Huang Wen-Rui, the chief executive officer of MOTIF Art Management's Asian department, shared his experience of having observed art market for over ten years in the lecture, held by Dah-in Life and Art Box Museum. Huang Wen-Rui not only pointed out the blind spots and myths of art collectors, but gave some incisive and useful advice.
"Speaking of art investing market isn't philistine." Huang Wen-Rui said. He assumes it is market that gives prominence to the talented masters, "Don't forget before historians writing down history of contemporary art, it is market that recorded art history." He also analyzed that the current condition of market is experiencing a recession, because the market's mechanism is not fluctuating acutely recently, "People aren't in an urgent need of money, so they won't sell the good works." he said.
Having the experience of undertaking Acquisition Fund of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), Huang Wen-Rui revealed the vital standards of choosing artists, "The work must have universal message." He emphasized, people around the world should understand the work without cultural barriers. Moreover, Huang places high attention on the self-transcendence in different state of artists. He pointed out Walasse Ting's work lacks of self-challenges, and collectors tend to take his work as decoration. "It is hard to last long on the market." Many collectors suppose that participating art expositions can enhance appreciation ability. However, Huang Wen-Rui objected that the most effective way to cultivate aesthetic appreciation skills is going to museums. Huang also suggested collectors should comply with the following rules to collect artwork: authenticity, quality, availability and liquidity. Additionally, when buyers go to galleries, they can ask for artist's age, studying environment, album and collecting group to decide whether to buy it or not.
"A great artwork 's aesthetic value can last forever." Huang Wen-Rui said, comparing different style of the artist's life state in order to find the mature work is vital for appreciation.
(Image credit: ART BOX)
