The "Talk about the health of the art market", organized by Hanoi Grapevine, accompanied by Lan Tinh Foundation and Complex 01, recently took place in Hanoi, clearly addressing this issue. The talk (taking place on January 4 and 5) had the participation of 3 speakers: collector Hoang Anh Tuan, curator - art historian Ace Le, director of Hanoi Studio Gallery Duong Thu Hang, and the coordination of journalist Truong Uyen Ly - independent expert, consultant of Hanoi Grapevine.
Journalist Uyen Ly, director of Hanoi Studio Gallery Duong Thu Hang, collector Hoang Anh Tuan and curator Ace Le (from left to right)
Many domestic investors and art collectors appear
According to collector Hoang Anh Tuan, to distinguish between collectors, buyers or investors of paintings, we need to look at their goals. Previously, this group was usually foreigners, but since the development of the Vietnamese economy, domestic factors have begun to appear.
Curator Ace Le commented: "In the early opening period, foreigners coming to Vietnam in the 1990s often bought souvenir paintings from Ho Bo galleries for souvenir and decoration purposes, which at that time accounted for 90% of Vietnam's fine art revenue. Currently, the balance has changed, with the majority being domestic buyers, collectors and investors. In my opinion, no one feels a Vietnamese painting better than the Vietnamese. That was the premise for the wave of repatriation of Indochina paintings in the past 10 years, with a list of works by Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Nguyen Phan Chanh... hitting the million USD mark for the first time. This is a movement that took place in China, Indonesia or the Philippines 15-20 years ago, and now it's our turn. These signals are very encouraging, because the domestic art-loving community has gradually taken control of the supply and demand market. Domestic purchasing power is a necessary condition for a strong art market".
Exhibition "Tran Hai Minh and his 38-year journey with painting" at Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, July 2024
Director of Hanoi Studio Gallery Duong Thu Hang said that many foreign investors have come to Vietnam to buy paintings. "They have passed on their experiences to us to form galleries, how to buy and sell or invest in paintings. Many Vietnamese works were bought by foreign collectors or investors 30-40 years ago. Currently, Vietnam has many domestic investors and art collectors, some of whom are young, and this is the driving force to develop the market," Ms. Hang said.
According to Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan, paintings are a special type of goods. The valuation of a work of art is subjective. "Korean investors bought Bui Xuan Phai's paintings in the 1980s and 1990s for only 100-200 USD. A few decades later, the value of the paintings increased many times. They are not better than us, but because they have more experience, they have more time to go," Mr. Tuan added.
Step by step transparency of the art market
Journalist Truong Uyen Ly raises the question: What is the social responsibility of buyers, collectors or investors in forming and developing a future Vietnamese art market?
Painting of a girl wearing a conical hat by the river by artist Mai Trung Thu (priced at 1.57 million USD)
An auction of paintings in Ho Chi Minh City, April 28, 2024
Curator Ace Le believes that making the art market transparent is the first step to development, starting with auction floors. Normally, private galleries or artists do not list prices, while auction houses by law will always play a central role in price discovery with the responsibility to publicize prices on media channels.
Meanwhile, collector Hoang Anh Tuan acknowledged: To develop a sustainable art market, we must invest in education along with related policies. "Everyone wants a transparent market, reducing the problem of counterfeit paintings. Therefore, we need a fully functional secondary market. Auction houses like Sotheby's in Vietnam will help make this market transparent. Compared to China, there are still too few Vietnamese investors or collectors. When the market is large enough, it will create a driving force to influence policies and taxes," Mr. Tuan said.
According to Ms. Duong Thu Hang, the public will be the ones to judge the transparency of the art market. If fake works are sold, they will soon be recognized. The art market also requires the influence of policy makers and financiers. "The price of Vietnamese paintings has increased due to the high price of Indochina paintings. However, we currently have many painters but few authors and works that truly have cultural significance for the country, from which we can leave our mark, create the history of Vietnamese fine arts, continuing the generation of Indochina painters, during the resistance war and the renovation and opening up period", Ms. Hang commented.
Director of Hanoi Studio Gallery DUONG THU HANG
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTORS
Looking back over the past five years, the secondary art market, most notably represented by auction houses, has helped increase the liquidity of artworks through public auctions. Over the past decade, at least 20 Indochinese paintings have been publicly traded for over a million USD. Each year, Indochinese paintings increase in price by about 20% compared to the previous year. However,
In the past 3 years after Covid-19, the price of Indochina paintings has slowed down due to the general difficulties of the global economy. This is a good time to stabilize prices, re-establish liquidity and is also a good opportunity for both domestic and foreign investors.
Curator Ace Le
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dieu-kien-can-cho-thi-truong-my-thuat-vung-manh-185250107213516213.htm
Comment (0)