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SINGAPORE : There is still room for Chinese contemporary art works to appreciate in value, said art experts at a Channel NewsAsia symposium on "Investing in Chinese Contemporary Art".
The trick, however, is knowing what and how to buy.
For example, an art piece by one of China's top contemporary artists Fang Lijun may be 200 times more valuable than 10 years ago.
To shed some light on the prospects and know-how of investing in Chinese contemporary art, this Channel NewsAsia symposium brought under one roof art experts from Beijing Poly International Auction House, artist Fang LiJun and an avid art collector to share their views.
The avid collector Dr Arthur Lim said he started collecting art some four decades ago, when he spent just thousands buying up the pieces.
But now he's offered up to half a million dollars for those pieces!
So he is convinced that the investment value of art surpasses those of equities and real estate.
Dr Lim said: "Three, four years ago, when the price of art, especially Chinese art began to move up, I found that pieces, some of which were lost under the table, to my surprise were worth hundreds of thousands, and half a million dollars! So art values have appreciated.
"If you compare art pieces of quality from China to those from European artists, you'll find that our prices are still a fraction of Matisse, Picasso. So I believe that contemporary art and art from China will continue to go up for the next 3 to 5 years."
While there's no doubt about the prospects of Chinese contemporary art, some of the participants were concerned that while there is an explosion in the prices and volume of art pieces coming out of China, there is however no significant jump in the quality of those works.
In fact, some asked if the current works coming out of China are driven by commercial demand and profit speculation.
But one top Chinese contemporary artist disagrees.
Fang Lijun said no self-respecting artist would compromise on the quality of his work, or else he risks writing himself off the art market.
And even if the motivation is money, it should not compromise the quality of his work as long as it's created out of passion.
Mr Fang said: "Speculation is not all bad. It's an indication of how marketable the work is. More speculators mean the work is acclaimed and endorsed by the market."
The experts' tip for investors: always buy the best that you can afford within your means.
And if you can't afford the best, start with the smaller pieces or works done by the peers of top artists.
Chang Tianhu, Art Director, Beijing Poly International Auction Co, said: "For collectors who are short on cash, they could start with the works by artists of the same era, but who haven't been spotted yet and so their prices are still affordable. Another way is to go for younger artists - those whose works are priced below 10,000 yuan. Such works are still available in many galleries in Beijing if you look hard enough."
More importantly, experts say do your homework - know what you're buying, and the artists behind those prized pieces. - CNA/ch
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