Affordable art gallery opens Auckland Saturday

New affordable art gallery opening in Auckland on Saturday

A new art gallery which opens in Auckland on Saturday will provide first-time buyers an opportunity to enter the investment art market.

The gallery, Art for Less, on 375 Parnell Road, will meet the growing demand for affordable art and is an exciting addition to the New Zealand art industry.

It has been created as a member of the Ferner Galleries Group to offer new art collectors an introduction to the art market.

Art for Less will offer a special incentive for all of May by paying the GST on all purchases, giving buyers an 11.1 percent discount off the asking price of every work.

Gallery director Helene Phillips said today investing in New Zealand art is satisfying and rewarding providing simple guidelines are followed.

``Buying in art is similar to investing in property or equities - the quality of the investment determines the eventual return with prices determined by supply and demand,’’ Ms Phillips said.

``However there are many pitfalls for the inexperienced and Art for Less has been established to allow first-time art buyers to buy with confidence, reducing the risks.

The best ‘blue chip’ art investments are usually restricted to the works of major or well-established historical and contemporary artists whose works are represented in the public galleries, and in major private and corporate collections.

This ensures the artist is independently recognised by art professionals and experienced collectors.

``But purchasing works by lesser-known or emerging artists is a high risk strategy and one to be generally avoided for the inexperienced buyer,’’ she said.

``The majority of NZ paintings will never be investments as only a small percentage of today’s artists will be sought after in the future.’’

Art For Less will offer a wide range of artworks and will appeal to buyers on a limited budget as no works will be offered above $5000. The gallery will show about 100 paintings, prints and sculptured works with a further 300 artworks available on their website.

The initial offering at Art for Less includes works by such senior artists as Pat Hanly, Bill Sutton and Gretchen Albrecht, whose major paintings now command prices up to and over $100,000.

National art finance company Index Group director Adam Parore has said there is an opening in the market for an art gallery with lower priced works like Art for Less.

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