ARTSingapore 2009 Fair – new photography fair, high value sales and gallerists pick top fairs in Asia today

SINGAPORE CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR 2009

It is the most established art fair in Asia, having just completed its ninth consecutive year running, and it is uniquely different from other leading fairs in the region. ARTSingapore, despite being a major international art event, feels smaller and much more manageable than other leading fairs. ARTSingapore keeps its intimate feel in spite of the presence of 36 major international galleries and arts centers (complete list here), and also offers 2 new treats this year, with a ‘New Finds’ section for emerging artists and also the inclusion of a separate space dedicated to the photographic arts.

Traditional Fruitmarket, by Richard Winkler, 2009. Oil on canvas. 150x200 cm.

‘New Finds’ section for emerging artists

This year’s addition of a ‘New Finds’ section offers new artists and young galleries the opportunity to show their work to the international community. Regarding the decision to include this new section, Fair Director Chen Shen Po says:

“We are keeping in mind the current economic recession in Singapore and hope that ‘New Finds’ will provide emerging artists with a platform to develop and establish their career in the arts industry.”

Brand Obama!, by Hughie Doherty, 2009. Mixed Media. 76x50 cm.

This year’s 12 featured ‘New Finds’ artists include:

Brian Adams [Singapore]     Chankerk [Singapore, presented by Fill-Your-Walls, Singapore]     Christiane Wyler [Singapore]
Donovan Phity [Indonesian, presented by Adoramus Art Gallery, Indonesia]       Hughie Doherty [Hong Kong]
Hwang Ouchul [Korea]     Jennifer Tan Doherty [Hong Kong]      Kim Ki Soo [Korea, presented by Simyo Gallery, Korea]
Ling Yang Chang [ Singapore, presented by Momentous Arts, Singapore]     Marga Duin [Netherlands]     Nupur Chaube [India]
Shin-Young Park [Korea, presented by AndrewShire Gallery, Singapore & USA]

Within ARTSingapore: AIPF 2009- first Asian photography fair

The other new feature at ARTSingapore this year is the Asia International Photography Fair 2009 (AIPF 2009) exhibition, which is housed together with ARTSingapore and displays the works of 12 independent international photographers. This year’s inception of the AIPF marks the first Asian art fair dedicated explicitly to contemporary photo-based artworks.  The AIPF 2009 exhibitors include:

Andre Ruesch [Santa Fe, NM, USA]     Chris Enos [Santa Fe, NM, USA]       Henry Aeagoncillo [Santa Fe, NM, USA]
Lee Manning [Santa Fe, NM, USA]       Marcia Keegan [Santa Fe, NM, USA]       Sealey Brandt [Singapore]
Susan Herdman [Santa Fe, NM, USA]       Thea Witt [Santa Fe, NM, USA]       Thomas Vorce [Santa Fe, NM, USA]
Ward Russell [Santa Fe, NM, USA]       Willis F. Lee [Santa Fe, NM, USA]        Yuki Aoyama [Japan, presented by Wada Gorou]

Kiowa Fancy Crow, by Marcia Keegan, 2009. Cibachrome archival prints, print 40.6x50.8 cm, matted 129.5x193 cm

Satisfying sales and turnout, Richard Winkler emerging as hot star

Multiple presenters at ARTSingapore reported being satisfied with the visitor turnout and sales at the event. The obvious star of the show were the works by Richard Winkler, a Swedish artist who lives in Bali, presented by the Zola Zolu Gallery from Indonesia.  On Monday afternoon, the last day of the fair, at least 18 of Winkler’s paintings had sold to collectors from around the world. This is indicative of the prices that fair buyers were prepared to pay this year, as Winkler’s works started at $150,000 USD. Other galleries also reported encouraging sales, but some also mentioned that being present at this fair and making an impression was most important– immediate sales were not a top priority.

Which are the top fairs favoured by gallerists?

When questioned what fairs they will be attending this year, presenters stressed the importance of ARTSingapore, but also included ART HK, Art Dubai, the Korean International Art Fair (KIAF), and ART ASIA Miami on the short list of highly prioritized shows. Each show has its own character, and gallerists reported that ARTSingapore is known for its intimate and efficient atmosphere, and a dynamic mixture of art from anywhere and everywhere.

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Cheaper works sell at Larasati, Borobodur auctions and art fair Singapore – Bloomberg

MARKET WATCH

Two Singapore auctions of Asian art at the weekend missed estimates as a slump in global financial markets kept many buyers away.

Borobodur Auction Pte’s two-day sale of Chinese and Southeast Asian art totaled S$11 million ($7.5 million), compared with a presale estimate of S$18 million, according to John Andreas, the company’s founder. Rival Larasati Auctioneers’ Oct. 11 sale tallied S$2.1 million, less than the S$2.5 million predicted. The auction houses released results today.

The day before the auctions began, Singapore announced its economy had slipped into a recession and the MSCI Asia Pacific stocks index fell 6.9 percent, capping its worst week since the measure was created in 1987.

Sales of Chinese contemporary art were weakest, with only about 40 percent of lots finding buyers, Andreas said. Works by top Chinese artists have risen tenfold or more in the past decade, making them the most expensive in Asia.

“The financial crisis does not affect the Southeast Asian art as much, but for the Chinese artists it is very bad,” said Andreas. “For the artists that have not gone up so high, the demand is still strong.”

Borobodur’s top lot from its Oct. 12 Southeast Asian sale was Agus Suwage’s “Cleaning the Mirror: Homage to Marina Abramovic,” which sold for S$444,000, including fees. The highest price in the company’s Asian art auction the day before was Chinese artist Wang Guangyi’s “Rolex,” which fetched S$504,000, including commission. Yue Minjun’s “Life Pose,” which had the top presale estimate of as much as S$500,000, didn’t sell. Three quarters of the Southeast Asian lots sold against 57 percent of the Asian session.

Masriadi’s Target

Larasati’s top lot was I Nyoman Masriadi’s “The Target,” a picture of a woman, face and arms painted red, with hands clasped like a gun. The 1.9 meter-wide, acrylic-on-canvas sold for S$156,000, with fees, compared with the S$150,000 presale estimate, the company said. A third of the lots offered didn’t find buyers.

A week earlier at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong, Masriadi broke the record for a Southeast Asian contemporary work, when his picture “The Man From Bantul (The Final Round)” sold for HK$7.8 million ($1 million).

The weekend auctions took place during the four-day ArtSingapore fair, Southeast Asia’s biggest, which ended yesterday. The event drew 110 galleries from 16 countries, with a special emphasis on art from India and South Korea. About S$80 million of art was offered, the organizer said.

Stallholders at the sale echoed the mood at the auctions, with sub-S$20,000 works from South and Southeast Asia more popular with buyers than higher-priced Chinese works.

Cheaper Lots Sell

“It went very well under the circumstances,” said Chen Shen Po, director of ArtSingapore. “Last year, everyone was selling S$50,000, S$100,000, S$200,000 works. This year it was more the S$20,000-to-S$30,000 range.”

She said the sale total was probably about the same as 2007, declining to give specifics.

“Given the circumstances coming into the fair, our expectations were quite low,” said Adam Chu of Shanghai-based Hwa’s Gallery, which showed works by Chinese artists such as He Juan and Guo Rui. “This was the least-attended of the five fairs we’ve been to this year.”

Chu said the gallery sold 20 works at the SHContemporary show in Shanghai in September. In Singapore it sold none.

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• source: Bloomberg
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Surprises in store at Singapore Art Fair October 2008 – Asian Art News

ART FAIR SINGAPORE

ARTSingapore 2008 has some important surprises in store says Asian Art News. There will be a new focus on art from Korea, India and Japan, first time gallery participants, a collector’s show of art never before displayed in public and specially featured emerging artists to watch.

 “This year’s event will highlight a sizeable representation from India Korea and Japan” says fair director, Chen Shen Po. Alongside 22 new Korean fair participants ARTSingapore will also welcome 13 Japanese art galleries including Megumi Ogita Gallery, Shonandai MY Gallery, Arte Gallery and Shinsedo Hatanaka. This marks a new milestone in the development of the fair which has historically been a showcase for South East Asian art.

First time gallery participants include Sundaram Tagore Gallery (USA), Cais Gallery (Korea), Hwas Gallery (China), Silverlens (Philippines) and Bruno Art Group (Israel). Click here for full gallery list.

Jirapat Tatsanasomboon

Rising artists to be featured at the fair include:

• Wu Jianjun (China)
• Kengo Nakamura (Japan)
• Jirapat Tatsanasomboon (Thailand)
• Dang Xuan Hoa (Vietnam)
• Wayan Sujanda (Indonesia)
• Thota Vaikuntam (India)

This year the popular Special Collector’s Showcase section is curated by Masanori Fukuoka owner and founder of Japan’s Glenbarra Art Museum and who according to Asian Art News is ‘recognised as the world’s top collector and connoisseur of Indian contemporary art’. Fukuoka has arranged a solo show of Jogen Chowdhury (b 1939), one of the foremost artists of post-Independent India which will contain 18 ink pastel and watercolour works never before displayed in public.

As well as the Collector’s Showcase there will be another important exhibition. Kim Soo Keong a leading collector in Korea and a director of Kwangju Biennale Foundation has agreed to loan the Fair a group works from her collection of more than 100 pieces of Nam June Paik’s works, some of which including TV Repair Man and Blue Buddha have never been shown in public. Kim Soo Keong’s Nam June Paik collection is widely regarded as being amongst the most important in the world.

In total the fair will feature 110 galleries and institutions from 16 countries who will showcase more than US$30 million of artworks before an expected 15,000 visitors. Despite the fair’s growth from just 19 galleries in 2000, the Singapore fair remains ‘one of the most friendly and accessible’ fairs in the region says Asian Art News.

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