SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART Auction Benchmarks & Market Insights By Johnni Wong and Sarah Abu Bakar Published by G5-G6 Mont’Kiara Meridin 19, Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont’Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur www.theedgegalerie.com Level 3, Menara KLK 1, Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor www.theedgemarkets.com © 2018 The Edge Galerie ISBN 978-967-16294-0-6 The Edge Galerie Managing director: Au Foong Yee Gallery and editorial team: Johnni Wong, Sarah Abu Bakar, Chris Cheng Kar Seng & John Lim Jiazhen. Copy editors: Pushpam Sinnakaundan, Lee Mei Geok, Mah Pin Pin & Marica van Wynen Graphic design & layout: Joanne Soo & Eric Siow Production chief: Thomas Chin Artwork images courtesy of: 33 Auction Bonhams CHRISTIE’S IMAGES LTD. [2018] Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers Larasati Auctioneers Phillips VAN HAM Fine Art Auctioneers / Saša Fuis Proˎ le photographs by The Edge Galerie unless otherwise stated. Printed by KHL Printing Co Sdn Bhd Copyright © 2018 The Edge Communications All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted or published in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Foreword 6 Preface 14 Overview 17 Introduction 23 CONTENTS MALAYSIA • Overview 38 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 46 • Sales Records of Art Auctions in Malaysia, 2010-2018 54 • Zain Azahari 57 • Pakhruddin Sulaiman 64 • Jalaini Abu Hassan 72 • Lim Wei-Ling 83 • Kenny Teng 87 • Christopher Tung 97 SINGAPORE • Overview 124 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 138 • Sales Records of Art Auctions in Singapore, 2010-2018 144 • Wang Zineng 145 • Talenia Phua Gajardo 159 • David Fu 176 • Alice Zou & Ben Rush 185 • Charles Liu 202 • Jimmy Chua 208 • Lorenzo Rudolf 216 • Victoria Huang 242 • Seah Tzi-Yan 251 • Lindy Poh 265 CONTENTS INDONESIA • Overview 278 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 294 • Sales Records of Art Auctions in Indonesia 2010-2018 300 • John Andreas 301 • Edwin Rahardjo 311 • Christiana Gouw & Nancy Nan 322 • Dr Wiyu Wahono 327 THE PHILIPPINES • Overview 362 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 370 • Sales Records of Art Auctions in The Philippines, 2010-2018 380 • Jaime L. Ponce de Leon 382 • Ramon E.S. Lerma 393 VIETNAM • Overview 404 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 412 • Nguyen Thi Thu Suong 421 • Celine Alexandre 431 • Zoe Butt 441 • Adrian Jones 447 • Nguyen Hong Lam 459 • Pho Duc Long & Lai Thanh Mai 465 • Le Trung Thanh 472 THAILAND • Overview 480 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 490 • Jørn Middelborg 495 • Panada Lerthattasin 502 • Sai Wannaphon Chimbanchong & Vasan Sitthiket 509 MYANMAR • Overview 516 • Auction Benchmarks of Artists 530 • Min Wae Aung & Min Maw Aung 535 • Gill Pattison 544 • Nathalie Johnston 555 • Myint Soe 568 Bibliography 572 Acknowledgements 583 Illustrations i - xxxi Index 585 CONTENTS TRACKING THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART MARKET The idea for this publication came from The Edge Media Group chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong, who suggested that we come up with a set of benchmarks for Southeast Asian art, especially Malay- sian works, that collectors could refer to. FOREWORD The concept was for a listing that we are happy with and which we could publish and stand by. The list of records would become a reference, thereby making the local art industry more transparent. The challenge is to track fi gures that are refl ective of the market. The Edge is well positioned to undertake such a task. Crediblity and integrity are cornerstones in The Edge’s reputation as Malay- sia’s leading and trusted fi nancial publication. Thus, the main objective of this publication is to compile a list of auction benchmarks that off ers a credible source of reference for Southeast Asian art. The records relate to works created by artists from Southeast Asia or foreign-born artists associated with the region. The second aspect of this book is a series of interviews with per- sonalities active in the Southeast Asian art market for their views on such records and (market) developments in their own locality. Those we spoke to run the gamut of artists, collectors and consult- ants as well as dealers and gallerists to auction house operators and those involved in art fairs and people who track and study the market. In fact, in our chapter on Malaysia, one of the respondents has allowed us to extract pie charts and tables that relate to the local market from his master’s thesis. Nevertheless, we caution that sourcing data from online databases without knowing the inner workings of a certain market can lead to a distorted view and con- sequently lead to inconclusive statistics and/or conclusions. Such a 6 FOREWORD situation is by no means peculiar to the art market, which is widely considered to be opaque by insiders and prone to manipulation by forces with vested interests. Statistical reporting In spite of that, it is important to include diverse opinions on the subject for readers to have an idea of the diffi culties and obstacles in tracking data in any fi nancial or statistical reporting, especially in the art market. And when we talk about the art market, we refer to the buying and selling of art, whether in the primary market handled mainly by galleries, artists and art fairs or the secondary market dominated by auction houses and other wheeler-dealers. This is by no means an academic study. Rather it is a guide to help those involved in the art market in Southeast Asia – especially those new to the scene – and for them to gain a deeper insight into what is going on behind the scenes. For example, one perennial question is, how reliable or valid or even believable are auction or art fair fi gures? In dissecting a subject such as the “Southeast Asian art market” one needs to call upon the very people who are involved in it either as a business or as a serious hobby. For the purpose of this publication, we focused on countries with an established art market, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Indo- nesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines. Cambo- dia and Brunei were not considered as their artists have not made any signifi cant impact in terms of price records in regional auctions. In terms of Cambodian auction records, the only signifi cant fi g- ures relate to the following: • Sopheap Pich. Untitled (Floors and Walk), 2011, sculpture, 82cm x 61.5cm x 7cm. Auction price with 25% premium: US$25,491. Christie’s Hong Kong. 27 May 2018. 7 FOREWORD • Andrew Hem. Smiley, 2015, spray paint on canvas, 210cm x 256cm. Auction price 25% premium: US$2,553. Digard Auc- tion France. 27 June 2016. • Sera. Le temps de vivre, p.33 et 34, undated, mixed media on paper, 42cm x 30cm. Auction price with 14.4% premium: US$1,550. Millon & Associes S.A.S France. 31 May 2008 Artprice.com Principally, the auction data that we track come from Artprice.com and the most signifi cant records were set at Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions in Hong Kong, particularly for prominent artists of South- east Asia. Prominence means based on their national reputation and importance as well as the highest price level established. To be sure, there are artists of national and historical impor- tance, yet their works have not reached a signifi cant price level at auctions. And conversely, there are artists who are not considered of national importance yet have a remarkable price record set at a certain auction. We also take into account records established at local auctions held in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and Manila. Neverthe- less, we only track records that are generally perceived to be reliable and valid. Therefore, we have only included price records of select- ed auction houses – enough to present a credible overview of the market. Respondents As for the respondents, they were selected based on recommenda- tions by collectors, consultants and other professionals known to us. And in contrast to the general enthusiasm of the respondents selected from eight cities – Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Bang- kok, Yangon, Manila, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – we had a few 8 FOREWORD candidates who either did not reply to our request for an interview or declined to participate. That is to be expected. Nevertheless, the level of candidness displayed by the interviewees off ers fascinating glimpses into various segments of the market. There were also re- spondents who were guarded in their answers. An added advantage for us to embark on this “survey project” is that we are part of The Edge Media Group, which has a strong and credible presence in the world of corporate news and fi nancial reporting. But this project was actually undertaken by a subsidiary – The Edge Galerie Sdn Bhd. This commercial entity operates a gallery and an annual auction known as The Edge Auction, both established in 2013. Interviewers The main advantage is that the background of the two interview- ers in this project, is directly related to gallery and auction house operations. The project is led by The Edge Galerie general manag- er Johnni Wong. He has a social science degree from the National University of Malaysia and has been a journalist for 30 years. Wong has interviewed or worked with all the important artists and col- lectors of Malaysia. The other team member, Sarah Abu Bakar is assistant manager at The Edge Galerie. She holds an art degree from the University of Central England, Birmingham, UK (renamed Bir- mingham City University in 2007). She has worked in the art indus- try for 11 years and was directly involved in art auctions, art writing and curating art shows.