ARTCELS opened to much fanfare in London at ‘XXI’, the first-ever asset-based contemporary art exhibition, which featured rare and unseen works by blue-chip artists like Kaws, Damien Hirst, Retna, Jeff Koons, Banksy and more. The innovative art investments platform, which offers subscribers shares in high-value contemporary art, was designed by Glencore commodities trader, Gijs de Viet, and HOFA Gallery Co-Founder, Elio D’Anna, to open blue-chip art investments to a wider and younger international market.
Art investor walks past Blame Game Portfolio, a unique set of 10 prints by Kaws which has been shrouded in mystery since its shadow début in 2016. Photo: ARTCELS archives ©
The first share release was bought in record time during the 2-week run of the opening exhibition. Responding to this overwhelming demand, ARTCELS will make 400 additional shares available to current and prospective subscribers. These shares are part of the original stock of 2028 shares created at the inception of ARTCELS to capture the real investment value of the blue-chip art in the ‘XXI’ portfolio. Founders also assure shareowners that the value of these shares are protected since the total volume of shares available remains very limited.
Experts are predicting the art market will continue to soar in 2020 as demand for diversified investments increases in response to economic uncertainty and turbulence resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic. ARTCELS expects to gain a stronger foothold among new and seasoned investors eager to capitalise on the enduring value of art which experts say is one of the safest and most lucrative investment options available. The value of contemporary art, in some cases, appreciates by over 20% year-on-year and is known to withstand the shocks of financial crises and the decline in value of other asset classes. Through their planned virtual art strategies supporting their digital art investments platforms, ARTCELS’ founders are confident they can give shareholders value for their art investments.
ARTCELS’ founders have chosen to preserve the entire ‘XXI’ portfolio despite numerous offers for outright purchase of many of the artworks. Instead, they strategically encourage fractional ownership through the purchase of shares in order to give as many people as possible access to the artworks for as long as possible. This strategy is already paying off as an interest in ‘XXI’ continues to grow among lovers of contemporary art and the thriving art investment community in the UK, Europe and beyond. In essence, ARTCELS remains actively invested in its portfolio alongside its subscribers, showing itself a committed and visionary art broker for the age of digital investments.
ARTCELS Co-founder, Elio D’Anna, said, “So far, ARTCELS has been a dream come true. As an art lover and a gallerist, it means so much to me to see so many people coming out to experience the phenomenal art in the ‘XXI’ portfolio. That’s exactly what we hoped to achieve by creating ARTCELS and making high-value art investment open to more people than ever before.”
