Contemporary artist Sacha Jafri is proud of her unique way of working.
His “huge” Dubai studio includes three gallery spaces, a digital space, an office and a conference room. He even has a room dedicated to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The space houses approximately 40 paintings, most of which are from his retrospective collection, as well as one-off works and commissioned works.
“Most artists are very connected to their galleries…and through this set-up, I can actually develop my own relationships with my clients and really build a base of collectors around the world,” Jaffrey told CNBC’s ” The Art of Appreciation”. He also opened gallery spaces in London for European and American buyers.
Jafri, a British artist, studied at the famous Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University and has been working for nearly 30 years. Known for his magical realism art, he said he created his works in a “meditative state,” using music to get into the right head space, often painting for hours at a time.
In his studio in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, artist Sacha Jafri says he enters a meditative state while creating his work.
Sasha Jaffrey
“It’s also weird because I draw for the subconscious mind. So, I’m in a meditative state, I’m completely in a trance, I don’t know what I’m doing. So, it’s weird when something happens like this , told a very strong story, but it hadn’t crossed my mind yet,” Jaffrey said.
Jafri created the 1,595.76-square-meter painting “The Journey of Man,” which in 2020 became the world’s largest largest art canvas. He sold the painting at an auction for a children’s charity.
the huge artwork is divided into 70 parts buyers Entrepreneur Andre Abdoune acquired Jafri in 2021 for $62 million, making Jafri one of the most valuable living artists in the world. (This record was broken in 2022 by Emad Salehi, whose “ball story” The area is close to 10,000 square meters.)
Jaffrey sells his work in a shrewd way. “I guess 99 percent of the people who want to buy my work would say no. So, I guess one percent would say yes, you’re the right person to buy that piece,” he told CNBC.
“This is the sacrifice I make as an artist. These are pieces of my soul. I need to know they will be loved and cared for,” he said.
Jafri created about 12 paintings in two years, and about 150 people are waiting to buy them, he said. “I want to paint until the day I die. In order to do that, I need to make steady progress, and the value of my work increases every year,” he said.
Artist Sacha Jafri paints on the helipad of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah in Dubai. In 2022, he held an exhibition of 30 works at the landing site.
CNBC International Channel
A buyer who misses out on a piece may become the first choice for Jafri’s next collection, he said. “This keeps people interested in your work, so supply stays low and demand is much higher, 10 times higher. Then your value keeps growing,” he said.
He also avoided selling his works at auction. “You don’t want your work to be auctioned off too early, and you don’t want to go through booms and busts,” he said. For example, if a painting does not reach its low estimate at public auction, it may lower its perceived value and reduce demand.
Some artists are experimenting with using artificial intelligence and generative AI in their work, while others see it as a threat.
To Jaffrey, that’s not controversial. “Artificial intelligence is not art. Artificial intelligence is very, very helpful for the progress of human life. It is very helpful for creating fast images, advertising, marketing, graphic design, etc. that can connect with humans and transmit messages. But it is not helpful in any form. An artist’s tool, true art must be created through love and empathy,” he said.
Watch CNBC International’s “The Art of Appreciation”
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