asian art market tops?

Yeah, a whopping time for Asian art. Serioously. What world is this article written in?


Dec 2, 2008
Asia art market is tops
London - Western art has dominated the world art market for almost 500 years.

No longer.

More than half of the world's best-selling painters and sculptors today are from Asia, according to a new list of 500 top-selling contemporary artists at auctions between July last year and June this year.

In the list recently released by auction tracking site Artprice and Axa insurance company, 13 among the top 20 are from Asia, with 11 coming from China.

In the top 10, five are Chinese, including auction favourites Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi and Yue Minjun.

The top four positions are taken by Western superstars Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst and Richard Prince.

China is the new contemporary art superpower, going by how much its artists have been pulling in at auctions, The Independent newspaper said recently, quoting the report.

'The total auction revenue generated by 100 Chinese artists in 2003-4 amounted to £860,000 (S$2 million),' it says.

'The same 100 generated total revenue of £270 million over the last 12 months. Of these 100, three are striking for having each generated more than £26 million.'