Guillaume Cerutti
Christie’s
Asian buyers represent 35 per cent of our buyers and the growth there has been prodigious. Today, the Chinese and Asian buyers are collecting not only Asian art but also Impressionist, modern and contemporary art, decorative art and Old Master paintings. So this is a growth area for us.
The digital space is instrumental to recruiting new collectors and especially younger collectors since it’s less intimidating and easier than going to a live auction or crossing the entrance of a gallery. Since the beginning of 2016, about a third of our new buyers have come to us through digital sales. While these represent just one per cent of our total sales in terms of value, it’s clearly a growing area.
But that’s not the only thing we’re doing to attract new clients. Every month in New
York and London, we offer Christie’s Late, a very cool and relaxed evening for our younger clients to discover our exhibitions and sales.
We’re also launching an online learning platform in English, Arabic and Mandarin because there’s a huge appetite for education in art.
“Since the beginning of 2016, about a third of our new buyers have come to us through digital sales.”
Guillaume Cerutti