The Canadian startup Wondeur has developed an app that not only calculates the value of contemporary art with the help of artificial intelligence, but also claims to be able to predict the careers of artists using the very same AI. Founded by Olivier Berger and Sophie Perceval in Toronto, the platform is, according to its website, aimed at insurers, museums, art experts and “responsible players in the financial industry.”
“We focus on the why,” Berger says, “most technologies only look at auction data.” Yet only a fraction of the world’s art transactions are conducted that way. Wondeur instead analyzes the networks artists entertain with galleries, auction houses, and other players, to then use its AI to make predictions about potential price and career trajectories. Risk assessments and ratings of artworks and artists are also part of the app’s scope.
Wondeur uses data from artists born after 1900 to create its forecasts. As an extension, the company also plans to develop an app for young artists to help them to develop their networks and plan their careers.
Among existing clients is the international business company Deloitte, which included Wondeur’s “Cultural Power” analysis as part of its Art & Finance Report late last year. The analysis examined the ‘relevance’—meaning networking opportunities—of cultural institutions in 3,000 international cities in relation to the careers of 231,000 affiliated artists. The unsurprising result: New York topped the list of cultural power, followed by London and Paris.
Beyond the question of what it says about our relationship to art when its value can be predicted by an AI evaluating network structures, the prognosis for emerging artists in the contemporary art market is apparently promising. According to the Global Art Market Outlook by London-based art consultants ArtTactic, a majority of gallery owners, entrepreneurs, and artists are convinced that the art market will continue to grow. Figures from major auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips seem to confirm this. In 2021, sales by these auction houses generated a total of $395 million, more than twice the amount as in previous years.
