Du: Generally speaking,whats the difference between the Southnorth( China,Korea and Japan) and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art?

Keong: Very generally speaking, it has been noted that SEA modern artists tend to prefer figures and bright, vibrant colours, in comparison to the modern artists from China, Korea and Japan. However, it remains a superficial observation as artists from both regions expound a myriad of styles and aesthetics. This is relevant to the Contemporary scene in the SEA region too where artists explore different medium, styles and expressions. Personally it is more meaningful to examine the uniqueness that is resulted from a particular cultural setting, i.e. the unique political/socio situation of China that resulted in a strong critical spirit of the existing protocol and in the same spirit, the strong urge of using painting as a social commentary in SEA throughout the 90s is a direct consequence of the SEA context. Nevertheless, if one can pin point a difference between the two, I would say that the Contemporary artists in China, Korea and Japan are increasingly aware of the fact that they are in the lime light of the art market and consequently, the works could be created for a perceived ‘international audience’. On the other hand, the SEA artists are less self-conscious.

Du: In the southeast Asian art,what attracts the collators and buyers most?

Keong:Like any art collector in any area, it is the relevance and the appeal of the work. Particularly for the Contemporary SEA work, a contemporary audience would find the works easily understandable. These works are created by artists residing in a cosmopolitan setting, hence the audience from all cultures would immediately understand the work of Masriadi when he makes fun of the contemporary obsession on mobile phones.

Du: Besides the diversity, does it have much potential on price? Why did you move the auction to Hong Kong?

Keong:The potential for price is enormous as it is generally noted that it is an area where it is most undervalued and underappreciated. Besides, the SEA market itself is not even fully developed hence we are foreseeing more new collectors from SEA itself and this is in addition to a pool of collectors for Asian artists who are always in search of a newer and fresher talents.

The move to Hong Kong which was almost 6 years ago stemmed from a belief and vision of Christie’s with which we see the potential in placing all Asian art categories under the same roof thereby exposing all the categories to an audience outside of their traditional market. The development of the market has proven us right and the cross buying in all categories has been most encouraging.

Du: Are the buyers mainly from South Asian or including others from China,Korea,Japan or Europe and the America?

Keong: Buyers % in the recent four sales

May 06

Indonesia 38.24%

Hong Kong 23.53%

Republic of Singapore 5%

Nov06

Indonesia 37.68%

Hong Kong 24.64%

Republic of Singapore 18.84%

May 07

Hong Kong 26.15%

Indonesia 15%

Republic of Singapore 18.46%

Nov 07

Indonesia  28.57%

Republic of Singapore 27.14%

Hong Kong 11.43%

Du: Whats your plan for the next step? How to extend it in order to improve it steadily?

Keong:The boom in the market allows us to include more lots which is an obvious expansion. Other plans include the inclusion of more edgy artists from the SEA region, looking at artists working in cross-disciplinary fields and multi-medium, in short we would strive to further define a group of contemporary artists from SEA which we are very aware that our present list of names is far from being exhausted. The steady growth of the market requires the effort from everyone in the art market, i.e. professional art galleries, responsible and insightful art critics, regular art fairs, reputable art schools etc. We see a mushrooming of events and happenings in the region which we feel very positive about.

作者：杜卡