Development Report on the Fine Art Industry (2011–2012)

Abstract

With the greater involvement of financial capital and the injection of a range of new ideas, the Chinese fine art market in 2011 gradually entered the financial era. The turmoil that was evident in arts funding and the artistic property trading market did not however prevent the China’s art auction market from becoming the world’s largest trading market by volume, with multi-billion auctions covering a wide range of categories and a steady, visible increase in mainstream art. Even under the influence of the international economic crisis, the domestic macroeconomic environment and many other factors, the art market in China inevitably went through adjustment in 2012. After this adjustment, the involved participants in the market become more rational, and this will contribute to the long-term healthy development of the market. As a result, delving beneath the surface shows that there is a lot in the Chinese fine art market to be optimistic about.