Little less than a year ago an artist nobody had ever heard of, TMNK (The Me Nobody Knows) began selling his art on ebay. Each painting was offered to the public for an opening bid of $9.99. His paintings sold quickly and regularly at prices ranging from $39.99 to $65.00.
Today he still offers his paintings for opening bids of $9.99 only they're now selling at prices ranging from $250 - $350 each! That's a price gain of over 600%.
When contacted at his studio "Nobody" as he refers to himself said, "I hadn't given it any thought until I received an email from a collector named Dion, yesterday. This collector remarked that he was proud of my progress, and that my work now goes for 4x's what he paid for my work 8 months ago. WOW. I thought to my self, a nobody like me is a better investment than the stock market."
At first glance, this may seem like a pretty absurd claim, but much like the stock market his prices are set by the demand of the public. A demand that appears to be growing each day, especially after being one of the featured artist in a highly acclaimed exhibit featured in the New York Daily News recently. TMNK, although a so-called "nobody", has been building a name and a following of private collectors. Collectors that are no doubt aware of the recent record-setting prices of UK street artist, Bansky.whose painting recently fetched $240,000 at a London auction.
Most experts advise buying what you like when purchasing art. Well, he may be a nobody, but, if you like the work of TMNK, adding one of his paintings to your portfolio just might be a great investment, after all he's out performing the Dow, right now.
1 comment:
I found TMNK accidentally. I enjoy painting and writing, and collecting painters and writers I enjoy (if I can afford to). Where painting is concerned, I'm unschooled and, believe it or not, I troll around EBay simply looking at styles and techniques of painters and sculptors the way an MFA might go to the MoMA or Met on assignment.
Clicking and associating and clicking and clicking, one day I hit upon a painting that vibed really different; it had pop and color, brut ferocity of Dubuffet, raw complexity of hieroglyph of Basquiat; but it had something else, too, that the others lacked -an almost disquieting bravery in the open display of a tenderness for our human (dis)connection.
I followed his listings for a while and finally purchased a single painting, way back when Dre was struggling to break 50, & then 100 dollars, and when no one was interested in the larger paintings because no one wanted to break the $ barrier.
Almost a year later now, I probably own 17 or so of his works; and somewhere in the midst of my acquiring I reached out to correspond with him because I knew he was special and I wanted him to know that I SAW it; and that if I could see it, there will be others as well, and it was only a matter of time until he broke through.
It's often somewhat of a risk to make the transition from a professional admiration for someone to personal contact. Quite often the person is quite different from the image s/he paints through his/her artistic persona. Some of the greatest artists were the worst sons of bitches, and it can be hard to reconcile the two.
What I found, however, in this man was a MAN, with a backstory of humanity and soul, unafraid to lay it out there in images, and no less powerful for his vulnerabilities.
TMNK is the rare, real thing; an artist with a voice and a style. And anyone who doubts it will sadly lose the opportunity and joy of watching a young artist breaking down barriers as he evolves and perfects his craft.
Dion
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