5. The Market and Target Audience: Taiwan, China and Asia Pacific Art
5.12. Prices of Contemporary Latin American Art in Taiwan
delivered for public spaces.
5.11. Prices of Contemporary Western Foreign Art in Taiwan
In general, the prices for western artists have a smaller range than for local or Asian artists (Chinese, Japanese, Korean). They have similar levels than local artists in the entry price brackets, with a big amount selling between US$3,000 to US$16,000 (NT$90,000-NT$480,000). However, is difficult that prices can go above US$30,000 (NT$900,000), which also indicates very consolidated and “superstars” are not promoted in Taiwan.
Actually, only just a small amount, outside sculpture, is selling above US$16,000, a price easily seen for Taiwanese middle-value artists indicating prices for western artist are lower than for locals. Nevertheless, in sculpture, prices in foreign artists can rise above US$30,000 (NT$900,000) and even above US$100,000 (NT$3 M).
During “Art Revolution Taipei 2014” the average price for 30 Western artists displayed, was US$7,962 (NT$238,860), with the maximum price at US$30,000 (NT$900,000).
In this data, the lower prices for Western artists is confirmed, there were selling in almost 2.5 times less If we compare with the average price for local and Asian artists gathered at that same fair, around US$19,823 (NT$594,690).
A good estimate of the average price for a western artist and a good entry price is the results from the Russian designer and painter Jeni Bev Biktimirova, one of the most successful western artists in the “Art Revolution Taipei 2014”. During the fair she sold 12 works with an average price of US$8,000 (NT$240,000) for works on ink and paper size 55 x 75 cm. Her prices are equal to the average price seen in foreign western artist in the same fair, which indicates is a price that can be very accepted and paid for a foreign artist relatively unknown. She enjoys a big acceptance in Taiwan based on the momentum after she won in 2013 the prize for the best foreign artist in that same art fair.
5.12. Prices of Contemporary Latin American Art in Taiwan
From Latin America there is not to many data to make soundable conclusions. But if we take the “Art Revolution Taipei 2014” as a benchmark, there were 4 artists in the
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$13,083 $392,500 Oil painting in canvas
110x94 1.28 4
Jose de la Barra
$6,667 $200,000 Oil painting in canvas
113 x 100 $0.59 4
Eva Vale $2,333 $70,000 Watercolor
In Lego
28 x 26 $3.21 1
Source: with price information gathered at Art Taipei Art Revolution.
In “Art Taipei 2013”, the Hong Kong based Mexican gallery Puerta Roja offered prices in the range between US$4,000-US$40,000 (NT$120,000 to NT$1.2 M), with some works offered in US$8,333 (NT$250,000) which is the entry price bracket commonly seen for foreign artists in the market.
5.13. Implications of High Prices
There are several implications for this level of prices. For one side opens good opportunities for dealers and artists participating in a market that values and pays for art. It indicates Taiwan has a mature market with collectors willing to invest in art. This is confirmed after gathering information in Taiwanese galleries.
Nevertheless, the high art prices represent a market with high entry barriers and relatively low competition from foreign artists. Through human surveys we discovered that high prices also indicates local collector’s preference to buy local, consolidated and mature artists, regardless of price levels because there exists a strong national sentiment in Taiwan and a special taste for Taiwanese or Chinese art. Also important collectors seek to support the development of local artist. As auction mechanism is very important to prices, prices are alsothe result of speculative behavior.
These price levels also represent a cultural attitude in the art sector and among respected collectors being persuaded by dealers to increase their profitability. Art in Taiwan has to be priced relatively high historically because art galleries are considered as luxury
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high end places to shop. The price is seen as an indicator of its value and the reputation of the artist. If a dealer prices an artist too low originally this will harm the reputation of both the dealer and artist in the eyes of collectors which are already expecting high prices. There is the idea in the market that lower prices do not necessarily represent quality work, so the initial price is set quite high. This is different from other art markets where valuable emerging artists can be found in prices affordable to collectors in their initial stage.
Another aspect is that for Taiwanese collectors it appears that prices in the range of US$6,666 to US$10,000 (NT$200,000 to NT$300,000) are not considered high, indicating a good level in their purchasing power. In this price bracket it also appears that collectors are mainly art lovers, not pushed by investment decisions but more by decorative intentions, cultural, social recognition and emotional attitudes and the willingness to support local art. This entry bracket is below the average price in Taiwan but is similar to the average art prices for markets as Japan, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, so is not a low price bracket.
The ratio of value in the market and the quantity of pieces sold, as well as the high average price in Taiwan, also indicates that the market tend to trade expensive pieces of art in low quantities, probably indicating that the concentration of the total value should be done in a relatively small number of artists and dealers, the most recognized.
This should make harder the entry for emerging artists as well as for foreign artists.
5.14. Client Base
In Taiwan there is a relevant affection of collecting art. According to the industry it comes from both the Japanese colonial period education and from the long Chinese heritage of enjoying and valuing art. This behavior solidifies after the economic growth and the accumulation of wealth in Taiwanese economy, mainly after 1985. Today, according to data of Christie’s in Hong Kong, around 30% of their clients collecting Asian art are from Taiwan. Local collectors are known as being well informed, liberal and highly influential and consolidated in Asia.
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Having a good collectors base is a critical positive factor in the market. Collectors are the most relevant player next to the artists (Boll, 2009),35 as they establish the market introducing money and have a powerful impact on the success of the artist. Worldwide there are usually 4 types of collectors according to their needs such as demographic, economic and social status, purchase behavior, personality and lifestyle. These groups are: art connoisseur, art lover, investor and dealer-collector.
Table 7 Groups of worldwide collectors according to its type
Category Demographic Economic and social status artists, tries to establish a connection.
35 Frederik, Magnus. Management of Art Galleries-Business Models. University of. St.Gallen School of Management, 2011. pp 75.
Figure 18 Client base: Taiwanese and Chinese art collectors characteristics
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Dealer-Collector mid 30s and over
In the Taiwan market there are not clear figures of what type of collectors are the most relevant and influential. Nevertheless, after human surveys with some actors in the industry, art lovers is a big group. Investors were seen strongly in the 90s, and dealer-collectors are the group represented by Taiwanese gallery owners, which most of them, through their gallery space, act as dealers and collectors.
In the art lover type there are several examples as some Taiwanese successful business people are known because they’re altruistic behavior and their fondness for the arts, seeking emotional and cultural needs. This group is buying mainly local artists.
Mr. Lin Baili is one example representing the “art lovers” group is the art collectors.
He is the chairman and founder of Quanta Computers. He received several prices and recognitions because of his accomplishments as a manager, but is also known as a patron of the arts. He is chairman of Quanta Culture and Education foundation, being in the past director of Cloud Gate Theater, an important Taiwanese dance company known worldwide.36
Mr. Wang Ding Qian is an example of the second group, as he is an important collector and art dealer. He is known as the most influential art dealer in Taiwan and is
36 Another example of this behavior is Mr. Huang Chongren who has worked for several years in the IT industry, being CEO of Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation. He is chairman of the board in 11 companies and director of another 4 companies. He studied art himself with famous artist Liao Jin Chun and is a strong collector of Taiwanese artists works. See Artinterm.net, ”Most Powerful Taiwan Collectors”
http://en.artintern.net/index.php/news/main/html/1/1529.
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Taiming, Mr.Zhang Zengwei, Mr.Li Ximing, Mr.Huang Qiguang, Mr.Zhu Shuijin, Mr.Cai Kangyong, Marco Xingcheng, Mr.Wang Taiqing. Among institutional collectors some are Sanli Television Corp. and Museums, as the Fine Art Museum in Taipei.
Table 8 Taiwanese Collectors, 2014
Collector Behavior Picture
Lin Baili
Art Lover
seeking emotional and cultural needs
Highly educated, high income.
Successful business entrepreneur and manager.
Patron of the arts (founder of culture and education foundation).
Altruistic behavior.
Very influential in art circles.
Support of local artists.
Wang Ding Qian
Art Dealer and Collector.
Highly educated and high income.
Number one art dealer in Taiwan.
Late 40s.
Willing to risk to bring foreign art to Taiwan as an investment opportunity
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Executive in the Entertainment business, mainly in TV.
Middle 50s.
Source: Artintern.net
5.15. Client base preferences
Most Taiwanese collectors are fond of buying works mainly from Taiwanese artists in the field of traditional and modern art. According to data, from an important group of 39 Taiwanese collectors, around 32 (82%) concentrate in buying ink and Taiwanese and Chinese modern artists. From them just 6 or 7 (18%) are strong collectors of contemporary art. 37
Within collectors there is a second big interest, which is obtaining overseas Chinese/Taiwanese artists.38 According to foreign dealers selling overseas Chinese artists, they have developed relevant connections in Taiwan because of the strong collectors base seeking this type of art.39
A third interest is collecting Chinese, Japanese, Korean and South East Asian contemporary art. Within them, Japanese artists are highly collected with relevant figures. Taiwanese has also collected Indian artist while the Indian gallery, Sakshi Gallery, one of the largest private art spaces in Mumbai, opened a space in Taipei in 2009.
Regarding contemporary western art sales pushed by collectors the quantity seems smaller than that for the case of the Taiwanese or Asian artists. Nevertheless, there is a growing interest amongst Taiwanese collectors in knowing new Western artists coming
37 According to Richard Chang, owner of a Grand Siecle Gallery in Taipei.
38 According to data collected from the Taipei Art Economy Research Center, most of the imports of art works to Taiwan that come from Europe or US, are from famous overseas Taiwanese/Chinese artists. One example is Walasse Ting.
39 Ms. Bastian, the owner of the Belgium Gallery J.Bastien Art, which represents important Chinese artists with residency in France, expressed during art Taipei 2013 boasted very good clients from Taiwanese collectors buying important works from Chinese artists. She said it is common to sell group of works to Taiwanese collectors as well as research for them to collect special works.
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5.16. Reaching Collectors
There are several challenges the company must bare in while being in the market. One of the many challenges is reaching collectors. I this sense we have identified that the main challenges to reach local collectors are:
1. Taiwanese art collectors have a very close connection to the dealer, build from years and very often thanks to family, business and friendship ties.
2. The main search is to connect with art that resembles their values, history and tradition.
3. In type of art not known, collectors seek relatively consolidated artists and a good explanation of the story behind the works as they are very aware and interest to find out of what the work’s mean and what was the intention of the artist. In this sense is very important that the artist is present in the opening or in the art fair.
4. The technique and the feelings produced by the works are also very valued in Taiwan and China, preferring the brighter side of life.
5. Speculation, as collectors are very aware of investment opportunities.
All these are big challenges for western art because it is made following different ideas and traditions, which without a clear explanation may not be interpreted properly by the collectors. That is probably why, most of the western art found in Taiwan have themes that are not extremely complex but more in the field of decoration, representing
40 One example of this interest is the opening held in Taipei in October 2013 in the Lin and Lin Gallery (http://www.linlingallery.com/eng/index.php). This gallery organized a solo exhibition of the Spanish artist, Jose Maria Cano, showing 25 of his wax works. The entire exhibition was bought and brought to Taiwan by the important art dealer and collector Wang Ding Qian. The investment for this opening should be considered high based on the type of art and the size and weight of the works. The opening, were the artist participated, was unique compared to the works normally seen in the market, giving the collector maintains good reputation.
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classical elements as human body, nude, or abstract themes. The connection with the dealer is nevertheless, the most difficult to tackle.
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In the Taiwan art market the competitive forces is consistent with the worldwide art sector. There is a strong rivalry among competitors, high barriers to entry to the market for new comers, important power of consumers and big amount of substitutes. Because the population and size of Taiwan is not extremely large, the art market is highly concentrated in a radius of some hundreds of km, making that these competitive forces are intensified.
Rivalry is also intensified based on the notion that personal connections of the dealers are a critical factor. The connections with the target consumers are based in long-term personal relations rather than by acquiring them by using traditional promotion strategies. Connections in this sense are not easily built, so for new comers this is a critical key factor to overcome. Nevertheless, this trend is changing and rivalry has been intensified thanks to the grow in art fairs. At last, the power of suppliers are medium to low in the realm of emerging-mature artists, but can be extremely high for consolidated artists, as so happens in every art market.
Figure 19 Competitive forces in the art market in Taiwan and China
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Table 9 Art Sector in Taiwan Porter Five Forces
Taiwan
Risk of entry Weak
Barriers to entry Local Artists
Low in low prices
High in higher prices Foreign artists
High to very high Local Dealers
Medium to very high Foreign dealers
Very High
Rivalry High
Market highly concentrated in a radius of few km Power of suppliers Low for emerging artists
Low for foreign artists
High for consolidated artists
Power of consumers Medium to high for emerging collectors and art lovers
High for consolidated collectors Substitutes Medium to high
Jewelry, Antiques, Property, Stocks.
6.2. Players in the Market
Figure 20 Dealers in the market
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Ravenel, which is the biggest Taiwanese auction house and ranked the 8 in the world.436.4. Local Galleries
In Taiwan there are no Alpha “multinational” galleries with a consolidated international brand, for example Gagosian, White Cube or Saatchi, as so happens in other Asian art markets such as Hong Kong. In this sense the market is not as noticed and has no direct international competition in the dealers segment. The market is mainly for the local
41 In the art market, the primary market is composed of works been sold by the artist, where part of the sale goes to the artist. In the secondary market, on the contrary, the works are not sold anymore by the artists, so no money involved goes to the artist. Historically auctions houses belonged to the secondary market, but now are also participating in the primary market, offering works owned by the artist. In Taiwan there is not a clear figure of the share of the market accounted from dealers and from auction houses. Nevertheless, auction houses represent an important channel, and should be larger than the world average (52%:48%).
42 Alpha galleries are known as branded galleries, with huge global brand awareness, are trendsetters with top prices (even for unknown artists), are key players in secondary market, participate in the most known art fairs in the world as Art Basel, TEFAF, Frieze, and organize exhibitions in the best museums, their exhibitions are reviewed in mainstream media as the New York Times or ART news. Examples of these types are Gagosian Gallery, White Cube or Mai 36.
Beta galleries are known as mainstream galleries, they have national wide brand awareness, can be trendsetter (if successful artists transfer to Alpha Galleries), participate in good fairs as Art Basel but with small booths, exhibitions reviews occasionally in national newspapers.
Gamma are known as High street galleries, they have little brand awareness, no trendsetter, participation at satellite art fairs, exhibitions reviews at regional newspapers.
Delta they have no brand awareness, no trendsetter, participate at local art fairs, usually artists pay to be shown, no partnership with museums.
43 In 2012 Ravenel turnover was US21.9 million, with 1.93% of the global turnover for auction houses in the world, higher than the percentage of the entire Taiwanese market indicating her place in Taiwan market is relevant. Ravenel sales reached a total of US$63 million in 2012, representing probably around 30%-40% of the Taiwanese market, depending on the estimates.
Ravenel promotes mainly Taiwanese artists, overseas Chinese artists and artists from Mainland China. The main works are among Taiwanese XX Century masters in oil or ink, consolidated Taiwanese postwar artists as Ju Ming, as well as contemporary artists in different means. Young artist are fewer but can also be seen in their catalogs. Foreigner’s artists are just a few. The main customer base is Taiwanese and Asian collectors.
Ravenel Each year celebrates 2 main auctions seasons, spring and autumn, as well as some special auctions. Their main activities are printing the catalogs as well as marketing strategy as special dinners for clients and special events for them, VIP venues and paying professional staff. Asian collectors are fond to buy through auctions houses because they believe represents a better mechanisms to value the works, so this channel is relatively important. Other important auction houses, mainly Chinese has also offices in Taipei, as is the case of Poly International and Guardian, which makes the competition for art collectors even stronger. Auction houses are targeting not only consolidates collectors but also emerging collectors, individuals with high income in their late 30´s or 40´s which are starting to be interested in art to gain status or because they are highly educated.
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dealers and some foreign dealers but without an extremely rivalry arising from international brands dealers.
The strongest dealers in Taiwan should be considered locally owned Beta Galleries, with a strong investment and financial position, brand awareness. They mainly promote
The strongest dealers in Taiwan should be considered locally owned Beta Galleries, with a strong investment and financial position, brand awareness. They mainly promote