ARTSingapore 2008

ARTSingapore keeps updating their exhibitor list and it looks like it’s going to be a really exciting fair.  With more than 100 galleries from 15 countries, it really is going to be a pan-Asian contemporary art delight.  So far they have 13 Japanese galleries, which is really great news for the Japanese market.  Getting international exposure and showing off what great talent there is in Japan will definitely help the evolution of the market.

I’m also excited to see some Thai galleries,  such as the Chiang Mai based La Luna, on the list.  Having done some work on the Southeast Asian market, it’s also good to see some of these galleries looking to the international stage.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the fair goes this year.

Emerging Japanese Artists and the Art Market

Well, after another long day of writing about the Japanese art market, I can really think of nothing other than Murakami’s business ingenuity and bijutsu clubs (notoriously closed dealers’ clubs).  So, I bring you something I threw together a while ago and feel is informative for those who know very little about the Japanese contemporary art scene.  Hope it informs.  Expect more on the Japanese market soon.

Right now is a truly exciting time for the Japanese art market – especially for up and coming artists who are looking for a big break at home or abroad. Thanks to more established artists, the whole world is finally taking note of contemporary Japanese art, thereby giving unknown artists a better platform for their work.

Most of this newfound publicity is really down to Takashi Murakami. His ingenuity and business savvy have allowed him to completely revamp the Japanese market in Japan and across the globe. Murakami has said that there no reliable contemporary art market in Japan when he first started out and he has sought to change that so that artists aren’t forced to leave Japan in order to make a name for themselves as he and many others had to do.

Luckily things have changed. Galleries have cropped up all over Tokyo, many looking for cutting edge and new artists. There has also been a recent proliferation of auction houses which host open auctions in Japan. Auctions that are open to the public are essential to the growth of an art market as they help make the market more transparent, meaning buyers will be more willing to invest in the market. More buyers means more chances for new artists to sell their works. And, as Murakami and Yoshimoto Nara’s works command millions of dollars abroad, foreign collectors are also looking for new talent in Japanese art. At the moment, Rei Sato has a solo show in the Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York – her show opened right after a solo show for the more established artist Mr. closed – and Chiho Aoshima is having articles written about her and her work in English-language magazines. Plus, the focus of the Paris Photo fair this year is Japan, with Japanese artists and galleries taking center stage.

And, this year Murakami has brought back not only GEISAI, his one-day massive art fair, but also Museum GEISAI, two great ways for unrepresented artists to show and sell their work (check out the website to find out how to apply for a booth for GEISAI #11 in September: http://www.geisai11.us/). This year also marked the inaugural year for the 101 Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair, which featured quite a few young, local dealers – always a great thing to see at art fairs. Like open auctions, art fairs encourage buyers in a market and the recent spate of art fairs in Tokyo will only grow as the market grows.

It definitely is an exciting time for Japanese artists both at home and abroad. There are so many opportunities opening up for them as the Japanese art market takes on an international aspect. Soon enough, these avant-garde artists will be established both in Japan and around the world.

Sotheby’s Evening Contemporary Sale – London

Once again, sorry for the late update.  I’ve been working on my dissertation all week and, after an intensive day of reading and writing about art markets and entering auction data into a spreadsheet, it’s a bit hard to concentrate enough to talk about art market news not relating to the Japanese market.

So, the Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening sale that occurred last week on 1 July.  Not surprisingly, the beautiful yet small Study for the Head of George Dyer, 1967, by Francis Bacon exceeded the £8m – £10m estimate (that was available on request) to sell for £13.8m ($27.5m).  Because it is such a small (14 in x 12 in) painting and a study, I wasn’t expecting a crazy price like Abramovich paid for the large Triptych.  However, with the beautiful colors and movement and intimacy and strong brush strokes, I had no doubt that it would go over estimate.

Study for the Head of George Dyer by Francis Bacon

I was, however, surprised to see how well Murakami’s work did at the sale.  DOB Flower, 2000, sold for £825,250 ($1.6m).  Mushroom-1, 2000, went for £481,250 ($959,709) and a statue of his character Kiki from a 2000 edition of 5 came in at £361,250 ($720,405).  While Kiki came in underestimate, the two paintings surpassed their high-end estimates.  I’m surprised by this because they’re very impersonal Murakamis, I haven’t researched them but I assume they were produced in the studio.  However, they did both come through Galerie Perrotin in Paris where they were exhibited in 2001.  Also, they both show iconic characters often produced by Murakami.  Still, despite my surprise, I’m happy – helps me in proving my dissertation hypothesis!

DOB Flower by Takashi Murakami

The U2 Basquiat did alright, selling for £5.1m ($10.2m), under the high-end estimate of £6m, but still a nice little packet for the band to split.

Basquiat owned by U2 on display at Sotheby\

And Gormley’s maquette for Angel of the North, 1996, sold for £2.3m ($4.6m), well above the £600,000 – £800,00 estimate.

The sale total was £94.7m ($188.9m), just exceeding the pre-estimate of £92.6m.   It does seem to be a bit of a bear market at the moment.  But I’m not yet sure how much of this is a result of the overall financial situation, or how much of this is just contemporary art prices re-adjusting themselves from the excessive highs they have been at lately.  I’m rather inclined to think it’s simply a bit of both.

NB – all sale results include Buyer’s Premium