2016年CRI Art Fairs Held in HK amid Economic Slowdown

 

The art fairs in Hong Kong have drawn¹ collectors and buyers from home and abroad, knowledgeable² people who are more realistic and less impulsive³ when purchasing art.

"The price of contemporary art drops very fast. So our clients are more cautious about the budget, and more picky with the works. They will only buy something they really like, or something with great quality."

"It gets more expensive every year, that's because our Australian Dollar is so bad, lousy. I'm just looking to be inspired."

A recent survey shows that China's total art sales fell more than 20 percent last year, the biggest drop since 2012, to $11.8 billion US dollars. China has also lost its position as the world's second-biggest art market based on turnover⁴, now trailing both the United Kingdom and the U.S..

Patricia Amberg, Executive Director of UBS Art Competence⁵ Center, admits that the contemporary art market is overheated at the moment, but there is still a niche⁶ in Asia.

"The art market is not yet so established compared with other regions in the world, it's a rather young art market. The amount of artworks which are available is amazing, but I think especially in this region, what's important for an art collector is to do proper due diligence before spending any money. I think there are quite rational reasons which came up, that people are not hesitant, but they take more time before making any decision, especially the sensitivity of art-related risk-management increased."

Swiss Galerie Gmurzynska is exhibiting in Art Basel Hong Kong. Gallery CEO Mathis Rastorfer says art fairs are less hard hit than auction⁷ houses when prices are inflated⁸.

"We've already sold two important art works in the first few hours, so I am optimistic obviously. The auction houses are the first one to suffer because they have more speculative⁹ element of the market. A gallery has a more long-term projection¹⁰ and approach. "

With solid and robust¹¹ sales in the high end of the market, it is too early to say the bubble in the art market values has burst, but the mid¹² and lower level of works have been impacted by an economic downturn.

2016 is set to be a year of great uncertainty¹³ for world's economy, and experts say this year would also shape the art market in a longer term.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong. 

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

3 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

4 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

5 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

6 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

7 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

8 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

10 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

11 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

12 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。