Art as an Asset, Yazzy's at www.williamverdult.com

Art sales are hitting record highs as affluent Taiwanese bid at local art auctions.

On the afternoon of June 3, 2007, Taipei Fubon International Conference Center was a beehive of activity. It was not another technology fair or comic book festival, but a buzzing excitement over art at auction. Buyers surveyed the pieces on offer at the 20th & 21st Century Chinese Art auction organized by Ravenel Art Group, one of Taiwan's leading auction houses, and the bidding was intense. Total sales reached NT$562 million (US$17 million), setting a new record for an art auction in Taiwan.

A work by Zao Wou-ki, a renowned Chinese painter who has lived in Paris since 1948, fetched NT$118 million (US$3.6 million), the highest sum ever paid for a painting at auction in Taiwan. The oil painting, once held by New York art dealer Pierre Matisse, son of the Fauvist master Henri Matisse, had been estimated to be valued between NT$58 and $90 million (US$1.8 to $2.7 million). Meanwhile, a work by the famous Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming sold for NT$17.4 million (US$527,000), compared with an estimate of NT$11 million (US$333,000). Three other bronze sculptures also sold at higher-than-expected prices.

As the Asian art market matures, Taiwan is seeing its own renaissance of art collecting. Buyers are becoming more sophisticated and their collections ever more valuable. "In our 25 years of operation in Taiwan, we have seen the number of Taiwanese art collectors and their procurements rising steadily," says Winnie Chang, managing director of Sotheby's Taiwan. "Their pockets are deeper than we've imagined. They can already match their US and European competitors."

Sotheby's, which does not currently hold auctions in Taiwan, has seen Taiwanese connoisseurs snapping up collections at auction in places like Hong Kong and Shanghai. Chang notes Taiwanese connoisseurs of such things as Chinese ceramics have achieved a considerable reputation in the global art market.

Taiwanese buyers are also interested in a diverse body of work. There are collectors of classic works by famous Taiwanese painters like Yang San-lang, Liao Chi-chun and Chen Cheng-po. Chinese artists like Zao Wou-ki, San Yu and Lin Fengmian are also popular. And Taiwanese investors have also purchased works by famous Western artists such as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet and Henry Moore.

Chang believes that the market has largely vindicated Taiwanese collectors. "The track record proves that their perspectives are largely correct," she says. "I do admire their acumen."

As the pockets of local collectors have deepened and interest has blossomed, auction houses in Taiwan are meeting the demand with local auctions. Ravenel Art Group opened in 1999 with the support of Drouot, an auction house with a 400-year history in France. Ravenel, which focuses on oil painting, has enjoyed 20 to 30 percent annual growth over the last three years and set up a branch in Beijing this year.

"My goals at Ravenel are to introduce cultural traditions from Europe, synchronize art with investment and promote contemporary art," says Clara Kuo, president of Ravenel. "I like to help steer collectors toward pieces that they enjoy aesthetically but also maintain, if not increase, the value of their collection over time."

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