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Channel Newsasia "Asia Pacific News"
Greater appreciation of Chinese art pushes prices to all-time high
By Channel NewsAsia China Correspondent Ca-Mie De Souza | March 2007
BEIJING : Chinese stock markets took a tumble this week, just as economists were saying the bubble would burst.
Now analysts are also predicting that the red hot Chinese modern art market is unsustainable.
Prices fetched by contemporary Chinese art at important auctions in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing continue to rise.
Last November, Beijing's Poly Auction sold off Liu Xiaodong's huge oil painting of the Three Gorges under construction for a world record US$2.75 million.
But it's still far from contemporary western art like the Warhol Mao which scored US$17.4 million.
But Chinese art is getting there.
"I can only say the market is immature, not the works. It's immature because it's a new phenomenon. From the consumers' viewpoint, they need time to know it better," says art commentator Nan Nan.
Zhu Wei, pioneer of the scene, should know.
Nearly all of his collectors are foreigners.
He says his specialisation in traditional ink brush painting technique doesn't go down well with the locals even though he makes a modern interpretation of Chinese society with them.
Local collectors somehow prefer Western imports.
"The popularity of Chinese contemporary art lies in oils. That's because oils is something of the east and the west, something collectors from both sides can accept," says contemporary artist Zhu Wei.
Chinese modern art first caught the world's attention only in the 1990s.
"Why Chinese contemporary art has to do with many years that China was closed off to the world. Perhaps, years later North Korean contemporary art may also be hot, just like China. The real good works will endure," says Zhu.
Contemporary Chinese art is just about the hottest thing now.
But as artists work to meet demand, some are concerned the artistic value may just go down.
For the sustainable development of the art market, taking the long-term view will mean focusing on the art itself.
But that can be hard to assess.
"If you are in a very hot, bubble-like state, you'll find it hard to decide what's good and what's bad. You can't tell from who fetches the highest price, who's known by everyone because that's just what's trendy and it can't tell if a thing is good. Actually it's hard to tell, so we'll have to wait till this fever passes over," says Zhu.
And hope that artists and investors are pursuing art for art's sake. - CNA /ls
新加坡亚洲新闻频道”亚太新闻“栏目
对中国艺术兴趣日益增长 推动其价格创下历史新高
新加坡亚洲新闻频道驻中国记者Ca-Mie De Souza2007年3月报导
北京：中国股市这周暴跌，正如经济学家们一直预测的，泡沫即将破裂。
现在分析家们作出了另一则预言，红火的中国现代艺术市场也只是暂时现象。
来自纽约、香港和北京的拍卖数据表明，中国艺术在几个重要拍卖行的价格依旧在攀升。
去年11月，北京保利拍卖行以275万美元卖出画家刘晓东的一幅以正在建设中的三峡为创作对象的巨幅油画作品。
但其价格仍与西方艺术存在一段距离，如安迪.沃霍尔的毛泽东系列作品，售价为1740万美元。
中国艺术正朝这个方向挺进。
“我只能说现在市场还不成熟，不是指作品。说市场不成熟是因为它还是一个新现象。从消费者的立场来看，他们仍需要时间来深入了解。”艺术评论员楠楠说。
朱伟，艺术界的先锋，对此自然也心知肚明。
他几乎所有的藏家都是外国人。
朱伟说，即令他用水墨对中国社会作出了当代的解释，他在中国传统水墨艺术上的专长并没有在本土获得认同 。
本土藏家不知为何对西方舶来品更感兴趣。
“中国当代艺术的受欢迎主要体现在油画上。因为油画既是东方的也是西方的，东西方藏家都能接受它。”当代艺术家朱伟说。
中国现代艺术最初是在九十年代获得了世界性的关注。
“为什么中国当代艺术在中国闭关多年之后获得这样的关注？也许，多年以后，朝鲜当代艺术也会一样受欢迎，就像现在的中国。唯有真正的好作品才会留下。”朱伟说。
中国当代艺术正炙手可热。
然而正在艺术品迎合需求的同时，也有人担心其艺术价值在走下坡路。
关于艺术市场的可持续发展，远见意味着关注艺术本身。
只是这很难。
“假如你正处于一个热得冒泡的状态，你会发现很难分辨什么是好的什么是坏的。你不能依赖价格和名气来判断，因为那是一种赶时髦，不代表好坏。作出判断困难重重，所以我们只好等待这阵高烧过去。”朱伟说。
但愿艺术家们和投资者们都为了艺术而追求艺术吧。 - CNA /ls |
