And NOW for something completely different

Sherry Miller, one of our far flung correspondents is in Geneva and came across a great site about a Sotheby's sale in China with examples of contemporary Chinese art. She writes to us, "I wanted to just post the link because the images are so unusual and I thought it would be great for Bay Area artists and collectors to see something so different."

The article points out that collectors are finding it increasingly difficult to find bargains because of the growing Chinese interest in their own contemporary art. Would it be remiss of me to remark that this is an excellent reason to support your local artists, that a collector doesn't have to buy contemporary Chinese art. There are plenty of home-grown artists whose work sells for a fraction of these prices. Their work iis equally beautiful, controversial, interesting and/or provocative but I guess it lacks the je ne sais quoi of the uber-trendy.

Cai Guo-Qiang: Money Net No. 2 (2002):  Estimate: US$ 605,000-705,000 (HK$ 4,700,000-5,500,000)

Liu Ye: “Portrait of L” (2004): Estimate: US$ 205,000-256,000 (HK$ 1,600,000-2,000,000)

 Feng Zhengjie: “Chinese Portrait Series” (2008): Estimate: US$ 70,500-90,000 (HK$ 550,000-700,000)
For more: 
http://chinaluxculturebiz.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/sothebys-autumn-auction-2009-top-10-lots-to-watch/