酷兔英语


Sotheby's plans to organize a major art fair in Beijing next year, a first for a global auctioneer, reflecting the growing reliance of the international art market on Chinese buyers.





The planned event would be modeled on the annual European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands, that is known as Tefaf and is widely regarded as the premier European art gathering.


富比拍卖公司(Sotheby's)计划明年在北京举办一次大型艺术博览会,对一家全球性的拍卖行而言这尚属首次,反映出全球艺术品市场越来越依赖中国买家。



Tefaf, which plans to partner with Sotheby's for the Beijing fair, announced the plan Tuesday. Sotheby's confirmed the announcement, saying it is in 'exclusive discussions' with fair officials.


计划中的这场博览会将仿照在荷兰马斯特里赫特举行的一年一度的欧洲艺术博览会(The European Fine Art Fair,简称TEFAF),后者是公认的欧洲首屈一指的艺术盛会。



China's economic boom has fueled shopping sprees by wealthy Chinese in recent years. With the Chinese economy now cooling, Sotheby's appears to be trying to defend its share of the Chinese market by moving closer to its customers.


TEFAF计划同苏富比合作举办明年的北京艺术博览会,并在周二宣布了这一消息。苏富比证实了这一消息,称其正在同博览会负责人进行"闭门讨论"。



Chinese buyers are known to favor bidding at auction over dealing with galleries.


中国经济的繁荣在近年来助推了富裕中国人购买艺术品的热潮。眼下,随着中国经济降温,苏富比似乎是要通过向客户靠拢来捍卫其在中国市场的份额。



While auctions accounted for only 48% of the global art market in 2012, they made up 70% of art sales in China, according to statistics from market researcher Art Economics.


中国买家以喜欢在拍卖会上竞拍藏品出名,不愿意直接与画廊交易。



'Tefaf Beijing' would take place in the fall of 2014 and involve many of the 260 galleries that currently attend the Netherlands-based fair held each March, Tefaf Chairman Ben Janssens told the Journal in an interview.


市场研究机构Art Economics的统计数据表明,虽然2012年拍卖在全球艺术品市场占据的份额只有48%,但在中国艺术品销售额中的占比却高达70%。



The Chinese version of Tefaf would be four or five days, compared with the 10-day marathon in Maastricht that drew 72,000 visitors last year, far more than fairs like Frieze and the Art Basel fairs in Switzerland and Miami.


TEFAF主席詹森(Ben Janssens)在接受采访时告诉《华尔街日报》,"TEFAF北京"将在2014年秋天举行,参加每年3月在荷兰举行的TEFAF的260家画廊中有很多届时将参会。



Dealers are still discussing what possible customs restrictions could hamper art sales, and the financing terms between Sotheby's and Tefaf could take several months to solidify, executives involved in the discussions say.


中国版TEFAF将持续四至五天,相比之下在马斯特里赫特举行的博览会就像一场马拉松,持续十天,去年共计吸引7.2万名观众,人数远超Frieze艺术展以及在瑞士和迈阿密举行的巴塞尔艺术博览会(Art Basel)。



Tefaf would fully control the selection of the galleries, while Sotheby's would lend legal expertise and its data on Chinese collecting preferences mined from both private deals and auctions, Mr. Janssens says.


参与讨论的高管说,经销商仍在讨论可能会有哪些海关限制阻碍艺术品销售,苏富比和TEFAF之间的财务条款可能需要数月时间才能确定。



Sotheby's in London saw active Asian bidding at its latest contemporary art auction in February. An eager Asian telephone bidder was the lone bidder on a 1932 Picasso, inching its final price above the $40 million low estimate, while a Chinese telephone bidder snatched up an Egon Schiele work sold by Vienna's Leopold Museum for $12.4 million.


詹森说,TEFAF将全权负责画廊的选择,而苏富比将提供法律专业知识及其关于中国人收藏偏好的数据。这些数据源自私下交易和拍卖会上搜集的信息。



Tefaf has promoted its fair in China in the past few years, but it has been unable to sell works there without a license, which Sotheby's would provide via its joint venture with state-owned GeHua. The joint venture is 80% owned by Sotheby's and 20% owned by GeHua.


今年2月苏富比在伦敦举行的当代艺术拍卖会上,亚洲买家积极竞拍。毕加索1932年创作的一幅画作仅有一位急切的亚洲买家通过电话竞拍,最终成交价恰好超过4,000万美元的估值下限。一位通过电话竞拍的中国买家则以1,240万美元的价格买下维也纳立奥波德博物馆(Leopold Museum)出售的一幅埃贡•席勒(Egon Schiele)的作品。



MARY M. LANE