In July 2023, the first spring auction after the epidemic officially came to an end in the eyes of the public. This season's spring auction of modern and contemporary art has a market size of more than 4 billion yuan, with 2,200 auction items, of which The total turnover of Spring Auctions in the Mainland was 976 million yuan, and more than 1,000 pieces were auctioned. All auction houses forged ahead amid opportunities and challenges.

On July 11, 2023, ArtPro Talk specially invited six senior experts of modern and contemporary artworks from Beijing’s core auction houses to discuss together including China Guardian, Beijing Poly, Yongle Auction, Huayi International, and Beijing Rongbao Auction , International Auction, conducted a very professional and in-depth discussion on core topics such as the overall performance of Chinese modern and contemporary artworks, the rise of new painting sectors, and the changes brought about by the entry of new collectors. Next, Let us focus on the wonderful views of Tang Lili, General Manager of Beijing Poly Modern and Contemporary Art Department. 
 

Q: What is the overall performance of Chinese modern and contemporary art in the 2023 Spring Auction? Please look back at the highlight moments in your mind.

A: Due to the impact of the epidemic, the autumn auction in 2022 has been postponed to February this year. The spring auction will begin shortly after the end of the autumn auction. The whole rhythm of the first half of the year is relatively tense. With a positive and optimistic attitude, the sales of the Spring Auctions were also within expectations.

The three major modern and contemporary art sessions ended steadily, and the most eye-catching one was the cover of the "Modern and Contemporary Art Matinee" Geng Jianyi's "Forever Shining—Great Unity" was fiercely competitive on site, after 30 bids The bidding price and the final transaction price of 805,000 yuan was unexpected and reasonable. 
 

New paintings have always been the subject of our unremitting efforts. "Chinese New Painting Night Fair" has a total turnover of 19.389 million yuan, with a turnover rate of 83%. Huang Yuxing's "Carnivora: Pandas" created in 2005 Leading the way, the work was sold for 2.99 million yuan; the cover work of this session, Gao Yu's "Cultural Sperm" created in 2005 was sold for 1.265 million yuan, and Zhao Gang's "Conqueror" was sold for 1.15 million yuan, breaking the artist's personal transaction record. Fei also achieved good results. 
 

Q: Is the list of artists for new paintings stable in the key sections of each auction house in the new painting section?

A: I used to give new collectors a very simple and crude way to compare the list of new painting artists in the catalogs of each auction house. Although the resources, sales models, and logic of each auction house are different, The overlapping degree of the list of new painting artists is more than 80%. It is relatively easy to observe the changes in the list of new painting sections from the overall layout stable and objective. 
 

Q: Each auction house has many works of a popular artist on the auction, how does Poly set up the case for the artist? considerate?

A: It is a challenge to plan a deep and influential topic and collect related works within the limited collection time. What we are actively promoting at this stage is to deeply explore the value of the acquired works, and through the successful planning of individual cases of artists, a positive chain effect will be produced.

For example, we will set up special topics on Ma Ke on a regular basis. Six pieces of Ma Ke's works were sold in this season's spring auction. When the entrusting party sees that Ma Ke can achieve a transaction that exceeds expectations in Poly, it will naturally generate greater trust and is more willing to take the initiative to entrust the work to us. At the same time, collectors will also notice that we have more and better works of Ma Ke in different periods, forming a good reputation and a positive cycle in the market. 
 

Q: 5060 Chinese Contemporary Pai's performance is relatively flat. From your observation, what is the reason?

A: The value and price of the work are not necessarily positively related, and we should pay attention to what the user portrait looks like. Systematic collectors will systematically collect Chinese contemporary art from the perspective of combing art history; junior or young collectors will start more from personal preferences, and their collection ability will be limited to a certain extent in the economic situation. 
 

Artists of the 50s and 60s are the backbone of Chinese contemporary art and are also in the systematic collection Indispensable sections, their important works have been included in top collectors or institutions; new collectors find it difficult to accept high prices. The transaction of this sector is not satisfactory, don’t worry and over-interpret it, this is the normal state of sector rotation.

The cover work Xu Bing's "Your Name" of the "Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Fair" failed to be sold on the spot, but after the auction, many collectors actively joined us Contact privately.

Q: Many auctions are priced online and offline simultaneously. How has the participation of online collectors changed?

A: The epidemic has brought about many changes in the past three years, or catalyzed many things. Online auctions or online bidding have now become a norm, and many young and middle-aged collectors have adapted to online auctions. to bid. This phenomenon is also reflected in this season's spring auctions. Some big customers want to participate in the bidding in a low-key manner, even if they are already present, they still choose to bid online. 
 

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Q: More and more collectors post purchases on social media What do you think about showing your collection on the Internet?

A: I often share the things I buy in Moments. On the one hand, it is the joy of sharing. Sharing is an altruistic behavior, and it is also a kind of advanced society emotional satisfaction. While feeling the joy of sharing, I am also very satisfied with my "vanity", which is also the driving force for my collection.

On the other hand, as a practitioner in the art industry, I think this is a good demonstration effect. I work hard to make money to collect the works of art I like, and to a certain extent, I also help the collectors I contact to build confidence. Therefore, sharing collections on social platforms is a double enjoyment on the spiritual and material levels. 
 

Q: There is still a big gap between the Chinese and Western art markets. Where will the Beijing modern and contemporary art market grow next?

A: The auction market in the West has existed for hundreds of years. There is still a big gap between China and the West in terms of auction collection and marketing. Comparisons are inappropriate. But the success of the West can become the direction of our future efforts. 
 

The Chinese art trading market is still in its infancy, and we are fortunate to step on the From the starting point, We must persist in doing the current thing well and not leave. The maturity and prosperity of the Western art market is a portrait of our future.

For more updates on the global art market in 2023, please continue to pay attention to ArtPro.