Compared with people from major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Shenzheners are less likely to buy fine art at auctions, but this will change in the years to come, according to auctioneers at the just-concluded International Cultural Industry Fair.

"Art is quite different from any other tangible product. To take part in an art auction, one needs not only enough money, but also good taste and expertise. In Shenzhen, many wealthy people still prefer to buy cars or houses rather than invest in art," Liu Yi, auctioneer with Guangdong Vaster (Shenzhen) Auctioneers Co. Ltd., said when the Chinese painting and calligraphy auction at the Shenzhen Olympic Building came to a close last week.

Among the 413 works for auction at the Olympic Building, 340 were sold for a total of 14.43 million yuan (US$1.74 million). Of the 149 pieces of selected Chinese painting and calligraphic works put up for auction at the Wuzhou Guest House, 53 lots were sold for a total of 78 million yuan.

"Most of the valuable works at both auctions were purchased by bidders from other provinces and municipalities rather than from the city," said Liu.

The Journey to Mount Wuyi, a landscape painting by the late Chinese painter Huang Binhong, was bought by a Shenzhen entrepreneur surnamed Chen for 800,000 yuan, but Huang's other seven landscape paintings were all sold to bidders from inland provinces.

The Ode to Peace, a Chinese painting jointly created by 22 contemporary Chinese painters for auction at the Wuzhou Guest House, was purchased by an anonymous Taiwanese businessman who bid 50 million yuan.

At present, there are only two or three companies in the city that offer art auction services, but Beijing and Shanghai all have more than 10, and Guangzhou has around five, Liu said.

"Shenzhen is a city of migrants with a short history, unlike Beijing or Shanghai, but we are pleased to see that a few local entrepreneurs are beginning to get actively involved in collecting art, although it will take two or three more generations for the city to catch up with Beijing or Shanghai," said Liu.

Lu Zhuoran, general manager of Guangdong Vaster (Shenzhen) Auctioneers Co. Ltd., suggested those starting to collect art should begin by bidding for cheap works.

"According to today's auction rules, an auction company no longer has the legal obligation to guarantee the authenticity of all works for auction. Therefore, bidders have to be responsible for their own choices and decisions," Lu said.

(Shenzhen Daily November 25, 2004)