Dandeli Art Center is dedicated to introducing and recommending artists and their original and enduringly valuable artwork to art collectors. From the history of art appreciation, we have learned that it is difficult to predict the trend of the art market due to the constant fluctuation of people’s tastes in art. Therefore, the premise of rational art collection is the joy and aesthetic rewards that the artwork can bring while generating economic rewards; investment and collection in artwork should not be done solely for profit. Our principle of pricing artwork is to respect the value of art and its artists, and respect the integrity and fairness of market behaviors.

Zhao Xiuhuan’s gongbi paintings are characteristically distinguishable, and have been recognized by experts from both Chinese and overseas academies, such as Gao Juhan (Professor James Cahill) , Lin Lusi (Dr. Lucy Lim) , Yang Yuepu  and other art critics and art historians since the 1980s. Today, Zhao’s paintings have become commercially attractive. Apart from participating in numerous major art exhibitions both domestically and overseas, her art works have also been on sale and put to auction in Hong Kong with some of the prices even reaching $1000 US dollars as early as over a decade ago. Therefore, we consider the current pricing of Zhao’s paintings to be justifiably accurate.

Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings have long been received by overseas collectors, for there was hardly any mainland art collector in China from the 1980s to 1990s. Zhao lived in Australia and the United States for more than a decade, and never took part in the mainland art circles or art market during her pursuit of art and other personal interest. Therefore, the pricing of her artwork is based on the sale status in overseas market (please refer to the attached statement provided by Mr. Lu Mingjie , the overseas agent of Zhao Xiuhuan); furthermore, pricing on a uniform basis is fairer to the collectors all over the world. Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings began to appear in the mainland market and put to auction only in recent years (to see the auction record please refer to Mr. Lu’s statement in Annex 1). The exhibition “Zhao Xiuhuan: the Utopia of Birds and Flowers” held in Dandeli Art Center on May, 2008, was Zhao’s first grand solo exhibition since returning to China. Recently, Zhao’s solo exhibition of Chinese gongbi bird-and-flower paintings “Blossom in Summer” was again presented by Dandeli Art Center.

However, it is regretful that in the deficient Chinese mainland auction market, the reflection of true fair-market value of artwork has been significantly affected. First, it has been confirmed by Zhao Xiuhuan along with her students and agent that counterfeits of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings have emerged frequently in the present auction market (please refer to Annex 2 to see the record statement of auctions of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings). Second, the true value of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings has been influenced by the fickle and irrational forces in the mainland auction market, which impacts the judgement of possible investors. It is regarded as an abnormal phenomenon that, at present, 90% of the paintings for trade in the mainland market are oil paintings; however, the value of traditional Chinese paintings has been seriously overlooked and underestimated. In a normative market, the value of artwork of excellent artists is expected to increase at the rate of 5% to 10% each year. Therefore, the pricing of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings is in accordance with Zhao’s competency of art and values of her artwork, and complies with the market discipline, too.

Annex 1: The record statement of the auction of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings provided to Dandeli Art Center by Mr. Lu Mingjie.

The headway of pricing of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings in Tai Wan:
1992     approximately RMB 6,500.00/square chi　(1 square chi=30 x 30 cm=900.00 cm2)
1994     approximately RMB 8,000.00/ square chi　
1998     approximately RMB 11,000.00/ square chi　
2004     approximately RMB 12,000.00-15,000.00/ square chi（pricing of selected artwork: RMB 60,000.00/ square chi）

A record of the auction of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings:

The present art market is full of profit-orientated investments, and people are chasing after popular celebrities rather than appreciating artists who have real talents but are not as mainstream. Collectors should seek true beauty instead of going after a hot name.

Annex 2: A record of the auction of Zhao Xiuhuan’s authentic paintings and the counterfeits of her artwork

In the international auction market, every auction item has an exclusive and consistent serial number for the convenience of bidders and specialists to study and keep a track of the artworks. However, in the current Chinese market, an auction item gains a new serial number every time it is sent to an auction company, making it hard for the specialists to pursue items and keep records at the same time, which has furthermore indulged many counterfeits in the marketplace. In addition, artists usually do not directly participate in the auction of their artwork. Zhao Xiuhuan merely pays close attention to the auction records of her paintings which have been put to auction in the marketplace by her agent under her permission. Please see below for some auction records collected from the internet by the staff of Dandeli Art Center, which have been reviewed and confirmed by Zhao Xiuhuan.

So far it has been found that the auctions of Zhao Xiuhuan’s paintings have taken place 45 times, among which there are counterfeits in the following forms:

1. Reproductions of Zhao Xiuhuan’s authentic paintings, which have the same appearance but recognizably different colors and  painting techniques.

2.  Imitations of “Zhao Xiuhuan style”, which have applied fairly similar colors and techniques to the authentic artwork, but recognizably different signatures and seals on the paintings (it is speculated that these imitations are made by someone from Hong Kong).

3. Other counterfeits are even absurd. They are xieyi paintings  put up to auction in the name of Zhao Xiuhuan.

3. Other counterfeits are even absurd. They are xieyi paintings  put up to auction in the name of Zhao Xiuhuan.

 Remark

[1] Gao Juhan (Professor James Cahill), born in CA, USA, is one of the authorities on Chinese art history, and has been a professor of art history at the University of California, Berkeley, since 1965.

[1] Lin Lusi (Dr. Lucy Lim), graduated from the School of Arts, New York University, is a renowned American art critic,  and one of the western pioneer scholars who started the study on Chinese paintings in 1980s. She has introduced a lot of Chinese artists to the West.

[1] Yang Yuepu, born in 1983 inBeijing, graduated from the faculty of oil panting, Beijing College of Art, is good at painting, calligraphy and fine art critique. Yang is currently an Editor in China Artists Association (CAA), a member of CAA and China Science Writer's Association, and receives government special allowance.

[1] Dr. Lu Mingjie is currently a consultant of Shanghai Hongsheng Auction Co.Ltd, an auctioneer at ZhongchengInternationalArtCenter and Jinshifa &Yiliu Auction Co.Ltd, and a visiting professor at China Academy of Fine Art. Dr. Lu was a former consultant of Beijing &Shanghai International Arts Exposition, the Secretary General and consultant of Taiwan Galley Association