Is it hype, speculation or the real thing? That question plagues artists, collectors and curators as they watch prices of Asian contemporary art spiralling to new heights.
Riding high on the booming market for Asian art, collector-cum-restaurateur Jai Waney and art gallery owner Johnson Chang Tsong-zung founded Atting House, the first Hong Kong-based internet auction house that specialises in Asian contemporary art.
Set up in January, Atting House will host its inaugural auction on Wednesday and Thursday, selling 132 'post avant-garde' contemporary paintings, photographs and sculptures by 66 up-and-coming mainland artists. The works are on display at Atting House's 10,000 sq ft space in Quarry Bay until the end of this month.
Atting House joins several high-profile art dealers in setting up on the Web. 'Saatchi has an online forum,' says Waney. 'Christie's and Sotheby's now have online bidding during house auctions, and Saffron has been very successful in India.'
Hong Kong art auctions are now the world's third largest after New York and London, thanks to the growing appetite for Asian arts. Last year's auctions of contemporary Asian artworks at Sotheby's
and Christie's, the two biggest auctioneers, collected US$190 million, up from US$22 million two years before.
