Qiu Zhi Jie’s collection of digital artwork from Osage’s “Sharing Memory” exhibition

The fifth floor of a nondescript building in the industrial area of Kwun Tong is now home to Osage and its latest exhibition of new media art. The impressive 15,000-square-foot gallery with a 14-foot-high ceiling has been redesigned to highlight works from Beijing artists Qiu Zhi Jie and Jin Jiangbo, as well as Hong Kong’s Kingsley Ng, and is slated to feature pieces by a group of women artists from Shanghai and Hong Kong later this year.

Across the harbour in Soho, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery proudly displays works from noted contemporary artists Wang Keping, Guo Wei, Irene Lau Kwai Ying and Huang Rui. The gallery has recently expanded, opening a 3,000 square-foot, five-metre-high space in Chai Wan with the aim of bringing in more large-scale exhibitions.

And in nearby Queen’s Road Central, Hanart TZ Gallery showcases ink and watercolor paintings by Li Xubai, a China-born artist now living in Canada. The gallery’s previous exhibition featured the works of established sculptor and painter Hu Xiangcheng.

The increasing number of Hong Kong galleries featuring contemporary Chinese art reflects the recent upsurge of interest in this genre. Buyers are snatching up everything from paintings and sculptures to photographs and installations – and for good reason.

In the past five years, work from China-born artists living here and abroad have commanded higher prices at auctions, surpassing estimates by as much as 500 percent. We’ve all heard of the record-breaking sales of Sotheby’s last November, with Yue Minjun’s Massacre at Chios selling nearly four times above its pre-sale estimate.

A photograph from Jin Jiangbo on modern China, previously shown at the Shenzhen Fine Art Institute

Both seasoned and emerging collectors from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, who, remarkably, accounted for 80 percent of the buyer turnout at Sotheby’s auction, are being drawn to the allure of contemporary art.

And why not, if a notable piece such as Yue Minjun’s Execution that originally cost $250,000 (US$32,200) can fetch a price as high as $46 million (US$5.9 million) a few years down the line?

For serious investors, the best way to make real profit from contemporary art is to acquire works early on, at what may be bargain prices. Currently, gallery quotes for contemporary work ranges from $4,000 (US$500) to as much as $8 million (US$1.02 million), depending on the size, medium, theme and the artist’s reputation.

But the potential return on investment is not the only driving factor for today’s local art clientele. The recent popularity for pieces from the 1970s onward has also been fueled by a wider appreciation of Chinese culture and heritage.

Miao Xianchun’s “The Last Judgment in Cyberspace”

“Chinese contemporary art has been really booming for the past few years,” says 10 Chancery Lane gallery director Katie de Tilly. “[This is] because the work is very good, and defines a moment of history after the Cultural Revolution. We’re in a period of very interesting developments. From very socio-political, [the art] is now actually evolving into a much more individual expression and I think in the years to come, it’s going to become even more interesting.”

Agnes Lin, owner of Osage Gallery, agrees that works from China are currently stealing the spotlight. “We find that some of the younger generation of professionals are quite interested in contemporary art and have been visiting regularly to see exhibitions. They show very strong interest in knowing more, not from a superficial level but more out of understanding the art.”

Developing that discerning eye

So what does it take to be a good art investor? Gallery owners agree that the best way to develop a real understanding for art is to choose a piece that moves you and from there, gain insight about the artist and his circle.

“First, the investor should like the piece” says Ms Lin. Then perhaps they should approach their trusted galleries to learn more about the artist. It is a good place to start by looking at the artist’s exhibition history and what kind of recognition has been given to some of his works, if some of them have been selected for major biennales, or exhibited in museums and so forth.”

The objective way of looking at contemporary work, says Isabel Ching, gallery executive at Osage, is to look at how important the piece is in terms of art history. “The consensus of an art community, a canon of publications acknowledging the artist’s talent, critical writing on the work … this will all go towards determining the significance of an artist’s practice.”

So how do we spot the winners?

De Tilly advises: “Go around a lot, to different galleries, do your research. See which artists are being invited by curators to participate in the international exhibitions. You have young artists who are suddenly in a lot of major museum shows or biennales. [Their works] aren’t expensive, but you can already see that there’s a lot of excitement about them. Talk to many different owners and ask for their opinions. Ask questions until everything starts to fall into place. You can also look at auctions prices, but that’s really the higher end of the market, so it may not be the first place to look.”

A Summer Night and Syringa, oil paintings by Li Xinping

Choosing from a diverse range

For new collectors, deciding on the vast selection of contemporary art available may be overwhelming. The task should not be daunting, however, since there are many places to get sound advice. Hong Kong is considered one of the best destinations to buy art, and perhaps this is why the number of galleries on the island has increased by more than 30 percent in the past five years.

One of the notable galleries on Old Bailey Street in Soho, Osage was founded in 2004 and has recently branched out to Kwun Tong, as well as Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore. The gallery focuses on contemporary art, with the aim of creating awareness through cultural exchange. Ms Lin says, “The point is to create a dialogue for better understanding through art.”

Osage has many activities planned for the year, including children’s workshops, artist exchange programmes and expanding their Soho space. The gallery has featured the work of both established and up-and-coming artists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Madagascar and Southeast Asia.

Two of their most admired artists to date are Miao Xiaochun and Li Xinping.

Born in Jiangsu province, China, Miao Xiaochun’s practice involves the use of a 3-D model of his body and substituting this for each figure in prominent masterpieces, such as Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment. According to Ms Lin, “He is very interested in presenting the Chinese perspective in relation to Western art history. There is a waiting list for some of his work.”

The artist has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including “Urban Creation”, the 2002 Shanghai Biennale at the Shanghai Art Museum, and has mounted several solo retrospectives, the most recent of which are “The Last Judgment in Cyberspace” and “H20 – A Study of Art History” in Germany, Beijing, Australia and Hong Kong.

Born in 1959 in Beijing, Li Xinping is noted for his impressive use of colour and harmonics. His paintings are highly decorative and are inspired by both Chinese mythology and the 19th-century Symbolist movement. According to Ms Ching, “He incorporates many mathematical equations and proportions in his art. His use and understanding of colours is quite unique because it is not something you find in a lot of Chinese artists.”

The sixth in a series of paintings entitled “CHINA/CHAI-NA (demolish here)” from Huang Rui, capturing both nostalgia and anger at China’s rapid urbanisation.

De Tilly also describes her gallery’s beginnings. “10 Chancery Lane started in 2001 with the initial idea of bringing international art to Hong Kong, but as we’ve developed, we now represent artists from both Asia and the west. And we want to continue that focus.” Plans for 2008 include exhibitions from Cang Xin, Simon Birch, Wang Keping, Shi Guo Rui and John Young.

Two contemporary artists recently featured at the gallery are Huang Rui and Guo Wei.

Hailing from Beijing, Huang Rui is “one of the leaders of the first non-conformist artist’s group ‘The Stars’, which was formed in 1979 during the post-cultural revolution”. His works include installations, paintings, photography and performances, which are socio-political in nature, as seen in one of his latest exhibitions, “One Country Two Systems – 50 Years Unchanged!” He is also a curator and one of the main founders of Factory 798 Art District in Beijing.

Guo Wei is an internationally acclaimed painter, having exhibited in San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Belonging to the community of artists from Chengdu, in Sichuan province, the painter is known for his works about teenage children during their restless adolescence.

Founded in 1983 by established Chinese contemporary art expert Johnson Chang, Hanart TZ Gallery specialises in promoting and exhibiting the works of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan artists. The gallery has mounted many significant exhibitions, including that of the Taiwanese sculptor Ju Ming at the Place Vendome in Paris in 1997, and A Strange Heaven, a collection of Chinese photographic art in Prague in 2003.

“Mountains and Waterfall” in watercolor by Li Xubai.

Another useful resource is the Asia Art Archive (AAA). Started in 2000 by Claire Hsu in collaboration with Chang Tsong-zung and Ronald Arculli, this non-profit organisation is dedicated to documenting the recent history of visual art from the region. The research centre has a collection of catalogues, press clippings, video and literature relating to major biennials and offers online resources and lectures on different topics relating to Asian contemporary art. Visit www.aaa.org.hk for more information.

An event to consider is “ART HK 08”, the region’s first international public art fair in 10 years. To be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center from May 14 to 18, the fair will showcase 80 of the world’s leading contemporary and modern art galleries, and exhibit works from the current Chinese art scene and artists from all over, both well-known and emerging.

The organisers have developed a lecture series focused on educating first-time buyers about modern and contemporary art, and collectors about the current Asian scene. For more details, log on to www.hongkongartfair.com.

There is no real rule of thumb when it comes to investing in contemporary art. And no one theme, style or body of work will guarantee a substantial return. What’s important to remember is that art should not be bought for its economic potential alone, but rather for the value and meaning it brings to the owner.

Images courtesy of Osage Gallery, 10 Chancery Lane Gallery and Hanart TZ Gallery.