The art investment platform Masterworks has launched its latest offering for Albert Oehlen’s “Untitled (2001)”, allowing retail investors to buy shares of the nearly $2 million painting.
Similar works by the artist have appreciated at a rate 22.7%, making this particular painting especially attractive to investors as the global art market is experiencing record growth.
A previous offering on Masterworks for an Albert Oehlen painting was recently sold, providing a 33.8% internal rate of return (IRR), net of all costs and fees, to investors.
The Painting: Created in 2001, the painting is a larger-scale example of Oehlen’s pioneering “Computer Paintings,” which the artist created between 1992 and 2008.
Oehlen began to work on the series in the early 1990’s after purchasing his first personal computer. Works from the series combine rudimentary computer imagery, with inkjet printing and traditional media, such as oil, acrylic, spraypaint and screenprint. The “Computer Paintings” are one of Oehlen’s most celebrated series and were prominently featured in his 2015 solo exhibition at the New Museum: “Albert Oehlen: Home and Garden.”
The Artist: Albert Oehlen is recognized as a pioneer of contemporary abstraction and has been viewed as a leading German artist since the 1980s. Oehlen studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst (College of Fine Arts) in Hamburg, from 1978 to 1980, under Sigmar Polke and Jörg Immendorff.
In a June 2015 New Yorker article, noted critic Peter Schjeldahl commented that Oehlen was the “first significant artist” to utilize the visual language of computer graphics in his work.
The Investment: Contemporary art is an asset class that has proven itself to be resilient through various market cycles and has averaged an annual return of 14.1% from 1995 through 2020, according to data from Masterworks, while the S&P 500 produced total annual returns of 9.9% over the same period.
The competition for valuable works of art has traditionally been limited to an elite circle of ultra-wealthy individuals and institutions. However, the global art market is becoming more inclusive since one of the world’s largest art buyers is allowing individuals to invest in some of the most highly sought after works on the market.
Masterworks is the first platform that allows non-accredited investors to buy shares of individual works of art. The company purchases artwork that is expected to appreciate in value, then offers shares to retail investors.
The company holds the painting until it has identified the most opportune time to sell, which is typically within three to 10 years. Investors also have the option to sell their shares on Masterworks’ secondary market after a minimum holding period.
Access offering details on Masterworks
Image: Courtesy of Masterworks
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