fluktor -|||- study - office - newsletter October 17, 2005

South China Morning Post, September 23, 2005
Mainland art goes mainstream
Daleena Samara

Few possessions are as stimulating as a painting. Hong Kong's visual art market carries a vast range of art to satisfy the tastes of all art lovers. A browse through the city's galleries will reveal genres ranging from photo realism to abstract and avant-garde. But the star of one genre is rising - contemporary art from the mainland.

The majority of Hong Kong galleries report an increasing interest in contemporary Asian art, especially the work of mainland artists. According to Plum Blossoms Gallery, the interest in contemporary Asian art, especially art form the mainland, has increased in the past few years and is continuing to rise. "People are looking for different types of con-temporary Asian art, but there is definite interest in mainland art," a Plum Blossoms spokeswoman said.

Sappho Ma, gallery director of Connoisseur Art Gallery in Central, said: "Prices of contemporary Chinese art have doubled from last year. They have really gone up, perhaps because of the economic boom there."

Her regular clients include serious local collectors, expatriates and overseas buyers.

The demand has made some mainland artists more exclusive.

"A few years ago we might have been able to talk a famous mainland artist into holding a solo exhibition in Hong Kong, but now they paint a certain number of paintings a year and the whole collection is sometimes bought even before they paint it," Ms Ma said. "There are a lot of collectors in the mainland, and some even want to have their own private museums. So they sign a contract with the artist for three years."

Zee Stone Gallery's major clients are private collectors. The gallery's Shaun Kelly said the number of mainland buyers was increasing.

"You have people from the mainland who have come to live and work in Hong Kong and some of those people come in here and buy paintings," Mr Kelly said.

"Hong Kong has always been a good market for Chinese contemporary art, and retains that status. I travel to Shanghai and Beijing all the time, and while both of those places are improving, Hong Kong is still the centre, because you've still got art coming here from other countries, which the mainland doesn't have. Hong Kong is also the focus of travel."

Prices in Hong Kong are more stable than on the mainland.

"The Hong Kong art market is very stable and has been in existence for about 20 years," Ms Ma said. "The mainland market is not as developed, so a lot of people do not know the pricing there and pay whatever price is asked. Of course, if you go to the artist's home you will probably get a painting much cheaper.

"But most of the artists the galleries work with are established and have strong relationships with the galleries, so they won't sell their work at home."

Corporations also seem to be moving towards investment art.

"Most corporations tend to want abstract art, because interior designers prefer minimalist works. But there has been a trend towards purchasing more detailed works. I believe it has something to do with the pricing of contemporary art. They are seeing the investment potential."

Some galleries are preparing for the opportunities expected with a brighter economy.

Connoisseur has doubled its space this year, and has invested in marketing with the publication of glossy catalogues of the works of individual artists.

Zee Stone Gallery has also expanded, and now occupies two floors on Hollywood Road. "Our ground floor gallery is very accessible," Mr Kelly said. "A ground floor space in a place like this sees a reward."

Accessibility is always an advantage. "People who come in from the street usually end up buying something," said Ms Ma of Connoisseur.

But first-time buyers should exercise caution when investing. Connoisseur said there was interest from individual buyers.

"To those who talk about investing in art, I say if you really want a piece of art, buy it to own - don't buy it for in-vestment," Ms Ma said.

"The liquidity of buying or selling art is not like that of the stock market. You can buy stocks in the morning and sell them in the afternoon. You can't do that with art. Buying and selling art has to do with timing, your relationship with the auction houses, or your relationship with other buyers."

Meanwhile, sales are moving. An exhibition of 26 paintings by mainland artist Jia Juan Li, which opened about a week ago at Connoisseur, has sold about six works. Prices range from $ 30,000 to $ 260,000. Works at Zee Stone were selling last weekend. A striking oil by mainland artist Lin Yuan was reserved, and an ink and colour on paper by Liu Maoshan was sold.

"It's been a good weekend," Mr Kelly said.

Art sales peak in autumn, and he is looking forward to a good season.

*************************

Financial Times (London, England), September 22, 2005
Asian art prices hit record highs
By DEBORAH BREWSTER

A painting by a contem-porary Indian artist was sold at auction yesterday for a record Dollars 1.6m, underscoring the growing demand for Asian art.

The painting, "Mahisasura" by Tyeb Mehta, was bought by a private collector of Indian origin who lives in the US, bidding by telephone at Christie's in New York.

Mr Mehta, 80, has a small output and was part of a post-Indian independence movement that drew on European styles to interpret Indian themes. The price - twice the estimate - eclipsed the record for an Indian artwork set the previous day at Sotheby's Indian sale, when Dollars 396,800 was paid for Ram Kumar's "Untitled".

During the last bull market in art in the late 1980s, the Japanese were heavy buyers of Impressionist works but largely ignored the nascent Japanese contemporary art market.

This time, in addition to a boom in contemporary and postwar art generally, wealthy Asian families are emerging to buy back their Asian heritage, pushing up the prices of everything from Chinese vases to Buddhist statuary and Indian decorative antiques.

On Tuesday, Christie's reported its Chinese sale reached Dollars 14.5m, a record. The top lot, Wang Meng's hanging scroll titled "Fishing in green depths", sold for Dollars 1.7m, twice its estimate.

Theow Tow, the international director of Chinese art at Christie's, said the auction "underlined the extraordinary internationalisation of the art market. The sale was dominated by mainland as well as overseas Chinese buyers".

Christie's recently had to move its Hong Kong office to new premises to accommodate its rapidly expanding auctions there. It recently opened an office in the Middle East: prices for Islamic art are also rising.

__________________

with kind regards,

Matthias Arnold
(Art-Eastasia list)

http://www.chinaresource.org
http://www.fluktor.de

__________________________________________

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	October 16, 2005: [achtung! kunst] market 2

	South China Morning Post, September 23, 2005 Mainland art goes mainstream Daleena Samara Few possessions are as stimulating as a painting. Hong Kong's visual art market carries a vast range of art to satisfy the tastes of all art lovers. A browse through the city's galleries will reveal genres ranging from photo realism to abstract and avant-garde. But the star of one genre is rising - contemporary art from the mainland. The majority of Hong Kong galleries report an increasing interest in contemporary Asian art, especially the work of mainland artists. According to Plum Blossoms Gallery, the interest in contemporary Asian art, especially art form the mainland, has increased in the past few years and is continuing to rise. "People are looking for different types of con-temporary Asian art, but there is definite interest in mainland art," a Plum Blossoms spokeswoman said. Sappho Ma, gallery director of Connoisseur Art Gallery in Central, said: "Prices of contemporary Chinese art have doubled from last year. They have really gone up, perhaps because of the economic boom there." Her regular clients include serious local collectors, expatriates and overseas buyers. The demand has made some mainland artists more exclusive. "A few years ago we might have been able to talk a famous mainland artist into holding a solo exhibition in Hong Kong, but now they paint a certain number of paintings a year and the whole collection is sometimes bought even before they paint it," Ms Ma said. "There are a lot of collectors in the mainland, and some even want to have their own private museums. So they sign a contract with the artist for three years." Zee Stone Gallery's major clients are private collectors. The gallery's Shaun Kelly said the number of mainland buyers was increasing. "You have people from the mainland who have come to live and work in Hong Kong and some of those people come in here and buy paintings," Mr Kelly said. "Hong Kong has always been a good market for Chinese contemporary art, and retains that status. I travel to Shanghai and Beijing all the time, and while both of those places are improving, Hong Kong is still the centre, because you've still got art coming here from other countries, which the mainland doesn't have. Hong Kong is also the focus of travel." Prices in Hong Kong are more stable than on the mainland. "The Hong Kong art market is very stable and has been in existence for about 20 years," Ms Ma said. "The mainland market is not as developed, so a lot of people do not know the pricing there and pay whatever price is asked. Of course, if you go to the artist's home you will probably get a painting much cheaper. "But most of the artists the galleries work with are established and have strong relationships with the galleries, so they won't sell their work at home." Corporations also seem to be moving towards investment art. "Most corporations tend to want abstract art, because interior designers prefer minimalist works. But there has been a trend towards purchasing more detailed works. I believe it has something to do with the pricing of contemporary art. They are seeing the investment potential." Some galleries are preparing for the opportunities expected with a brighter economy. Connoisseur has doubled its space this year, and has invested in marketing with the publication of glossy catalogues of the works of individual artists. Zee Stone Gallery has also expanded, and now occupies two floors on Hollywood Road. "Our ground floor gallery is very accessible," Mr Kelly said. "A ground floor space in a place like this sees a reward." Accessibility is always an advantage. "People who come in from the street usually end up buying something," said Ms Ma of Connoisseur. But first-time buyers should exercise caution when investing. Connoisseur said there was interest from individual buyers. "To those who talk about investing in art, I say if you really want a piece of art, buy it to own - don't buy it for in-vestment," Ms Ma said. "The liquidity of buying or selling art is not like that of the stock market. You can buy stocks in the morning and sell them in the afternoon. You can't do that with art. Buying and selling art has to do with timing, your relationship with the auction houses, or your relationship with other buyers." Meanwhile, sales are moving. An exhibition of 26 paintings by mainland artist Jia Juan Li, which opened about a week ago at Connoisseur, has sold about six works. Prices range from $ 30,000 to $ 260,000. Works at Zee Stone were selling last weekend. A striking oil by mainland artist Lin Yuan was reserved, and an ink and colour on paper by Liu Maoshan was sold. "It's been a good weekend," Mr Kelly said. Art sales peak in autumn, and he is looking forward to a good season. ************************* Financial Times (London, England), September 22, 2005 Asian art prices hit record highs By DEBORAH BREWSTER A painting by a contem-porary Indian artist was sold at auction yesterday for a record Dollars 1.6m, underscoring the growing demand for Asian art. The painting, "Mahisasura" by Tyeb Mehta, was bought by a private collector of Indian origin who lives in the US, bidding by telephone at Christie's in New York. Mr Mehta, 80, has a small output and was part of a post-Indian independence movement that drew on European styles to interpret Indian themes. The price - twice the estimate - eclipsed the record for an Indian artwork set the previous day at Sotheby's Indian sale, when Dollars 396,800 was paid for Ram Kumar's "Untitled". During the last bull market in art in the late 1980s, the Japanese were heavy buyers of Impressionist works but largely ignored the nascent Japanese contemporary art market. This time, in addition to a boom in contemporary and postwar art generally, wealthy Asian families are emerging to buy back their Asian heritage, pushing up the prices of everything from Chinese vases to Buddhist statuary and Indian decorative antiques. On Tuesday, Christie's reported its Chinese sale reached Dollars 14.5m, a record. The top lot, Wang Meng's hanging scroll titled "Fishing in green depths", sold for Dollars 1.7m, twice its estimate. Theow Tow, the international director of Chinese art at Christie's, said the auction "underlined the extraordinary internationalisation of the art market. The sale was dominated by mainland as well as overseas Chinese buyers". Christie's recently had to move its Hong Kong office to new premises to accommodate its rapidly expanding auctions there. It recently opened an office in the Middle East: prices for Islamic art are also rising. __________________ with kind regards, Matthias Arnold (Art-Eastasia list) http://www.chinaresource.org http://www.fluktor.de __________________________________________ An archive of this list as well as an subscribe/unsubscribe facility is available at: http://listserv.uni-heidelberg.de/archives/art-eastasia.html For postings earlier than 2005-02-23 please go to: http://www.fluktor.de/study/office/newsletter.htm