2016年CRI Art Fairs Held in HK amid Economic Slowdown（在线收听）

The art fairs in Hong Kong have drawn collectors and buyers from home and abroad, knowledgeable people who are more realistic and less impulsive 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 turnover, now trailing both the United Kingdom and the U.S..

Patricia Amberg, Executive Director of UBS Art Competence Center, admits that the contemporary art market is overheated at the moment, but there is still a niche 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 auction houses when prices are inflated.

"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 speculative element of the market. A gallery has a more long-term projection and approach. "

With solid and robust 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 mid and lower level of works have been impacted by an economic downturn.

2016 is set to be a year of great uncertainty 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.