Leading authority on wealth in China releases Hurun Art List, ranking the best-selling Chinese artists alive today; Zeng Fanzhi, 50, best-selling Chinese artist alive today.
- Zeng Fanzhi, 50,is the champion of Chinese artists this year, topping the Hurun Art List for the first time with sales of his works at public auction hitting US$84m. "The Last Supper", painted by Zeng in 2001, broke the record last year for the single most expensive work sold by a living Chinese artist, selling for US$23m. Fan Zeng, 76, and Zhu Dequn, 94, followed with sales of US$82m and US$65m.
- Jin Shangyi saw sales of his work increase 4.7 times, and shooting Jin into the Top 10.
- The US overtook Europeas the residence of choice for those artists living abroad. Beijing is the undisputed capital for Chinese artists, however, followed by Guangdong, and Jiangsu.
- 54 artists have seen a decrease in sales.
- Chinese ink painters dominate with 60%of the artists listed.
- The average turnover of artworks is 165 pieces. Chinese ink paintings have an average turnover of 238, while oil paintings experience a turnover of 37.
- 39 artists saw their works selling for more than US$10 million.
- There were 25 new entrants on this year's list, led by oil painters Huang Jiannan andLi Xiaoxuan.
- 2 women made the list, led by Chen Peiqiu, down 3 in comparison to last year.
- China's Central Academy of Fine Art is the school with the most alumni on the list, followed by Nanjing University of the Arts.
- There are 5 listed artists aged 90 or above. The oldest individual is Jao Tsung-i, 97, ranked 38th. 9 artists are 50 years or younger – 1 more than last year. The average age was 66 years, same as last year.
- 19 artists have been featured on the Hurun Art List for 7 consecutive years.
- Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi remain the Best-Selling Artists of all time.
- This is the updated Hurun Art List 2014. Due to an upgrade of Arton's database systems, the original list released on 26 March did not include auction sales between 22 November and 28 December 2013.
The Hurun Research Institute, in association with Artron, launched the Hurun Art List 2014, a ranking of the top 100 Chinese artists alive today based on the sales of their works at public auction in the year ending 31 December 2013. Artron, China's largest compiler of art statistics provided the data. This is the seventh year of the Hurun Art List.
This is the update to the original Hurun Art List 2014 released on 26 March. Due to an upgrade of Arton's database systems, the original list released on 26 March did not include auction sales between 22 November and 28 December 2013. In consideration of the significance of the impact of the missing sales, Hurun Report and Artron decided to relaunch this year's list.
This is an English language summary of the full Chinese press release which can be found at www.hurun.net. For media enquiries please contact our public relations team whose contact details can be found at the end of this report.
Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said, "As more wealth is created in China, so there is a natural propensity to look beyond another stock, another commercial building. The purpose of the Hurun Art List is to provide an objective benchmark of Chinese artists, with a view to encouraging wealthy Chinese to engage with the art world."
Artron Chairman Wan Jie said, "I am delighted Artron is working in this long-term partnership with the authorative Hurun Report to produce the Art List. Whilst there is a strong enthusiasm amongst rich Chinese to collect, often they don't know where to start. This is where the Hurun Art List comes in."
Hurun Art List 2014 – Top 10
Source: Hurun Research Institute with data provided by Artron. Zeng Fanzhi. Oil painter, Zeng, 50, has become this year's leading artist for the first time in seven years. His sales amount to US$84 million from 49 art pieces at public auctions. The value of his work has doubled in comparison to last year where he ranked second. Since 2008, Zeng has consistently been ranked in the Top 10.
Fan Zeng. Chinese ink painter and calligrapher, Fan Zeng is ranked fourth with US$82.7 million in sales at public auction from 679 art pieces. Over the past five years, Fan has maintained a spot in the Top 5 on the Hurun Art List.
Zhu Dequn, also known as Chu Teh-Chun. Oil painter. Zhu, 94, was second with sales of US$65.1 million from 149 art pieces. Zhu has made the Top 20 since 2008. Zhu passed away on 26 March 2014, the day this list went public.
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