Archive for the ‘Auctions’ Category
Posted by artradar on October 10, 2010
ART PRICE DATABASE DEALER NEWS
Artnet group, the leading art price database and online art auction company has chosen the year 2010 to branch out into a brand new venture: art dealing. And it chose a surprising venue for its debut.
Artnet booth at Hong Kong International Art and Antiques Fair 2010.
In a brief chat with Max Wolf, Modern and Contemporary Specialist in the Artnet booth at Hong Kong International Art and Antiques Fair 2010, Art Radar learned more about the ambitious plans Artnet has to break into high-priced art dealing and what has surprised the Artnet representatives about the collectors they have met on their first visit to Hong Kong.
Most people know you from your Price Database but this is a new venture?
It has spawned from our online auctions. We found a need to extend from our private treaties with dealers and collectors and a lot of the galleries on our website who perhaps don’t want to sell the work on the website, perhaps because it is a more significant work.
Yes, so this is the first time that we are showing work which we are not necessarily putting online for sale.
This is the first time you are in a fair?
Exactly.
Why did you choose this fair?
It seemed to align itself with this collection we are offering … this complete set of Warhols.… Hong Kong seemed like an ideal venue and it just serendipitously worked out with the timing that it just made sense…
Right. So how has your experience been?
Great, we have had considerable interest from a handful of collectors. We shall see; today should be pretty revealing…. We took the less-is-more approach and I think this has worked out well for us. We have this Warhol portfolio, a Haring, another Warhol and two Ashers.
What do you propose to do with this new arm? What do you hope for your new venture?
Sales! Of course. (laughs)
And apart from that (laughs) do you plan to go to more fairs in the future?
Absolutely.
Which fairs would you like to try?
Well, depending on how this works out…. But with our online auctions and our private treaty sector of the business this seems like the natural progression for us.
What is your background in art?
I am one of a handful of auction specialists with Artnet.
So you didn’t come from the art world to Artnet?
Yes, I came with an auction background and was hired by Artnet to become an online auction specialist. There are six of us specialising in photography, unique painting works and prints.
How is that going?
Our online auctions are doing really really well. It seems that we are a panacea for the economy in a downturn. We are useful to collectors who don’t want to wait six months to consign a piece to a bricks and mortar auction house and then wonder whether it will be bought in. And then they have to pay for shipping and insurance even if it is bought in. With us they send us a .jpeg and within two weeks have money in [their] pocket.
That is great, great for the art world, great for collectors.
It is great. We have really enjoyed seeing the diversity of buyers. We sell to a lot of dealers but we also sell to private collectors, new buyers [and] new young collectors from all over the world…. From Australia, Kazakhstan, from all over. You would be surprised at the breadth.
You must have a great deal of information about where new collectors are coming from, the data…
Yes, the data that our technical team can gather, where and when is pretty impressive…
Have you been to Hong Kong before?
No.
What kind of collectors have you met over the last three days?
A wide variety but we have seen a considerable number of serious collectors from Taiwan. We were surprised…. We thought we would see more Mainlanders but we have seen Taiwanese and local Hong Kong collectors, some Koreans and Brits, but we were surprised by the size of the Taiwanese presence.
About Artnet services (source: Artnet website)
In the mid 1980s Artnet developed its first product, the Price Database. Today the Price Database has a broad base of customers dominated by major auction houses, art dealers, museums, and insurance companies. Representing auction results from over 500 international auction houses, the Price Database covers more than 4 million auction results by over 188,000 artists, ranging from Old Masters to Contemporary Art.In 1995 the company transitioned the Price Database to the Internet and introduced a second product, the online Gallery Network, building and hosting websites for art dealers and galleries on its platform. In 1999, the online auction business was launched and now has 60,000 collectors visiting the site each month.
KCE/KN
Related Topics: auctions, Market watch, collectors, Hong Kong
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Posted in Auction staff, Auctions, Business of art, Hong Kong, Interviews, Market watch | Tagged: art auctions, art dealers, art dealing, art fairs, art Hong Kong, Artnet, HKIAAF, Hong Kong International Art and Antiques Fair, Max Wolf | 2 Comments »
Posted by artradar on October 7, 2010
ART AUCTION RESULTS SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG PRESS RELEASE
We present you with the latest press release from Sotheby’s Hong Kong on their autumn sale of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian paintings:
SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG
MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY SOUTHEAST ASIAN PAINTINGS 2010 AUTUMN SALE
TOTALS HK$78 MILLION / US$10 MILLION
(high estimate: HK$45 million / US$5.7 million*)
THE HIGHEST TOTAL FOR A VARIOUS-OWNER SALE
IN THIS CATEGORY AT SOTHEBY’S HONG KONG
************
ACHIEVING NUMEROUS ARTIST RECORDS AT AUCTION
“FATHER OF INDONESIAN MODERNISM” –
S.SUDJOJONO’S A NEW DAWN SOLD FOR AN IMPRESSIVE
HK$10.7 MILLION / US$1.4 MILLION
OVER 4 TIMES THE HIGH ESTIMATE
FILIPINO ARTIST RONALD VENTURA ’S NATURAL-LIES FETCHED
HK$2.5 MILLION / US$326,000
9 TIMES THE HIGH ESTIMATE
Other artist records were set for works by Indonesian artists including
Gede Mahendra Yasa, Ay Tjoe Christine, Samsul Arifin, Hendra Gunawan and Filipino artist Andres Barrioquinto, among others
Following the tremendous success of the Spring sale, Sotheby’s Autumn sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings today commanded a stunning total of HK$78 million / US$10 million (high estimate: HK$45 million / US$5.7 million*), the highest sale total for a various owners sale in this category at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. Today’s sale provoked active participation in the room and over the phone. There was particularly strong interest in top-end Southeast Asian contemporary paintings, which led to two auction records set for two artists – S. Sudjojono , Father of Indonesian Modernism, and Filipino artist Ronald Ventura.
MOK Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s Head of Southeast Asian Paintings, commented: “Top end Contemporary works fetched strong prices today with many pieces bringing multiples of their pre-sale high estimates. Among Modern works, the supreme highlight was the S. Sudjojono, a museum-quality example of the artist’s work which spurred a fierce bidding battle among nine bidders before selling for HK$10.7 million, a price which was four times the top estimate and set a record for the artist at auction. These results confirm the strategy of using conservative estimates to attract competition and let the market set the price level.”
The sale of 20th Century Chinese Art and Contemporary Asian Art continue in the evening.
Attached please find the relevant press releases, top-ten list as well as an image of the saleroom for your use. Should you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact Sotheby’s Hong Kong Press Office on +852 2868 6755 /Winnie.tang@sothebys.com.
* Estimates do not include buyer’s premium
Regards,
Sotheby’s Hong Kong Press
KN/KCE
Related Topics: Southeast Asian art, market watch – auctions, business of art, collectors
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Posted in Artist Nationality, Auctions, Business of art, China, Collectors, Hong Kong, Market watch, Medium, Painting, Southeast Asian, Venues | Tagged: Andres Barrioquinto, art auction results, auction, auctions, Ay Tjoe Christine, Gede Mahendra Yasa, Hendra Gunawan, MOK Kim Chuan, Ronald Ventura, S. Sudjojono, Samsul Arifin, Sothebys, Sothebys Hong Kong, Southeast Asian art, Southeast Asian paintings | 1 Comment »
Posted by artradar on September 6, 2010
AUSTRALIAN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART PRICES AND TRENDS
As the 17th Sydney Biennale drew to a close, a recent article published on artprice.com reported on the improvement of the Australian modern and contemporary art market since 2007, despite its confinement to Sydney and Melbourne. There is a strong preference among Australian collectors for paintings, oil, acrylic and figurative work.
The article provides a list of the top ten Australian works which have been sold at the highest price between 2000 and 2010. Here is the list of the top five:
- First-Class Marksman (1946) by Sidney Robert Nolan (1917-1992): sold at USD4,103,100 by Menzies Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers in March 2010
'First-Class Marksman' depicts a square-helmeted Ned Kelly pointing his gun into the Australian bushes to protect himself from the police. Picture taken from deutschermenzies.com.au.
- The Olgas for Ernest Giles (1985) by Brett Whiteley (1939-1992): sold at USD2,445,280 by Menzies Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers in June 2007
"It's a highly charged, erotic painting and the landscape itself is depicted as having the qualities of flesh," said Adrian Newstead, managing director of Deutscher-Menzies, talking to the 'Sydney Morning Post' in 2007 about 'The Olgas for Ernest Giles'. Picture taken from deutschermenzies.com.au."
- The Old Time (1969) by John Cecil Brack (1920-1999): sold at USD2,301,320 by Sotheby’s in May 2007
'The Old Time' is a painting of a ballroom dancing couple. Picture taken from Art News Blog.
- Opera House (1971-1982) by Brett Whiteley (1939-1992): sold at USD1,972,560 by Sotheby’s in May 2007
This painting of the Sydney Opera House was owned by Qantas Airline. It hung in the club travellers lounge in Sidney. Picture taken from artquotes.net.
- The Bar (1954) by John Cecil Brack (1920-1999): sold at USD1,893,060 by Sotheby’s in April 2006
Modelled on Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, this painting mocks the Six-o'clock swill - the last minute rush to buy drinks in bars due to their early closing. Picture taken from Brookston Beer Bulletin.
Sidney Robert Nolan’s First-Class Marksman, fetching over USD4,000,000 in 2010, tops the list. This is against the price trend of Nolan’s works, which has been downward since 2007.
Brett Whiteley, named the “most sought Australian artist during the decade” by the article, produced The Olgas for Ernest Giles which has fetched over USD 2,400,000. It has been reported that “100 euros invested in one of his works in 1998 were worth an average of 555 euros by February 2010”.
Among the best results of 2009 and 2010 are the sales of works by Norman Alfred Williams Linsay which went for between USD100,000 and 235,000.
In the affordable USD10,000-40,000 price range are the best works by Frederick Cress and large watercolors by John Henry Olsen and Frederick Ronald Williams. In the higher USD40,000-120,000 price range are the still-lifes by Grace Cossington SMITH and tranquil landscapes by Lloyd Frederic REES.
Representing the young generation of artists loyal to the Australian figurative tradition are Rick Amor, Lin Onus and Vincent Fantauzzo. Rick Amor broke the USD100,000 line with The Waiter which fetched USD100,300 at Menzies Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers in May 2010. The value of Lin Onus’ Reflections, Barmah Forest leapt from USD100,600 less than seven years ago to USD200,600 in March 2010 at Deutscher & Menzies. Some of her oils on cardboard from the 1970s can be picked up at less than USD10,000. Vincent Fantauzzo’s portrait Brandon fetched USD 43,580 in June 2010 at Menzies Art Brands, Sydney.
While the purchase of contemporary art in Australia is picking up speed, the performance of Aboriginal art has been in serious decline since its peak in 2007. This may be because the buying spree of best works by Aboriginal art masters who have died in the last decade is gradually coming to an end.
CBKM/KN/HH
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Posted in Artist Nationality, Auctions, Australian, Business of art, Collectors, Individual, Lists, Market watch, Medium, Painting | Tagged: art prices, auction sales, Australian art, Brett Whiteley, Carmen Bat Ka Man, contemporary art, Deutscher & Menzies, First-Class Marksman, Frederick Cress, Frederick Ronald Williams, Grace Cossington Smith, John Cecil Brack, John Henry Olsen, Lin Onus, Lloyd Frederick Rees, modern art, Opera House, Rick Amor, Sidney Robert Nolan, Sothebys, The Bar, The Old Time, The Olgas for Ernest Giles, Vincent Fantuazzo | 2 Comments »
Posted by artradar on July 28, 2010
ART MARKET ART AUCTIONS CALLIGRAPHY DOHA
Sotheby’s London recently announced it will hold the first ever international auction house sale dedicated solely to calligraphy in Doha, Qatar, at The Ritz-Carlton Doha hotel, on 15 December. The groundbreaking calligraphy auction Hurouf: The Art of the World will showcase various works ranging from very early Islamic calligraphies to a mix of modern and contemporary Arabic, Farsi and Ottoman Turkish works.
Highlights of the forthcoming auction will travel through the Gulf Region prior to sale, one of which being Ali Omar Ermes’ The Fourth Ode which has an estimated price ranging from USD250,000 to USD350,000.
- Ali Omar Ermes’s ‘The Fourth Ode’ (acrylic and ink on paper).
Calligraphy is an art form that has influenced the Doha art scene for many years, and Sotheby’s believes this sale represents the region’s past and present talents. Says Roberta Louckx, Sotheby’s Executive Vice President and Head of Sotheby’s in Qatar, in a the press release announcing the sale:
We are delighted to return to Doha later this year with an inaugural auction devoted to ‘calligraphy’, a theme that has inspired and informed the art of this rich and diverse culture throughout the ages – from the production of the first Kufic Qur’ans to the modern and contemporary artworks of Farhad Moshiri. Sotheby’s is strongly committed to the region, and we are extremely excited to present for sale, in Qatar, the creative endeavours of some of the region’s most talented artists, past and present.
According to the press release, the forthcoming calligraphy sale is built on the success of last year’s Doha sales. After opening an office in Doha in 2008, Sotheby’s held maiden sales in March last year during which an Indian carpet made of pearls and gems fetched USD5.5 million, although the Bloomberg article which reported on this sale also mentioned that the prices of the auctions were disappointing in general. As Dalya Islam, Director of Sotheby’s Middle East Arab & Iranian Art Department, states in the press release,
Last year at our Doha sales Sotheby’s achieved solid success for works by highly sought-after Arab artists such as Chafic Abboud, Nabil Nahas, Ayman Baalbaki, Yousef Ahmad and Ali Hassan. In order to build on this, we have decided to devote a sale to works of significant interest to the region, focusing on calligraphy. The Arabic script has stimulated artists for more than a millennium, and is still a highly regarded and revered art form that reflects the rich history of the region. The auction will emphasise the enduring legacy of Islamic art by tracing the development of calligraphy, with a focus on its contemporary manifestation.
CBKM/KN
Related Topics: market watch – auctions, calligraphy, Middle Eastern artists
Posted in Artist Nationality, Auctions, Business of art, Calligraphy, Market watch, Middle Eastern, Qatar, Styles, Words | Tagged: Ali Hassan, Ali Omar Ermes, Arabic, arabic art, Arabic script, art market, auction, Ayman Baalbaki, Bloomberg, Calligraphy, calligraphy auction, calligraphy sales, Carmen Bat Ka Man, Chafic Abboud, contemporary calligraphy, Dalya Islam, Doha, Farhad Moshiri, Farsi, farsi art, Gulf Region, Hurouf: The Art of the World, Islamic art, Islamic calligraphies, islamic calligraphy, Kufic Qur'ans, market watch, Middle Eastern art market, Middle Eastern artists, Nabil Nahas, Ottoman Turkish, Qatar, Roberta Louckx, sales, Sotheby’s London, Sothebys, Sothebys auction, The Fourth Ode, The Ritz-Carlton Doha hotel, Turkish art, words in art, Yousef Ahmad | 1 Comment »
Posted by artradar on July 27, 2010
ART MARKET INDIAN ART MODERN ART AUCTIONS
For some time now, the Indian art market has been reviving after the post-2008 buying slump. New Delhi-based journalist John Elliott, who runs the current affairs blog Riding the Elephant, reports in a recent post that now it may well be on the first step towards similar pre-2008 peak figures. However, the artists raking in money this time around are not contemporary but modern Indian artists.
In June this year, Sotheby’s raised USD7.9m in a mostly Indian art sales. In the same month, Saffronart sold art worth USD6.7m, and together with a Christie’s two day sale of USD18.1m, Indian art sales for the month of June totaled a substantial USD32.7m.
Rabindranath Tagore's 'Portrait of a Woman' sold for over USD461,000 at Sotheby's.
Elliott reports that ArtTactic, a London based art market analysis firm believes that average auction prices and volumes for modern Indian art are now back to levels seen at the market’s peak in June 2008. Anders Peterson, who runs the firm, adds that,
The return in the confidence for the Indian art market is at the high end of the market.
A significant change from the trends of 2008 is the consistent sales of established veteran artists of Indian modern art rather than contemporary artists. However, given the overall push in the performance of the market, contemporary sales have also picked up. ArtTactic reports that previously popular contemporary artists such as Subodh Gupta and Jitish Kallat are still lagging far below 2007-2008 prices.
Saffronart founder and owner Dinesh Vazirani agrees with ArtTactic’s line on modern art. He says,
Auction prices are reasonably close to their 2008 peak. Serious collectors are there and this is backed with confidence in the Indian economy and with people investing as a hedge against inflation.
But how much do these results tell us about trends in buying Indian art? Anders Peterson from ArtTactic believes that,
Auctions are now a filtered version of the reality in the art market. Lots that are likely to sell are works of high quality, rarity and outstanding provenance. Works that do not demonstrate these qualities are still selling at lower prices or not at all. Therefore the return in confidence is at the high end of the market.
SH Raza's 'Rajasthan'.
The highlight of the Sotheby‘s sale were the works of Indian modernist painter, poet, philosopher and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore, while Saffronart relied on modern art veterans like S.H. Raza, who was part of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group and now lives in Paris. His wife, Janine Mongillat, died in April 2002.
AM/KN/KCE
Related Topics: Indian art, Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, market watch- auctions
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Posted in Auctions, Business of art, Classic/Contemporary, Collectors, Indian, London, Market watch, Painting, Progressive Artists' Group | Tagged: Ananya Mukherjee, Anders Peterson, Arttactic, Auction result, Christies, contemporary indian art, contemporary indian artists, Dinesh Vazirani, Financial Times, indian modern art, Jitish Kallat, John Elliott, market analysis, market watch, Modernist painters, Portrait of a woman Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore, Saffronart, SH Raza, SH Raza Rajasthan, Sothebys, Subodh Gupta | 6 Comments »
Posted by artradar on July 22, 2010
ART AUCTIONS NEW TECHNOLOGY MOBILE PHONES
Art Radar Asia has found a new tool available to collectors when bidding for artworks at auction – lots can now be won via mobile phone bids.
M. F. Husain's 'Kerala - V'.
As reported on the Saffronart website, the online auctioneer concluded its most recent sale on 17 June, with ten lots won by the company’s new mobile application.
Ten lots were won via Saffronart’s new mobile application, which allows bidders to bid from Blackberrys and iPhones. Those lots totaled $934,272. M.F. Husain’s Untitled was the highest lot sold via mobile, making $235,750.
Saffronart, a specialist in Indian art, was founded in 2000 by art collectors Dinesh and Minal Vazirani. It is renowned for its innovative use of new technologies within the art industry; their online auction model was recently the subject of a case study at Harvard Business School. The company has galleries and offices in Mumbai, New York and London. This most recent online auction grossed $6.7 million.
KN
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Posted in Artist Nationality, Auctions, Business of art, Indian, Market watch | Tagged: art auctions, art market, Blackberry, business of art, Dinesh Vazirani, Harvard Business School, Indian art, Indian artists, innovative technology and the arts, iPhone, Kate Nicholson, London, M.F. Husain, market watch, Minal Vazirani, mobile bidding application, mobile phone bidding, Mumbai, new york, online auction, Saffronart, technology and the arts | Leave a Comment »
Posted by artradar on July 21, 2010
SEOUL AUCTION HOUSE RESULTS
A recent article by The New York Times explains the market trends of recent Hong Kong newcomer, Seoul Auction’s two highly successful auctions held in 2009: Korean collectors continue to acquire Western contemporary artists, Chinese artists buy modern Chinese paintings and Korean art sales are a hit and miss affair. Read on for more…
Seoul Auction was established in 1998, and was for many years was the city’s only auction house. In 2008, it opened an office in Hong Kong, and since then has been gaining international credibility as a top-rate Asian auction house. Seoul Auction uses the auction platform as a way to introduce Western art to the Asian market, as well as introducing relatively new work from South Korea and other Asian countries to the international market.
Damien Hirst, 'The Importance of Elsewhere – The Kingdom of Heaven,' 2006, butterflies and household paint on canvas, 292x243.9 cm.
Trends in Western art
Seoul Auction’s record-breaking 2.2 million dollar sale of Damien Hirst’s The Importance of Elsewhere – The Kingdom of Heaven, arguably its most notable achievement, and similarly pricey sales of other Western artists have revealed a flourishing market for Western Art in Asia. Works from Damien Hirst’s “Butterfly” series have proven very sell-able, although Seoul Auction has avoided his brush paintings – a pair of silk screen prints failed to sell at their April sale.
Donald Judd’s linear block sculpture Untitled (Progression 87-26) and Robert Indiana’s Eight from his number series are among those that fetched the highest prices. Roy Lichtenstein has also been introduced and has had a healthy reception.
According to the chief executive of Seoul Auction, Jun Lee, “Korean collectors are very sophisticated.” He adds that they had been collecting Western contemporary art “for the past twenty years, even when the market was not that active, even in New York. They are very open-minded. It’s a survival strategy under these circumstances, in periods of recession. We’re trying to persuade our contacts with whom we’ve built relationships over the past ten years to sell.”
Popular Asian contemporary artists
The “Infinity Nets” mixed media sculptures by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama have been highly successful. Works by Anish Kapoor, introduced to Korea by Seoul Auction, have also been highlighted as having healthy sales.
A photographer takes a picture of Yayoi Kusama's 'Venus No.1, Statue of Venus, Obliterated by Infinity Nets' (1998) at the Hong Kong International Art Fair. Taken from freep.com.
Korean art hit and miss
Although Korean works account for forty percent of Seoul Auction’s offerings in Hong Kong, sales of Korean art have been hit and miss. Kim Whanki’s abstract geometry paintings have sold well, but video artist Nam Juin Paik’s work has failed to sell. The article accredits this to the relatively short history of South Korean art in the international market compared to that of Japanese and Chinese artists, although in recent years sales to Western collectors have increased.
Chinese collectors prefer traditional art
Chinese art has been undeniably popular among Chinese buyers. Sanyu’s Flowers in a White Vase, Wang Yi Dong’s Girl and Peaches and Zeng Fanzhi’s Mask Series no 21 3-1 sold for good prices, some even exceeding their estimates.
Also popular among Chinese buyers are traditional paintings, such as works by Impressionists Chagall, Renoir, and Picasso, but they are less interested in less familiar American pop artists. According to an article by the Hong Kong Trader, there is also a trend for crossover art.
With the growing trend for crossover art (Chinese buying Japanese art, Japanese buying Korean art, etc), Ms Shim expects more Asian auction houses will look to set up a base in Hong Kong. By moving early, she says, Seoul Auction will gain a strong foothold. ‘We are preparing now for the good times ahead.’
As expressed in The New York Times article, the buying power of China is told only too well through the popularity of traditional works when contemporary works are struggling to sell.
Read the full article here.
MM/KN/KCE
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Posted in Auctions, Business of art, Collectors, Hong Kong, Market watch, Promoting art | Tagged: American pop art, Anish Kapoor, art auctions, art auctions in Asia, art market, Asian art market, Asian collectors, auction houses, Butterfly series, Chagall, China, Chinese art, Chinese collectors, Collectors, consignors, contemporary art, Damien Hirst, Donald Judd, Eight (numbers series), Flowers in a White Vase, Girl and Peaches, hong kong, Impressionsts, Indian art, infinity nets series, Japan, Japanese art, Jun Lee, Kim Whanki, Korean auction houses, Korean collectors, Maya McOmie, Misung Shim, mixed media, Nam Jun Paik, Numbers series, Painting, Picasso, Pink Rose, Recession, Renoir, Robert Indiana, Roy Lichtenstein, Sanyu, sculpture, Seoul, Seoul Auction, South Korea, South Korean art, South Korean consignors, The Importance of Elsewhere – The Kingdom of Heaven, The New York Times, Tranquility, Untitled 06-1, Venus No.1 Statue of Venus (infinity nets), Wang Yi Dong, Western art, Western collectors, Yayoi Kusama, Zeng Fanzhi | Leave a Comment »
Posted by artradar on June 9, 2010
GLOBALISATION CHRISTIE’S ART AUCTIONS
Globalisation in the art market may be slowing down according to an article published recently in The Economist. In spite of the growing numbers of artists and buyers from locales ranging from Africa to Asia, May sales in New York were dominated by American artists.
The article states:
“At the Christie’s sale, the first of the two main evening auctions, three-quarters of the buyers were American”.
With the prices of work by top Asian artists still lagging behind big-name American contemporaries, it may not come as a surprise that Asian artists are sometimes underrepresented in main and evening sales abroad. That is not to say that Asian artists do not fair well in Asian markets. In Artprice’s Top 100 Hammer Price List, only seven Asian artists crack the top 50. Not surprisingly, all were Chinese artists with sales in Beijing or Hong Kong. Numbers such as these suggest that there is still some preference for homegrown artists.
The Beijing sale of Chen Yifei's 'Thinking of History at My Space', 1979 landed him at #69 on Artprice's Hammer Price List
Even so, the unusual dominance of American artists at Christie’s New York sales this past spring did not go unnoticed.
“This is the most significant post-war and contemporary art collection ever sold at auction,” Christie’s Amy Cappellazzo said afterwards. “It was a quintessential American sale.”
We at Art Radar Asia wonder if this is really so surprising? There are few Post War Asian artists represented in these sales because Asian artists have only received attention in the last twenty years. For contemporary artists it is a different matter. While there is no doubt that some Asian artists, and those from other emerging countries, are now well known, their prices still lag behind those of top contemporary American artists. And, of course, main sales, and evening sales in particular, feature only the very best, usually most expensive, works.
Read the full article here.
EH/KN
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Posted in American, Artist Nationality, Asian, Auctions, Business of art, Collectors, Globalisation, Market watch | Tagged: American artists, Amy Cappellazzo, art auctions, art market, art sales, Artprice's Top 100 Hammer Price List, Asian artists, auctions, Christie's auctions, Christie's May sales, Christie's New York, Christie's sales, contemporary American art, contemporary Asian art, contemporary Chinese art, Erica Holloway, Fu Baoshi, Globalisation, Landscapes Inspired by Du Fu's Poetic Sensibilities, Post War artists, The Economist | Leave a Comment »
Posted by artradar on April 2, 2010
HONG KONG ART MARKET
Sanyu, Lotus et poissons rouges, 1955
The state of the arts in Hong Kong are strong and flourishing, earning Hong Kong the high praise of being touted as Asia’s arts ‘promised land’ by Art +Auction Magazine in the March 2010 issue.
The article entitled ‘Promised Land’ describes the active art market in the city, which has recently expanded financially and creatively.
David Spalding writes for Art +Auction that:
‘Hong Kong is rising as a major art center, thanks to its thriving auction market and rapidly growing contemporary-art scene.’
‘The Hong Kong art scene has evolved rapidly, overcoming its regional myopia to become a key continentwide player and gaining prominence within the local cultural landscape.’
Auction Market
Hong Kong achieved the distinction as the 3rd largest auction market in the world in 2007, after the U.S. and U.K, and has maintained this positioning through 2009. A March 2010 article in The Economist titled How China Bucked the Trend: What Really Happened in 2009, states:
In 2009, when the global art market shrunk by more than a third to $43.5 billion, compared with $63.9 billion at its peak two years earlier, the Chinese art market bucked the trend. Sales in mainland China and Hong Kong reached a record high of $5.5 billion, up from $5 billion in 2008, boosting China’s share of the world art market that year to 14%, its highest share ever.
Indeed money freely flowed at Hong Kong’s various art auctions in late 2009, which set records and continually surpassed expectations. The following Fall 2009 Hong Kong auctions caught the attention of art world:
Zeng Fanzhi’s Untitled (Hospital Series), 1994
Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s October 6th sale of 20th-Century Chinese Art was estimated to generate $10.4 million USD in sales, but instead produced an impressive $14 million USD. This successful sale included Sanyu’s Lotus et poissons rouges, 1955, which sold for $4.7 million, 31% higher than its greatest estimated price. This is the artist’s 2nd highest auction price to date, and solely accounted for a third of the show’s total revenue.
The Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings sale yielded $6.4 million, more than double its estimated yield and 76% more than the spring sale in this category.
The sale’s standout work was Indonesian painter Lee Man Fong’s Magnificent Horses, 1966, which was estimated to sell for approximately $200,000–$320,000 USD, but raked in an artist-record of $1 million USD.
Christie’s
Christie’s also experienced successful sales in November that produced $213 million USD over 5 days. A reported 47% of the buyers of contemporary Asian works were from mainland China, and favored pieces by more-established artists.
In the November 29th sale of Asian Contemporary Art and Chinese 20th-Century Art, Zeng Fanzhi’s Untitled (Hospital Series), 1994, surpassed its expected high of $1.5 million to attain $2.5 million. The November 30th Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary sale featured Indonesian painter I Nyoman Masriadi’s Master Yoga, 2009, which also exceeded its high estimate of $130,000 to realize $467,102.
Socially active gallery scene, international flavor
Hong Kong has also earned the designation as Asia’s visual contemporary arts ‘promised land’ due to its vibrant and growing gallery scene, which features fine art not only from Asia, but the entire world. In addition, many of these socially responsible Hong Kong galleries have taken it as their mission to connect to and nurture the larger creative community. Hong Kong’s 10th annual ArtWalk, which was held on March 17th, included 62 participating galleries that opened their doors to the public for this charity event that supported Hong Kong’s Society for Community Organization (SoCo).
Notable galleries featuring Asian artworks include:
Hanart TZ, founded in 1983 by the local critic and curator Johnson Chang Tsong-zung, has helped bring international exposure to mainland Chinese artists throughout the 1990s. This work has continued most recently with a solo exhibition of new paintings and mixed-media work by the young Fo Tan artist Lam Tung-pang (who is also represented in a concurrent group show at the Hong Kong Museum of Art through April 25).
The Osage Gallery focuses on East and Southeast Asian art, while 10 Chancery Lane Gallery holds exhibitions of Vietnamese and Cambodian contemporary art. The Thai gallery Tang Contemporary Art — which has become significant here since opening a space on Hollywood Road in 2008 — offers an eclectic mix. The artists represented in its booth at last year’s Hong Kong art fair included the Thai-Indian Navin Rawanchaikul, the Beijing-based Yan Lei and longtime Paris resident Wang Du.
Western art represented in Asia
There is also a growing local Hong Kong market for Western art, and numerous galleries have risen to meet this need.
The London gallery Ben Brown Fine Arts opened a Hong Kong space last November showing works by leading Western artists Gerhard Richter, Thomas Ruff and Jeff Wall, alongside those of established Asian artists like the Japanese Yayoi Kusama and the Calcutta-born, Brooklyn-based Rina Banerjee.
The Schoeni Art Gallery, which opened in 1993 with an exhibition of works by Chinese, Russian and Swiss artists, is boldly mixing things up, with the 2008 launch of Adapta, a collaboration with the U.K.-based Web magazine UKAdapta on projects involving urban and graffiti artists like Banksy.
Additional galleries facilitating the introduction of Western art to Asia include: the Cat Street Gallery, Art Statements, and the Fabrik Gallery.
EW/KCE
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Posted in Art spaces, Auctions, Business of art, Galleries, Gallerists/dealers, Globalisation, Hong Kong, Market watch, Uncategorised | Tagged: 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Adapta, Art and Auction Magazine, art auction, Art Statements, ArtWalk, Banksy, Ben Brown Fine Arts, Cat Street Gallery, Christies, David Spalding, Fabrik Gallery, Gerhard Richter, Hanart TZ, Hong Kong art market, I Nyoman Masriadi, Jeff Wall, Johnson Chang Tsong-zung, Lam Tung-pang, Lee Man Fong, Navin Rawanchaikul, Osage Gallery, promised land, Rina Banerjee, Sanyu, Schoeni Art Gallery, Society for Community Organization, Sothebys, Tang Contemporary Art, Thomas Ruff, Wang Du, Yan Lei, Yayoi Kusama, Zeng Fanzhi | Leave a Comment »
Posted by artradar on March 28, 2010
INDIAN CONTEMPORARY ART MARKET OUTLOOK
CEO of on-line Indian auction house Saffronart explains that the collector base for Indian art is changing
Dinesh Vazirani is the CEO and Co-Founder of Saffronart, the world’s largest online auction house for fine art and jewelry. In the Podcast interview with ArtTactic, he reviewed the performance of the Indian art market in 2009. He also shared his observations on the changes in the Indian art market in the recent year. Moreover, he shared part of his formula of success in running an online auction platform of such scale.
How was the performance of the Indian Art Market in 2009? To what extent has the Indian Art Market recovered from the financial crisis in 2009?
A lot of changes happened in the post financial crisis period. The initial six months was a difficult time for the art market. The base of the investors and collectors changed quite dramatically. Investors and speculators that are active in the post financial crisis disappeared from the market. There are real collectors looking for good value and premium quality. In the later part of the year with the Indian economy getting better, confidence and perception changed. We saw some of the collector base come by and want to buy the best of the best.
In the early part of the year, prices of modern art retreated by around 30-50% and contemporary art by 50-80%. Modern art prices recovered by 15-30% later in the year and contemporary art came back by 10-15%. In 2009, the Indian market underwent a transitional change. The players changed. Some galleries and auction houses shut down and some opened.
How is the heavy presence of speculators a threat to the sustainability of the Indian Art Market?
Speculators come into the market and drive up the prices. In 2005 to 2008, prices rose dramatically which brought in a whole slew of speculators, investors, private dealers, collectors and funds. In 2009, after the financial crisis, these players disappeared but they will come back if the value is right. However, it is not expected that they would be jumping into the market as fast as in 2005. This downturn in Indian Art is the first ever downturn in the history of Indian art. Most people have not gone through a downturn to understand the implications of it.
What pattern has been developed in the collector base?
The previous collectors of Indian Art are large corporate houses and business houses in the India subcontinent. However, in the last five years, the collector based has moved from a business house concentrated end towards a broader collector base, which constitutes a lot of professionals, younger collectors from the finance field and young business people. Interestingly, some are from outside of India. In 2006, more non-Indians collected Indian contemporary art and wanted it as a cultural bridge.
What is your outlook for the Indian art market in 2010?
Players will be coming back to purchase work and a new base of buyers are expected too. There were people wanting to come in to buy during 2005 to 2008, but the price rose too sharply then, so they want to come in now and see if they can get premium values. 2010 will be dependent on two things. One is the perception and confidence of the Indian base customers and the other is the participation of non-Indian buyers in the post finance crisis period in the art market.
Why has Saffronart been so successful as an online auction house when no auction houses have found equal success in this format?
For the past 10 years, we have been building up the collector base, giving them the confidence and transparency and improving the technological platform. On the other side, we have been doing physical exhibitions and previews all around the world, including San Francisco, L.A., Mumbai, New Dehli, Hong Kong and London. To make people confident, we added the brick and mortar side. It is the “the click and the brick” that has made Saffronart so successful. Nearly every business is heading to the direction of going online.
Is the art market fundamentally changing because of the web?
Over time, there will be a strong shift towards online transactions. People will transact more online or even leaning more to mobile bidding platforms. These mobile bidding platforms have been enormously successful.
To listen to the original Podcast, please click here. Arttactic has a range of fascinating interviews with art market influencers and is worth a browse.
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Posted in Art and internet, Art Funds, Asia expands, Auctions, Business of art, Collector nationality, Corporate collectors, Ecommerce, Globalisation, Hong Kong, India, Indian, Individual, Interviews, London, Market transparency, Market watch, Mumbai, New Delhi, Recession, Website | Tagged: Arttactic, Dinesh Vazirani, Market Outlook, mobile bidding, online auction, price, Saffronart, Speculators, young collectors | Leave a Comment »
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