The Value Correlation

Ik Stenko, Tulips of My Childhood, IK Stenko, 2022, acrylic, oils and pastel on canvas, 155 x 120cm

A good friend of mine who also happens to be an art writer recently asked me, “Why is children’s art priced lower? Think about that”. And so I did. While exhibiting the works of Ik Stenko - who is now 11 and some of which he painted age 9, such as The Tulips of My Childhood (above) and Flowers Inspired by a Stormy Day (below) - I became fascinated by an interesting correlation between age, simple joy, and value.

(And yes, I still kept the price of his works lower but read on).

Ik Stenko, Flowers Inspired by a Stormy Day, 2022, acrlylic and oil on canvas, 120 x 100cm

People are drawn into the gallery space by the vibrant colours. They linger because of the joyful, light energy they feel in the space - the simple pleasures beaming from the paintings and making the visitors smile.

Ik Stenko, Orange Burst, 2024, acrylic and oil pastels on canvas, 78 x 75cm

Yet somehow, after the first “wow”, sets in analysis. The works are too simple, too accessible. A pleasant interlude but not “Art”.

It left me wondering why many (and to some extent until recently also me) think that children’s art - and here I am considering skilful paintings by talented artists who tap into simple, uncomplicated joys - is somehow lesser than the adult version which is burdened by a longer lifetime worth of baggage? And why is a powerful artwork by a child valued less than a similar version by an adult, as if it were a bottle of fine wine that has yet to age to its full potential?

In a parallel universe perhaps people place extra value on works by children who see the world in a more genuine way than through the prism of the learned attitudes of adults.

At the gallery: Toma and Ik Stenko, in front of Ik’s Tulips of My Childhood

Interestingly, even when talented adults manage to overcome those learned attitudes and tap within themselves into that simple joy (not an easy task I think you will agree), their art is also often considered lesser than and valued accordingly, as if we are loathe to give ourselves permission to think highly of it for fear that we and our tastes shall be somehow devalued as a result.

And getting back to Ik Stenko, is an explosion of colour with outlines of flowers - sure-handed lines exploding with dynamic spontaneity - any less important for being so easily, intuitively accessible?

TOMA AND IK STENKO: ESSENCE, on view through 11 May. View Online or at the gallery: 16 Victoria Grove, South Kensington, London, W8 5RW