Randian: What do you feel you have learnt from your interaction with collectors in Asia, as opposed to those in Europe?
Francois Curiel: The market for Asian art is increasingly discerning. Every season we see a growing number of Asian buyers, and in the first half of this year there was a 31% increase in Asian clients registering to bid on our sales in London and New York.
Southeast Asian collectors are the major buyers for the Asian collecting market for high value lots, but Hong Kong buyers are catching up, especially for low- to mid-value lots. Collectors from Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia have a longer history in terms of art connoisseurship and the concept of provenance; Taiwanese with modern and contemporary art, and Korean and Japanese buyers with post-war and contemporary, Impressionist and modern art. The collecting pattern of Chinese buyers will likely emulate that of other more established Asian buyers.
Randian: Now a loaded question — do you detect increased refinement in the tastes of clients in Hong Kong?
Francois Curiel: Asian buyers are increasingly seeking works of the highest quality and provenance. We see an increasing number of Asian clients bidding across sales categories.
Randian: With continuing uncertainty in the Eurozone, marginal growth in the US and mixed economic data from China, do you see the “flight to assets” of recent years continuing to benefit auction sales for blue-chip art works?
Francois Curiel: Art is the primary interest of nearly every major collector we work with. In many cases collectors are collecting more, but we are also seeing new collectors coming into the market. Aside from fluctuations in financial markets, we are seeing fundamental changes in the art market, and the number of collectors with which we engage.
We are able to cater to clients’ needs and anticipate areas of interest to maintain client engagement. The results of our auctions in September and October in Europe and America were encouraging, so I am cautiously optimistic about the Autumn sales in Hong Kong.
Randian: Transparency has been an ongoing issue in the auction market in China. Is the market becoming more transparent? What are the continuing risks?
Francois Curiel: We have a team of specialists who investigate the provenance of all objects we offer for sale, and we exercise caution when accepting any consignment. As a matter of policy, we will not sell a suspect artwork. Christie’s adheres to all rules and regulations governing the art market today, and we go to considerable lengths to sustain the highest standards in the legitimate global art market.
Randian: What is your economic prognosis for the art market for the next year?
Francois Curiel: We are cautiously optimistic; there are a number of external factors to take into consideration. However, we expect to continue to see strong demand globally for the best of the best, as illustrated by the active global participation in recent New York, Paris and London salesrooms.
Note
For autumn 2012, Christie’s Education Hong Kong will be offering a new course on Chinese modern painting. This focuses on works of ink on paper, aiming to provide an overview for those interested in collecting.
(This interview was conducted by email.)
(All images courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd 2011)
