For Xu Lijun, a businesswoman in Beijing, contemporary Chinese art was once something far out of her reach.
"Besides my work, I spent most of my leisure time shopping, doing sports and traveling. Art virtually had no place in my life. "
That changed on a summer day in 2006 when she was invited to a wine appreciation party at an art gallery in 798 Art Zone, one of the hotbeds for contemporary Chinese art.
"I was impressed with the oil works hanging on the wall. And I had really an unforgettable evening at the party, filled with an artistic aura," says Xu, in her late 40s, adding that the party marked the beginning of her new hobby of art collecting.
From an early age, Xu says she developed a fondness for figurative paintings rather than classic ink or abstract paintings.
Nor does she turn her eyes to "works that look strange, ugly and silly".
"Some may call me a conservative, but I have no interest in those 'vanguard' contemporary art works. I only buy works that really move me," admits Xu who rarely attends auctions where contemporary art works often sell at astronomical prices.
"I am not going to be a big collector as I am not super rich. Nor do I buy art as an investment; it is mainly for enjoyment."
Xu is one of many who have discovered a love of art, says Dong Mengyang, director of Art Beijing, an annual international expo of contemporary art.
"A growing number of white collar, gold collar people and the newly rich are casting their eyes on contemporary art which is new and more exciting than classic and traditional art," Dong says.
Before the financial crisis, many people were plunging into the contemporary art market for investment and even speculation, which caused chaos and casualties, Dong adds.
"Many people forget that art, in the first place, is supposed to make our life more beautiful and bearable," Dong says.
"The financial crisis and global economic downturn has forced people to think seriously about the nature of art collecting."
Dong describes the Chinese contemporary art market as a pyramid.
"Only when there is a huge base with minor art collectors can the Chinese contemporary art market stand firm and have a stable and sustainable development," he explains.
Since last autumn, the Chinese contemporary art market has been plagued by a slump.
The lackluster scene may continue for at least two years, some experts say.
"Due to a shortage in cash flow, the economic crisis has made it hard for the major speculators to flex their muscles on the contemporary art market," says Jiang Changcheng, an independent analyst in Beijing.
At the 2009 China Guardian Auctions' spring sales, the closure rate was 44.7 percent and the total transaction volume for the Chinese Oil and Sculpture category was 34 million yuan ($5 million), much less than the 2008 autumn oil sales of 51 million.
For another market leader, the China Poly International Auctions, its spring sales scooped 37 million yuan in the Oil, Sculpture and Contemporary Art category, with a 66 percent closure rate, much less than its 2008 autumn sales that registered 85 million yuan.
"The Chinese contemporary art market is far from mature. It was only in the past two to three years that contemporary Chinese art began gaining certain market recognition," says Kou Qin, China Guardian Auctions deputy general manager.
In Kou's opinion, the sharp drop of prices "are predictable and understandable" as some major players in the market were making quick money.
Kou has a firm belief that "classic and traditional art will remain as the staple of the Chinese art market in the coming years" and it is too early to say that contemporary art will play a leading role in the Chinese market.
Kou believes the market re-adjustment is good for the future of Chinese contemporary art and "more potential collectors now have the chance to join the game. This market shake-up will sort out the wheat from the chaff".
Some overpriced art works will be kicked out of the market; some long-ignored, undervalued art works will get a fair treatment; still a very few art works that have withstood test of time will always have a staying power against the temporary turbulence, Kou says.
Kou's views are echoed by Zhu Qi, an independent curator in Beijing.
"While the prices of some hot-red works are tumbling both at auctions and private dealings, previously obscure young and middle-aged artists will come to the foreground in the market," Zhu says.
For example, the gross transaction volume for works by Zhang Xiaogang, one of China's top-ranking contemporary artists, at the 2007 autumn and 2008 spring sales is 450 million yuan, while the number drops to 100 million yuan at the 2008 autumn and 2009 spring auctions.
Meanwhile, the gross transaction volume for oil works by Yue Minjun, another much sought-after contemporary artist in both the domestic and overseas markets, was 360 million yuan at the 2007 autumn and 2008 spring sales, and the number nosedived to 50 million yuan at the 2008 autumn and 2009 spring auctions.
Zhu holds that Chinese contemporary art is largely overvalued and the situation has prevented genuine collectors from accessing the market.
Last year, Zhu was hailed as the most outspoken Chinese critic of the speculative frenzy in the Chinese contemporary art market. His attack on art speculation was followed by an array of Western media reports on the phenomenon.
For instance, in an April 7 2008 story, Forbes Magazine called China's frenzied art market "a scam".
"It is no secret that the Chinese contemporary art market is blistering hot, but outsiders have little idea of the murky ways the market's players have been cashing in for the last few years," wrote Gady A. Epstein.
Gao Minglu, an professor with University of Pittsburgh, points out that a widespread ignorance of art history, especially world art history, has also posed an obstacle for cultivating a healthy market for contemporary Chinese art.
"For one thing, there is no systematic collecting, research, education and promotion of contemporary art at either State or provincial level," Gao says. That has long been a common practice in countries where art and creative industries contribute greatly to both the local economy and overall social progress.
"Now the 'bubble' has burst, earlier than many people expected and the market is just returning to a normal status," says Zhu Qi, predicting the art market "will have more participants, mainly the new-rich and the emerging middle class".
(China Daily July 29, 2009)
