Loading ...The Rise of the Asian Art Market
Newly wealthy investors from emerging markets are pushing prices for the works of contemporary Asian artists to heights never seen before. Is it just another bubble?
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Contemporary art works from emerging economies in Asia are gaining traction around the world, topping prices commanded by the works of some European old masters in recent New York art auctions. Last year, the two largest auction houses in the world, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, sold a total of $190 million of Asian contemporary art, mostly from China, up from $22 million two years earlier. Speculative buyers and collectors have bid up the prices of Chinese contemporary artists to heights never seen before. At spring auctions in Beijing and Hong Kong, the total price paid for 16 lots passed the $1.3 million mark, a record unthinkable a year ago. And with the stock market in China having its ups and downs recently, experts expect more speculative money to pour into in the fledgling art market.
The most vociferous of the new buyers are from Asia. In November 2006, wealthy investors from Seoul and Shanghai, together with collectors from the U.S. and Europe, packed the roomy Pier 92 on the west side of Manhattan for the Asian Contemporary Art Fair, or ACAF. With 76 galleries from Asia, the U.S., and Europe participating, the fair was the first major event in New York devoted exclusively to Asian contemporary art. It showcased work by artists from South Korea, Japan, India and Vietnam — but many were from China. “Buyers have been showing great interest in Chinese artists’ work,” says Zhanhui Yu, a representative for SanShang Art in Hangzhou, China.
A handful of top-selling Chinese artists such as Yue min-jun, Zhang Xiao-gang, and Zhou Chun-ya were represented, but most of the works were by younger artists. Among the well-known artists was Zhang Xiao-gang, whose work fetches the highest prices among all Chinese contemporary artists — $3.6 million in a recent Sotheby’s auction. “I am absolutely optimistic about the outlook of the Asian contemporary art market,” said Sundaram Tagore, a New York gallery owner. “Look at the crowd on the first day presale, and you know this market is just taking off.”
For now at least, it seems that the enthusiasm for art from Asian countries will continue. “The Chinese contemporary art market now is like American contemporary after World War II. It has huge growth potential,” says Jianping Mei, copublisher of Mei-Moses Art Index and a finance professor at New York University. The index tracks art auction prices over the past few decades and produces a quantifiable investment return on works in various categories. “Back then, American artists were new to the old money in Europe. It’s the same with today’s Asian contemporary art.”
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