According to the 2008 annual Artprice survey of the global art market, a report which lists the 500 top-selling contemporary artists, based on results from 2,900 auctions between July 2007 and June 2008, artists from Asia - particularly China - are beginning to dominate. For instance, out of the the world's top 20 best-selling modern artists, 13 are Asian, of whom 11 are Chinese. Among the world's most highly sought-after artists are Zhang Xiaogang, Zeng Fanzhi and Yue Minjun. Some experts in avant-garde art see this as a clear indication that within 10 years Asian art will account for a majority of auction sales around the globe.
The Top 10
Out of the top 10 money-making artists the first four are Western: Jeff Koons (b.1955), the celebrated American self-taught sculptor and mixed-media neo-pop artist; Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88), the Afro-Caribbean-American painter and ex-graffiti artist; Damien Hirst (b.1965), the British sculptor, mixed media artist noted for his dead shark (The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living) and diamond encrusted skull (For the Love of God); Richard Prince (b.1949), the American painter and photographer. But the rest are Asian.
1. Jeff Koons (b.1955)
Type of art: sculpture, mixed-media
Nationality: American
Sales at auction (07-08): £69.4 million
2. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88)
Type of art: Painting (graffiti art)
Nationality: American
Sales at auction (07-08): £54.3 million
3. Damien Hirst (b.1965)
Type of art: Sculpture, mixed-media, installation art, winner of Turner Prize.
Leader of Young British Artists, heavily promoted by Charles Saatchi.
Nationality: British
Sales at auction (07-08): £45.8 million.
Note: The survey excludes Hirst's Sept 2008 auction of £100 million.
4. Richard Prince (b.1949)
Type of art: painting, fine art photography
Nationality: American
Sales at auction (07-08): £33 million
5. Zhang Xiaogang (b.1958)
Type of art: Surrealism works, portraiture
Nationality: Chinese (Yunnan)
Sales at auction (07-08): £32.3 million
[Note: Xiaogang was a key exhibitor at the importantexhibition of new Chinese art at the Saatchi Gallery, in 2008]
6. Zeng Fanzhi (b.1964)
Type of art: Figure painting, portraits
Nationality: Chinese (Wuhan)
Sales at auction (07-08): £27.8 million
7. Yue Minjun (b.1962)
Type of art: Expressionist figurative paintings
Nationality: Chinese (Heilongjiang)
Sales at auction (07-08): £27.5 million
8. Takashi Murakami (b.1962)
Type of art: Sculpture, painting, installation
Nationality: Japanese
Sales at auction (07-08): £15.5 million
9. Wang Guangyi (b.1957)
Type of art: Mixed-media, painting
Nationality: Chinese (Heilongjiang)
Sales at auction (07-08): £11.7 million
10. Liu Xiaodong (b.1963)
Type of art: Painting, fine art photography
Nationality: Chinese (Liaoning)
Sales at auction (07-08): £10.5 million
11. Cai Guo-Qiang (b.1957)
Type of artwork: Performance art (explosive events)
Nationality: Chinese
Sales at auction (07-08): £10.1 million
12. Yan Pei-Ming (b.1960)
Type of art: Portraitist
Nationality: Chinese (Shanghai)
Sales at auction (07-08): £9.9 million
13. Chen Yifei (b.1946)
Type of art: Painting
Nationality: Chinese (Zhejing)
Sales at auction (07-08): £9.7 million
14. Fang Lijun (b.1963)
Type of art: Painting
Nationality: Chinese (Hebei)
Sales at auction (07-08): £9.6 million
15. Liu Ye (b.1964)
Type of art: Avant-garde artist
Nationality: Chinese
Sales at auction (07-08): £8.8 million
17. Zhou Chunya (b.1955)
Type of art: Portrait paintings
Nationality: Chinese (Sichuan)
Sales at auction (07-08): £8.3 million
18. Anish Kapoor (b.1954)
Type of art: Abstract art, sculpture, one of Turner Prize Winners.
Nationality: British (born in India)
Sales at auction (07-08): £6.7 million
19. Peter Doig (b.1959)
Type of art: Contemporary landscape pictures
Nationality: British
Sales at auction (07-08): £6.7 million
20. Rudolf Stingel (b.1956)
Type of art: Installation and conceptual art
Nationality: German
Sales at auction (07-08): £6.5 million
