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Already it can be said that the trend is becoming clearer.
Philippine artists have now become a major factor in the Southeast
Asian art market.
One of the best indicators is the performance of
Philippine paintings in the auction market. A bit of history though:
A little over a decade ago, the major auction houses, namely
Sotheby’s and Christie’s, began including the works of masters
such as Fernando Amorsolo, Vicente Manansala, Felix Resureccion
Hidalgo, on a few occasions even Juan Luna, and of course Ang Kiukok,
Anita Magsaysay Ho and Federico Aguilar Alcuaz.
The major auction houses had Bencab, Arturo Luz,
Jerry Navarro, Nena Saguil, Pacita Abad, Fernando Zobel, Sanso, and
most recently Olazo as well as Ramon Orlina, Mario Parial and Lydia
Velasco have been included in the list of who’s who.
What sparked great interest in the market was
when the works of younger contemporary artists were added to the
Philippine section. It was Geraldine Javier, among the younger
contemporary artists, who first got included in a Sotheby’s
auction a little over three and a half years ago. Her piece did
quite well such that it raised an interest for other artists of her
generation. Suddenly, there was a beeline for fresh and exciting
artists.
Very soon, the list expanded and highly talented
artists such as Nona Garcia and Wire Tuason, Ronald Ventura, Winner
Jumalon, Eufemio Rasco 4th and, recently, Rodel Tapaya, Annie
Cabigting, Yasmin Sison and Jaypee Samson became among the hot
collectible artists in Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Borobudur auction house, which shows regularly
in Singapore, also started featuring Philippine contemporary artists
and the list of outstanding performers expanded even further
bringing into focus other young talented artists such as Kiko Escora,
Kawayan de Guia, Rene Cuvos, Joven Mansit among others. The other
auction houses, such as Masterpiece and Larasati, feature young
contemporary artists as well and their list, aside from the already
abovementioned artists, include Jerry Morada, Vincent de Pio and
Aileen Lanuza.
In the past, the Philippine section was exactly
that, a section where works by Philippine artists were all clumped
up together. In the earlier years, one recalls that when it was the
turn of the Philippine section on the auction floor, half the room
would be empty and many of the collectors could be seen drinking
coffee or smoking outside the auction hall.
But now, buyers and collectors from all over the
region are now looking at Philippine art with greater interest and
respect. Many of the auction houses now present Philippine art as a
serious part of Southeast Asian contemporary and modern art. No
longer are efforts made to segregate them by source and nationality.
Instead, the works are curated and presented in the previews and in
the catalogues in a very interesting way usually together with their
Indonesian, Vietnamese, Singaporean or Thai and, most recently,
Korean counterparts. The arrangement is done according to theme,
subject or sometimes, even style.
As evidenced by the recently concluded
Sotheby’s (April in Hong Kong), Borobudur auction (May 17 in
Singapore) and Christie’s (May 24 in Hong Kong), the interest of
the collectors for Philippine art has increased tremendously. In the
April 2008 auction of Sotheby’s 18 artists, many of them young
contemporary ones helped generate approximately P38 million. At the
Borobudur auction, 44 of 51 Philippine artworks successfully sold.
Although the Christie’s results are not out yet as of this
writing, one can tell from the auction floor that the results were
very exciting. Geraldine Javier, Ronald Ventura, Yasmin Sison and
Nona Garcia did tremendously well. It is also interesting to note
that Christie’s is willing to explore and discover other artists
such as sculptor Lirio Salvador, who was presented in this auction
for the first time. Among the senior artists, Fernando Zobel, Romulo
Olazo and Ramon Orlina did quite well.
In most cases, the works of the contemporary
artists match or even exceed the prices raised by the masters. Many
of the collectors today are among the younger generation of
successful entrepreneurs or corporate executives who like more
cutting-edge types of work that present a different or more creative
world view by the artists.
Also one can discern a trend or interest for
larger works. This has greater impact not only in the auction
viewing room but, more importantly, to the collectors who would be
the final buyer of the pieces. Unlike many of the Indonesian masters
such as Affandi and Hendra Gunawan, most of the works from
Philippine masters presented at auction are much smaller pieces.
Although interest in the works from the younger
Filipino contemporary artists will rise rapidly, the masters will
always be the masters and demand for their works will always be
there. Fernando Zobel, Arturo Luz, Olazo, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz
and Bencab will be pretty much part of the surge.
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