Artist Meets Collector

With one hour left until the auction for Zeng Yucheng’s work It is the Cloud Again closed， the price had reached 20，000 yuan. No auctioneer or bidders were seen at this auction– only a timer on a computer wielded the hammer. Any tension was invisible. Perhaps the final buyer was sitting at a computer drinking coffee leisurely and waiting for the results.

The online auction was held on HIHEY.COM， and included nine porcelain works from four millennial Chinese artists. A dozen different potential buyers placed bids. Ultimately， Zeng Yucheng’s Four Seasons went for the highest price of 40，000 yuan and Zhou Zhengguang’s Make An Overnight Fortune sold for 1，500 yuan. This kind of auction happens every day on HIHEY. Founded in April 2011， HIHEY’s turnover can reach 200，000 yuan per day. Over 80 percent of its contracted artists were born after China’s reform and opening up. Tan Yunchuan is one of them.

Tan works in a studio in Songzhuang Village， an art community in Beijing. Tan doesn’t yet earn enough selling paintings to make ends meet， so he rents out his house. Some buyers come to his studio and haggle as if they’re at a flea market. “I try to hide my anger and explain that it is a work of art，” Tan admits. “You can negotiate， but show some respect.” China has 2.5 million professional artists and Tan’s lifestyle is typical of most of them. Each year， less than one percent of professional artists get the chance to show their work in galleries or auctions. The emergence of online art traders such as HIHEY， artgogo and Coart has provided a brand-new platform for previously unknown artists.

“For young artists， especially obscure artists， they usually lack the money to get their work into galleries and exhibitions，”remarks He Bin， founder of HIHEY. “Usually， an exhibition costs at least 80，000 yuan. The figure drops to 800 yuan on HIHEY. With an increasing volume of clients， the cost can even drop to 80 yuan. HIHEY has provided an inexpensive but efficient platform.” He believes that online art trading is not only a simple marriage between art and the internet， but a breakthrough for the traditional art industry. “The platform we provide is more transparent and fair， helping free artists from toiling around with publicity. They can better dedicate themselves to creation， creating greater possibilities for art.”

HIHEY now has more than 5，000 contracted artists and adds 15 every day.

On one side are humble artists. The other side attracts modest but speculative collectors.

The traditional Chinese art market has long been an elite arena， in which clients are often very wealthy. The stratospheric price of original art intimidates many art fans with limited spare spending money from making purchases. With the virtual auction’s entry into the art market， greater numbers of buyers are finding opportunities as are artists.

A typical young art enthusiast， Zhang Xiaoguang is a high school administrator in Beijing. He bought his first painting through the internet. Over the past five years， he has purchased 30 paintings， of which the most expensive cost 50，000 yuan. Young and modest collectors like Zhang grew up with the internet boom and became very comfortable with online purchasing. They also learned to share and enjoy art through the internet.

“For me， art is another consumer good，” says Gao Jianming， a senior media executive born in 1970s. “My mind is always on my work. But I can use my phone to access HIHEY. It is very convenient and will likely become even more popular in the future. A quality platform can create a new lifestyle.”

“Some buyers are even in their early 20s – unimaginable for the traditional auction market，” He Bin notes. “The internet not only changes consumption behavior but also the consumption pattern. Young people are the trendsetters.” HIHEY’s turnover across the last three quarters of 2013 hit 23.4 million yuan， with an average of 90，000 yuan per day. Over 60 percent of contributors were born in the 1970s and 1980s.

Because of the online art market， both artists and collectors are discovering a new and more comprehensive gallery. Art trading is becoming more open and artists are no longer confined to brick-and-mortar exhibition halls. The prosperity of the internet provides greater opportunities for artists while prying the world’s art from tycoons’ safe deposit boxes.