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Singapore to Conquer French Contemporary Art Market – artmarketblog.com

admin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:41:51 +0000

Singapore to Conquer French Contemporary Art Market – artmarketblog.com

Having focused recent posts on the Southeast Asian art market, I found it particularly interesting that Artprice have announced that Singapore should soon overtake France in the field of Contemporary art sales. Although 2011 was a better year for France than 2010, the French art market is still lagging behind other major art market centres. Currently fourth in world art market rankings, France may be heading further down the list if Singapore continues to rise through the ranks.

Evidence of the growing profile of Singapore as an art market hub is the success of the Art Stage Singapore art fair first held in 2010 and currently taking place in Singapore from the 12th to the 15th of January. According to their website: “Art Stage embraces Singapore’s unique position as a bridge between the East and the West in a celebration of both emerging new regional artists and international superstar names.” The inaugural edition of the fair attracted 121 galleries from 26 countries and regions, and 30 special projects, with the number of visitors hitting 32,000. This year, the show will host 120 exhibitors from 18 diverse nations and will be introducing 50 special projects. Adding to the hype of the 2012 edition of the fair is the inclusion of major international galleries such as White Cube, Haunch of Venison and Victoria Miro.

What first alerted me to the importance of Singapore to the market for Southeast Asian art was the number of works by Indonesian and Filipino artists being sold by Singaporean auction houses. The main auction houses with a presence in Singapore are Masterpiece Fine Art Auction, Borobudur Auction, Larasati Auctioneers and 33 auction. Enticing bidders with the lowest buyers premium in Singapore of between 10% – 12%, 33 auction auction have proven to be one of the main players in the Singapore art market. Having moved major sales of modern and contemporary South-East Asian paintings from Singapore to Hong Kong in 2007, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s may now be regretting this move. The move did, however, allow the regional auction houses to gain a foothold that has resulted in a strong regional art auction market that continues to grow.

Without the same high profile as artists coming out of Indonesia and the Philippines, Singaporean contemporary artists still have a long way to go before they catch up to the success of Singapore as a destination for Southeast Asian art. But, with the way the Singapore art market is heading, it may only be a matter of time before we see some big prices for Singaporean artists – and the French being left behind by the Singapore art market machine.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

Why Indonesian Artists are Hot Property – artmarketblog.com

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:02:51 +0000

Why Indonesian Artists are Hot Property – artmarketblog.com

My previous post revealed some recent auction results that suggest that the market for the work of some of Indonesia’s top artists is gaining strength. One of the factors that has contributed to the strength and resilence of the market for Indonesian art is the existence of a cross cultural dialogue between east and west that is due to the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia that ended in 1942. This dialogue is not limited to the influence of Eestern art on Indonesian artists; many Western born artists such as Walter Spies, Theo Meier, Le Mayeur de Merprès and Hofker spent time in Indonesia and produced work that was heavily influenced by Indonesian society and culture. An indication of the close connection between the Netherlands and Indonesia is the partnership between Larasati, an Indonesian auction house, and Glerum, an Amsterdam based auction house. In 1990 Glerum became the first Dutch auction house to organize specialist auctions of Dutch colonial and modern Indonesian art. Their first joint sale with Larasati in 2000 resulted in a new world record W.G. Hofker when the artist’s ‘Ni Noneh’, offered by a collector in the Netherlands, sold for € 386,000. Also achieving a high price was a work by Hendra Gunawan titled ‘Fruit Seller’ which soared past the Rp 180 – 240 million estimate for a final price of Rp 550 million.

Although the frequency of high prices has not reached 2008 levels, the prices being achieved for the work of many Indonesian artists have, importantly, not gone down – and in some cases, have continued to increase. 2011 proved one of the best years for Indonesian art since 2008 with many new auction records set. An example of the demand for works by Indonesian artists was Christie’s November 27 Asian 20th Century Art (Day Sale) in Hong Kong which saw some excellent prices achieved for works by Indonesian artists. The seventh highest price of the sale went to S. Sudjojono’s ‘Ngaso’ which blitzed the 800,000 – 1,200,000 HKD (102,612 – 153,919 USD) estimate for a final price of 3,860,000 HKD (495,106 USD). Hendra Gunawan’s ‘Bathing by the river’ achieved the tenth highest price of the sale with a final price of 3,620,000 HKD (464,322 USD) against an estimate of 700,000 – 1,000,000 HKD (89,786 – 128,265 USD).

Christie’s November 26 Asian 20th Century Art (Evening Sale) in Hong Kong again produced some stellar results for Indonesian art. Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprés’ ‘Three dancers in the garden ‘ produced the fifth highest auction price for the artist selling for 7,940,000 HKD (1,018,431 USD) against an estimate of 2,700,000 – 3,700,000 HKD (346,318 – 474,584 USD). ’Barong dance’ by Indonesian born artist Affandi achieved 4,220,000 HKD (541,282 USD) against an estimate of 1,800,000 – 2,500,000 HKD (230,878 – 320,664 USD) – the second highest price for the artist at auction.

Although the market for Indonesian art centres around the work of more established artists, there is still considerable interest in younger contemporary Indonesian artists. A retrospective exhibition of the work of contemporary Indonesian artist Heri Donow was held at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam in 2009 and represented an important recognition of the global relevance of contemporary Indonesian art. According to the Tropenmuseum: “Dono can truly be called a glocal artist: a term which contracts the words local and global. The story of his images is about the changing face of Indonesian society that is not separate from developments in the rest of the world. This story is meant for a broad audience; though it is coded (criticizing politicians has long been a dangerous activity), it recognizable and accessible. Glocal art shows how local sources can still nourish artists in a time of globalization to say something about the world around them. Dono dislikes the distinction between high art and low art. He never literally copies traditional art; he plays with the image material in a personal style influenced by various European artists such as Matisse and Picasso, and artistic trends such as Cobra, nouveau réalisme and fluxus.”

Overall, the high auction prices being achieved for Indonesian artists combined with the significant number of works by Indonesian artists that frequently exceed the auction estimate suggests that works by such artists are currently undervalued. As Asian buyers continue to become more wealthy and more interested in collecting art, and Western buyers continue to search for undervalued and untapped sources of “new” art, the work of Indonesian artists is likely to only become more popular.

image:

‘Ngaso’ by S. SUDJOJONO
(Indonesian, 1914-1986)

Ngaso

Description S. SUDJOJONO

(Indonesian, 1914-1986)

Ngaso

signed ‘S. Sudjojono’ (lower right); signed with artist’s monogram, titled and dated ‘Ngaso 1964′ (lower centre)

oil on canvas

140 x 100 cm. (55 1/8 x 9 3/8 in.)

Painted in 1964

Medium oil on canvas

Year of Work 1964

Cautious Optimism at Chinese Art Auctions – artmarketblog.com

admin — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:43:25 +0000

Cautious Optimism at Chinese Art Auctions – artmarketblog.com

Although the latest round of auctions of Chinese art suggest that the rate of growth of the Chinese art market appears to have slowed somewhat, the results are far from disappointing. In fact, the sheer volume of works being sold combined with the prices being paid for many of the most desirable works appearing at auction in China is difficult to fathom. While most of what we know about the market for Chinese art comes from Western sources, the true state of the Chinese art market can really only be determined by looking beyond the results of Western auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, to the results of Chinese auction houses such as China Guardian auctions and Beijing Poly International auctions.

When delving into the depths of the epic auctions held by China Guardian and Beijing Poly International it becomes apparent that the Chinese art market is very much still dominated by works produced using traditional techniques and displaying a classical aesthetic. Traditional style ink on paper paintings clearly influenced by Chinese calligraphy occupy so many of the top prices paid at auction in China that one could be forgiven for thinking that Chinese buyers aren’t buying anything else. Although the 2011 Autumn auctions held by China Guardian and Beijing Poly yielded some truly remarkable results that seem to create a positive picture of the Chinese art market, the market’s reliance on such a narrow niche is cause for concern.

The highlight of the 2011 Chinese Autumn auction season was the sale of Xu Beihong’s ‘Cultivation on the Peaceful Land’ which was sold by Beijing Poly International for a record RMB 266,800,000 (42,108,586.09 USD). Coming in a close second was Fu Baoshi’s masterpiece ‘Chairman Mao’s poetry octavo volumes’ as sold by Beijing Hanhai auctions for an artist auction record of RMB 200,000,000 million (31,565,656.74 USD). Shengjia auction sold “Chairman Mao’s poetry octavo volumes” in 2003 for 19,800,000 – a record at the time for Baoshi’s work. The third highest price went to an album of landscape paintings by the master Qi Baishi which fetched RMB 194,000,000 (30,618,687.03 USD) at China Guardian’s “Grand View: Chinese Paintings Highlight” held on the 13th of November. Previously sold by China Guardian for RMB 5.17 million in 1994, Baishi’s landscape album is an good example of how rapidly the market for Chinese art has developed. Also breaking the RMB 100 million mark was Wang Hui’s “Chinese poetic figure” which was also sold by China Guardian for RMB 126,500,000 (19,965,277.89 USD).

One of the most notable diversions from the traditional ink on paper paintings was the sale of San Yu’s CHRYSANTHEMUM oil on board for RMB 34,500,000 ( 5,445,075.78 USD). The Chinese born, Paris trained artist’s CHRYSANTHEMUM resembles the work of European abstractionists more than the work of any traditional Chinese artist, but still exhibits elements reminiscent of the traditional Chinese aesthetic. The auction record for a work by Yu is USD 14,726,564.

iamges:

1. ‘Chairman Mao’s poetry octavo volumes’ by Fu Baoshi

2. ‘Cultivation on the Peaceful Land’ by Xu Beihong

Southeast Asian Art Takes Auction Spotlight – artmarketblog.com

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:07:35 +0000

Southeast Asian Art Takes Auction Spotlight – artmarketblog.com

The countries of Southeast Asia, in particular Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia,Vietnam and The Philippines, have a particularly rich and varied artistic heritage thanks partly to the strong presence of Western cultures in the region that existed for many centuries. As a consequence of the interest shown by the West in the countries of Southeast Asia during the first half of the 20th century, a significant number of Western born and trained modern artists took the opportunity to explore the exotic Southeast. Well known artists such as French born Joseph Inguimberty, Russian born Walter Spies, Belgian born Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès and Swiss born Theo Meier all spent long periods of time living and producing art in various different Southeast Asian countries. The lure of the exotic Southeast for Western artists was best summed up by Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès who once said: “Except for a few journeys to the Far East, I never left the island. Why should I? Sir, I am an impressionist. There are three things in life that I love: beauty, sunlight and silence. Now could you tell me where to find these in a more perfect state than in Bali?” – Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès.

For a market that consists of countries that so often appear obsessed with the trappings of Western society and culture, yet also seem determined to preserve their own artistic heritage, a work of art that has strong associations with both the Western artistic heritage and the Southeast Asian culture is hugely appealing. It is no surprise then that the work of Western expat artists who took up residence in Southeast Asian countries are once again finding favour with the Asian art collectors who are dominating the global art market. Proving how strong the allure of artists such as Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès is, the top lot of Christie’s May 30th Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary art held in Hong Kong was a work by De Mempres titled Temple Festival in Bali which fetched HK$ 7,700,000 (US$ 989,450) against an estimate of HK$1,900,000-2,600,000. In fact, Christie’s previous Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary art auction held also in Hong Kong on the 29th of November 2010 also saw the highest price go to a Western born artist – namely Walter Spies. Spies’ Balinesische Legende (Balinese Legend) fetched HK$16,900,000 (US$2,186,877) which is almost twice as much as it fetched in 2001 when it was last sold at auction by Sotheby’s.

This is not the first time that Southeast Asian art has caught the eye of investors and collectors. 2008 proved a pivotal year for Southeast Asian art as the Chinese art market boom peaked forcing those who couldn’t afford to pay the premium slapped on works by Chinese artists to turn to work of Southeast Asian artists as a much more affordable yet similar alternative. As the Chinese art market once again exhibits bubble-like characteristics, collectors and investors are again turning to Southeast Asia as a source of undervalued talent. Poster-boy of the Southeast Asian contemporary art market, Filipino artist Ronald Ventura, is just one of the artists who have caught the eye of cashed up Asian art buyers who are driving up prices at an alarming rate. At Sotheby’s spring 2011 sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian held in Hong Kong on the 4th of April, Ventura’s Grayground sold for HK$ 8,420,000 against an estimate of HK$220,000 – 350,000 making it the most expensive work of Southeast Asian contemporary art sold at auction.

As the Ventura record made headlines I was asked by the Philippine Daily Inquirer to comment on the sale. Here is what I had to say regarding Ventura’s rise to fame:

Asked his opinion on Ventura’s record-breaking sale, Nicholas Forrest (Art Market Blog: The World’s Most Popular Independent Art Market Analysis) observes: “Investors and collectors are always looking for new emerging markets that have untapped talent, and several Southeast Asian countries fit the bill – including the Philippines. What makes Ventura stand out from the crowd is the fact that he has progressed through the ranks and proven himself over quite a long period of time. Ventura showed that he is an experienced artist with a bright future. Adding to his status is the fact that he has been picked up by a New York gallery and was part of the 2008 Singapore Biennale.”

Read the full article here:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/3195/yes-but-is-it-art-%E2%80%93-or-investment

image:

ADRIEN-JEAN LE MAYEUR DE MERPRÈS (Belgium 1880-1958)
Temple Festival in Bali
signed ‘J. Le Mayeur’ (lower right)
oil on canvas
35 5/8 x 47¼ in. (90.6 x 120.7 cm.)

Asian Decorative Arts Fever at iGavel – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:31:51 +0000

Asian Decorative Arts Fever at iGavel – artmarketblog.com

Chinese Imperial Bamboo Brushpot, 18th c.

Recent results from auctions of Asian art conducted by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong show that there is high demand for modern and contemporary Asian art and that there are plenty of Asian buyers with plenty of money to spend. Also proving popular are Asian decorative arts, Asian antique decorative cultural objects and ethnographic works of art, the best of which are in very high demand at the moment as is evident by the success achieved by iGavel (http://www.igavel.com) with their recent online auctions of such items. In fact, the prices being achieved by iGavel are astonishing. Take, for instance, an auction conducted by iGavel in March where a pair of large Chinese porcelain panels sold for US$16,000 (hammer price) against an estimate of US$500-$1000 and a Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze buddha made US$11,000 against an estimate of US$500.00 to 800.00. In April, an Antiques, Asian & Tribal auction produced even more astounding results with one of the top lots, a Chinese 17th/18th c. parcel gilt & polychromed iron seated figure of an immortal, selling for US$38,500 after 44 bids against an estimate of US$5000-7000. Also selling for many times their estimates were:
- A Chinese gilt decorated archaic style bronze water buffalo-form incense burner which sold for US$28,000 against an estimate of US$1000-1500
- A Chinese carved pale green jade teapot circa 18th which sold for US$19,900 against an estimate of US$3000-5000

Chinese White Jade Figure of Buddha

The May Asian, Ancient and Ethnographic Works of Art sale saw iGavel raise the bar even higher when a record price of US$105,010 (US$126,012.00 including premium) against an estimate of $80,000-$120,000 was paid for an amazing recently rediscovered Chinese 18th c. imperial bamboo brushpot that had been mounted as a lamp. Fierce competition saw the starting price of $7500 rapidly rise with a total of 51 bids being taken before a new buyer was found. Lark Mason, the founder of iGavel and an Asian art expert, was responsible for the identification of the brushpot which depicts the cultivation of cotton. It took 40 bids to decide a new owner for a modern gilt bronze figure of Maitreya which sold for US$21,000 against an estimate of US$3000-5000 and 21 bids for a Chinese 18th/19th c. White Jade Figure of Buddha, formerly of the Pan-Asian Collection, which reached US$13,500 against an estimate of US$2000-3000. Other exception results included:

-A set of ten modern Chinese celadon jade zodiac figures which sold for US$10,000 against an estimate of US$700-$900
-A 19th c. Chinese porcelain flambe glazed bottle vase which sold for US$8610 against an estimate of US$800-$1200
-A 20th C. Chinese spinach jade tripod censer and cover which sold for US$6500 against an estimate of US$500-$800
-A 20th C. Chinese carved green jade vase and cover which sold for US$5000 against an estimate of US$400-$600

According to iGavel, mainland Chinese buyers dominated the bidding which suggests that there is a high demand in China for objects that have cultural or historical significance for the Chinese and that there is plenty of money in China to purchase these items. Buying back objects of cultural and historical significance that have been taken out of the country appears to be high on the agenda for Chinese collectors in the same way that the Russian collectors started buying back their heritage a few years ago. It is encouraging to see that the global financial crisis appears to have not affected the market for art in the Asia region as much as many would have predicted and that buyers are showing an interest in a wide range of objects from the contemporary to the classical.

It is great to see that buyers are willing to spend so much money online via iGavel, a reflection perhaps of iGavel’s focus on quality and authenticity. The success that iGavel has had with their auctions of Asian art may be partly due to buyers in Asia being able to purchase items online all of which have guarantees for authenticity and condition. Also adding to the legitimacy of the items being offered for sale by iGavel is the fact that the founder of iGavel, Lark Mason, is a highly respected expert in the Asian Art field known to many from his appearances in the PBS series, The Antiques Roadshow. All in all, iGavel should be congratulated for the success that they achieve with their online auctions.

For more information on iGavel visit http://www.igavel.com
**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.

April 2009 Global Art Auction Highlights – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:32:05 +0000

April 2009 Global Art Auction Highlights – artmarketblog.com

Below are the results from some of the most successful art auctions of April 2009. From these results we can see that the art market continues to show signs of strength and optimism. The results of the Russian and Asian art sales are particularly pleasing and have been successful enough to suggest that the market for Russian and Asian works is as strong as it has ever been albeit slightly more discriminating. Asian buyers were the dominant force in all the Asian art sales with works from all period and all periods of Asia attracting plenty of interest. Another stand out sale was the auction of the collection of GIORGIO SOAVI by Sotheby’s Milan which again proved that works with excellent provenance that are fresh to market and are from private collections continue to be highly desirable. The Russian sales indicated that works by Svetoslav Roerich and Nicholas Roerich are in demand while the Asian sales indicated that works by Lin Fengmian and Indonesian artist I Nyoman Masriadi are highly desirable.

Christie’s Russian Art Sale
New York – Friday, April 24, 2009
Sold: $13,225,125 £8,996,683 €10,019,034
Lots Sold: 269 Lots Offered: 390 Sold by Lot: 69% Sold by $: 80%

lot 313: Svetoslav Roerich
‘Portrait of Nicholas Roerich in a Tibetan Robe’ 1933
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
Estimate: US$900,000 – 1,100,000
Purchase Price: US$2,994,500

lot 312: Nicholas Roerich
‘The Greatest and Holiest of Tangla’ from the ‘Shambhala series, 1929
Estimate: US$300,000 – 500,000
Purchase Price: US$1,426,500

lot 317A: Nicholas Roerich
‘Sharugon Monastery, Tibet’
Estimate: US$40,000 – 60,000
Purchase Price: $242,500

lot 329: Pavel Tchelitchew
‘Portrait of Edlji Dinshaw’
Estimate: US$80,000 – 120,000
Purchase Price: US$230,500

289 Robert Falk
‘Landscape with stones’ 1911
Estimate: US$100,000 – 150,000
Purchase Price: US$218,500

Sotheby’s Milan GIORGIO SOAVI COLLEZIONISTA Sale
21 Aprile 2009
Grand Total (Including Buyer’s Premium): 2,283,500 EUR
Sold by Value: 90.0 %
Lots Offered: 149
Sold by Lot:94.0 %
Lots Sold/Unsold:
140 / 9 of 149

Lot 22: Alberto Giacometti
‘Giorgio Soavi’ 1963
Estimate: 400,000-600,000 Euro
Purchase Price: 600,750 Euro

Lot 119: Giuliano Vangi
‘Senza titolo’, terracotta, 1986
Estimate: 4000-6000 Euro
Purchase Price: 66,750

Lot 67: Gianfranco Ferroni
‘Natura morta con panneggio’ 1983-84
Estimate: 4,000 – 6,000 Euro
Purchase Price: 39,150 Euro

Lot 40: Graham Sutherland
‘Senza titolo’ 1973
Estimate: 8,000 – 10,000 Euro
Purchase Price: 31,950 Euro

Lot 69: Gianfranco Ferroni
‘Grande natura morta’ 1982 (244)
Estimate: 5,000 – 7,000 Euro
Purchase Price: 31,950

Lot 146: Luciano Ventrone
‘Autunno’ 1991
Estimate: 3,000 – 4,000 Euro
Purchase Price: 31,950

Christie’s
International Modern and Contemporary Art
Dubai – Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Sale no: 7802

Lot 26: Parviz Tanavoli (Iranian, b. 1937)
‘The Wall and the Script’ 2007
Estimate: US$120,000-180,000
Purchase Price: US$218,500

Lot 88a: Erol Akyavaş (Turkish, 1932-1999)
‘Alma Ausente’ 1959
Estimate: US$70,000-100,000
Purchase Price: US$194,500

Lot 123: Mohammed Ehsai (Iranian, b. 1939)
‘Untitled’ 1994
Estimate: US$80,000-120,000
Purchase Price: US$152,500

Lot 21: Abolghassem Saidi (Iranian, b. 1926)
‘Trees’ 1982
WORLD AUCTION RECORD FOR THE ARTIST
Estimate: US$80,000-110,000
Purchase Price US$146,500

Lot 84
Afshin Pirhashemi (Iranian, b. 1974),
‘X-Series’ 2008
Estimate: US$40,000-60,000
Purchase Price: US$122,500

Lot 135
Mahmoud Mokhtar (Egyptian, 1891-1934)
‘Au Bord du Nil (On the Banks of the Nile)’ circa early 1930s
Estimate: US$60,000-80,000
Purchase Price: US$104,500

Sotheby’s Russian Art
22 APR 09
Grand Total (Including Buyer’s Premium): $13,842,175 (£9,446,004)
Sold by Lot: 64.9% Lots Offered: 308
Sold by Value: 71.8% Lots Sold/Unsold: 200 / 108

Lot 8: Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky,
‘Columbus Sailing from Palos’ 1892
Estimate: US$1,000,000 – 1,500,000
Purchase Price: US$1,594,500

Lot 29: Boris Grigoriev
‘Preparing Crepes: A Pair’ circa 1935
Estimate: US$500,000 – 700,000
Purchase Price: US$1,258,500

Lot 57: Alexandre Iacovleff,
‘Samurai’
Estimate: US$85,000 – 125,000
Purchase Price: US$602,500
RECORD FOR A WORK ON PAPER BY THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Lot 44: Nicholas Roerich
‘Secrets of the Walls’ 1920
Estimate: US$150,000 – 200,000
Purchase Price: US$530,500

Lot 45: Nicholas Roerich
‘Monhegan, Maine (Hope)’ From The Series Ocean, 1922
Estimate: US$250,000 – 350,000
Purchase Price: US$434,500

Lot 27: David Davidovich Burliuk
‘Blue Rider’
Estimate: US$100,000 – 150,000
Purchase Price: US$302,500

Lot 53: Svetoslav Roerich,
‘Three Boddisatvas’ circa 1920s
Estimate: US$60,000 – 80,000
Purchase Price: US$266,500
RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

Lot 33: Alexander Volkov
‘Morning in Shakhmardan’ 1944
Estimate: US$120,000 – 180,000
Purchase Price: US$218,500

Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Contemporary Asian Art
06 APR 09
Grand Total (Including Buyer’s Premium): 66,434,000 HKD (8,501,559 USD)
Sold by Lot:74.0%
Sold by Value: 81.4%

Lot 677:Zeng Fanzhi
‘Mask Series: Man with Flower’ 1998, oil on canvas
Estimate: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,620,000 (463,251 USD)

Lot 709: Huang Yongping
‘Sixty-Year Cycle Chariot’ 1999-2000, copper, iron, wood, cloth
Estimate: HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,380,000 (432,539 USD)
*** Auction record for the artist ***

Lot 725: Yayoi Kusama
‘Pumpkin’ paint on fibre-reinfored plastic, 2007
Estimate: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,000,000
Sale Price: HKD 2,720,000 (348,078 USD)
***Auction record for a sculpture of the artist ***

Lot 661: Yue Minjun
‘Archaeology’ 2005, oil on canvas
Estimate: HKD 550,000 – 700,000
Purchase Price: HKD 2,060,000 (263,618 USD)

Sotheby’s Hong Kong
20th Century Chinese Art
06 APR 09
Grand Total (Including Buyer’s Premium): 92,693,750 HKD (11,862,019 USD)
Sold by Lot: 80.0%
Sold by Value: 97.9%

Lot 527: Lin Fengmian,
‘Fishing Harvest’ Oil on Canvas
Estimate: HKD 3,000,000 – 3,500,000
Purchase Price: HKD 16,340,000 (2,091,030 USD)
***Auction record for the artist***

Lot 522: Lin Fengmian
‘Chinese Opera Figures: Heroines of the Yangs – Mu Guiying Taking Command’ Oil on Canvas
Estimate: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,000,000
Purchase Price: HKD 8,420,000 (1,077,507 USD)

Lot 525: Chang Yu (Sanyu),
‘Potted Peonies’ circa 1955, oil on isorel
Estimate: HKD 3,300,000 – 3,800,000
Purchase Price: HKD 6,260,000 (801,092 USD)

Lot 526: Zhu Yuanzhi (Yun Gee)
‘The Last Supper’ oil on silk mounted on board, circa early 1930s
Estimate: HKD 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
Purchase Price HKD 6,020,000 (770,379 USD)
***Auction record for the artist***

Lot 544: Zhu Ming, Taichi Split
‘Bronze Sculpture’
Estimate: HKD 3,800,000 – 4,500,000
Purchase Price: HKD 5,900,000 (755,023 USD)

Lot 521: Lin Fengmian
‘Chinese Opera Figures: Stealing The Royal Horse’ Oil on Canvas
Estimate: HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
Sale Price: HKD 5,540,000 (708,954 USD)

Lot 524: Lin Fengmian
‘Chinese Opera Figures: Autumn River’ Oil on Canvas
Estimate: HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
Purchase Price: HKD 5,540,000 (708,954 USD)

Lot 523: Lin Fengmian
‘Chinese Opera Figures: Heroines of the Yangs’ Oil on Canvas
Estimate: HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
Sale Price: HKD 5,060,000 (647,528 USD)

Lot 559:Wu Guanzhong
‘Pear Tree’ oil on board, 1964
Estimate: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
Purchase Price: HKD 4,220,000 (540,033 USD)

Lot 545: Zhu Ming
‘Tai Chi Series’ 1991, Copper
Estimate: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
Purchase Price: HKD 4,100,000 (524,677 USD)

Lily Lee, Sotheby’s Head of 20th Century Chinese Art, commented after the sale: “In this sale we had the privilege of offering a magnificent group of works from a number of notable European, American and Asian private collections – including those of Ambassador Lorenz Petersen and Monsieur and Madame Helle – and as a result a large proportion were entirely fresh to the market and in excellent, original condition. Buyers recognised that such works, which had in some cases been in private collections for over 50 years, offered a rare and unparalleled opportunity and so responded by competing strongly to try and secure them. Eight of the top ten selling works in the sale had never appeared at auction before. We are delighted to have exceeded our pre-sale high estimate by such a comfortable margin and to see 84% of the sold lots realise prices in excess of their high estimates, is extremely heartening for the market. In addition, it was exciting to break the auction record for Lin Fengmian twice in the same sale, first with the HK$8.4 million achieved for Chinese Opera Figures: Heroines of the Yangs (Lot 522) and then with the HK$16.3 million for Fishing Harvest (Lot 527) – which virtually doubled the record set minutes before.”

Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings
05 APR 09
Grand Total (Including Buyer’s Premium):28,445,500 HKD (3,646,858 USD)
Sold by Lot:76.8%
Sold by Value: 86.1%

Lot 58: I Nyoman Masriadi – Negosiasi (Negotiation)
1,700,000 (217,948 USD) 600,000 – 800,000 Asian Private

Lot 92: I Nyoman Masriadi
‘Ingin Menang Harus Curang’ (Want To Win, Must Cheat)
Estimate: HKD 450,000 – 650,000
Purchase Price: HKD 1,580,000 (202,564 USD)

Lot 110: Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès
‘Marché De Légumes’
Estimate: HKD 450,000 – 650,000
Purchase Price: HKD 1,340,000 (171,794 USD)

Lot 119: Affandi
‘Man With Geese
Estimate; HKD 700,000 – 900,000
Purchase Price: HKD 1,220,000 (156,410 USD)

Lot 118: Affandi
‘Man With Cockerel’
Estimate: HKD 625,000 – 825,000
Purchase Price: HKD 1,220,000 (156,410 USD)

Lot 102: Anita Magsaysay-Ho
‘Tuyo Vendors’ (Dried Fish Vendors)
Estimate: HKD 500,000 – 750,000
Purchase Price: HKD 1,040,000 (133,333 USD)

Lot 114: Sudjana Kerton
’4th Of July’
Estimate: HKD 235,000 – 285,000
Purchase Price: HKD 920,000 (117,948 USD)

Lot 120: Hendra Gunawan
‘Clothes Vendor’
Estimate: HKD 300,000 – 500,000
Purchase Price: 860,000 (110, 256 USD)

Lot 55 I Nyoman Masriadi
‘Mother Earth’
Estimate: HKD 500,000 – 700,000
Purchase Price: HKD 860,000 (110,256USD)

Lot 88: Ronald Ventura
‘Oh Boy!’
Estimate: HKD 120,000 – 180,000
Purchase Price: HKD 836,000 (107,179 USD)

Mok Kim Chuan, Sotheby’s Head of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Paintings, commented after the sale: “This is a very solid performance and we are delighted to exceed our pre-sale high estimate once again and achieve a healthy sold by lot rate of 77%. When assembling the sale we were extremely careful to price works attractively and the results show that with the right pricing, quality works in this field will continue to receive a great deal of competition. We saw some exceptional prices achieved today, particularly for top quality paintings by modern masters such as Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès and Sudjana Kerton. Works by the Contemporary Indonesia artist I Nyoman Masriadi were also highly sought after – with two more than doubling their pre-sale high estimates – and Oh Boy! by the ever popular Contemporary Filipino artist Ronald Ventura was contested for by at least 15 bidders and was the subject of a five minute bidding battle. The market for Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art remains vibrant and we were delighted to see interest from American and European collectors.”

Sotheby’s Hong Kong
Fine Chinese Paintings
05 APR 09
Grand Total (Including Buyer’s Premium): 129,775,500 HKD (16,607,371 USD)
Sold by Lot: 89.2%
Sold by Value: 95.5%

Lot 410: Fu Baoshi
‘Drunken Monk’ ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, 1943
Estimate: HKD 3,200,000 – 5,000,000
Purchase Price: 6,260,000 (801,092 USD)

Lot 323: Li Keran
‘Mount Jiuhua’ ink and colour on paper, framed, 1979
Estimate: HKD 2,800,000 – 4,000,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,860,000 (493,964 USD)

Lot 424: Qi Baishi
‘Flowers and Insects’ ink and colour on paper, album of six leaves
Estimate: HKD 2,300,000 – 3,500,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,620,000 (463,251 USD)

Lot 444: Li Huayi
‘Landscape’ — 15, ink and colour on paper, framed
Estimate: HKD 850,000 – 1,200,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,500,000 (447,895 USD)

Lot 408: Xu Beihong
‘Horse’ ink and colour on paper, framed, 1942
Estimate: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,500,000 (447,895 USD)

Lot 224: Lin Fengmian
‘Lady among the Summer Blossoms’ ink and colour on paper, ramed, 1982
Estimate: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,260,000 (417,182 USD)

Lot 341: Wu Changshuo
‘Gourds and Chrysanthemum’ ink and colour on paper, hanging scroll, 1925
Estimate: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,140,000 (401,826 USD)

Lot 425: Qi Baishi
‘Farm Rake’ ink on paper, hanging scroll, 1927
Estimate: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,000,000
Purchase Price: HKD 3,020,000 (386,469 USD)

Lot 337: ‘Pan Tianshou’
‘Pavillion and Withered Trees’ ink on paper, hanging scroll, 1961
Estimate: 2,400,000 – 4,000,000
Purchase Price: 2,900,000 (371,113 USD)

Lot 225:Lin Fengmian
‘Mountain Scenery’ ink and colour on paper, framed
Estimate: 1,200,000 – 1,800,000
Purchase Price: 2,660,000 (340,400 USD)

Lot 230: Wu Guanzhong
‘Yosemite’ ink and colour on paper, framed, 1989
Estimate: 1,000,000 – 2,000,000
Purchase Price: 2,660,000 (340,400 USD)

Asian Art Market Update- artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:08:34 +0000

Asian Art Market Update- artmarketblog.com

"Karma" by Do-Ho Suh

In 2007, China redistributed the cards in becoming the third auction market globally. Beijing and Hong Kong have rapidly established themselves as new growth relays and the scene of some particularly aggressive investment over the past two years. The most impressive sale results have been achieved at Poly International Auction and China Guardian. In Hong-Kong, it is Sotheby’s and Christie’s who largely dominate the market, rocking the art market twice a year with their sales of modern and contemporary Asian art: Sotheby’s opens the proceedings in April with Christie’s following in December. The two auction houses had great hopes of 2008 but the year proved to be one of the most disappointing.

Christie’s and Sotheby’s had become accustomed to seeing their Hong Kong sale proceeds increase by several million dollars every six months. Between April and May 2007, they recorded more than USD 120 million, followed by USD 173 million in the October to November period. In the spring of 2008, proceeds soared to USD 198 million. However, the first warning signs were already discernable: nearly 20% of the lots were bought in at Christie’s compared with the usual ratio of between 9% and 14%. In the autumn, their unsold rate reached a high of 35%!

Asian contemporary art, and Chinese in particular, is being hit by the negative fall-out of two years of speculative price rises. It is worth remembering that, on 9 April 2008, Sotheby’s sold 90% of the works in the Estella collection. A private Asian collector spent the equivalent of USD 5.4 million on a work entitled Bloodline: The Big Family No. 3 by Xiaogang ZHANG, a new record for the artist. Six months later, only one of the four Xiaogang ZHANG canvases presented by Sotheby’s was to find a buyer in Hong Kong, with no-one prepared to bid higher than its low-end pre-sale estimate (USD 2.75 million, Bloodline: Big Family No.1). Still in the spring of 2008, Fanzhi ZENG achieved the world record for a contemporary Chinese artist. The work in question was the Mask series 1996 No.6 diptych which changed hands at Christie’s for close to USD 8.6 million (HKD 67 million), five times its pre-sale estimate. On 30 November 2008, Christie’s hoped to repeat this major exploit in again betting on Fanzhi ZENG with From the Masses, to the Masses. This work, created in 1993, had been billed as a “historic work”, heralding the famous Mask series, so sought-after in the market. Advertised as the headline lot of the Asian contemporary art evening sale for a secret pre-sale estimate, the star of the Chinese contemporary art scene would not find a buyer that night… The following day the rate of unsold contemporary works reached 43% at Christie’s. As for modern art, nearly 52% of the lots offered on 1 December were bought in. Only a few private Asian collectors were prepared to bid up for abstract masters like Wou-ki ZAO and Teh-Chun CHU. The best result was achieved by a Wou-ki ZAO abstract work, Hommage à Tou-Fou, sold for the equivalent of USD 5.16 million, a new record for the artist. A readjustment is under way but Asian art prices are maintaining a high level that was unimaginable even three years ago. The first million-ticket sales were effectively recorded in 2005, with prices accelerating in 2007 before peaking in the first half of 2008.

The global economic crisis has put an end to the speculative frenzy and, with collectors becoming more cautious and more demanding, the estimated ranges indicated in the spring of 2009 are going to have to be revised down.

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