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Recession creates new opportunities for Asian art market

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http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/410648/1/.html

Recession creates new opportunities for Asian art market
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 22 February 2009 0020 hrs

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Recession creates new opportunities for Asian art market


SINGAPORE : The global financial fall-out might just be a blessing in disguise for art lovers and investors, if history is anything to go by.

Some experts said the art markets have always enjoyed booms after every recession, since 1987.

Sell-out shows used to be fairly common at this gallery specialising in contemporary Southeast Asian art.

But it's a different picture now; the gallery only managed to sell about 30 to 50 per cent of artworks at each new exhibition.

So will people stop buying art in 2009? Not really.

Observers said there is a growing pool of collectors in Singapore who will still continue to support the art market here. Furthermore, a fall in prices does not necessarily mean bad news for the artist or the gallery.

But what we would be seeing is a re-adjustment in expectations, and a return to more realistic pricing trends, according to observers.

Industry experts said buyers with thinner wallets will be more careful with what they are paying for. That puts a limit on how high prices can go.

"It's no longer a frenzy, mind-boggling, grab-whatever-you-can of, for instance, what Chinese art has experienced, and paying such exorbitant sums. Now the collectors and the buyers are open to alternative markets, which is the rest of Southeast Asia. And this is not what we consider second-rate options, but an option that was not explored," said Kenneth Tan, who co-owns the gallery Utterly Art.

Since prices are expected to stabilise, it's perhaps a good time then for buyers to enter the market, especially those who see art as a form of investment.

"The beauty of a situation like this is that the speculators are gone. So now there are real opportunities, at realistic prices, for serious collectors, professionals and curators to come back into the market," said Howard Rutkowski, co-founder of Fortune Cookie Projects.

Asian collectors are also expected to have a bigger impact on the international scene now, with the West bearing the brunt of the financial crisis.

"10 years ago, you rarely see buyers from any point in Asia. Now you see greater participation. I would say... that 20 per cent of the buyers in the international contemporary art market are from Asia," said Rutkowski.

Rutkowski said the coming years will see the region develop into an art business powerhouse, with Singapore a key driving force.

That was one of the reasons why he made Singapore the headquarters of his New York-based art consultancy firm - to be close to where the action is. - CNA /ls
 
Maybe one of our retrenched Singaporean workers will take up painting and become the next Picasso or Da Vinci.
 
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