of this knowledge and experience may take many years to accumulate.
(2) Unique vision and keen market judgment. In addition to rich knowledge and experience, painting and calligraphy agents should also have a unique vision, have a full understanding and profound understanding of their chosen agents-artists and their works, be able to distinguish the authenticity and pros and cons of works of art, and avoid the transaction of fake and shoddy and vulgar works. In addition, we must have keen market analysis and judgment ability, grasp and foresee the trend of contemporary art market, and provide better services for art investors.
(three) has rich experience in art management and art promotion ability. An excellent agent of painting and calligraphy must have experience in the practice and management of art institutions. We should be able to use the knowledge of enterprise management to solve all the practical problems we encounter in our work. A real art agent should not only know the painter himself and have superb taste, but also be familiar with the painting and calligraphy art market, so as to ensure good publicity, promotion and accurate market guidance of excellent works.
(4) extensive network resources and high public relations ability. Have good communication skills, make friends, make friends with art, and establish a good social network. Unmatched network resources are necessary to become an art broker, which includes familiarity with both the author of the art and the potential buyers in the market. Must have strong language skills, wit and flexibility, resourceful; It is necessary to have certain organizational skills, coordinate and handle various relationships, and organize brokerage business in an orderly manner, so that both buyers and sellers feel comfortable.
(5) Honest attitude and necessary legal concepts. Abiding by discipline and law, paying attention to reputation and abiding by professional ethics are the minimum moral requirements. Credit is the life of a broker, so is the art of painting and calligraphy. The market has its own laws, which are not synchronized with the laws of art, and the paintings of great painters are expensive, which should be the case, but it does not mean that price is the only criterion to measure the artistic value. As an intermediary, brokers should be as open, fair and just as possible between buyers and sellers, and the price should not deviate too much from the value of the artwork itself. In addition, we must have a conscious concept of the legal system, strictly perform the contract, and respect the interests of the client and the parties.