The foundation of fine art auctions is still transparency and prestige.

(NB&CL) Auction is an important link in the art market, it brings many benefits and contributes to promoting the development of art. However, in recent times, fine art auction activities have also revealed weaknesses and shortcomings, so they need to be quickly managed and operated in a professional and transparent manner.

Vietnamese people "dominate" the domestic art market

In recent years, along with economic development, the demand for aesthetics and art in Vietnam has also been constantly increasing. Vietnam's art life has become more vibrant with the appearance of many exhibitions and art display spaces. Exhibitions and art events have expanded opportunities for the public to access works of art, thereby creating more art collectors and gradually creating an art market and art auction in Vietnam. According to researcher Phan Cam Thuong, from the place where Vietnamese artists' paintings were mainly sold to foreigners, the market has recently shifted to domestic customers, as evidenced by the fact that in the period 2010 - 2020, domestic purchasing power increased by 50 - 80%.

Along with the growth of the market, Vietnamese fine arts have also affirmed their position with works valued at "millions of dollars". In June 2024, despite the gloomy market, the oil painting "Les Chanteuses de Campagne" (Folk Singers) by painter Nguyen Phan Chanh was hammered for 1,020,000 EUR. Most recently, on October 12, at the auction "Legends of the Indochina College of Fine Arts", the silk painting "Mother's Gift" by painter Le Pho was hammered by Millon auction house at 600,000 EUR. At this auction, the painting "Jeune fille au perroquet" (Lady and the Parrot) by Le Pho was also sold for 315,000 EUR; the painting "Les baigneuses" (Bathing) by Nguyen Tuong Lan was priced at 310,000 EUR; The painting “Reflet sur la rivière” (Reflections on the river) by Tran Phuc Duyen reached 110,000 EUR.

According to Mr. Alexandre Millon - Chairman of Millon, in nearly 10 years of organizing auctions of Vietnamese art by this auction house, about 80% of buyers are Vietnamese collectors, while most of the sellers are Europeans. Director of Sotheby's Vietnam Ace Le also said that Vietnam is the best growing art market in Southeast Asia.

Exhibition "Old Soul, Strange Wharf". Photo: Sotheby's

Realizing the potential of the market, many "big names" in the international auction industry have quickly expanded their "territory" to Vietnam. In March 2023, Sotheby's auction house appointed Mr. Ace Le as Director of the Vietnam market. A year later, Millon auction house also officially opened a representative office in Hanoi .

Immediately after entering Vietnam, Sotheby's made a move to stimulate the market through two exhibitions "Hon Xua Ben La" and "Mong Vien Dong". These are considered the largest exhibitions in Vietnam on Indochina period art. The public lined up to enter the exhibition to see valuable works, which were appraised and displayed according to international standards. Millon also quickly organized parallel auctions at both the Vietnamese and French ends. The "Vietnamese Art" thematic auction in April 2024 brought in transactions of more than 1.8 million EUR.

Along with the participation of international “big players” in the market, many professional auction houses have also appeared in the country. Among them are Ly Thi, Chon's, Lac Viet, PI Auction House, Le Auction House... There was a time when these units were very active, organizing painting auctions almost every month.

Need to approach world standards

Although it has developed significantly compared to the previous period, many opinions say that the Vietnamese art market is still quite small, has not really created a spectacular breakthrough, and has not had a strong influence on people's consumption trends. Vietnam does not have a true art market when transactions are carried out spontaneously and fragmentedly. The main forms of transactions are still direct trading with artists, trading through galleries, and trading through brokers. This leads to the consequence that the market is chaotic and the prices of paintings are very "obscure", the situation of fake paintings is not uncommon and there are increasingly many sophisticated variations.

In that context, the emergence of art auction houses was expected to “resolve” the problems, opening up a more positive signal for the domestic art market. However, after only a few auctions, noises appeared, from suspicions of fake paintings, auction winners “running away” after paying sky-high prices, even stories of auction winners hanging paintings for months without paying... This is the reason why auction houses lose their reputation, cannot organize auctions regularly or have to stop altogether.

However, experts still believe that the auction house system is an important link in the chain of factors that make up the art market. With a market that still has a lot of potential, when the market size is still very small and primitive as it is now, organizing public and transparent auctions will strengthen the public's trust when participating in the art market, thereby contributing to promoting Vietnamese art. Therefore, building a professional and transparent art auction ecosystem will be an inevitable trend.

Visitors learn about auctioned paintings displayed at the exhibition "Vietnamese Art of the 20th Century" at Le Auction House

According to Mr. Le Quang, representative of Le Auction House, after the initial setbacks, Vietnam really needs more auction houses to increase competitiveness and create professionalism in the art auction. However, Mr. Quang also frankly acknowledged that the current prominent problem is that, for contemporary paintings, due to the lack of professional valuation, there is a situation where artists set very high prices, making transactions very difficult to carry out. At the same time, we cannot completely eliminate the problem of fake paintings, because the market always has "real and fake". The important thing is that each person must protect themselves with knowledge, understanding and find transactions at reputable addresses.

“It can be said that the market is improving when 75% and 88% of the paintings were traded in the two auctions in 2024 of Le Auction House. The main buyers of paintings are Vietnamese. Through these auctions, we also hope to find young, potential artists to introduce to the public,” said Mr. Quang.

Le Auction House representative further emphasized that, in addition to its role as a channel to determine the value of works of art in an objective and transparent manner, auction activities also open the door for Vietnamese paintings to be introduced to the international market. However, in order for fine art auction activities in Vietnam to be professional, auction houses need to quickly approach world standards, provide transparent information about works before auctions, and build a reputable platform to ensure the rights of painting buyers. On the management side, standards should be set for capital, staff qualifications, and auction organization processes, etc.

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tien - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association, the activities of galleries and auction floors are still individual, in which the role of the State has not been demonstrated, as well as lacking policies to encourage and guide development. In order for the art market and art auctions in Vietnam to operate stably and develop, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tien believes that fundamental solutions are needed, from policies, human resources and learning from the world's experiences.

“A work of art is also an asset, a form of investment, so art auction activities need to comply with legal regulations and be strictly managed by competent authorities, thereby contributing to the healthy development of the country's fine arts market,” said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tien.

Khanh Ngoc

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/dau-gia-my-thuat-nen-tang-van-la-su-uy-tin-minh-bach-post319239.html