Zhang Xiaogang’s Forever Lasting Love

By Marion Maneker

The National speculates that the buyer of Zhang Xiaogang’s Forever Lasting Love for a record price of more than $10m was from Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, the story neither explains where the rumor comes from or why the paper believes it might have basis in fact.

Nonetheless, the story goes on to offer some statistics on why Chinese Contemporary Art might be a sound investment:

The Hurun research group says there were 875,000 yuan multimillionaires and 55,000 billionaires in China last year – 6.1 per cent more millionaires and 7.8 per cent more billionaires than the year before.”Economic prosperity is driving this. It’s not a mystery, as the art market parallels economic development,” says Meg Maggio, an arts writer, curator and director of Pekin Fine Arts Gallery in Beijing.

“The Sotheby’s sale reflected healthy trends. The works are increasing in value and this is not a bubble. A bubble is something that is going to burst. This is steady growth in price.”

A Bull in the Chinese Art Shop (The National)