Chinese collectors push up value artists – Rupert Hoogewerf

Rupert Hoogewerf by Getty Images via Daylife

The Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang has become the country’s more valuable artist, says China Rich List producer Rupert Hoogewerf in Bloomberg:

Works by Zhang, known for his somber, gray-hued paintings of Chinese families, fetched a combined $44.1 million at art auctions last year, followed by Yue’s $30.5 million and Zeng’s $30.1 million, according to Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun’s Shanghai- based publisher. Works by the top 50 artists on Hurun’s list sold a combined $410 million at auction last year. Artists on the list averaged 57.5 years of age.

While in the past mainly foreign collectors determined the art market in China, now also the Chinese investors have started to move, says Hoogewerf. That interest might possibly help this Chinese market from dropping too fiercely, along with the global financial crisis.

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Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you are interested in having him at your conference, do get in touch.