In Singapore now and went to the Masterpiece Auction yesterday.  More than 200 pieces and it seemed to take forever.  About 20 % of the pieces passed and only a few went for more than the high estimate.

The British auctioneer did a good job getting the prices up and coaxing one more bid out of interested bidders.  I was struck by his directness:

Are you bidding sir?  And his politeness:  He always thanked all the bidders.

Some good pieces by Agus Suwage and a beautiful Winner Jumalon small painting.  An article in the Singapore Times talked about good response from overseas bidders, but truthfully saw very few Chinese and Taiwanese collectors.  A friend told me that last time the place was packed with HK, Taiwanese and Chinese collectors.

The interest in Chinese works seems to be over.  So many went for low prices and the number of Chinese works were very few compared to other auctions.

Met some collectors here who are interested in Japanese works.  There were no Japanese works in the auction, but hopefully that will change in the future.

The opening of Joji Shimamoto’s show was a big success.  We had about 40 photos and more than 80 people came on the opening weekend.

The pics I had before were not done by a professional.  Here are Joji’s pics of the opening.  Amazing what an artist can do!!