四级复习资料大全阅读(30)

　　Passage 7

　　Younger Artists Struggle to Excite Buyers

　　As the senior global specialist and vice president for Chinese contemporary art at Sotheby s in New York, Zhang Xiaoming travels to China almost every month. Here she usually meets collectors and dealers. When her schedule allows, she also takes the time to check out artists studios and their latest productions.

　　But Zhang admits to finding it increasingly difficult on recent visits to be touched by the new works that she has seen.

　　Maybe there are great works that have not been discovered, but from what I see, many artists are repeating themselves and the market for younger artists works is overpriced, she said.

　　The most important artists coming out of China, those who have been celebrated by international collectors, are artists who created works at very difficult times, and were inspired by their tradition, history and culture.

　　These works are really deeply connected to their own culture and their own traditions, Zhang said. But what is happening right now is a lot of younger artists coming to the market have a lack of spirituality. For me it s hard to read what their artwork is about. Today some of the artists that fetch high prices may not last over the longer term.

　　Zhang is one of several market professionals who have raised concerns that Chinese contemporary art could be becoming overpriced, and might be heading for an inevitable correction, after recording stellar gains of about 40 percent each year for the past two years.examda.com

　　Still, if the latest auction results for Asian contemporary artwork at Christie s are anything to go by, buyers are still extremely bullish, though increasingly selective.

　　The inaugural evening sale of Asian Contemporary Art at Christie s in Hong Kong raised 318.38 million Hong Kong dollars, or $40.8 million, well above the presale estimate of 174.6 to 231.8 million dollars.

　　Christie s was offering a small, highly selective list of high-caliber works by leading artists, including Zeng Fanzhi, Yue Minjun, Zhang Xiaogang, Cai Guoqiang and Takashi Murakami, and the buyers snapped them up. Only two of the 34 lots failed to meet their reserve and several records were set, including a new world auction record for any Chinese contemporary artwork, for Zeng Fanzhi s monumental Mask Series 1996 No.6 which sold for 75.3 million dollars.

　　There was quite an even bidding between the room and the phones, though the phones seem to win in the end on the top lots, said Eric Chang, head of Asian contemporary art and Chinese 20th century art at Christie s. I think this evening sale has opened another gate for Asian contemporary art.

　　The auction continued equally strongly Sunday, with 341 lots raising 253.1 million dollars. While many buyers remain enthusiastic, they are also becoming more discerning.

　　Gweong-Gweong, by Yue Minjun, sold for 54 million dollars, a record for the artist and well above the 4.9 million dollars that it fetched in November 2005. But Great Solidarity , painted by Yue in 1992, was one of the lots that failed to sell, despite being a historically significant piece that established the artist s trademark motif of rows of repeated figures of himself.

　　I think that piece had some condition issues, Chang said. The market is more mature now and collectors will select the good quality pieces in best condition.

　　Interest was not confined to Chinese contemporary art. The weekend auction set records for 29 Japanese artists, 10 Indian artists and 10 Korean ones.

　　Interest in Japanese contemporary art was very strong, Chang said. In general, pieces sold for between three to 10 times their estimates.

　　The market for Japanese contemporary art, which has embraced subcultures like manga, anime, fantasy and technology, has seen an incredible explosion in interest in recent months, helping to feed an increase of nearly threefold in total sales receipts at Christie s Hong Kong auctions to 36.1 million dollars this past autumn from 12.5 million dollars in the spring of 2007.

　　Japanese prices have been driven up by interest from Asian buyers, said Zhang Xiaoming, head of Chinese contemporary art at Sotheby s in New York. In fact, they are outperforming Chinese artists, but because they re starting from a lower base, prices are still lagging behind those of Chinese.

　　Korean contemporary artists have also started to make some waves, although they still have to develop the salesroom buzz that surrounds the Japanese.

　　In contrast to all the exuberance in the contemporary market, however, interest in Chinese 20th century art is showing signs of fatigue.

　　In the second evening sale Saturday, featuring Chinese 20th century work, only 73 percent of the 26 lots were sold, raising 151.4 million dollars within the estimate of 130.7 million to 168.3 million dollars but lacking in excitement. The next day went a little better, when 83 percent of the lots were sold, raising another 91.1 million dollars.

　　Some pieces went very high, but maybe the estimates were on the high side, Chang acknowledged.

　　Of six lots by the Taiwanese artist Kuo Po Chuan, only one was sold. Sunset at Danshui went for 2.64 million dollars, at the lower end of its estimate of 2.5 million to 3 million dollars. His star lot, The Forbidden City , estimated at 5 million to 7 million dollars, failed to find a buyer. A piece from the same series was sold for a less-than-expect-ed 27.2 million dollars at a Sotheby s Hong Kong auction last month.

　　Chinese collectors might have been turned off by the latest developments on the local stock market, as well as the Sichuan earthquake, he said. But I think the market prices will come back up.

　　1. Zhang Xiaoming has settled in China and she found that the Chinese contemporary art really touches her.

　　2. According to Zhang, many artists are repeating themselves.

　　3. Zhang thinks tradition, history and culture are the sources of the artists inspiration.

　　4. Zhang is the senior global specialist and vice president for Chinese contemporary art at Sotheby s in New York.

　　5. Some market professionals including Zhang pointed out that some Chinese contemporary artworks are overpriced and most collectors have began to realize it.examda.com

　　6. Chinese contemporary artworks are the most popular among the collectors.

　　7. Japanese contemporary artworks sold badly in the auction.

　　8. Eric Chang, head of Asian contemporary art and Chinese 20th century art at Christie s thinks that the market is very mature now and the buyers will _______________.