Asia as a source of undervalued talent. Poster-boy of the Southeast Asian contemporary art market, Filipino artist Ronald Ventura, is just one of the artists who have caught the eye of cashed up Asian art buyers who are driving up prices at an alarming rate. At Sotheby’s spring 2011 sale of Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian held in Hong Kong on the 4th of April, Ventura’s Grayground sold for HK$ 8,420,000 against an estimate of HK$220,000 – 350,000 making it the most expensive work of Southeast Asian contemporary art sold at auction.
As the Ventura record made headlines I was asked by the Philippine Daily Inquirer to comment on the sale. Here is what I had to say regarding Ventura’s rise to fame:
Asked his opinion on Ventura’s record-breaking sale, Nicholas Forrest (Art Market Blog: The World’s Most Popular Independent Art Market Analysis) observes: “Investors and collectors are always looking for new emerging markets that have untapped talent, and several Southeast Asian countries fit the bill – including the Philippines. What makes Ventura stand out from the crowd is the fact that he has progressed through the ranks and proven himself over quite a long period of time. Ventura showed that he is an experienced artist with a bright future. Adding to his status is the fact that he has been picked up by a New York gallery and was part of the 2008 Singapore Biennale.”
Read the full article here:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/3195/yes-but-is-it-art-%E2%80%93-or-investment
image:
ADRIEN-JEAN LE MAYEUR DE MERPRÈS (Belgium 1880-1958)
Temple Festival in Bali
signed ‘J. Le Mayeur’ (lower right)
oil on canvas
35 5/8 x 47¼ in. (90.6 x 120.7 cm.)
**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications
