Michael Johnson Market Update - australianartmarket.com Michael Johnson is one of the artists that I find one needs to take the time to understand before their talents can truly be realised and appreciated
Michael Johnson Market Update - australianartmarket.com
Michael Johnson is one of the artists that I find one needs to take the time to understand before their talents can truly be realised and appreciated. The sheer presence of Johson’s is undoubtedly one of the most desirable characteristics of his work but, as is usually always the case, there is more to his work than meets the eye. A solo exhibition of new paintings by Johnson’s work is about to open (19 May to 7 June) at Tim Olsen Gallery in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra and judging by the amount of publicity it has received it will be a huge success. In fact, according to the Tim Olsen Gallery website, two works have already been sold before the show has even officially open. One of the sold paintings is priced at $65,000 and the other at $85,000 with a third work priced at $150,000 under offer. Tim Olsen Gallery have also chosen to exhibit works by Johnson at their Hong Kong Art Fair stand which I think is a rather shrewd move considering the wide appeal that his work has such a wide appeal.
It is unfortunate that so many people immediately dismiss an artist’s work because it doesn’t instantly unleash all it’s secrets and may leave the viewer feeling slightly unsatisfied. The value of an artist’s work, such as that of Johnson, may not have reached it’s true potential due to peoples unwillingness to move outside their comfort zone but I see this situation as a prime chance to collect the work of an artist that has the potential to increase in value significantly in the future. Unfortunately it is quite often not until an artist dies that people really appreciate the true value of their work but for those willing to own a work by Johnson for a while then I would highly recommend his work as an investment.
Johnson was named by the Australian Art Collector magazine as one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists in 2004 and it would appear that this is the case. For an artist’s works to be truly collectable their prices must generally be within reach of at least a large portion of art collectors. To collect an artist’s work means to accumulate many of the artist’s works over a period of time so people to be able to do that the prices need to be within reach of a significant number of buyers. Although Johnson’s major works are sold on the primary market for upwards of $100,000 his smaller works and those works sold at auction regularly sell for around the $20,000-$30,000 market which I would consider to be a collectable price point. As with all investments in art I would suggest that people buy the best work that they can afford.
Funnily enough, on the same night as the Michael Johnson exhibition opens (May 19) at Tim Olsen Gallery, one of Johnson’s major works will be going under the hammer at
