Hong Kong showcase arts fairs attract multimillion dollar sales

An endless flow of champagne and celebrity sightings at Art Basel and Art Central helped the city sparkle over the weekend - but for art dealers, it was all about the sales.

Galleries showing at Art Basel, which closes on Tuesday, and at the first edition of satellite fair Art Central, which closed on Monday, reported satisfactory sales.

Multimillion US dollar artworks by modern period masters such as Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall at Art Basel were still waiting for collectors to take them home, but works with mid-market prices selling at or under six-digit figures were immensely popular.

Dealers said the strong US dollar against Japanese yen, Korean won, euro and Australian dollar had made buyers from these regions think twice before purchasing artworks.

However, they were glad to see a more international crowd from across Asia-Pacific and Europe, instead of a market dominated by buyers from mainland China, where spending on luxury goods has slumped.

Some Australian galleries at Art Basel said clients were pleased to see them pricing works in the weakened Australian dollar, but it meant they had to work harder to cover the costs of the exhibition.

Tim Etchells, Art Central's co-founder, said the four-day fair staged inside a 10,000 square metre tent by the Central harbourfront drew 30,000 visitors - about a third more than expected.