I've posted before on the relationship between China's art market and its unofficial economy. Check this out:
The world auction market’s top earner in recent years must yield to Chinese artist Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), according to a report from French research company Artprice.
Zhang generated $506.7 million in auction revenue in 2011. Close behind was compatriot Qi Baishi (1864-1957) with $445.1 million. They lead a group of more than 450,000 artists tracked by Artprice. Picasso ranked fourth at $311.6 million.
“When you couple China’s abundance of money and its rich history of collecting in all the categories of art, it’s not a surprise,” said Larry Warsh, a New York-based collector.
The change reflects China’s growing strength in the global art market. Of the approximately $11 billion total world revenue for fine art last year,China's share was 39 percent, up from 33 percent the year before, Artprice said. The U.S. was No. 2 with 25 percent.
Andy Warhol came in third among artists in the Artprice report, with $324.8 million. The fifth slot was occupied by yet another Chinese name, Xu Beihong (1895-1953), who tallied $212.9 million.
My guess is that there's a lot of people dumping their ill gotten gains into art as a hedge against the leadership succession process. But anyway, disturbances in the force.
One explanation given for the growth of the japanese coroprate art market in the 80's was that it was a less traceable way to give bungs.
you buy a painting, it sits in your office/safe.
when the buyout is negotiated - the painting comes with the building.
when people without a previous interest in art start buying they trend toward what is quicker to understand - hence the 80's mania for impressionism/post impressionism.
Maybe something similar ?
Posted by: nathan | January 13, 2012 at 03:02 PM