Singapore - Philippine art is getting more popular in Singapore. An art gallery here says many of the works have been flying off the walls at sold-out shows.
Due to this growing demand, it has prompted more Filipino artists to travel to Singapore to showcase their works.
According to Filipino artists, like Virgillio Pandy Aviado, Singapore is an ‘art friendly place‘ for them to exhibit their works.
"I was quite surprised to learn that Singaporeans have this means of appreciating art. They like to buy things that they like and it could be almost anything, like Indonesian art or Philippine art."
That has prompted Singapore art galleries like "Utterly Art" to showcase more artists from the region. Philippine art has dominated their walls from just one show in 2002 to six shows this year. More is expected next year, with at least nine shows already booked.
Overall, Southeast Asia art has gained increasing popularity and has even broken new records at a recent Sotheby‘s auction in Singapore.
One painting by an Indonesian artist, Nyoman Masriadi, went under the hammer for S$360,000- a world record price.
While artists and gallery owners say the recent buying phenomenon on Southeast Asian art is healthy, art investment is an unpredictable business as prices can fluctuate rapidly, depending on who is the hottest artist of the moment and whether demand for that artist is high.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com (22 September 2007)
