A painting by Liu Ye sold for HK$19.1 million ($2.5 million) at a Hong Kong auction, the most for a Chinese contemporary artist in two years, in a sign prices are returning to pre-credit-crisis levels.
Liu’s acrylic-and-oil “Bright Road,” showing a smiling couple with a flaming jet in the background, fetched an artist record. It was one of seven Chinese contemporary works that made $1 million or more at Sotheby’s sale, fueled by mainland and Indonesian money. During last year’s crisis, bidders passed on similar works offered at a third of yesterday’s prices. “Demand for the best Chinese contemporary artworks is back,” Eric Huang, a Taipei-based buyer and dealer, said in an interview at the auction. “Don’t be surprised to see prices match or even beat pre-crisis levels very soon.” Prices of top Chinese contemporary art fell 70 percent during the financial rout from the peak in May 2008 when Zeng Fanzhi’s painting of Red Guards fetched HK$75.4 million in Hong Kong.
Bloomberg News
