On the occasion of Christie’s Hong Kong fall sales, Randian interviewed François Curiel, the high-profile president of Christie’s Asia, including on the challenges facing fine art auctions. The sales have already resulted in numerous record-breaking prices, including at the Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art (Evening Sale) where a world record was achieved for the artists Chu Teh Chun, with Lot 11 “La forêt blanche II” sold for HK$60,020,000 (Sale 2955). The auction brought total sales of HKD 420,400,000 including buyers’ premiums.

Randian: Beijing Poly and China Guardian have recently moved into the Hong Kong auction market and opened offices in Europe and North America. Is this a threat or an opportunity for the traditional houses?

Francois Curiel: It is a natural progression for Chinese auction houses to branch out of China, and I am most impressed by the amount of work and the level of business they have developed in a short time. History proves that the market grows faster when there are more players involved. We welcome competition in the industry and think it is a positive development for the art and auction market in general. The auction system can be quite complex for newcomers; the Chinese auction houses’ expansion allows mainland buyers to experience the quality of international auction houses.

Randian: Earlier this year Uli Sigg donated his vast collection to the new M+ museum, while major international galleries continue to move to Hong Kong. Yet Hong Kong itself, relative to cities such as New York, Paris and London, is not a major cultural center or even center of art collectors. Does that matter?

FC: Hong Kong has undergone great cultural and artistic development over the past several years and is now the third largest art hub in the world, and the leader in Asia. Collectors from all over the region gather for the major auctions and several leading international galleries have opened here over the last two years. These include Gagosian, Emmanuel Perrotin, Edouard Malingue and White Cube. Others, like Lehmann Maupin and Pace, have announced plans to do the same. This evolution is further reinforced by the development of ART HK, now owned by the Art Basel group. Christie’s also wants to play a role in cultivating a climate for artistic expression and cultural development, and we will offer short introductory courses on art and collectables in Hong Kong and soon in Shanghai.

Randian: Auction houses are moving into primary market sales, most famously exemplified by Damien Hirst’s now-notorious sale in 2008. What do you see as the limitations of this approach, and does it matter if it affects the traditional gallery market and the galleries’ developmental role?

Francois Curiel: On the contrary, the development of Hong Kong’s art scene on an international level has encouraged local galleries to expand and pursue their own initiatives. Christie’s must also be flexible in how we reach our clients. Private sales, online sales, auctions and the traditional gallery all have a different role to play, and all remain key to exhibiting art.

Randian: Is a de facto split market developing, one side more commercial (the world of collectors and auction houses), the other more academic (the world of curators, installations and biennales)?

Francois Curiel: In a buoyant art market, there are many different ways of developing it, be it for commercial or academic purposes. Having many more platforms exposing art to a larger audience is something to be excited about. I would say instead that the lines between the academic and the commercial are blurring.

Randian: What do you anticipate being the biggest challenges you will face in Asia in 2013?

Francois Curiel: Despite the economic climate, Christie’s is seeing encouraging results in both Europe and Asia, and we will continue to invest aggressively in Asia. The success of the spring auctions reflected global collectors’ keen interest in Asian art and luxury collectibles and the growth potential of the market.

A major new group of buyers has emerged from mainland China who are now educating themselves about the international art market. Our strategy is to make these new Chinese collectors feel comfortable dealing with Christie’s, not only in Hong Kong but throughout the rest of our salerooms. To facilitate this, we plan to offer Chinese-speaking staff in international salerooms, and localized content such as online catalogues and video clips. This year, Christie’s Live interface will be presented in Chinese. We are also establishing more off-season sales, tours, and exhibitions year-round, as well as additional opportunities for private sales.

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)