It was quite a year for the Chinese contemporary art market as countless auction records were set and a number of museums shifted some of their focus onto up and coming Chinese contemporary artists. While there is a growing concern over authenticity issues and bidders defaulting on auction purchases, the market is undoubtedly making strong moves. Just a few months ago a work by Zeng Fanzhi sold for over $23 million at a Sotheby’s auction! Museums, such as the Met and the Guggenheim are introducing new additions of Chinese contemporary art to their collections and even the Musee d’Art Moderne in Paris is presenting the first major retrospective Zeng Fanzhi. 2013 was certainly a major year for the Chinese contemporary art market and it will be interesting to see if the record prices are supported in the coming years.
Zeng Fanzhi’s “The Last Supper,” sold for $23.3 million at Sotheby’s (Oct. 2013)