Meet Zami Basha, the Millionaire Artist Who’s Changing the Private Art Industry

Growing up in New York City, Zami Basha knew from young that he was a natural artist. What Mr. Basha did not know was that he would eventually amass a fortune selling art. Mr. Basha realized quickly that like currency, the commercial value of art is based on collective intentionality. There is no objective value. Human stipulation and declaration create and sustain the commercial value. The concept of “value” is a problem in numerous art disputes. Understanding how value is determined in the art market is also essential when assessing the relative importance of information disclosures in art transactions.

Basha says, one of the worst things an art dealer can do is over-price a work because they can’t lower the price when it doesn’t sell. Galleries may drop an artist rather than lower the price of their work because it sends a bad signal about the value of the artist and the credibility of the gallery. Dealers may have an extraordinary amount of control over price, but true collectors are well educated consumers and will not blatantly overpay. Art collectors are different than consumers or investors in any other market. High-power art collecting is both time consuming and expensive, so collectors tend to be very wealthy.

There are significant perks of investing in art. It is a very safe investment, as it does not go through the peaks and troughs like a stock market investment. Art has shown long-term returns that rival bonds. It can be a widely volatile market. Basha, who is growing to be very popular in the art world believes in the concept that anyone can invest in art, even people who know nothing about art. Amid this economic slowdown, an artistic masterpiece will perform well in the auction, solely because it has an inherent physical value which will not be affected due to external financial circumstances, unlike the stock market. This approach clubbed with his simple investment technique of ‘buying low and selling high’ has paid off well for him. Moreover, it has contributed massively towards keeping the core of the art world moving. Basha is placing his bet on private art collections that had previously been deemed substandard or otherwise undesirable to other collectors. In march, Basha closed a deal for over $600k on his own painting.

Private art dealing can be a shady world. In most markets prices are public knowledge and the commodity goes to the highest bidder. That process may be imperfect, but it does a good job at setting prices where supply meets demand; prices reflect their market value. The primary art market is different because galleries keep sales prices secret and are particular about who they’ll sell to; art prices are not market-set prices. Art appreciation goes beyond the aesthetic. If you truly appreciate art, you may spend significant amounts of money to support that passion. Purchasing art can include expenses for transportation, storage, display and insurance, as well as fees for appraisals, conservation and restoration.

When you sell private art like Basha does, the game is a little bit different but even If you’re not an artist, you can still sell art as a curator. Artists who are disinterested in the business aspect of their craft rely on agents, galleries, and other merchants to do it for them. There are a lot of ways to work with artists, from selling originals or prints, to licensing works to be printed on merchandise but usually the artist would make a set commission on sold works.