By A. D. McKenzie
SINGAPORE, Nov 24 2007 (IPS)

As the contemporary art market continues to boom, interest in Asian art grows and certain works fetch huge prices, Filipino artists are suddenly finding themselves a hot commodity.

While over the past few years it’s been Chinese art commanding the limelight and garnering record prices at international auctions, the stage is being set for new players, according to art experts.

"Collectors are increasingly opening up to Filipino art," says Michele Ruth Goh, a marketing spokesperson for Larasati Auctioneers, an Asian-based auction house which held its tenth "Pictures of Asia Fine Art Auction" here in late October. "For people who buy Asian art, the preference has long been Indonesian art and now Chinese, but the next will be Filipino."

She added, "The art is selling because Filipino artists have a very good technique and the subject matter is interesting. They also experiment with different media."

At the October auction, the works on sale included a variety of artists and styles, with many Filipino artists opting for acrylic on canvas rather than the more traditional oil. It was only the second time that Larasati was devoting a whole section to Filipino art, Goh said, after a launch last April in which 75 percent of the works offered were sold, some at record prices for Filipino art.

No one in the art world expects these prices to approach those being achieved by contemporary Chinese works any time soon, however. At an auction in October by Sotheby’s in London, a painting by Chinese artist Yue Minjun, titled ‘Execution’, sold for 2.3 million pounds (4.7 million US dollars). This was the highest amount ever paid at an auction for a Chinese contemporary work. It portrays an almost-nude group of men laughing madly while others pretend to execute them.

The high prices for such works are being driven by the growing wealth in China. There are now an estimated 350,000 millionaires there with another 87,000 in former British colony Hong Kong, but wealthy Asians are also on the rise elsewhere.

In Singapore, which has 67,000 millionaires according to a report by investment bank Merrill Lynch and consultancy firm Capgemini, the interest in Filipino art is already apparent, with several exhibitions currently running.

Local gallery Utterly Art is showcasing the works of 24 artists in a show called "Postcards from the Philippines", its sixth exhibition of Filipino art this year. Ten shows are planned next year, says gallery director Dr Pwee Keng Hock. He expects most of the paintings to be sold even though the majority of the artists are young and not yet widely known.

Meanwhile, at Galerie Joaquin, a new branch of a Filipino group of galleries, the featured artist is the veteran Lydia Velasco, whose paintings of female subjects evoke the work of Gauguin in their vibrant colours and immediate impact. The paintings are of beautiful women who combine sensuality and strength, allure and assurance – women with flowing limbs and knowing smiles.

The 64-year-old Velasco, here to attend the Larasati auction, says she has seen interest grow in Filipino art over the years and hopes that the country will gain a similar international reputation for its art as China and Indonesia. Her own works were sold in auctions by Sotheby’s for the first time last year and can now be found in private collections in several countries.

At ‘ARTSingapore’, the biggest annual contemporary art fair held in South-east Asia, Filipino art stood out among the works by 100 artists from 16 countries during this year’s event from Oct. 4 to 8. Two of Velasco’s paintings sold for a total of nearly 17,000 Singapore dollars (11,625 U.S. dollars), says Galerie Joaquin’s curator Aarti Hemmani.

The organiser of ARTSingapore, Chen Shen Po, says that art has become "a new asset class" to investors in Asia, with people collecting artworks as "part of their investment portfolio".

These events come on the heels of the first Philippine Art Trek, which took place in June and showcased the works of 50 artists at eight different venues around Singapore, organised by the Embassy of the Philippines here. Several artists were flown in to talk about their works at the opening ceremonies.

Amid all the excitement, however, some observers remain cautious. Leo Abaya, an artist as well as lecturer at the University of the Philippines, says that the current interest in Filipino art might continue only as long as the global economy, and Asia’s in particular, remain strong.

‘’Globalisation has definitely helped Filipino art," he said, at the opening of ‘Postcards’. "We see more venues opening up in places like Singapore where the economy is dynamic, and we have to accept that this is where the art patrons are."

But with the United States experiencing a decline in house prices, and its economy seeming to be on the verge of recession, it is anyone’s guess how long the good times will last. Still, Abaya and others believe that Filipino art will keep growing in popularity because of its distinctiveness. While very Asian in some respects, the art stands out because of the Latin flavour derived from the country’s Spanish colonial heritage, and it also has a strong Catholic infusion, Abaya says.

In ‘Postcards’, which ran until Oct. 28, both these flavours were evident in the striking tones used by the artists and their choice of subject matter. One artist, 23-year-old Constantino Zicarelli, of Filipino and Italian descent, has a painting of Jesus Christ done in bright pink – "playing with the Catholic theme", as he smilingly put it. He was set to have a one-man show in the Philippines in November, an example of how young artists are being taken seriously by the galleries.

Other artists at the same exhibition address a range of topics, including the Filipino issue of emigration. One arresting but sombre portrait, done by Kirby Roxas in shades of black and grey, shows the face of a woman (or perhaps a man) staring into nothingness; it’s simply titled ‘Imigrante’. Themes of poverty, violence, hope and rural life are also included in the gamut of Filipino subject matter, while some artists such as Velasco focus on the Filipina as a search for national identity.

These subjects are a far cry from those of contemporary Chinese art, with it surrealistic nature and subversive sense of humour, especially regarding the legacy of Chairman Mao. In the paintings of Yue Minjun, one of the most prominent artists, disturbing laughing faces hint at a schizophrenic society.

Contemporary Filipino art is more realistic and more figurative, and may appeal to collectors who do not have the deep pockets for Chinese and Indonesian art, says Dr Pwee of Utterly Art.

"The prices are wild when it comes to certain works," he explains. "Just completely wild. At the moment, Filipino art is still affordable and that’s one of the reasons it’s growing."

But the young artist, Zicarelli, has another take on things. "I heard that collectors are getting bored with Chinese art, so I hope it will be us next," he says with a laugh. "All my friends are doing exhibitions around Asia and in the U.S., so things are looking good."

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