Shcontemporary : a new art fair is born in Shanghai

[03/09/2007]

 

Shanghai and Beijing are the new centres of attraction: galeries are proliferating there and collectors from the world over are invited to discover in situ the dynamism of the Asian scene, encouraged by the effervescence of Chinese art, whose sale proceeds were multiplied by ten in 2006.

Increasing numbers of collectors are being caught up in the Asian scene: to accompany the spectacular boom in contemporary Chinese art there are now major art fairs such as Shcontemporary which assembles no fewer than 125 galleries from across the globe between the 6 and 9 September 2007. The aim of this event is clearly to offer a panorama of contemporary work on an international scale but also to put the spotlight on Asian work.

The leading Chinese artist, ZHANG Xiaogang, is establishing himself as one of the new stars of the market. Buoyed by 9 sales topping one million dollars in less than a year and auction proceeds of 38 million dollars (or 11 more than the American star Jeff Koons), Xiaogang dominates the contemporary art market. Following a saleroom debut in 1998 when Blood Lines Series No.54 & No.55, a diptych sold for £5,000 (€7,117) at Christie’s, his market reached another level with a first series of million-ticket sales last October at Christie’s London with Big Family Series. His record now stands at HKD 16 million (€1.59 million) for Tiananmen Square, a large 1993 canvas presented at Christie’s Hong-Kong on 26 November last. At the same sale, a drawing by the artist, Amnesia and Memory, achieved ten times its estimate, selling for HKD 1.4 million (€134,000)!

While the artist is becoming accustomed to million-ticket sales, he still doesn’t hold the record for a Chinese contemporary art work. In Beijing, on 21 November 2006, a canvas by LIU Xiaodong entitled Newly displaced Population sparked another memorable auction room battle. This large-scale work (300 x 1,000 cm) doubled its top-end estimate, the hammer coming down at CNY 20,000,000, or €1,982,600, at Poly International Auction Co., Ltd! Currently, the entry-level price for one of his canvases measuring more than a metre amounts to around €50,000 whereas, in 2000, some works were accessible for less than €10,000 like Drunk (130 x 100 cm) sold for HKD 55,000, or €7,750 at Christie’s Hong-Kong. But top-end prices are not the exclusive prerogative of the Anglo-Saxon auctioneers, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The absolute record in the field was achieved in May by CHEN Yifei with Eulogy of the Yellow River: 36 million yen (€3.47 million) at China Guardian.

A number of Asian auction houses are supporting this market and achieving very strong sales. We would highlight, for example, the CBY 11 million obtained on 27 June 2006 by Chen Yifei at Shanghai Hosane Auction for Warm Spring in the Jade Pavillon. From the same artist but at China Guardian on 13 May last, CNY 3.6 million (€347,000) was achieved. At Ravenel (Taipei), a work by Zhang Xiaogang changed hands for TWD 30 million in December 2006. On 31 May 2007, Poly International Auction (Beijing) brought the hammer down at CNY 8 million on a work by ZENG Fanzhi entitled Mask N°14. In Singapore, at Borobudur Chinese Contemporary Auctions, on 28 April, a SGD 900,000 sale was achieved by YUE Minjun for Lofty Sentiments. In Seoul, two auction houses are also achieving excellent results: K Auctions and Seoul Auctions.

In Europe, several auction houses are taking advantage of this international popularity to organize themed sales. For instance, June 2007 was a month full of Asian art works : Artcurial set a hundred lots in Paris, among which only 40 were sold. Collectors remained cautious in concentrating on more established artists like Zhang Xiaogang whose Camarade A: Boy (40 x 30cm), featuring on the catalogue cover, sold for €130,000, while his feminine counterpart Camarade A: Girl found a buyer for €135,000. Other confirmed artists : WANG Guangyi hit a hammered price of 42.000€ with Great Criticism n°007 and YAN Pei-Ming’s Mao reached 90.000 €.

In Switzerland, Kollar dedicated a catalogue to 95 works sold on 23 June 2007 and, in order to ensure it reaches Chinese customers, the auction house has also become associated with Emperor‘s Ferry International Auction. As with Sotheby’s and Christie’s, British auction house Bonhams did not hesitate to open a branch in Hong Kong, although the results of its inaugural sale on 26 May were not particularly encouraging since 65% of the 147 lots did not find a buyer. At first sight only the headline artists like Rong Rong, Cang Xin, Wang Guangyi, Zhang Xiaogang or Yue Minjun carry the show there. Does this mean the market is now becoming more reasonable and refocusing on the safest bets?