Singapore auctions show burgeoning art market

Singapore auctions show burgeoning art market

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

Every April and September, there seems to be a mass exodus of
art lovers from Indonesia to Singapore. Those are the times of
the Singapore art previews, auctions and exhibitions, crammed
into less than three days.

Three auctions in a row, a preview and an exhibition opening,
all relative to Indonesia and the other Southeast Asian
countries, was in fact a bit too much for this art connoisseur
to take in.

But the packed Singapore spaces hosting the three auctions on
the weekend of Oct. 8 to Oct. 9 testified to the extraordinary
enthusiasm in the burgeoning art market. The Indonesian auction
house, Borobudur -- for which this was the first auction in
Singapore -- presented just 32 lots, but its exquisite choices
fetched a total of S$6,332,040; Larasati, which had earlier hit
the Singapore scene, sold 81 percent of its 106 lots at S$2.6
million and Sotheby's fetched S$11 million for 200 lots.

Borobudur had made it a point to bring its most exquisite
masterpieces, all of which went for prices within the estimate of
the catalog, but Rudolf Bonnet's The Balinese Men, 66.5
centimeters by 110.5 cm, pastel on paper, leapt from S$80 to
S$220, well above its highest estimate of S$150, Le Pho's
Motherhood, 72 cm by 52 cm, gouache and ink on silk laid down on
paper, made S$280 rising above its highest estimate of S$180,000.
Meanwhile, Roland Strasser's A Man Holding a Rooster fetched
S$220, surpassing its highest estimate of S$150.

Most of Larasati auction house's 106 lots apparently targeted
the new or moderately experienced buyer with prices considered
affordable, some below S$10,000. At times a lull was noticeable
in the enthusiasm of top collectors. But Affandi's Me and My
Cigar -- 129 cm by 97 cm oil-on-canvas -- was a hit and went for
S$340, far beyond the highest estimate of S$220. The last lot,
Antonio Blanco's Tjempaka 88 cm by 66 cm oil on canvas, woke
everyone up. Offered at S$30,000, it went for S$200,000, an
astronomical price for a painting that had been lying in a dusty
corner. Such surprises are typical of Larasati; the July 2005
auction in Jakarta presented a But Mochtar sculpture, which they
had "found" in the same way: estimated to sell for between Rp 90
and Rp 120 million, it went for Rp 350 million.

The mood at Sotheby's anniversary auction in the Fullerton
Ballroom was one of optimism as the auction house celebrates its
20th year in the region. In spite of the withdrawals of some
works and rumors of more fakes, sales of the varied collection
were dynamic, with some young upcoming painters fetching more
than would otherwise be expected. There was, for instance, the
work Rumah Rumah Cokelat, 150 cm by 200 cm, acrylic on canvas,
just recently made by Rudi Mantovani (b. 1973), one of the so-
called "Jendela" artists who has made a name with his finely
finished sculptures and paintings. Offered at S$2,000, it fetched
S$23,000! Other highlights included two paintings by Dutch-born
painter Isaac Israels (1865-1934), i.e. The Performance, 100 cm
by 75 cm oil on canvas and Man Playing Drum, 60 cm by 40 cm oil
on canvas, which respectively opened at S$100,000 and S$40,000
and fetched S$280 and S$210. But it was the oil painting by Lee
Man Fong (1913-1988) titled Balinese Life that fetched the
highest price. Opening at S$300,000, it was sold for more than
S$1 million.

Art can be very personal. Though technical quality and
historical value are basic, it is the personal significance that
often takes priority when it comes to purchasing a painting. The
paintings by Isaac Israels, for instance, are technically
perfect, according to Dutch art connoisseur and dealer R.
Colauto. "But they are greatly undervalued here," he complained.
Colauto predicts, however, five years from now Isaac Israels'
works will fetch much higher prices.

While technical and commercial considerations are important,
memories and personal ties are too. The buyer of Antonio Blanco's
Tjempaka, for instance revealed that it was the memory of old
times that had made him -- or rather his commissioner -- bid on
the piece.

The buoyant auction trade and the steady emergence of new
auction houses -- a new one called "Heritage" and another to
begin sales in December called "Sidharta Auctions" -- mean that
trading art is a lucrative activity. But with so many auction
houses holding auctions twice a year, two of which have an added
two in Singapore, there are fewer "masterpieces" to go around.
This scarcity has led auction houses to look beyond the
masterpieces, and upcoming contemporary works of fairly recent
making are finding their way into auctions that traditionally
only dealt with works that had "aged" in the course of time.

Many serious lovers of the arts worry that present trends of
art hunting are diffusing the specific roles between galleries
and auctions. They wonder how this will influence the market.
Above all, they worry about the impact on artists, their
creativity and the directions they take. Can auction houses make
direct contact with the artists, or should they go through the
art galleries, can recent works be offered in auctions, or should
they bank on a period of thorough experience?
Regardless, it seems that for most who return from the auctions
in Singapore -- with or without a new piece for their collections
-- the experience of enjoying some of the best art in the region
is second to none.