David Chau, Collector, Patron, Founder of ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, China

ARTPRICE: As an art collector, which cultural event had the strongest impact on you these past 12 months?

The globalisation of contemporary art and the growing number of collectors have impressed me over the last 12 months.

I have noted how the Western art market has continually set records both on the primary market and the secondary market, making us lose sight of the intrinsic value of art. Some wealthy investors, much talked about, have started collecting and investing in art. Many new collectors, especially in China, India, Russia, the Middle East and Latin America are now engaged in speculation, following the Western example. The works of some artists that were worth $10,000 last year are selling this year for between $500,000 and $1 million. This was unimaginable in the past.

Last year, with the globalization of the art market, greed took precedence over any other approach. Auction houses were not spared: despite some fine records, Christie’s and Sotheby’s each had to announce the departure of their CEO after poor annual reports. This is an appalling phenomenon. Fortunately, this speculative bubble has calmed down a little over recent months in both the West and the East.

Excessive manipulation of the art market and focus on the financial value of works causes the academic level to suffer. I went to the Venice Biennale this year and noticed that many collectors who had been followed over the past 12 months were not there. This proves that the bidders are not actually attached to art. Westerners consider that the Chinese contemporary art market was subject to too much speculation between 2005 and 2007. Despite this, it seems to me that this is exactly what is now happening on the contemporary art market in the West.

I am struck by the contrast between China and the West. In the last 12 months, the Chinese collectors who survived the bubble in 2008 and have also founded their museum are beginning to look at artists and their work. In parallel, the museums are focussing on the promotion of art and culture. For all these reasons, many private museums have been created in China, including LONG Museum, Yuz Museum Shanghai and Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, as well as the QIAO Zhibin (West Bund Oil Tank Art Centre) project, which is in progress.

In recent years, the Chinese have become interested in the promotion of art, so we can see a variety of interesting exhibitions and interactions between collectors and artists. There are also increasing numbers of young collectors, like LIN Han, who has founded his own “M Woods” exhibition space to manage his collections. Young collectors of this kind represent the future of Chinese contempo rary art. I think the Chinese contemporary art market will continue to perform well.