In July 2023, the first spring auction after the epidemic officially came to an end in the eyes of the public. This season's spring auction of modern and contemporary art has a market size of more than 4 billion yuan, with 2,200 auction items, of which Spring Auctions in the Mainland total turnover of 976 million yuan, more than 1,000 auctioned items, various auction houses are forging ahead in the face of opportunities and challenges.

On July 11, 2023, ArtPro Talk specially invited six senior experts of modern and contemporary art from Beijing’s core auction houses to discuss the changes and trends of the Chinese art market in the spring of 2023, including China Guardian, Beijing Poly . discussion. Next, Let us focus on the wonderful views of Tian Heng, General Manager of Modern and Contemporary Art Department of Yongle Auction. 
 

Q: What is the overall performance of Chinese modern and contemporary artworks in the 2023 Spring Auction? Please look back at the highlight moments in your mind.

A: This year Yongle Auction launched the "Modern and Contemporary Art" matinee session for the first time. What is gratifying is that 30% of the lots were sold at super high estimates and feedback from collectors Not bad. "Now is the Future—New Paintings from a Global Perspective" and "Lansheng—Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Fair" were neatly lined up and gathered excellent works, and the auction site was fiercely competitive. Originally affected by the overall economic environment, our expectations were relatively conservative, but in the end we received relatively satisfactory results. I felt everyone's enthusiasm for Chinese contemporary art and was full of confidence in Chinese contemporary art.

What impresses me the most is the cover work of a new painting from a global perspective——Chen Ke's "Matador", with an estimated price of 2-3 million yuan. According to ArtPro statistics, after 60 After many bids, it was finally sold at 9.085 million yuan, which also broke the artist's auction record. The dazzling transaction of this lot is inseparable from the investment promotion and publicity of the team in the early stage. We also want to thank the artist Chen Ke for his support, and specially recorded a video for this work. At the same time, we are also grateful to the collectors for their support and love. 
 

Q: Each auction house has a Many works of the artist have been put up for auction. How does Yongle consider the setting of the artist's case?

A: Case planning is a subjective choice, but it is also affected by objective factors. The greatest value of individual artist cases lies in the in-depth analysis of their artistic history and creative context. At the same time, selecting representative works from different periods and series allows collectors to have a more comprehensive understanding of the artist efficiently. cognition. 
 

There are uncertainties and contingencies in the collection of auctions every year. On the basis of certain thresholds and requirements, if better works of key artists in different periods can be collected, it is more practical and feasible for auction houses to systematically present artists in the form of individual cases. In Yongle Spring Auctions this season, Liu Wei sold 4 works, the most eye-catching is the very rare gray tone work "Landscape 2" in the landscape series, which sold for 11.27 million yuan, Ouyang Chun sold 5 lots, and Huang Yuxing sold 3 pieces Auction. 
 

Q: The performance of the 5060 Chinese contemporary art core sector in this spring auction was relatively flat. Have artist prices stabilized? What space and possibility is there?

A: As the leader of Chinese contemporary art, artists in the 5060s have experienced a long period of market precipitation and continuous transactions, and there are fewer and fewer important representative or key works. This Ji did not release too many first-class works, and the attention will naturally decline, and the price cannot reach the height of the previous cycle. Once a museum-level lot is released, big collectors and powerful institutions will definitely intervene, and the price will remain at a high level. This is the normal choice of the market for ordinary goods and top-notch goods. 
 

Q: More and more collectors are making purchases What do you think about showing off your collection on social media later?

A: There are currently many social media and content community platforms, and social software such as Xiaohongshu is being known and loved by more and more people. With the progress of the times, young and middle-aged collectors have multi-dimensional and unique perspectives. Their ways of viewing, understanding and sharing art are different from traditional collectors. They do not "collect and collect", but own A more open mind is willing to share their collections. 
 

If a person has a favorite artwork and is willing to share Public sharing, This is of great value and significance for the dissemination of art and the development of cultural ecology, and they may even participate in and lead the prosperity and construction of the cultural ecology of their community. From a personal point of view, I very much recognize and appreciate this approach.

On June 28th, we held the "A7 Young Collectors Summit". Seven young collectors had a dialogue and discussion on the current status of contemporary art collections. The effect of the forum is far beyond our expectations. There are at least 50,000 people who have been watching for two hours or more. Seeing that so many people are willing to pay attention to contemporary art, I am touched It was a big touch, and I was very surprised. 
 

Q: Will private negotiation be a growth point for modern and contemporary income in the future?

A: Whether private negotiation can become a new growth point still needs to be considered in many aspects. The commercial environment, credit system, and corresponding laws and regulations in the Mainland are all different from those in Hong Kong. Differently, auction houses are still in the basic stage of private business, and the consumption habits of mainland customers are also more traditional. 
 

Q: What is the next strategy and plan of Yongle Auction in the modern and contemporary art sector?

A: We will still focus on cultivating Chinese modern and contemporary art. Focusing on the local is not only a basic strategy, but also an active value judgment and cultural choice. At the same time, we will continue to promote Paradise's exploration of internationalization, and strive to find more works of artists from different cultural backgrounds, regions, and styles into our system. Mainly focus on Chinese art, supplemented by Japan, South Korea and the West. This is our established and long-term strategy. 
 

The development of the Chinese art market requires everyone to work hard. I hope that the autumn auction market will have a better recovery.

For more updates on the global art market in 2023, please continue to pay attention to ArtPro.