Some 80 galleries from across the world showcased their best art pieces over the weekend at the Chinese International Gallery Exposition 2008 in Beijing.The annual show, which had more overseas participants this year, is said to have shone the spotlight on a new group of artists.The highest bid at the exposition's auction went to Yue Minjun's Be@rbrick, which fetched 1.2 million yuan (US$700,000) for a charity.Yue is a contemporary artist who is best known for his portraits of laughing men.His creation, along with those of nine other artists who lent their Chinese touches to the Japanese Be@rbrick collectible series, was a crowd-puller at the exhibition which featured works from 20 countries.As Chinese contemporary artists continue to draw admiration from collectors, their counterparts from further south are also gaining clout in the Chinese capital.Gallery owners at the exposition said Chinese contemporary art used to steal the show, but collectors' interests have since spilled over to Asian contemporary art as buyers here seek out a wider range of styles and creations.Their new source of inspiration is Southeast Asia.Close to ten pieces of artwork by Filipino artists – priced between US$8,000 and US$10,000 – were snapped up on the first day.And within a couple of hours into the opening of the exhibition, up-and-coming Indonesian artist SP Hidayat had already made a lasting impression.Muhammad Iftikhar Raja, counsellor at the Embassy of Pakistan, said: "It's a good depth and you know, there's a big message in this painting."Linda Ma, director of Linda Gallery, said: "Chinese collectors have begun to notice Hidayat as his work is brilliant and the pricing is not too high, so he's gained some interest here."Hidayat, known for his warm depiction of emotions and love, said he is stimulated by the styles of Chinese artists."Chinese artists are very bold in their expressions about politics, emotions and other themes. I hope I will be bolder in expressing my emotions through my work in future," he said.