Investors find home is where the art is

With Chinese contemporary art prices soaring, Bart Dekker, a financial adviser, decided it was time to adjust his collecting habits.

'Chinese art became less affordable, but once you get the bug, you have this urge to keep buying,' he says. After a decade of buying artwork on the mainland, he began trawling through galleries in South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. Only when he returned to Hong Kong did he find what he was looking for - an ethereal landscape painting by local artist Sarah Lai.

The Dutch collector realised Lai's work was the tip of the iceberg and started investing in Hong Kong art.

Once perceived as underdogs, Hong Kong artists are fast winning the confidence of new buyers. The collector base has swollen, and the investment potential of local art has become clear.

'In the past two years, there has been a stronger interest in local art, and it's growing,' says Sabrina Fung, an art consultant.

Hong Kong art is a world apart from the work produced on the mainland. 'The biggest difference is that it's very apolitical. It's not symbol- or icon-orientated work, and it's not about trends. Instead it is individual and personal,' says Henry Au-yeung, the founder of Grotto Fine Art, the only gallery in Hong Kong that focuses purely on local art.

Au-yeung says most of his clients are based in the city. 'Hong Kong art speaks about the environment I live in. That's why I decided to change [from mainland Chinese art collecting],' says William Lim, an architect who has a collection of nearly 100 works by local artists.

His pieces run the gamut from large-scale conceptual sculptures to intricate paintings.

Recently, the appetite for Hong Kong art has gained momentum, and patriotism isn't the only draw.

'Increasingly, there has been a greater awareness of its quality and subtlety as art,' says Johnson Chang Tsong-zung, curator and director of Hanart TZ Gallery. One of the first contemporary art dealers in the city, he has been working with local artists since the 1980s.

At last month's Hong Kong International Art Fair, Chang presented a sell-out solo exhibition of luminous and dream-like works by Hong Kong painter Luis Chan.

'High-end Hong Kong artists like Wucius Wong and Irene Chou, for instance, are only operating in the HK$100,000 to HK$300,000 range for a good sized work, whereas in mainland China, a mid-range artist would be commanding that,' says Chang. 'Yet these artists are historically important, and they are beginning to be recognised.'

Although Hong Kong has been producing great artists for decades, many consider it to be an emerging market. Sotheby's held its inaugural sale of contemporary Hong Kong art in April 2009.

The first of its kind, the auction was highly successful and raked in about HK$116 million. Works such as 'The King of Kowloon' Tsang Tsou-choi's Calligraphy fetched HK$212,500 - seven times its highest estimate. Since its first sale, the auction house has regularly featured local artists in its contemporary Asian art category.

According to Fung, the 2009 sale was an eye-opener. 'It established a price point for Hong Kong art. Although there are many galleries showing [local artists'] work, it wasn't out there where everybody could look for it,' she says.

Jonathan K.Y. Wong, Sotheby's contemporary Asian art specialist who instigated the sale, says demand for Hong Kong art is growing, and affordability isn't the only selling point.

He cites the example of Pak Sheung-chuen, a local artist who has gained international recognition for his subject matter and poetic work. He was the first Hong Kong artist to have a solo presentation at the Venice Biennale, and London's Tate Modern recently acquired his work. Pak is one of a group of local artists born between 1970 and 1980 whose work is increasingly being sought after by collectors. Other significant names include Tsang Kin-wah, who transforms strings of profanity into decorative floral motifs, and Wilson Shieh, who paints meticulous and often humorous characters in contemporary costumes.

'Hong Kong is small; you can identify the likely success stories,' says Dekker. 'At the moment, it's the same artists who are being talked about - Lee Kit, Chow Chun-fai and a few young ones.'

In February, Deutsche Bank inaugurated its new office space in the International Commerce Centre featuring work by several of these artists. The bank is known for having one of the largest corporate art collections in the world, boasting about 54,000 works in locations worldwide. More than 40 per cent of the artworks acquired for its Asian collection were by Hong Kong artists.

There has also been an increase in investment concentrating on Hong Kong art. Chang, of Hanart TZ, says investors are attracted by the low prices and the large potential for increase. 'For established artists, I don't think the time is far for them to be spotted by investors,' he says.

As Hong Kong races towards the title of Asia's next art hub, local artists are poised to gain a higher profile in the international art circuit. Chang says, 'I am sure [the collector base] will expand. After all, Hong Kong is building a big museum, so there will be a showcase and a destination for local art.'

Other major developments in the local art scene, such as the Central Police Station project and the former Police Married Quarters, are also expected to bear fruit, with the development plan for the former police station including options for large gallery spaces.

Given the recent developments in the local art scene, collectors believe it won't be long before prices climb. 'I think time is slipping away very quickly. We have a very short time frame to buy Hong Kong art for a low price,' says Dekker.

Fung adds: 'This is a good time to buy. The market is very strong, and it will get stronger. It's not going to go down.'

Under the hammer

Top five Hong Kong artworks sold at auction:

Tsang Tsou-choi (King of Kowloon)

Calligraphy, created in 1998
Acrylic on canvas
HK$500,000

Wucius Wong

Yellowstone No 2, 1984
Ink and colour on paper
HK$312,000

Danny Lee

Mountain and Stream IV, 2008
Stainless steel, wood
HK$212,500

Kevin Fung

Baggage Series, 2009
Painted teak wood
HK$212,500

Freeman Lau Siu-hong

Chairplay IV, 2005
Wood
HK$162,500

Source: Sotheby's