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by Zhang Xiaochun
Under the Red Sun
copyright Zhang Xiaochun

After the spectacular boom in contemporary Chinese paintings and sculptures, it looks like the market of modern Chinese art prints is now following the boom with a time lag. Latest auction results from China indicate a firm trend.

Latest Auction Records

Below are some recent results from well-established and well-known auction houses in China.

Luo Guirong - born 1962

Beautiful Autumn
reduction woodblock print

by Luo Guirong
My Land and Me No. 3
copyright Luo Guirong

In the recent summer auction of 2008 by Guardian Auction house, My Land and Me No.3 by Luo Guirong was sold for a price of 50,400 RMB = 7,368 USD.

In 2007 the very same print in an edition of 16 was offered by artelino for USD 1,600. It went out for the reserve to a smart buyer in Asia. In 2007 we had offered and sold also the numbers 1, 2 and 4 of this series My Land and Me - all for reserves of USD 700 to USD 900.

Biography of Luo Guirong.

Wu Wanxi - born 1977

woodcut, limited edition of 6

by Wu Wanxi, born 1977
They - The Time of the Republic of China No. 1
copyright Wu Wanxi

In the recent summer auction of 2008 by Guardian Auction house two art prints by Yunnan artist Wu Wanxi were sold for the following prices:

• Her No.1 was sold for a price of 7,840 RMB = 1,146 USD.
• Pure No.1 was sold for a price of 5,600 RMB = 818 USD.

In 2007 we sold 19 woodcuts offered for reserves of USD 260 to USD 400. The two prints Her No.1 and Pure No. 1 are comparable to the woodblocks offered by artelino for reserves of USD 400.

Resumé of Wu Wanxi.

Li Yanpeng - born 1958

reduction woodblock print, 2004

by Li Yanpeng
Go to Market
copyright protected

The auction house Guardian Auction in Guangzhou sold Li Yanpeng's print Rest created in 2005 for 11,200 RMB = 1,300 USD.

Today's asking price of the artist is roughly USD 1,000 per print. Li Yanpeng's woodblock prints were created in reduction woodblock technique. One design usually has an edition of only 20 copies.

artelino has sold more than a hundred woodblock prints by Li Yanpeng since 2004. Reserves in the beginning were USD 380 to USD 480. In 2007 and 2008 we had only very few consigned by private collectors. These were offered for USD 800 and sold slightly below USD 1,000.

Resumé of Li Yanpeng.

Zhang Xiaochun - born 1959

March 2000
reduction woodblock print

by Zhang Xiaochun
Monsoon
copyright protected

The auction house Guardian Auction in Guangzhou, sold Zhang Xiaochun's print Rain Cloud in the auction held in June 2008 for 11,200 RMB = 1,300 USD.

artelino has sold about 50 art prints by Zhang Xiaochun since 2004. The most wanted and rarest pieces are large-format reduction woodblock prints from the so-called Brown Phase of the artist. Edition sizes were small with ca. 10 copies. The reserves of these prints were ridiculous with ca. USD 260 for a large format print. Today these prints are extremely rare.

Biography of Zhang Xiaochun.

Zhang Minjie - born 1959

woodcut, 1992

by Zhang Minjie
Dancing on and below Walls No. 2
copyright Zhang Minjie

woodcut, 1993

by Zhang Minjie
Dancing on and below Walls No. 3
copyright protected

Zhang Minjie's two prints Dancing on and Below Walls no.1 and Dancing on and Below Walls no.3 were sold by Guardian Auction House in Guangzhou for prices of 35,840 RMB = 5,239 USD each in June 2008.

Zhang Minjie is a legend at lifetime, a kind of superstar and great mentor of modern Chinese printmaking. He makes very few or no new art prints at all in these days. Instead he has concentrated on teaching young students at CNAFA (Chinese National Academy of Fine Arts).

For years we had considered it impossible to get into contact with Zhang Minjie and be able to offer art prints by this great master. Finally in 2007 we were able to establish contact after we had sold with great success art prints by one of his students, Dai Jia. We obtained ca. 10 woodblocks and lithographs and sold them all within a very short time for reserves of USD 800 to USD 1,200. Among them were Dancing on and Below Walls no.2 and Dancing on and Below Walls no.3.

Biography of Zhang Minjie.

Hao Ping - born 1952

by Hao Ping
Knocking at the Door
copyright Hao Ping

The latest auction results that we have for Hao Ping are from September 2006. The print Open the Door Culture was sold by Zhong Cheng Xin Auction House for 19,800 RMB = 2,895 USD.

We had lots of woodblock prints by Hao Ping in the early years in 2003 and 2004 when we started to offer modern Chinese prints. The reserves then were a ridiculous USD 100 to USD 200. The typical reserves for a 60 by 60 cm large format print were just USD 150. We sold ca. 200 pieces.

We have not heard much about the activities of Hao Ping since then. But we know that the artist's asking prices have risen considerably over the last years.

Resumé of Hao Ping.

Zhang Guilin - born 1944

silkscreen, 2005

by Zhang Guilin
Blue Flower of Chinese Porcelain
copyright Zhang Guilin

Zhang Guilin's Blue Flower of Chinese Porcelain was sold by Beijing Jiaxin Auction house in December 2006 for a price of 9,900 RMB = 1,450 USD.

The very same print was offered by artelino for a reserve of USD 480 (+ 20% commission), but was not sold and was returned to China in 2007. Opportunity missed!

Biography of Zhang Guilin.

Zheng Jianhui - born 1983

Woodcut, 2007

Village in Past and Present - No. 10 - Left
copyright protected

Woodcut, 2007

Village in Past and Present - No. 10 - Right
copyright protected

A print from Zheng Jianhui's series Village in Past and Present was sold by the Shanghai Art Auction house in June 2008 for a price of 4,200 RMB = 615 USD.

We have recently in 2008 offered a number of prints from this series for reserves of USD 380 and USD 420.

Outlook

As long as the Chinese economy continues to grow and does not collapse into agony, we expect rising prices for Chinese art prints. Demand comes mostly from the Chinese people themselves. Chinese printmakers have always published very small editions and still continue to do so. Once the small editions meet a rising demand, higher prices are inevitable. The Chinese are proud of their new achievements in the economy, sports, science and arts. They prefer to buy art by Chinese artists. And many Chinese people have discovered art as a form of financial investment.

Demand from Western buyers is still low. artelino's auctions of Chinese art prints usually attract not more than a dozen bidders. Often great chances remain unused. We receive many prints for reserves below the prices of the Chinese art market. Sounds strange? No. The artists who consign to us, are proud if their art works are offered to a Western public. Although we are to our knowledge by far the leading seller of modern Chinese prints outside China and on the Internet, we would wish more interest and bidding activity from North America, Europe and Australia. Significantly, the best "cherry-picks" in our modern Chinese art auctions are made by art dealers from Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore!

Which Artists Should you Buy?

Which artists should you buy under aspects of best value development? In our view the great names are the best options like for instance:

Luo Guirong
Zhang Minjie
Zhang Xiaochun
Li Yanpeng
Hao Ping
Zhang Biao
Shi Yanqing
Su Yansheng
Wang Yuhui
Wu Wanxi
Li Xiu

But you should also buy from young and promising artists, who already have a good history of exhibitions like for instance:

Yang Yongsheng
Zhuang Yanjun
Zhang Jianhui
Xiong Xiqiu
Zhou Lu
Zhang Liufeng
Wen Mujiang
Zhu Liwen
Zhao Qiangyun

- to name just a few. Prints by these artists are less expensive.

Apart from these we recommend to buy from very young and highly talented artists with no or only a minimal exhibition resumé if you like their art works. We have recently had some spectacular "discoveries" like:

Dai Jia or
Liu Panwu

who achieved blockbuster auction sales with artelino. Shortly afterwards Liu Panwu was taken under an exclusive contract by a renowned Beijing art gallery.

Dieter Wanczura
(July 2008)

Search for Zhang Minjie

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