A Bigger Splash
Stephen Thorpe muses philosophically (and vibrantly) in Imagination and Reverie.
The experts at ABHK have also noted this trend of diverted spending. “This year’s sales and sentiment, compared with last year’s, are much better,” says Henrietta Tsui-Leung, founder and CEO of local gallery Ora-Ora, which has also participated in ABHK since its inception. “We realized HK$5 million ($637,000) on the first preview day.” Given the gallery represents “the mid tier of internationally emerging artists who are well known in their own countries, with prices around $20,000 to $100,000, we were pretty happy with the energy”, says the gallery owner. Artists that proved a hit for Ora-Ora included Mai Miyake, Juri Markkula, Huang Dan, Stephen Thorpe, Xiao Xu and Peng Jian.
“Definitely, people are ready to buy,” Tsui-Leung adds. “A lot of people are renovating; people are taking care of their homes more.” David Zwirner’s Xu concurs: “People need art. They’re buying fewer luxury goods — because they don’t have anywhere to wear them. Also, when it comes to other luxury spending — real estate, boats — we might see a decrease. I think a lot of newcomers are shifting their focus to art.
“Seasoned collectors miss the opportunity to travel and see museum shows. That’s stimulated their appetite to buy and increase the quality of their collection. They’re living with their best art.
“Previously (the fairs were) such an extravaganza — you got to meet all these stellar guests, these heavyweight collectors. Now we have a clear mission: We’ve had the chance to explore local demographics. I would say this is art fair 2.0.”
